Inherited 71 FJ40 - what’s your next move?
- Thread starter anthonyc
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- Thread starter
- #22
Who is the go to company for parts these days? I have bought a few things from CruiserCorps.
I am NOT a fan of 'patina'. But this is just old paint patina, not left-out-to-rot-now-covered-in-oil patina.
If this were mine I'd put the factory wheels on, flip the bezel (like it is in the picture from the 70s), buff and wax it, paint and seam seal (with urethane) the fibreglas roof cap, factory-style headliner and replace all the window rubber and weather striping and tune it within an inch of its life.
Givin its history, the lack of rust and its low miles, this is a keeper as it is. And most importantly, keep the three-on-the-tree. '71 is the last year for that and it's a cool feature. So many were converted over the years that is exceedingly rare to find the shifter in its Toyoda-given location on the pre-'72s these days.
If this were mine I'd put the factory wheels on, flip the bezel (like it is in the picture from the 70s), buff and wax it, paint and seam seal (with urethane) the fibreglas roof cap, factory-style headliner and replace all the window rubber and weather striping and tune it within an inch of its life.
Givin its history, the lack of rust and its low miles, this is a keeper as it is. And most importantly, keep the three-on-the-tree. '71 is the last year for that and it's a cool feature. So many were converted over the years that is exceedingly rare to find the shifter in its Toyoda-given location on the pre-'72s these days.
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Looks like your grandfather took excellent care of it.
That is one clean 40. Like stated by others: drive it, enjoy it, base line it and replace what is needed to keep it on the road.
Have fun with it.
Have fun with it.
Whatever you do dont take it apart to “Restore” it…. Thats a perfect truck with an amazing history.
The obvious comments about fluids and a tuneup are spot on of course. None of that makes the truck yours however.
Ask yourself what’s the state of that truck that will make you the happiest? If hard wheeling is your thing I would recommend a different rig. Some mild trips into the rough are a piece of cake for any FJ40. Getting to the trail and back is the area that they can be improved. This is where you could make some changes.
To make a drive to the trails FJ I would in roughly this order:
Front Disk brakes
3.73’s and taller skinny tires
Rear disk brakes
The above gets you there without hating the highway part of the trip. 4 Lo will make up for the steeper gearing.
Drive it as above for a while and then decide if you need any more improvements.
Such as:
Electric power steering
Sniper EFI
Lockers and skid plates
Nothing here changes the spirit of the truck and is invisible and reversible
Have FUN!
The obvious comments about fluids and a tuneup are spot on of course. None of that makes the truck yours however.
Ask yourself what’s the state of that truck that will make you the happiest? If hard wheeling is your thing I would recommend a different rig. Some mild trips into the rough are a piece of cake for any FJ40. Getting to the trail and back is the area that they can be improved. This is where you could make some changes.
To make a drive to the trails FJ I would in roughly this order:
Front Disk brakes
3.73’s and taller skinny tires
Rear disk brakes
The above gets you there without hating the highway part of the trip. 4 Lo will make up for the steeper gearing.
Drive it as above for a while and then decide if you need any more improvements.
Such as:
Electric power steering
Sniper EFI
Lockers and skid plates
Nothing here changes the spirit of the truck and is invisible and reversible
Have FUN!
- Thread starter
- #29
The 40 in your profile picture looks great! I am definitely going to get the stock wheels back on to bring back that retro look. Just need to find some OEM hub caps and see what size tires fit. I have a brand new set of BFG AT, 30x9.5R15's on now. Not sure if the stock wheels are 15" or 16".. I did read here up to 9.5 wide would fit though ??
- Thread starter
- #30
Here are some photos of the engine bay.
All I know about it from what I was told is the starter was swapped out to something GM. And recently the brake master cylinder was dripping fluid and that was replaced right before i got it. Who knows if it is oem or done correctly. I'm sure a lot of little things along the way.
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good pictures, that's all pretty original looking except for the valve cover which is a 75-80 2F cover. A common swap/upgrade since they are much less prone to leaking.
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- #32
That's what I thought! I couldn't quite figure out why it had the oil cap on the top when it's supposed to be an F engine. Thanks for the clarification!
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Actually, you're right, noramlly you would have the oil fill on the side of the block on a 71. Take a good clear picture of the engine code on the passenger side of the block.
that is such a beautiful original survivor! just... wow.
- Thread starter
- #35
F 341987
These photos are curtousy of my father-in-law, as the FJ is parked in his shop right now.
The oil filler port at the crank case is capped, but it looks stock capped, it's basically plugged and there's no bolts. I wonder if this was an iteration between F and F.5 or something...?
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Ok, that's the original oil fill with some sort of plug in it.
Super clean!! It's your rig... but its special when they are this original with the provenance and all the other expensive words that don't matter. I'm even into the old-school replacement red hoses, not sure where you would buy those now. Carb looks clean too, recent rebuild?
No engine hoist hooks? Did they interfere with the 2F valve cover? The soft heater hose along the block, didn't that used to be a hard line? Looks like a vacuum retard dizzy, some say it might be better to cap that line off...
- Thread starter
- #39
You all might lose your minds if I also tell you I have all the original paperwork
Your engine is a 2/71 … so definitely the original engine … not that far off from @Coolerman ’s cruiser
Plugged original fill port
Plugged original fill port