Newbie..my '66 FJ40

[neatname]

I hope this is being post in the correct section, if it isn't I'll gladly delete and repost in the proper area...

I've always wanted an FJ40, I just have never been in the position to buy..till the other day. I picked up this pile..drove it home about 30 miles!

The previous owner jacked up the roof, so that will be my first project.

I got the dogs approval as soon as I brought it home.

 

[toomanytoyzz]

Really nice score!! What's your plans....resto, modify or a bit of both?? Either way it looks like you have a nice starting point. Did you get any history on it? Looks like it's been looked after for almost 50 years.

 

[78fj40mg]

Cool man, what's your plan for this 40?

 

[Hogan]

Welcome to Mud, nice score. It looks like a nice start

 

[BretwithoneT]

Nice find! '66 was a really good year, at least I think so. Great looking vehicle.

 

[Pistorman]

You are definitely in the right place! What a NICE car to restore! You will be surprised as to how much nicer its going to look after you address the rust issues and repaint. In my restore, my car was probably worse than yours when I began and the results are awesome. You'll find a lot of advice here. My advice is map out your plans for the car and do one by one. Avoid buying parts before you know what you really need. You will find a lot in the classifieds in this forum and there are four to five reasonably trustworthy vendors specialized in FJ40s with about a good ten service providers. Restoring the car isn't cheap or expensive, what is expensive is wasting on errors, redos, parts that don't work out, etc., so in my experience is don't be in a hurry, the car will progress under its own terms. Read the technical write ups, the faq, Coolerman's go throughs. See Destin's resto thread. Best of luck!

 

[cruiserjunkie]

Nice love the early cruisers maybe one day ill find one of my own

 

[hairy_apple]

The dog's approval is the second most important approval!

Nice looking cruiser. I really like the early ones.

 

[neatname]

Really nice score!! What's your plans....resto, modify or a bit of both?? Either way it looks like you have a nice starting point. Did you get any history on it? Looks like it's been looked after for almost 50 years.

The history of the truck is pretty cool. A farmer out here in Eastern WA bought it, had it for a number of years and traded it to another farmer for a cow or something...the 2nd farmer gave it to his son (who mounted that huge plate with initials on the front end).

The son sold it to the guy who I bought it from, it had a short life over on the west side of WA near Seattle..where he claims the rust on the rear sill was born. He owned it since 1997 and had the motor, clutch, brakes, new tires, wheels, done and he parked it inside for the most part. He told me he would drive it around his property as a work truck.

I've have owned a couple older cars and knowing the history is great to know, so it was cool to learn the history of this FJ.

My plans...shoot..resto/mod have fun with it. There are a couple things I need to do sooner than later like the exhaust.

I have created a list of things I need to buy, but none are that big of a deal. The FJ will let me know which direction I need to go with it.


I'll post some proper photos of it tomorrow.

Thanks for the welcome to the board, it's great to have a vault full of knowledge!

Z

 

[Chamba]

Nice rig. The '66 was nice because it had thicker sheet metal - that's why they tended to last a bit longer before the rust demons got to them and you will find it a bit easier to weld patches into without oil-canning it.

Welcome to Cruisers. Do you know about teh Toyota Land Cruiser Association? www.tlca.org. It's great to get a real magazine dedicated to Cruisers every other month.

Josh

 

[My wife said no FJ!]

Check your vin...looks like it might be a '65...

As for resto/mod...and this is only my opinion, you might want to look for a newer 40 to resto mod...and here's why;

The older 40's had the older, weaker ball and claw axles, for which parts are getting harder and harder to find. It has drum brakes all around on a single circuit master, with a 3 speed tranny, and if still stock, the older/weaker F135...which unfortunately most guys will just remove and dump for a newer 2F or dare I say...350. If this is what you want, I bet you can find a 40 with those mods, for a whole lot less than what it will cost you to swap all this stuff out on yours. Your best bet for a rest mod would be a '75 and newer 40.

Also, since I am a purist, I should note that if this rig is still all stock and original, then it would be a shame to take apart a rig that has lasted this many years. As the years go by, less of these older stock rigs will be around....and I think it has more "value" as a stock older rig, than one with mods. If mods are still what you want, then if it were me, I would look at selling it to someone who appreciates the older rigs, and take that money to buy a newer rig to mod.

This is your rig to enjoy as you want, and you are the only one who decides what you will do with it, but I figured I'd just give a different perspective to think about

 

[Pistorman]

X2 its your car, but, please don't mod the car. The early ones are better for close to stock restoration. They are valued way more that way, different story for the newer ones. You can be losing a lot of value if you mod it heavily, and you'll get less of enjoyment if you really want to do that on an early model due to many different technical issues, than if you do it in a newer FJ40. My opinion, but its your car

 

[Chamba]

Check your vin...looks like it might be a '65...

As for resto/mod...and this is only my opinion, you might want to look for a newer 40 to resto mod...and here's why;

The older 40's had the older, weaker ball and claw axles, for which parts are getting harder and harder to find. It has drum brakes all around on a single circuit master, with a 3 speed tranny, and if still stock, the older/weaker F135...which unfortunately most guys will just remove and dump for a newer 2F or dare I say...350. If this is what you want, I bet you can find a 40 with those mods, for a whole lot less than what it will cost you to swap all this stuff out on yours. Your best bet for a rest mod would be a '75 and newer 40.

Bear in mind that front disc brakes did not come out in the US until '76, so if that is one of the features you want, look for a '76 - '83.

Me? I like the '81 - '84 40 series for a daily driver as the 2F is stronger, they have disc brakes, power steering as an option, split case, bigger spring eyes, 5 speed option overseas, etc.

However, I LOVE the older 40s for pure looks and cool-factor.

Josh

 

[Pistorman]

You can (I did), disc brakes (you can even add power brakes), and you will enjoy driving it a lot more in my opinion. And it can still be a close to stock resto.

 

[neatname]

Really, all I want to do is work out all the bugs and drive it. As far as mods..functional stuff, electrics, dizzy, just make it all work proper.

I don't have the time or money to get crazy like some of you folks out there, I do respect it but I suppose I'm more of a purist sort of guy.

Thanks for the feedback!

Z

 

[My wife said no FJ!]

Really, all I want to do is work out all the bugs and drive it. As far as mods..functional stuff, electrics, dizzy, just make it all work proper.

I don't have the time or money to get crazy like some of you folks out there, I do respect it but I suppose I'm more of a purist sort of guy.

Thanks for the feedback!

Z

No worries...while I don't mind seeing rigs with mods, I am deep down just a purist. Don't underestimate a stock 40...I bet that with a little effort, you can get her working very nicely...still in stock configuration. Remember, it has lasted this long

Did you check your vin number? That windshield is from a '65 and older 40. If I could see the heater air intake on the front passenger cowl, it would help date your 40...if it has an intake cover with a diagonal grill, then it will be a '65...which was probably sold and titled in '66

 

[neatname]

Did you check your vin number? That windshield is from a '65 and older 40. If I could see the heater air intake on the front passenger cowl, it would help date your 40...if it has an intake cover with a diagonal grill, then it will be a '65...which was probably sold and titled in '66 [/QUOTE]



I did check VIN, from what I understand it is a '65.

 

[My wife said no FJ!]

Very interesting...

That windshield with the lower vent came on '65 and older 40s...with a corrugated top. The interesting part is that it was in mid '65 that the corrugated top ended, and this model of top started (with the rear corner glass) so my question is...was this one of the last 40s with this old style windshield, and they ran out of the older corrugated top, and started with this newer style top...or was the top simply changed at some point in the last 45 years +

Is your frame anywhere near 35340? This would be mid year '65, and about when the 40 changed from corrugated top, to the newer style top and windshield, and to doors with wing windows...the corrugated tops had doors with bug catcher windows.

If you did not know what a corrugate top was, here are a couple of pics of Landpimp's '65. Notice the diagonal grill on the heater air intake on the front passenger side of the cowl, and the rear bifold door with the smaller top window.

 

[neatname]

My vin # is right around there, I emailed the previous owner and he told me that the "son" who owned it replaced the top with a newer model..so that is why I have the corner windows..



My dash..

 

[Nothinghead]

This is interesting. My '66 fj40 with corrugated top (which I assumed was not original) and windshield vent is more likely a '65 or earlier cruiser, too. And, my top is possibly original.

Sorry for the hijack.

VIN is 33565.