Pistorman's 1970 FJ40 build

1978FJ4O · Feb 9, 2011

Looking good

Pistorman · Feb 10, 2011

Thanks, now the last mile is up. I'm amazed how the car dresses up really nice
!

mattcamp · Feb 10, 2011

Looking good, I like that color, that seems pretty reasonable for new quarters, I would have guessed twice that on the installation.

Pistorman · Feb 12, 2011

Its amazing how well its coming to shape from being sadly rusted, new quarters, floors, sill, etc.

Here's some pictures before it went to its frame off, this after panels were fixed.

Roboosfj40s · Feb 12, 2011

Pistorman said:
Its amazing how well its coming to shape from being sadly rusted, new quarters, floors, sill, etc.

Here's some pictures before it went to its frame off, this after panels were fixed.

Lookin good! I really like my Lift hatch but it is a major head banger for me lol! I am 6' 2" not really tall but those hatches think were designed for asians. All of my people are from the Lufkin area. :steer:

destin · Feb 12, 2011

looking awesome man!!!

Keep the progress and photos coming

iknowjack · Feb 17, 2011

To tub or not to tub...

Hey Pistorman.

Trying to find a 40 of my very own and have a million quetions but the one I keep coming back to is rust. Found a '69 Id like to buy and the driver rear quarter is rusted through. Maybe half the size of a dollar bill, but it usually leads to more that you can't see. Rest of the body looks pretty good. Always in Arizona.
Would it be better to take a body off completely? I read a lot of threads trying to educate myself and see a ton of guys cutting out the tub and leaving the entire front portion on the chasis. Seems to me, the cleanest way would be to remove everything in one piece, both for color matching and fewer potential weak points in the future... :meh:

You really paid a grand for quarters etc? Is this just parts or is this for new, welded to old and cleaned up? And what about alum. tubs? Is that a quick fix or is it better or both?
Thanks for your patience with a rook! :wrench:

k00kiem0nster · Feb 17, 2011

Keep it up and congrats on Cruiser.

cbmontgo · Feb 17, 2011

That truck has really nice curb appeal. Looking good!

Pistorman · Feb 18, 2011

iknowjack said:
Hey Pistorman.

Trying to find a 40 of my very own and have a million quetions but the one I keep coming back to is rust. Found a '69 Id like to buy and the driver rear quarter is rusted through. Maybe half the size of a dollar bill, but it usually leads to more that you can't see. Rest of the body looks pretty good. Always in Arizona.
Would it be better to take a body off completely? I read a lot of threads trying to educate myself and see a ton of guys cutting out the tub and leaving the entire front portion on the chasis. Seems to me, the cleanest way would be to remove everything in one piece, both for color matching and fewer potential weak points in the future...
You really paid a grand for quarters etc? Is this just parts or is this for new, welded to old and cleaned up? And what about alum. tubs? Is that a quick fix or is it better or both?
Thanks for your patience with a rook!

Hey there, well, rusted beyond repair rear quarters and rear sill (along with rocker panels) is a common among FJ40's all years. Either you would be buying a restored car, or a car that was kept very carefully in a dry region would be the exception which of course is expected to be pricier.

The deal with this car is that one becomes attached to them due to the utmost cost in money and time that you consume in restoring them. The looks are really nice and the end and you will be satisfied most of the time if you are careful, patient, expect to do a lot of the work yourself and almost micromanage whenever you hire others. You get to learn a lot of body work, paint, mechanics, metal, etc etc etc along the road.

I'm quite sure I paid a grand to redo the whole quarters and sill. Folks usually pay much more.

I didn't go to alumn tubs or to new tubs because of their cost. Yet, if your tub is too far gone, they actually become reasonable in price and not a bad option.

Think well of what you want, and bear in mind that a full restoration may take well beyond of a year (two plus in my case). This forum will provide you with a wealth of information and caveats. However, I have found that people don't usually follow a lot of advice and fall in the same crevices as others when restoring these cars.

If you are ready to spend at least 15K to get your car in a nice order, go ahead and pull the trigger.

iknowjack · Feb 19, 2011

Pistorman said:
Hey there, well, rusted beyond repair rear quarters and rear sill (along with rocker panels) is a common among FJ40's all years. Either you would be buying a restored car, or a car that was kept very carefully in a dry region would be the exception which of course is expected to be pricier.

The deal with this car is that one becomes attached to them due to the utmost cost in money and time that you consume in restoring them. The looks are really nice and the end and you will be satisfied most of the time if you are careful, patient, expect to do a lot of the work yourself and almost micromanage whenever you hire others. You get to learn a lot of body work, paint, mechanics, metal, etc etc etc along the road.

I'm quite sure I paid a grand to redo the whole quarters and sill. Folks usually pay much more.

I didn't go to alumn tubs or to new tubs because of their cost. Yet, if your tub is too far gone, they actually become reasonable in price and not a bad option.

Think well of what you want, and bear in mind that a full restoration may take well beyond of a year (two plus in my case). This forum will provide you with a wealth of information and caveats. However, I have found that people don't usually follow a lot of advice and fall in the same crevices as others when restoring these cars.

If you are ready to spend at least 15K to get your car in a nice order, go ahead and pull the trigger.

Thanks for responding! This rig looks to be pretty straight and after reading all of these posts, I would want to dive into the mechanics first thing and put her on the road for a while. I would want to get to know all of the little things before I so much as pick at a flake of rust. Then, I would park it, take it apart and plan on not being able to drive it for at least two years. Hate to even think it, but it would be worth the wait and what I would learn would be priceless.
I'll be following your build. The one I want is the same color and a '69 three on the tree. Don't foresee wanting to change that, but love a stick :meh:

Small lift (maybe) but for the most part, stock and only mild trails with my hound and to and from work when it's not too hot. Thanks again man. Wish I had one to trailer home and stare at.

For now, I can only drink about it :cheers:

Pistorman · Feb 19, 2011

Here are a few more pictures.

destin · Feb 19, 2011

damn!

looking great man

more photos!

Pistorman · Feb 19, 2011

Look at the third picture here. When removing the rear cover of the "middle" small seat in the fronch bench seat I found the "surprise" fuel evaporation assembly. Mind you this is a 1970 model and many of these cars did not have this function that I am aware of. My car still functions with this and it has a rear evaporation tank too.

Pistorman · Feb 19, 2011

Thanks Destin. Still some parts are in paint, some being reworked and the engine, trabby and transfer case are being rebuilt.

cbmontgo · Feb 19, 2011

Sh*t that looks good!

Pistorman · Feb 19, 2011

The previous owner made some terrible practice holes on the dash and he installed a very inexpensive radio that to his admission didn't work for more than a month. The dash is being worked on to bring to stock as is a CB antenna hole that was made on the cowl. I'm happy the car is retrieving its looks of the past

.

An era correct under dash 8 track radio will do when its done.

Pistorman · Mar 9, 2011

Here are more pictures, I am going to do both types of tops, soft top and hard top. We are first working on the soft top, then the hard top. Its moving along nicely. Nice fitting problems with the new CCOT body mounts, the tub seems lower and it falls on the fender and aprons, so I ordered new ones from SOR.

Anyway, everything is moving along fine. Your comments and suggestions are appreciated.

BTW no more PO holes in the dash.