Derek - good luck on your adventure this weekend!
My dream is to finally come true on July 4th weekend!
- Thread starter Derek Ledford
- Start date
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Congrats on your soon to be accomplished goal of getting your FJ55 I hope to see a lot of pics and any work you put into it. Good luck on your trip plan accordingly.
Hope this adventure is going well!
No updates on this thread I really wanna see this 69' FJ55
Hoping everything is going well with this epic adventure!
- Thread starter
- #47
Sorry I haven't updated this thread. Life has been hectic to say the least. Unfortunately, the trip didn't work out as planned. Had some financial emergencies that took precedence. However, I remembered that I do have a picture of the pig as I currently sits. The forum says it's too large so I'm going to compress it and upload it in a bit
- Thread starter
- #48
Here it is, the Pig waiting in Cali. Since I wasn't able to make it out there, I will most likely have my girlfriends uncle drop it off if possible. He has a trailer and is planning on going out to move some other vehicles so it would be on his way to drop it off on his way back home.
Nice! You have those bib-mount turn signals!
- Thread starter
- #50
Yup! It's a bad quality photo but other than bits of the front end missing, you can see its in relatively good shape. I'm excited to get it back here and get it running
Any updates here?
- Thread starter
- #52
Actually, YES!
Due to circumstances, I had to put off going to get this until late October, but it is for sure this time and all possible circumstances to prevent it have been taken care of. I was able to get some more pics of the Pig showing the areas of the body needing attention and random other areas. I found out that it is a 3-speed manual gearbox with a column shifter. It has ALL of the original parts outside of the interior being reupholstered at some point. The dash is even without cracks. There are a few spots needing rust removal but overall, its in really great shape. Here are the pics that I just got a hold of. The last picture is of the drive train parts in the back of the LC. The Motor is in the next post as it wouldnt let me add all the pics at once
- Thread starter
- #53
Here is the picture of the motor. Wouldnt fit in the last post.
![photo [312578].webp](https://forum.ih8mud.com/attachments/photo-312578-webp.1131740/ "photo [312578].webp")
Wow... Your best bet (or it would be worth the most) will be to keep it original. That is a nice one!
- Thread starter
- #55
Yeah im going to stay as OE as possible. It will end up with a lift and bolt on bumpers etc. It will be a machine in could overland in. But I'm going to have all the original bits kept and enter some cars shows. I mean, when's the last time you saw one of these at a car show? Not often I'll bet
Awesome news that the period correct grill with marker lights is still with the vehicle.
Should clean up real nice.
Should clean up real nice.
- Thread starter
- #57
Update: The dates are set, November 2-8 will be the trip! We plan in doing some back country camping in Arizona at the Painted Desert. Will probably be hitting the ocean a pound La Jolla as well. I will be posting pics and updates along the way and definitely once we have the pig.
Sent from my Nexus 6
Sent from my Nexus 6
- Thread starter
- #58
Latest update: Well my November trip fell through. The buddy that was going with me and had the trailer was denied his time off request literally the day before we left. Considering that he had spent more than a few dollars getting geared up for some back-country camping, he was not pleased and neither was I.
All is not lost however! Shortly after receiving the news that I was not to be making the trip, I contacted a family member that was rumored to be going out to Cali for the winter and be driving back through my city on his way back. He had a trailer and is willing to drop it off. It does put a delay on the receipt of the vehicle as he won't be through until mid January. However, where there is a will there is a way. Once I get it back here, it will likely go under a tarp until February or March when the weather becomes more conducive to working on it outside.
Now some more positive updates! When I called to tell them I wouldn't be making it as planned, I received some news on the condition of different parts. One of them went ahead and put a wrench on the crank and it was not seized or stuck. I will likely be replacing piston rings for the sake of posterity but that's a huge load off my mind. Once the weather gets better, other than the motor, I will be focused on getting all the rubber replaced (weather stripping, door knob/light seals, glass seals etc). For now, the interior will be workable but I will likely have it reupholstered at some point. after its running smoothly and all the rubber is good, I will move to getting cosmetic things corrected like any body cancer and getting it painted and such. After it's running and while in process of doing the big things, I will also be doing things like suspension, bumpers, roof racks, and possibly a conversion from a 3 on the tree to a 4 on the floor. I will likely keep the 3spd column shift tho and if i plan on doing car shows, swap it back (girlfriends father owns a transmission shop so tranny work will be a breeze).
but that's how everything sits as of now. I apologize to everyone that I couldn't get pics and more story but I can't wait to start work on it and there will be plenty of updates once that starts.
All is not lost however! Shortly after receiving the news that I was not to be making the trip, I contacted a family member that was rumored to be going out to Cali for the winter and be driving back through my city on his way back. He had a trailer and is willing to drop it off. It does put a delay on the receipt of the vehicle as he won't be through until mid January. However, where there is a will there is a way. Once I get it back here, it will likely go under a tarp until February or March when the weather becomes more conducive to working on it outside.
Now some more positive updates! When I called to tell them I wouldn't be making it as planned, I received some news on the condition of different parts. One of them went ahead and put a wrench on the crank and it was not seized or stuck. I will likely be replacing piston rings for the sake of posterity but that's a huge load off my mind. Once the weather gets better, other than the motor, I will be focused on getting all the rubber replaced (weather stripping, door knob/light seals, glass seals etc). For now, the interior will be workable but I will likely have it reupholstered at some point. after its running smoothly and all the rubber is good, I will move to getting cosmetic things corrected like any body cancer and getting it painted and such. After it's running and while in process of doing the big things, I will also be doing things like suspension, bumpers, roof racks, and possibly a conversion from a 3 on the tree to a 4 on the floor. I will likely keep the 3spd column shift tho and if i plan on doing car shows, swap it back (girlfriends father owns a transmission shop so tranny work will be a breeze).
but that's how everything sits as of now. I apologize to everyone that I couldn't get pics and more story but I can't wait to start work on it and there will be plenty of updates once that starts.
Wow, this has been a long haul. I don't have that kind of patience. Good luck in January!
