My First FJ40 My Introduction (1 Viewer)

[MatthewMcD]

Howdy! I am excited to be joining this great community. My entry is a 1975 FJ40. She's been sitting under an oak tree for the past 5 years, which helped prevent sun damage, but left her with a lot of moss growing on the roof.

VIN/Frame: FJ40-200897 (May 1975)
Engine: F-258321

She runs and, after giving her a bath today, has a great body. There are some rust bubbles at the bottoms of the doors, but the body is otherwise in great shape. One front fender has some odd texture to the paint.

I plan to clean out the interior tomorrow, so she'll have the day to dry out before I start to plan for the future. I do know the seats are very likely toast.

I want to take care of some of the initial condition issues. I removed all the moss and the roof is pealing but doesn't have any pin holes. I have seen plenty of "replacement" videos but I am wondering if I can sand it down and refinish the roof without removing it. I used to work on fiberglass boats and the top looks similar.

The engine is an F with some elements of the 2F. It needs a tune up and some carb work. The air filter connection at the carb is a janky rubber hose that fits into the air filter without any metal support. I need to look at more photos to see if there are parts missing.

The fuel tank leaks a bit, but after looking at the underside, it may be a drain plug gasket. All of the rubber from the hoses to the door seals to the windshield wipers needs to be replaced. Though the window seals appear to be in good shape.

Are there better options than the Haynes Repair Manuals for guidance?

Also, I don't want to start a holy war, but based on the bumper I have, what winch would folks recommend? (Or should I start a new thread for that?)

I have been a lurker here for a few months and am looking forward to consuming and contributing as I go.

Thanks in advance!

Matt

 

[fjc-man]

Congratulations, the poor fit between the air cleaner and carb is because that’s not the right carburetor for that motor. I think that’s an earlier engine than a 75 would have had for that matter.

 

[MatthewMcD]

Congratulations, the poor fit between the air cleaner and carb is because that’s not the right carburetor for that motor. I think that’s an earlier engine than a 75 would have had for that matter.

Thanks, interesting, looking at SOR the engine number is lower than the earliest entry.

 

[brian]

Congratulations, the poor fit between the air cleaner and carb is because that’s not the right carburetor for that motor. I think that’s an earlier engine than a 75 would have had for that matter.

Absolutely ...75 would be the first year for the 2F.

 

[Wasatch Jay]

Congratulations Matt, and welcome!

 

[igotta40]

Welcome! That’s a classic color. You are correct, the roof is fiberglass. And clearly, someone transplanted an early motor into it, from the pictures it might be a 70-72 motor, maybe even earlier. Is it a 4 speed? It should be.

 

[Green Bean]

Congrats. Looks like a great survivor.

 

[MatthewMcD]

Absolutely ...75 would be the first year for the 2F.

I have heard that there was a time that they were transitioning to new elements of the model. That during 75 some things on the 2F showed up on the F like the modern oil filter.

 

[brian]

I have heard that there was a time that they were transitioning to new elements of the model. That during 75 some things on the 2F showed up on the F like the modern oil filter.

That is not correct. The 2F showed up in jan of 75, with the 75 model year.
Its one of the reasons that the 75 model year only started in jan of 75, instead of sept of 74 as was typical of most model years.

 

[sogncab]

I wonder what caused the paint to fail on the fender like that?

 

[igotta40]

I have heard that there was a time that they were transitioning to new elements of the model. That during 75 some things on the 2F showed up on the F like the modern oil filter.

You are correct. My 1974 came with a F engine (3.9 liter) with the 2F oil filter. Feb 1974 build date. But a 1975 should have a 2F engine, 4.2 liter.

 

[essco1503]

Welcome to the fold. Just remember, as they say on Donut, cars are pain lol. Seriously though these things are pretty sweet I have two of them but diesels and they just work.

 

[MatthewMcD]

Welcome! That’s a classic color. You are correct, the roof is fiberglass. And clearly, someone transplanted an early motor into it, from the pictures it might be a 70-72 motor, maybe even earlier. Is it a 4 speed? It should be.

It is a 4 speed. I cleaned up the interior today and it came back nicely. I'll need new seats eventually and I have a lot of seat bolts to soak loose. Overall I am pretty happy with it. Before I go much further I want to get the Engine running a bit better.

 

[MatthewMcD]

I wonder what caused the paint to fail on the fender like that?

I am wondering too. It's only on the one fender and a bit on the side. It doesn't look like it got sprayed, so I don't know why the one fender would fail.

 

[fjc-man]

Maybe that fender had a run in with some spilled brake fluid at some point in its life?

 

[MatthewMcD]

Maybe that fender had a run in with some spilled brake fluid at some point in its life?

I would not be surprised. I'll try some restoration tricks, but I think i'll need a full refinish.

 

[brian]

Maybe that fender had a run in with some spilled brake fluid at some point in its life?

that will just take the paint off to bare metal....in no time flat

 

[fjc-man]

Depends how quickly/soon you rinse it off with water.

 

[dmaddox]

I would not be surprised. I'll try some restoration tricks, but I think i'll need a full refinish.

Careful going down that path, it’s a very deep, scary and costly rabbit hole.

Humor aside, welcome!! Looks like you have a sweet cruiser! Easy to whip into shape. Keep us posted on the progress and have fun!

 

[Dianna]

Welcome to the madness! You came to the right place, tons of knowledge here and lot of helpful people.
"The fuel tank leaks a bit, but after looking at the underside, it may be a drain plug gasket." Your fuel tank is most likely rusty and has a lot of pinholes. I used a POR15 fuel tank repair kit on mine 20 years ago and it's still holding up! You will most likely find some ammo when you pull your tank, lol, along with a lot of gunk that tends to collect under the tank causing the rust.

"All of the rubber from the hoses to the door seals to the windshield wipers needs to be replaced" Not surprised, you might be able to bring back some of the seals by soaking them in 303 protectant, Meguiars protectant, some people swear by ATF and some use heated water and wintergreen oil to restore rubber. Some replacement parts are expensive or Ubotanium so you might want to try to save what you can.

"Are there better options than the Haynes Repair Manuals for guidance?" Yes, the factory service manual. I'm pretty sure the links that were posted here were removed by toyota, but you might be able to still find some online. There are always some for sale on Ebay however.

"Also, I don't want to start a holy war, but based on the bumper I have, what winch would folks recommend?" Lots of people love the Badlands winch from Harbor Freight. You didn't really show a decent pic of the bumper, but it looks like it was constructed to move a herd of buffalo.

Rather than try to figure out what the heck is going on with that motor, carb, ignition system, etc. I think you would be better off yanking it and shoving in a newer 2f with the carb, ignitor, and all other "bolt on's" still attached. The license plate bolted onto the exhaust manifold pushed me over the edge, lol. Before you do that though, I'd change all the fluids and just drive the crap out of it. I think half the 40's that get torn apart never see the road again!

Good luck, keep us updated!!!