New to FJ40 Scene

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FloridaLife said:
He got A LOT more was done over the weekend. The FJ40 is epoxy coated, and high build primer done on the outside, and sanding has begun.

Also done is the sandblasting of the pedals, steering column gear box, glove box and a few misc parts, finished cleaning up and welding all the panels put in, sandblasted the tub underneath and outside, sealed and finished up the epoxy and bedliner underneath, and had the glovebox and gas pedal powder coated the pewter color. He also adjusted the motor and trans mount as far to the driver side as it can go and got a 1/2” out of the tail section. At this point it's not changing.

The pedal assembly and some other parts will be done sometime this week in black.

This weekend he will be doing some rounds of sanding on the body.

More pics to come later, but for now here is the glove box door & gas pedal. I hope everyone had a great 4th of July!

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A couple more pics of the hard work. And yes, before anyone says anything, the driver's side door opening needs some more work from a PO repair. The gentleman working on this says he thinks he knows why the rust was so bad. He thinks it was originally a soft top, which wore out and was gone, plus lived somewhere where they salted the roads. He's only worked on 1 worse than mine (lucky me) and if I remember correctly he sourced a replacement body for it. He knows my situation, so he's doing everything he can to not spend my money like crazy, while delivering a safe, solid, and fun 40 that should still be solid and great for my son someday when I croak. That's "IF" I don't decide to be buried in it!

@cruisermatt - you asked if we were going to fill the un-used holes on the dash. I hadn't really thought about that until you mentioned it, but with the LS swap + A/C there will be some not used anymore. What do you do with your customers LS swaps? Fill the holes, or leave the dash original with some of the knobs just being dummy non-functioning knobs? I can see it either way, leave them for the stock look and to save some time & effort, or eliminate them and get a more clean look.

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FloridaLife said:
A couple more pics of the hard work. And yes, before anyone says anything, the driver's side door opening needs some more work from a PO repair. The gentleman working on this says he thinks he knows why the rust was so bad. He thinks it was originally a soft top, which wore out and was gone, plus lived somewhere where they salted the roads. He's only worked on 1 worse than mine (lucky me) and if I remember correctly he sourced a replacement body for it. He knows my situation, so he's doing everything he can to not spend my money like crazy, while delivering a safe, solid, and fun 40 that should still be solid and great for my son someday when I croak. That's "IF" I don't decide to be buried in it!

@cruisermatt - you asked if we were going to fill the un-used holes on the dash. I hadn't really thought about that until you mentioned it, but with the LS swap + A/C there will be some not used anymore. What do you do with your customers LS swaps? Fill the holes, or leave the dash original with some of the knobs just being dummy non-functioning knobs? I can see it either way, leave them for the stock look and to save some time & effort, or eliminate them and get a more clean look.

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I'd highly recommend deleting them, it's a much cleaner look in the end.
 
If you do want to leave 1 or 2, there are dash plugs that Toyota used to occupy that space. Maybe in the future you want a toggle switch for fog lamps or? And if you don’t get the Toyota ones a simple grommet plug would look fine
 
knuckle47 said:
If you do want to leave 1 or 2, there are dash plugs that Toyota used to occupy that space. Maybe in the future you want a toggle switch for fog lamps or? And if you don’t get the Toyota ones a simple grommet plug would look fine
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That's a good idea. I think if I remember correctly mine had 1 plug in 1 spot.

Thanks guys.
 
I run a SBC, so I don't know anything about running an LS or AC. I run a SBC, nv4500 and someday I may run a stk gm AC compressor for on board air using a serpentine belt set up. I use the 40's gauge cluster for oil and temp. I have no interest in an LS unless I was building another 40. I prefer a stock appearing dash. I had some chrome flush mount tire valve stems that I used to fill in a few spare stock holes. I still need to deal with the radio hole. My 40's outward appearance is stock looking except for lift, tires and crappy bucket seats. I do have a small obscure Chevy badge that indicates a V8 in the corner of the grill.
 
pb4ugo said:
I run a SBC, so I don't know anything about running an LS or AC. I run a SBC, nv4500 and someday I may run a stk gm AC compressor for on board air using a serpentine belt set up. I use the 40's gauge cluster for oil and temp. I have no interest in an LS unless I was building another 40. I prefer a stock appearing dash. I had some chrome flush mount tire valve stems that I used to fill in a few spare stock holes. I still need to deal with the radio hole. My 40's outward appearance is stock looking except for lift, tires and crappy bucket seats. I do have a small obscure Chevy badge that indicates a V8 in the corner of the grill.
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That's. Good idea on the flush valve stems for the holes. With my '34 Coupe I made sure that all the changes I made were bolt on, and could be reversed if a future owner ever wanted to put it back to stock, although I don't know why they would because my version was way better and they 100% would have built them that way in 1934 if they could.

I liked my SBC in my '69 SWB 1/2 ton fleet side, and it was easy to work on and to get to everything. But it seemed like I was always having to do something, and I didn't like the carb puking or leaking gas on the intake from time to time, or having to choke it & wait on cold days. Toyota has spanked everyone on reliability and low maintenance for a long time. That said, with the LS, GM got it right. The performance, reliability, and low maintenance. Everyone that I know, friends, family, and neighbors that have a vehicle with an LS absolutely love them (and some of them could tear up an anvil with a q-tip and don't do things like oil changes when they should). So I decided to give an LS a try. 😃
 
I understand the benefits of the LS, I just don't have the desire to swap out what I have. Maybe someday if one falls in my lap. I like the look of an old school sbc and it has good power. Fuel injection has always been on my list too, but it keeps getting pushed further down because it's never been a problem or priority, like getting lockers, tires and other fun stuff.
 
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pb4ugo said:
I understand the benefits of the LS, I just don't have the desire to swap out what I have. Maybe someday if one falls in my lap. I like the look of an old school sbc and it has good power. Fuel injection has always been on my list too, but it keeps getting pushed further down, because it's never been a problem or priorty, like lockers, tires of other fun stuff.
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I agree with you 100%. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." My uncle used to do some wild builds, all using a SBC. He built an XJ6 (if I remember correctly, that had a blown engine) Jaguar that looked completely bone stock, but hiding under the hood was a 327 solid lift with a cam and a 4 speed Corvette transmission, and that thing would FLY and rode & handled like a dream! I remember when we had all gathered for my grandmother's funeral, 2 of my cousins and I went for a drive and a mustang pulled up next to us at the light and started revving his engine with his friends laughing. My younger cousin was at the wheel and his older brother said "Charlie when that light turns green you better eat this guys lunch!" To which Charlie said "No, dad would kill me" and his older brother who was 6'6" with hands the size of sledge hammers slapped him in the back of the head and said "if you don't, I'll kill you first". The light turned green and Charlie nailed it so hard he was white smokin' the rear tires and Jeff (older brother) yelled "Well let up enough to get traction Charlie!" He did, and you should have seen the faces in the Mustang as we went by waiving and smiling. Uncle John sure new how to build a SBC. 😁😃😎
 
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Those v8 conversions in the Jags were great … so much better than the crap engine they came with … notoriously bad heads that warped as they were aluminum and blocks were cast iron

Worked on several stock engine jags and back then it was a death sentence when the head went bad

Loved how they drove … such a great car with such a bad engine and electrical system lol

Love the story … thanks for sharing !
 
Oh btw there are factory plugs that go in the non used holes … I have one on mine … always thought the plug was cool and didn’t have the heart to remove it to put something else lol

See plug between the lighter and darth Vader switch

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JohnnyC said:
Those v8 conversions in the Jags were great … so much better than the crap engine they came with … notoriously bad heads that warped as they were aluminum and blocks were cast iron

Worked on several stock engine jags and back then it was a death sentence when the head went bad

Loved how they drove … such a great car with such a bad engine and electrical system lol

Love the story … thanks for sharing !
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In terms of the electrical, I learned the saying (after owning a jag myself) the electrical system was by Lucas Electrical, and the saying I learned was "Lucas... The company that invented darkness."
 
You can often find steel (older fj40’s) and black plastic ones at a good hardware store or McMaster Carr that look very oem and are right sized or only slighty off and can be made to work
 
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