So what is a STW? When one has wheeled on 37-40 tires for the past 20 years something smaller is a "Small Tire Wheeler"
What is Lynchburg Lemonade? If you do not know, you should try one. A refreshing drink made from some sweet stuff and some hard stuff.
This project is a "getting back to basics" kind of rig. I picked it up earlier this year in Lynchburg Virginia, hence the name.
Back up a few months ago when I decided to take my stockish FJ40 to Coal Miners. I added some 33" tires, swapped the LSD from the front diff to the rear and created a STW that I could take. I added a winch on the front just in case. Fast forward to the event. I wheeled the 82 all over Anthracite and Rauch Creek off road parks and had a blast. That little rig went everywhere I wanted it to and some I was not sure about. I never got stuck or had to use the winch. Problem was it was too nice a rig to keep doing this with. It still has the factory hard top and doors. It does have a nice H55 conversion so it had plenty of low gearing even with 3:70 gears. This got me hooked. I started making plans as I drove home and thought about what I could build with all the other project 40's I have. I went back and forth on my 77 and my 78. The 77 won out.
The 40 is basically stock. Has 65k on it and some old body work that is showing itself. It also came with no top or doors and some makeshift tailgate with the spare tire carrier welded on. Good news it is a low mileage drivetrain. Engine compression is in the 140-150 range, oil pressure at cold idle is 60 psi with 5w-30 oil in it. Bad is the carb has been replaced, Holley/Rochester, forgot. Either way it will get a Weber 32/36 for now and maybe EFI later. I picked up a non-USA H41 to swap in. This would give me almost the same low crawl ratio that the H55 has with 3:70 gears. Perfect as I really enjoyed that ratio.
I swapped the trans this weekend and istalled a new AISIN clutch while I was there. Someone had a lot of fun in this rig, the frame rails were full of mud and debri and I think I knocked out about 58 Mud Dobber nest too. With the tranny out this was the time to clean all that up and paint. I have most of the build planned out and will post as I go. This will not be a restoration, a resto mod, just a simple FJ40 that I can take wheeling and will look the part of a FJ40.
Rob
What is Lynchburg Lemonade? If you do not know, you should try one. A refreshing drink made from some sweet stuff and some hard stuff.
This project is a "getting back to basics" kind of rig. I picked it up earlier this year in Lynchburg Virginia, hence the name.
Back up a few months ago when I decided to take my stockish FJ40 to Coal Miners. I added some 33" tires, swapped the LSD from the front diff to the rear and created a STW that I could take. I added a winch on the front just in case. Fast forward to the event. I wheeled the 82 all over Anthracite and Rauch Creek off road parks and had a blast. That little rig went everywhere I wanted it to and some I was not sure about. I never got stuck or had to use the winch. Problem was it was too nice a rig to keep doing this with. It still has the factory hard top and doors. It does have a nice H55 conversion so it had plenty of low gearing even with 3:70 gears. This got me hooked. I started making plans as I drove home and thought about what I could build with all the other project 40's I have. I went back and forth on my 77 and my 78. The 77 won out.
The 40 is basically stock. Has 65k on it and some old body work that is showing itself. It also came with no top or doors and some makeshift tailgate with the spare tire carrier welded on. Good news it is a low mileage drivetrain. Engine compression is in the 140-150 range, oil pressure at cold idle is 60 psi with 5w-30 oil in it. Bad is the carb has been replaced, Holley/Rochester, forgot. Either way it will get a Weber 32/36 for now and maybe EFI later. I picked up a non-USA H41 to swap in. This would give me almost the same low crawl ratio that the H55 has with 3:70 gears. Perfect as I really enjoyed that ratio.
I swapped the trans this weekend and istalled a new AISIN clutch while I was there. Someone had a lot of fun in this rig, the frame rails were full of mud and debri and I think I knocked out about 58 Mud Dobber nest too. With the tranny out this was the time to clean all that up and paint. I have most of the build planned out and will post as I go. This will not be a restoration, a resto mod, just a simple FJ40 that I can take wheeling and will look the part of a FJ40.
Rob
Last edited: