Our Copperstate Overland Build - 1981 FJ43

[abosely]

I like the green the best, but seeing as it's a Copperstate/AZ I think the Beige would fit and look best for this vehicle.

Of course Beige is my second favorite color too. :-D

 

[Indestructible 47]

beige followed closely by olive.

 

[T-ridecruiser]

Amarillo

 

[OffRoad Rage]

The Olive with the light colored soft top will pop and stand out here in the desert environment. I like beige but it will blend in with the natural surroundings and might not be the best bang for your buck from a exposure standpoint. If the yellow was actually the factory Mustard color (insert actual color code here) then that would be my choice.

 

[The FJ Company]

.... we could use your help deciding on the color for the build. We've rendered the few options we're considering below. Thoughts???

Thanks to all of you who have shared your opinions on color. There's still time to throw in your color into the mix if you haven't done so. By the way these are factory tones we're talking about.

In the meantime, here's an update on the resto.

Front axle, drum brakes... We'll be rebuilding the entire thing and doing disk brakes.

Yeah, I think we'll redo all the wiring on this one

We'll restore this cluster to keep things as authentic as possible. To my surprise, most people love the "novelty" of km/h on these imported trucks.

More pics coming soon.

 

[tls3601]

I saw the blue '78 40 you guys sold at RM in Scottsdale this January, I believe it was from Columbia. What a gorgeous resto-was chatting with one of your reps there. Can you guys source any parts from Japan?

 

[The FJ Company]

I saw the blue '78 40 you guys sold at RM in Scottsdale this January, I believe it was from Columbia. What a gorgeous resto-was chatting with one of your reps there. Can you guys source any parts from Japan?

Thanks! You can see the full gallery for the 78' 40 here. We'll source parts in Japan but only when necessary for our builds.

 

[tls3601]

I get that-some stuff is getting SO hard to find. I have a friend that goes to Japan once a year-even there some stuff is NLA

 

[Weber Sarge]

I totally vote for something not normally seen on here or anywhere else for a Cruiser - Buffalo Brown .
The olive brown is a close second...
Sarge

 

[The FJ Company]

Alright folks, quick update on our Copperstate Overland Edition.

Still working some with the body but we finished all the steel fabrication on some of the rusted body parts.

Custom fabricated the ambulance doors

Doors and hood and almost primed and ready for paint.

Fact! It had all 6 pistons.

Started receiving a bunch of the accessories and emblems... a lot still missing.

Coming along... slowly but surely.

Still haven't decided on the color, so feel free to jump in with your suggestions.

 

[Vossie]

Very nice. Love your guys work. Follow you on Instagram.

I vote mustard yellow on the paint. It's a "racing" 43. With decals and such, yellow really pops and stands out as a desert racer.

 

[The FJ Company]

We've been hard at work on this build over the past week. I promised weekly updates but things were pretty crazy. Here's the news:

1. Color: We've decided to go with Olive. After getting everyones input (THANKS!), we think Olive will contrast beautifully with the desert while keeping the 43 looking vintage.

2. Sound system: We're adding a marine grade sound system. Waterproof speakers, receiver, and amplifier.

3. We're adding a custom jerry-can holder in Toyota yellow, tied down with a nice leather belt. The OME shocks are yellow so we figured the jerry-can would be cool in that color as well.

4. We've been asked to build it even faster than originally planned. It will be finished and photographed by June 15th!!! YIKES. The good news is we'll be able to test drive it plenty of miles before the Copperstate Overland.

Picture updates (full res on our site).

We're done with the pre-fitting process of all the various body panels

The engine is well into the rebuild stage.

We would normally do 3.73's on a build like this, but because of the larger tires (33's) and the 5th gear, we're sticking to the 4.10's

And some of the fun parts have arrived... WARN M8274-50, aluminum radiator, OME suspension.

A few more updates later today.

 

[cwwfj60]

Awesome build! This is going to be beautiful in Olive.

Where do you intend to place the speakers?

 

[The FJ Company]

Awesome build! This is going to be beautiful in Olive.

Where do you intend to place the speakers?

We won't get the ideal acoustics, but we're going to mount the speaker (6" coaxial, JL Audio, marine) underneath the dash just above the kick vent. We'll have a marine subwoofer in the back (still not sure where!), and the amplifier in the glove-box.

Thought about mounting the speakers in the door panels, but we wouldn't be able to use the marine version. They are too big and they would look ugly.

 

[cwwfj60]

We won't get the ideal acoustics, but we're going to mount the speaker (6" coaxial, JL Audio, marine) underneath the dash just above the kick vent. We'll have a marine subwoofer in the back (still not sure where!), and the amplifier in the glove-box.

Thought about mounting the speakers in the door panels, but we wouldn't be able to use the marine version. They are too big and they would look ugly.

Yes good idea! Glad they aren't going into the doors, I've never liked that look, especially the wires coming through the door. I think this will provide plenty of sound for a 40.

 

[The FJ Company]

A couple more pics of the progress this week. Some of it extremely fresh (a couple of hours)

Rebuilt the transmission and it's ready to go

Reassembled the engine.

And we've got another team finishing up the rear drum brakes

Have a good weekend guys. For us its going to be a loooong one...

 

[The FJ Company]

Hello all, a couple of minor updates.

We always like to take a shot of the raw chassis prior to any treatments and one after the fact. Here's the raw one...

Getting the cluster restored and reset

And we got a sample of the leather we'll be using for the Corbeau MOAB seats. Love the way it contrasts with the Olive paint. We are going with the one on the left to keep the rig looking vintage. The texture is a little rough and a little faded in parts.

Making progress!

 

[White Stripe]

It would be sweet if you used factory wheels but with beadlocks welded onto them. Plus you could air way down on the rally for a cushy ride.

 

[The FJ Company]

It would be sweet if you used factory wheels but with beadlocks welded onto them. Plus you could air way down on the rally for a cushy ride.

Hmmm... I'm curious. Have you seen those out there? Would love to see a pic and see if it's something we can do.

 

[White Stripe]

Hmmm... I'm curious. Have you seen those out there? Would love to see a pic and see if it's something we can do.

Weld on beadlocks are pretty common, but I've never seen anyone do it to the factory wheels. Total metal innovations has nice ones they sell