Oh the humanity! My 74s journey back to drivable (1 Viewer)

[redeyeracing]

Lurked on Ih8mud for a long time. Been a long time Toyota lover and own 3 others but all newer stuff. I bought this rig for my wife's company to plow with almost 8 years ago. They were just starting out and didn't have the $ to buy a real plow rig. My plan was to always take it over and rebuild it. About 5 years ago they bought a new plow set up and I brought the rig to my yard and started dreaming of the day I could start working on it.

Now after 5 years, I finally have the time, resources and shop in my backyard set up to start the process.

It is a 1974 FJ40 built in 12/73. Somewhere along the line someone swapped a Chevy 350 under the hood and (what I believe is) Turbo 400 Auto transition into it. Someone also decided (much to my dismay) to spray paint the entire thing with white, including bumpers, wheels, and anything else they found they could paint. The interior was done in late 70's orange shag carpet, that they decided to use all the industrial glue they could possibly find to glue said shag carpet down. My goal is to get the body metal back to a respectable condition by doing the work myself by patching and buying panels. Once I get that done, I will work on the suspension and drive train, and hopefully will then work on getting the interior and other pieces put together. When I picked it up 8 years ago it looked like this......


I have started tearing it down and will give pics and commentary along the way. The really interesting thing is that I don't think the top or doors have ever been off when i pulled them off.

 

[redeyeracing]

Unfortunately it looks a lot better above than up close.

 

[cbmontgo]

Nice save. Will look forward to following.

That shag carpet reminds me of a 1970s Toyota Galavan that we had in college, a.k.a. The Poon Wagon. Wish I could find that rig again.

 

[Pierps]

Remember, it's the journey, not the destination. It's marathon, not a sprint. Etc etc.

You have a lot of work ahead of you there, but all of it seems doable.

Good luck!

 

[togntime1]

I too have a 12/73 that I'm rebuilding. Good luck!

 

[badsamaritan]

I also have a 12/73 that I am slowing piecing back together. Good Luck!

 

[redeyeracing]

Tear down has started. Top off, doors off, interior out, roll bar off, front bumper, and rear doors off. Started stripping to find what I'm looking at under the spray paint. Fixed a short in the ignition so at least I can move it easier.

 

[archie73]

Those pics bring back a lot of memories. I bit the bullet and went aqualu. Whatever you do it’s an adventure.

 

[cbmontgo]

What are your plans for the tub?

 

[redeyeracing]

Still trying to decide if I rebuild by pieces or order a 1/2 tub. Leaning towards a 1/2 tub. Not totally convinced I want aluminum even though it would be more cost effective? Thoughts?

 

[archie73]

I like the aluminum. Easy and tough, but not right for purists. In a day I decreased my squeaks and rattles to a minimum and had a safer rig in the process. The purists will point out the lack of ribs and some other details, for me I’m pretty far from stock anyways.

 

[Pierps]

I would 110% recommend an aqualu 3/4 tub in your situation. You already have a SBC and auto trans, so your rig will never be numbers-matching original again. You have a lot of rot there, so you will struggle with panel alignment and door gaps because you don't have a good starting point to act as a reference.

I have a '76 that I'm restoring. Like yours, SBC. My tub was in way way better shape, but I had to replace the sill, rear quarters, most of the front floors, and had to do a lot of patch work on my trans tunnel. It's a huge time investment. And remember, after you're done welding and grinding, you're going to have a lot of body work to do to make it look presentable.

You will save yourself many hundreds of hours by just going straight to a nice clean, straight, virtually paint ready aqualu tub. If I could turn back time, I would pay the money and go with an aqualu tub. Hands down, without a doubt.

As for a 1/2 tub vs 3/4 tub... given the rot I see already, I wouldn't be surprised if your front floor pans are toast as well. Get that shag carpet out and see what you have. But if you're getting a new tub, you might as well go up to the a-pillars.

 

[cbmontgo]

I would 110% recommend an aqualu 3/4 tub in your situation. You already have a SBC and auto trans, so your rig will never be numbers-matching original again. You have a lot of rot there, so you will struggle with panel alignment and door gaps because you don't have a good starting point to act as a reference.

I have a '76 that I'm restoring. Like yours, SBC. My tub was in way way better shape, but I had to replace the sill, rear quarters, most of the front floors, and had to do a lot of patch work on my trans tunnel. It's a huge time investment. And remember, after you're done welding and grinding, you're going to have a lot of body work to do to make it look presentable.

You will save yourself many hundreds of hours by just going straight to a nice clean, straight, virtually paint ready aqualu tub. If I could turn back time, I would pay the money and go with an aqualu tub. Hands down, without a doubt.

As for a 1/2 tub vs 3/4 tub... given the rot I see already, I wouldn't be surprised if your front floor pans are toast as well. Get that shag carpet out and see what you have. But if you're getting a new tub, you might as well go up to the a-pillars.

I would agree. A tub swap is probably the best bang for the buck in this case.

 

[redeyeracing]

Thanks for the feedback. I know both front floor pans need replacing or at least patchng. Looks like a new tub is in my future.

 

[SteveH]

Neat project - it surely deserves saving. What is your location? Does corrosion resistance matter much?

 

[redeyeracing]

I'm in the south end of the Salt Lake Valley (Draper). Parts of the rig are so solid it's scary but the back end has taken a beating. Corrosion resistance matters long term. Now I'm torn if I put a Aquala tub on do I just take it all the way down and do it right and have the frame blasted etc to have a long term resto mod? Decisions, decision!

 

[Rainman]

Old Salt. That's what I'd call it.

Looking forward to seeing which way you go with this.

 

[archie73]

What’s your plan for it? Plows are not known for helping the front end out, so new suspension? Next are disc brakes- fj60/mini truck is pretty simple. That lead me into ps-Fj80... It’s all worth it, just think you should know how slippery the slope is.