Hi All,
First post here!
Background: Last year I was able to purchase a 1972 FJ40. The same FJ40 I first learned to drive on as a teenager. It was my grandfather's ranch vehicle and it was abused / neglected for the past 30 years. Never been washed and serviced maybe a handful of times. While out in the field tending to some fences, the radiator fan broke and became unbalanced causing the water pump to break off the block. Gnarly damage and luckily nobody got hurt. The Blue Bucket, (FJ40) was towed back to the house with a backhoe (ranch stuff) so we are sure the engine didn't overheat.
What I was hoping to do is a full restoration. We towed the FJ down from Northern California to the Northern San Diego area. First time in a garage since the 80’s. Wife and I have been taking the thing apart as best we can so we can see how much rust damage is on the frame. There is a lot of mud caked on that looks like it has protected a lot of the underside of the frame. However, we have plenty of rust to repair.
About ready to pull the tub off the frame and get down to business. My plan was to work the restoration from the ground up. Before I commit to any big purchases I would love to get some advice.
One big thing I would love to do is drive the Blue Bucket back to the ranch and show my grandfather the FJ again. It's about 600miles north on i5 (70mph) using the 3 speed. I know these FJ’s are not intended to go fast, but is there an option to change gearing or transmission to get some better highway speeds? Make driving anywhere out of San Diego a little easier. I figure that I should invest and work on these items now while the body is off.
Things I am hoping to start with, please let me know if there are resources I should look into and or avoid.
Apologies if these items have already been discussed as I am sure they have over the years. I’ll keep doing searches in the forums too.
Cheers!
Todd
First post here!
Background: Last year I was able to purchase a 1972 FJ40. The same FJ40 I first learned to drive on as a teenager. It was my grandfather's ranch vehicle and it was abused / neglected for the past 30 years. Never been washed and serviced maybe a handful of times. While out in the field tending to some fences, the radiator fan broke and became unbalanced causing the water pump to break off the block. Gnarly damage and luckily nobody got hurt. The Blue Bucket, (FJ40) was towed back to the house with a backhoe (ranch stuff) so we are sure the engine didn't overheat.
What I was hoping to do is a full restoration. We towed the FJ down from Northern California to the Northern San Diego area. First time in a garage since the 80’s. Wife and I have been taking the thing apart as best we can so we can see how much rust damage is on the frame. There is a lot of mud caked on that looks like it has protected a lot of the underside of the frame. However, we have plenty of rust to repair.
About ready to pull the tub off the frame and get down to business. My plan was to work the restoration from the ground up. Before I commit to any big purchases I would love to get some advice.
One big thing I would love to do is drive the Blue Bucket back to the ranch and show my grandfather the FJ again. It's about 600miles north on i5 (70mph) using the 3 speed. I know these FJ’s are not intended to go fast, but is there an option to change gearing or transmission to get some better highway speeds? Make driving anywhere out of San Diego a little easier. I figure that I should invest and work on these items now while the body is off.
Things I am hoping to start with, please let me know if there are resources I should look into and or avoid.
- Third Member check / restoration
- Drum to Disk Conversion
- Worn Hub rebuild
- Transfer case upgrade?( what implications does this have to other transmission components)
- Rebuild 1F engine (upgrade to 2F?)
- Rebuild Tranny if not upgrading
Apologies if these items have already been discussed as I am sure they have over the years. I’ll keep doing searches in the forums too.
Cheers!
Todd