Just bought an 1974 FJ40 in Bolivia

[DJBHM]

Hi all, I'm new to the forum although I've been lurking for a few months doing a lot of searches. My wife and I are starting a new mission project in the highlands of Bolivia to bring education and health assistance to the people living in the most remote places here in the mountians. We knew we needed a Land Cruiser to get to those places but knew almost nothing about them except that they are in all the cool Africa stories and are the vehicle of choice among Bolivians for tackling the worst roads and river crossings here. We started raising money a few months ago and pulled the trigger last week on this FJ40. I read the buyers guide in the 40-55 series FAQ and I had a local mechanic drive it and check compressions (95-110 psi @ 12,000 ft) but a few things still slipped by of course. I plan to do all the mods and maintenance myself that don't require special tools or welding.


1974 FJ40, as stock as possible after 40 years of third world maintenance.
F engine (seems to pull strong)
16" splits with 7.50x16 smoothies
Natural Gas system (just installed, I have mixed feelings about this because people say it dries out the engine and causes wear??? Costs about half to drive vs. gasoline but less power)
Fixed front hubs and worn front drive train
Front bearings loose or shot
Drivers side knuckle leaking grease
Almost zero frame rust and being from the NE USA what I would consider very light body rust for it's age.
Sketchy wiring (good thing there isn't much of it)
Broken main leaf in front pax side spring pack
Pax side rear pack front spring perch has been broken off and welded on a little "funny"
Shackles and bushing look their age....
Pax side rear engine mount cracked again after being broken and welded multiple times. Inner wall of frame cracked at the mounting point.
Rear driveshaft worn and rear diff third leaking.
Other than that she's a "pearl"

I don't know how long a post can be so pardon my ignorance...

Theft is a real problem so she needs to stay looking basic and "stock" but we will be going places where there may not even be roads and certainly nobody to get us out of trouble so I'm looking for maximum capability on a budget with zero bling.
My list looks like this:
Fix all the broken and worn stuff, fluids, etc.
Warn manual hubs
Tires (want to go with 33x9.50 MT if they are available and I can trade my 16" rims for 15" stockers if not then I might be stuck with 7.50 x 16 bias pizza cutters @ 31" tall)
Front lunchbox locker
Rear lunchbox locker??? (We will be doing a small amount of city driving with steep streets and tight corners)
Basic Recovery Equip and Hi-Lift
Winch??? There is not much to winch from here in the desert. Thief magnet so it would need to be quick detach style and stored inside if electric. I was originally thinking hand winch but they seem to be mediocre at best and expensive.

I can post a few more specific pictures later

 

[Bear]

A good choice for that environment.

Get those cracked areas carefully fixed.

And thank-you for helping those less fortunate than we are.

 

[Racer65]

Appears to be amazingly rust free. What's the climate environment like over there?
How about a shot of the engine bay and the interior?

 

[78fj40mg]

Welcome to MUD!

Very nice rig, good luck with the resto and be sure to ask questions we are here to help you.

 

[ginmtb]

Beautiful! And agree - thank you for what you are doing. Cool to see people who really make an impact on this world...

 

[FJ404345]

Thank you for sharing

Don't now where im located also belongs to the cold war classification to be a third world country, but I should start a mission project here, and get fundraising to support my madness

 

[MrMoMo]

Love the padlock holding the hood closed!

Get a good hi-lift jack - remember they can be used as a winch as well, but you'll need some type of ground anchor if there is nothing to winch to....

 

[HoundDog]

I believe those 16" rims have become quite rare and valuable to those doing 100% stock restorations. I would not trade them and instead hold on to them. IMO, the pizza cutters look cool.

 

[franklin40]

nice looking rig and a great solid looking starting place for a build. I've never really liked the look of the bumper boobies but where you are I understand traffic doesn't always have rules so maybe they will be functional. good luck with your build. you picked the right vehicle that's for sure

 

[fhawk5]

You said it is from the NE USA are , where ??? When ??

 

[MrMoMo]

You said it is from the NE USA are , where ??? When ??

I believe he means HE was from the north east US, not the cruiser....

 

[winnie]

based on the pics, you have something to work with there ... roads/trails must be really bad if spring perches, motor mounts, and frame rails are cracking ... hopefully you can find a skilled welder to fix that issue correctly ... good idea to baseline everything ... hi-lift is good, but so is a good hydraulic bottle jack (as a backup perhaps) and they're not a huge amount of money ... 33s would be nice ... wouldn't you have more of a tire selection perhaps with the 16" rims ... good luck with your 40 project and more importantly your mission ...

 

[DJBHM]

Wow thanks for the welcome guys! I finally had a chance to get some more pics.
The climate here is a lot like Colorado, pretty nice[emoji4] The Cruiser has supposedly been here it's whole life.
You guys would love how many Cruisers are on the road here and they are still importing lots of the 70 series new in single cab, double cab, troopy, jeep and suv wagon body styles. Almost all are running the 16" splits with 7.50 x 16 tires. There are also some other older models that have me confused. My best guest is a utility version of the 80 series??? with 4.5L 24v engines, 5-speeds, square double headlights and FJ40 style jump seats behind the rear bench. Nice but kind of spendy. I try to post pictures later. My internet won't allow it right now.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

if the frame is cracking, I'd add a much better generator then either an inverter welder, or an engine driven welder. I'd also add an air compressor - again either engine mounted or generator driven. Since you have theft problems, mounting them solidly in an unseen location (like under the driver's seat) would be a good option. The only issue is if you do any deep-water fording they could get wet.

Like was suggested before, a ground anchor would be a good option

 

[DJBHM]

Is a lightly used (a dozen times) warn x8000 a good deal at $375

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

depends on how old the cable is, and what the condition is of the cable. Frankly, there are some quality winches out there brand new for a couple hundred more... double if you buy an import Warn, so the question to you is: what's your life worth? only a high lift jack has more opportunity to kill you.
what ever you do, get the optional wireless winch controller (to go with the corded one) - makes it easier to stay out of the kill zone.

 

[DJBHM]

Thanks I wanted to know if it was a no brainer or not. Sounds like maybe not.

 

[Chungas Revenge]

Brother - If you are going anywhere near the Yungas road (worlds most dangerous road for a reason) your "kit" needs to be wired tight....Otherwise....well you get the picture from the drivers window. Is there enough "Boliviano" in the coffers for a disk brake conversion???

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Thanks I wanted to know if it was a no brainer or not. Sounds like maybe not.

You did an excellent job of saving money by buying an excellent vehicle for the purpose you intend... now you can use some of those savings to buy better stuff

 

[DJBHM]

Yeah I'll most likely be driving roads like that. I wanted the disc brakes and was looking for a later model 40 but alas there is so much garbage out there. The drums work really well in this one...so far. I don't have the cash for discs..they are pricey.