New to me 40th AE Refresh Build

[Mamba28]

Hey Gang,

I'm thrilled to share some good progress I've made on my 97 40 AE. I purchased the truck from a dealer in Colorado back in February with 284k on the clock. I had it shipped to me in San Francisco after reviewing a few pics and paying the dealer his asking price. I've been looking for one for a while and figured it's time to take the plunge. This was my dream car in high school and it was finally to be mine. The truck arrived about a week after wiring the cash and I expected some cosmetic work etc but it really needed some love. So much that I've actually only driven the car 3 times since delivery as she's been in the shop since 3/1/21. I live in downtown San Fran so working on the rig isn't an option as my building doesn't permit any work whatsoever. So I've had to work with several shops for the paint, mechanical, upholstery etc.

This will be daily/weekend cruiser that will not see any "real" off-road duty. More of a leisure wagon and I hope to keep her for life. Ultimately, I want this to look/feel like it just rolled out the local Toyota dealer in 1997.

Paint and Body: The body was largely rust free but plenty of dings/dents and of course the faded paint/clear. The frame has some minor surface rust but nothing that can't be cleaned.. More importantly the inner fenders (front L + R and the Right Rear) had some rust that needed to be cut out and new metal put in place. I was a little concerned about this but the body shop walked me through repairs and they were familiar with how to fix it. I was looking for a showroom finish and got the whole rig sanded/sprayed etc. Came out very slick and in factory Antique Sage color.

- New belt OEM belt mouldings all around
- New OEM rear windshield moulding (Not installed yet)
- New OEM front bumper and bumper extensions
- New OEM front Right Turn signal / Left front OEM not available so I sourced a DEPO light. Looks as good as OEM.
- Shaky mirrors fixed with new brackets

Interior: As expected, the interior was really bad after 25 years and nearly 300k miles... So:
- New ACC molded carpet with mass backing
- New front Landcruiser Heaven full leather + Seat bottom cushions + Heated Seat Option
- New Burlwood kit for the dash
- New Leather steering wheel (cruiser parts) - Turned out really sweet
- New alcantara/suede headliner and pillars (Getting done this week and will post pics once completed)
- New Genuine shifter knob
- Full ceramic window tint- It keeps the cabin cool and makes a huge difference for comfort. I had this on my old daily and made a massive difference in comfort.
- Second skin sound deadener- Damplifier PRO and Luxury Liner Pro MLV for the floors
- Dynamat for all the doors
- Dynaliner for the doors and roof

Mechanical: Plenty!
- New front wheel bearings
- All fluids flushed
- New OEM radiator
- New OEM Power Steering Pump
- New OEM Shocks
- New Hoses
- New OEM Thermostat
- PO had plugs, wires, alternator, starter, dizzy, battery, rotors/pads and more done in late 2019. Solid service records. HG was done long ago but I'm working on getting a full motor rebuild done now so no sense in wasting cash on HG today. Based on dialogue with builder it looks like a 6 month timeline to rebuild a new full OEM motor and install it. The rig runs great but I want peace of mind and another 285k miles.
- New OEM Exhaust system

Audio: This is where I leave the OEM behind- ALL of this will get installed once upholstery is completed
- Kenwood 9707 head unit 7" with wireless Applecar Play
- Kenwood CMOS 230 Back-up camera
- Kenwood DRV-N 520 dash cam
- JL Audio XD7005v2 5 Channel Amplifier
- JL Audio 10TW3-D4 shallow sub
- Color matched Z Enclosures down-firing sub box
- Kicker 47 KSS6504 Component 6.5 front speakers
- Kicker 47KSC6504 rear door speakers
- Kicker 47KSC404 dash speakers

Miscellaneous:
- Landtank Seat Extensions- WORTH EVERY PENNY
- New OEM hood liner

NEXT:
- Factory Michelin tires
- Wheel refurbishment (Found a local shop)
- Ceramic coating the paint

I'm sure I'm missing plenty but it's been a busy 2 months and I look forward to having her back in ~3 weeks all done with Interior and Audio. Looking forward to enjoying a "fresh" cruiser.

Enjoy a few pics - What she looked like at delivery vs now is a major change. Lot's of time, energy, and funds to get her this far. Still lots to do, God willing!

 

[Mamba28]

Body Work

 

[Mamba28]

A couple of "after" shots

 

[Mamba28]

A few more

 

[jfz80]

Congrats on the purchase.
Progress is looking great!

 

[FMC80]

Holy hell, you didn’t waste any time! Do you have more “before” shots of the interior? It’s awesome seeing the transformation.
Welcome to the fold, great to have you.

 

[Mamba28]

Congrats on the purchase.
Progress is looking great!

Thanks! Super happy with the turnout so far.

 

[Mamba28]

Holy hell, you didn’t waste any time! Do you have more “before” shots of the interior? It’s awesome seeing the transformation.
Welcome to the fold, great to have you.

Sadly I was super tight on time between picking up from body shop to mechanical shop, to then upholstery shop (all back-to-back) so I completely forgot to take current photos. These are from the sale ad and hide a lot of the typical carnage on driver seat. Foams were super hard and leather was ripped in multiple places. Steering wheel made a massive difference in feel and drive comfort.

The back seats were in great shape (Both 2nd and 3rd row) so I'm just having them cleaned/conditioned. Down the line once the motor is sorted I may upgrade these to LCH set as well should they not match 100%.

 

[FMC80]

Looks to be in great shape, especially for a 25yo truck.

 

[RKTINC]

Wow! truck looks great! Look forward to your interior work and the finished product.

 

[Mamba28]

Wow! truck looks great! Look forward to your interior work and the finished product.

Thanks so much!

 

[RKTINC]

Thanks so much!

Good luck with that dash kit. My experience is that they are NOT an exact science. My ebay sourced kit matched perfectly meaning it was the exact color/burl, and terrible fit. Thankfully I only replaced the parts that needed to be replaced. If I had done the entire kit I may have lost my mind. My OCD had to be turned off. Turned out great, you just have to tell yourself they were like this OEM as well. The center clock/airvent was particularly a challenge.

 

[Mamba28]

Good luck with that dash kit. My experience is that they are NOT an exact science. My ebay sourced kit matched perfectly meaning it was the exact color/burl, and terrible fit. Thankfully I only replaced the parts that needed to be replaced. If I had done the entire kit I may have lost my mind. My OCD had to be turned off. Turned out great, you just have to tell yourself they were like this OEM as well. The center clock/airvent was particularly a challenge.

Good luck with that dash kit. My experience is that they are NOT an exact science. My ebay sourced kit matched perfectly meaning it was the exact color/burl, and terrible fit. Thankfully I only replaced the parts that needed to be replaced. If I had done the entire kit I may have lost my mind. My OCD had to be turned off. Turned out great, you just have to tell yourself they were like this OEM as well. The center clock/airvent was particularly a challenge.

That’s healthy perspective and I’m going to have to shut off the OCD as well. Getting the old stuff off was tedious but semi-successful. I got my kit on Amazon I believe but it was 2.5 months ago so I could be mistaken. Here’s a pic:

 

[RKTINC]

That looks like the "large" burl. Very nice kit. It may fit better. Still not sure if these things are plastic or real wood. I think the secret was only known by Elvis and Jimmy Hoffa.

 

[Mamba28]

That looks like the "large" burl. Very nice kit. It may fit better. Still not sure if these things are plastic or real wood. I think the secret was only known by Elvis and Jimmy Hoffa.

Haha! Honestly, they feel a little rubbery but for only a few hundred dollars they’ll do just fine. The original stuff wasn’t much better. Kind of cheesy but I love it- very 90’s.

 

[RKTINC]

I think we may be approaching Citadel levels here...

 

[Mamba28]

I think we may be approaching Citadel levels here...

It’s an obsession

 

[G-Cat]

Since you aren’t staying 100% OEM, why not have Slee put a Toyota 2UZ V8 in it? Probably not a lot more than your rebuild, much more drivable and arguably easier to sell at a high margine should you ever have to.

I owned a 97 ASP 40th...loved it. If I could have put a Toyota V8 in it, I’d have never moved to the 100 Series.

 

[2000cruiser]

@Mamba28 - great looking rig! Can you provide any details around the type of paint job you went with and the rough cost? Need to do the same to mine soon.

 

[RKTINC]

Have you researched windshield replacement. OEM option seems to be gone. I am considering calling one of the large Toyota Dealer Body shops to see if the have any old guys who can do it right and not screw up my truck.