My New FJ40

[Mudbug81]

Thanks! Yeah don't get me wrong i am very happy to finally have it. I just don't have much experience doing body work but i guess this will be my chance to learn. For what i paid i'll learn to do body work. I got it for about half of what i see them listed for here in the states. That includes shipping and port fees.

It is a real eye catcher. When i had it on the trailer pulling it home about 5 people gave me the the thumbs up as they passed me.

 

[71AZFJ]

You got a nice rig , for the price you paid. look on e-bay and see what some people are asking for something nowhere near your condition.

 

[bsmith123]

nice

It looks pretty good though I too have seen many interpretations of no rust

if you scrap that bumper you should have enough to pay for the resto work

 

[Mudbug81]

@71AZFJ - I know. I was just a bit surprised to see the amount of rust that is there. Not to mention the rust that has been poorly covered with bondo. And now the rust is pushing the bondo up. I'm really not complaining to much, I mainly wanted people to be aware of chrisman61 's selling technics.

@bsmith - Yeah their is a lot of steel in that bumper. Maybe between the bumper and all the parts from my 78 I'll be able to start my restoration.

I noticed i've got what seems to be some sort of custom cruise control. It is a choke pull cable mounted below and to the right of the steering wheel. When you pull it the accelerator moves. Is this something someone added or is it some more of the NZ oddities?

 

[bsmith123]

hand throttle

Specter Off-Road Land Cruiser Parts - Page 042 Carburetion

probably the hand throttle some came stock with them

 

[Mudbug81]

Does it look like this plate has been modified. It looks to me like the 1st and 2nd line have been stamped over. What do yall think?

 

[Mudbug81]

Well, today i'm pretty upset. I called my local tag and title office 4 times over the 3 months i was waiting for the FJ40 to get here. They told me the same thing every time i called, " bring the title, bill of sale, proof of insurance and a sign affidavit verifying the VIN number". Well i go down to the office with all my paperwork. When i got there this morning they looked at the NZ title like it was written in a foreign language. The girl at the counter says " I'll have to look into this for you". So i go back and sit down for another 30 minutes, I waited almost an hour to get there in the first place. So she finally calls me back to the counter and tells me that no one in the office knows what to do with it. ???? At this point i have to remind her that i bought it with every intention of driving it, It is not going to be a yard ornament. So she goes back to her manager and they called Tallahassee, FL ( i guess that is the brains of the operation). Tallahassee tells them that the vehicle and all the documents need to go to Pensacola, FL to the DMV their. Then the vehicle would be looked at there to have the VIN verified. I call Pensacola DMV the only opening they have this month is tomorrow morning. I then rush home to make sure i can get it on the trailer before dark. I go to drive up the ramps for the trailer and not one but both of the ramps broke. Low lock and climb the trailer i did dragging the under body most of the way.:whoops: She on the trailer ready to leave out in the morning. I sure hope there are no more surprises. Time for a

 

[R2HKS]

Never believe a Landcruiser has no rust, unfortunately that was your 1st mistake.

You can see from your 1st pics it has rust around the windscreen and a heap of bog/bondo in the right rear corner. Underneath the barn doors its painted black which to me is a giveaway the rear sill has been repaired at some stage and probably only with bog/bondo. Stick your head up under the rear corners and atleast the ends of the rear sill will have rusted away but the whole rear sill has probably rusted out.

It still looks to be in better condition than most cruisers so I think you still have a good buy but you won't be able to tell until its stripped back because it looks like the PO has a bog/bondo fetish. Put it this way, my cruiser has looked better than that but I know its full of bog and from pics you wouldn't be able to tell but the bog stood out like dogs balls in those pics.

Good luck with the bodywork.

 

[Mudbug81]

Never believe a Landcruiser has no rust, unfortunately that was your 1st mistake.

You can see from your 1st pics it has rust around the windscreen and a heap of bog/bondo in the right rear corner. Underneath the barn doors its painted black which to me is a giveaway the rear sill has been repaired at some stage and probably only with bog/bondo. Stick your head up under the rear corners and atleast the ends of the rear sill will have rusted away but the whole rear sill has probably rusted out.

It still looks to be in better condition than most cruisers so I think you still have a good buy but you won't be able to tell until its stripped back because it looks like the PO has a bog/bondo fetish. Put it this way, my cruiser has looked better than that but I know its full of bog and from pics you wouldn't be able to tell but the bog stood out like dogs balls in those pics.

Good luck with the bodywork.

Thanks for your interest! But if you read closer i never expected a 28 year old vehicle to be rust free. I did see the spots of rust you speak of under the windscreen, right rear corner and on the right side by the gas fill. I expected that.

I'll say it again "Don't get me wrong i knew on a vehicle this old that there would be some rust but this is a more then i was lead to believe."

 

[bsmith123]

The ZEN cruiser

Frustrating dealing with the red tape

But remember tomorrow put on your patient face and be nice to the man with the pen, eh?

good luck with it

 

[landcruisers4ever]

hey Tim, I thought I recognized your avatar. Thats one hell of a Cruiser for one hell of a price, I look forward to seeing it in person. Let me know if you need help with anything,

Garett (from Pcola4x4)

 

[Dirtyredsoxhat]

Yeah man the red tape does blow! Good luck with it and def let us know what happens.

Im a bit worried I might eventually go through the same thing when I bring mine home to Cali. With the strictest emission laws in the union I'm wondering if I wont have to do a heap of work to it before I can get it registered and road legal. I think I did read somewhere though that a vehicle this old only has to meet the emission requirments that were in place during its year of manufacture, in this case 1976. And, in '76 the standards were so lax in Cali that I could pretty much drive a coal powered vehicle and still get it certified!

Anyways, hopefully learning from your trials and tribulations will make my eventual importation easy peasy! Thanks for doing the dirty work for me!

 

[Mudbug81]

Importation Complete

Well today went very well. I was in Pensacola this morning at 8am. I had to first go to then Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. This was a breeze only because the lady working there was not flexible enough to climb up on the trailer to view the Identification Plate. She had me read the VIN number out to her. From there I made my way to the Escambia County Tax Collectors Office. As Soon as they opened at 8:30 I was in the door. I sit down and the guy helping me was surprised at the amount of documents i had for the vehicle. But he was not sure what need to be done to get a Florida title. At about 9:30am he says to me that we are almost done. At 10:30am he tells me I'm missing a document. Apparently when bringing a vehicle into the country for the first time they do not go by the purchase price on the bill of sale. I had to drive around to some car dealerships to get someone to write up an appraisal of the " Fair Market Price ". After my 3rd dealership i found one that was willing to help. By the way if your in need of a Ford go see Bob at World Ford on Hwy 29 in Pensacola. He wrote up the appraisal for $300.00 on company letterhead. When i got back to the Tax Collector around 11:15 I learned the the appraisal is what they figure the 6% sales tax on. That saved me a lot of money. And by 12:30 I walked out the door with my new title and my temporary tag till my personalized tag comes in, WRNG WAY . I got home put the tag on and gave her some good, high priced America fuel and off i went. It truly does drive like a tank and first gear is so low i don't think i'll ever need it till i go off road.

Oh yeah, a little side note. If your taller then 6' it is a little bit tough getting behind the steering wheel with the stock NZ seats. I sense a mod in my near future.

It was worth all the pain and suffering!

IMPORTATION IS COMPLETE

 

[bsmith123]

Good news

Way to go! Glad to hear it

I like the plate

Since it was appraised at $300 I'll double that and take it off your hands

I believe the first gear on the foreign models was lower than the USA models

 

[Mudbug81]

Way to go! Glad to hear it

I like the plate

Since it was appraised at $300 I'll double that and take it off your hands

I believe the first gear on the foreign models was lower than the USA models

Thanks, It took me awhile to come up with something for the plate.

Yeah i didn't ask them to make it that low he said that would be the most he'd give me if i were to use it as a trade-in. Like I would trade a Toyota for a Ford, yeah right.

I almost gave my self whiplash when i down shifted

 

[Dirtyredsoxhat]

Sweet man! Glad it all worked out for ya!

Guess the whole "the driver sits closest to the center of the road" thing wont work for you now. Cant wait to hear about the funny looks you'll be getting when people pull alongside ya!

Should be some good times ahead!

 

[Mudbug81]

hey Tim, I thought I recognized your avatar. Thats one hell of a Cruiser for one hell of a price, I look forward to seeing it in person. Let me know if you need help with anything,

Garett (from Pcola4x4)

Thanks Garett. I will be bringing it to the meeting this weekend.

 

[Mudbug81]

BODY WORK

I've been working on the body for about 2 week know and this is how it's going, not to bad considering i have never done body work before. I have had a little bit of help though. Next up will be swapping the front axle. Then it will be time for paint.

FRONT LEFT FENDER
Before-

Middle-

Middle-

After-

FRONT RIGHT FENDER
Before-

Middle-

Middle-

After-

REAR CORNERS
Before-

After-

RHINO
I took WRNGWAY into Restylers on Racetrack Road in Ft. Walton Bch. on August 20 and they had it done that day.

 

[Mudbug81]

Now I have started breaking down the front axle from my 1978 FJ40 to rebuild it. And i'll start by saying it is a messy pain in the a$$. Keep in mind this is my first experience with any axle work

I few things i learned as i went:
#1- Loosen every bolt and nut before separating the axle from the truck. It makes it ten times harder to get everything loose when your having to chase the axle around the shop. (that was before i found an extra set of jack stands)
#2- invest in some elbow high industrial rudder glove and some disposable tools. I spent more time trying to clean the tools up then it took me to take the axle apart.
#3- Spray everything with liquid wrench a day ahead of time.
#4- Have a BFH (Big F'ing Hammer) because nothing will give up without a fight.

Now for some pictures.

 

[Buzzard]

Congrats on the new FJ! I bought mine on eBay from CA. had it shipped to OH, and am making a list of the things I want to do to it.....mostly just conveniences, as it runs like a top!
Keep us posted on your rig!