Builds Project 2027: 1977 FJ40 Rebuild

[Jetlander]

I still remember when I really took notice of a FJ40 for the first time, in February 2003. It was in Missoula, Montana and it was a driving collection of barely held together rusted parts. It was tough and had obviously lived a tough life, but she was still going strong. I fell in love. Fast forward to March 2016 and I was finally able to convince myself to take the plunge and buy one. I paid too much, for way too little, but it was mine and I was happy to trailer home my very own '77 FJ40.

Proud day bringing the FJ40 home!

I know... The bezel.

Anyways, a little about the title of this thread. The #1 thing on my bucket list is to drive the Pan American highway from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina before I turn 50, which happens to be in 2027. Hence the thread name. Now I would like to do it before then, but that is my cutoff date. Well, "Wendy" as my 6 year old daughter calls the LC, is going to be my ride for this epic trip.

When I bought Wendy she barely ran, tires were shot, leaf springs and shocks were worn out, and nothing except the instrument cluster worked. It took me a few months, a carb rebuild, and a lot of foul language to get Wendy back on the road. I took the advice here on MUD about enjoying the 40 for a while before doing a rebuild, and have put 2000 miles on Wendy since purchase.

This thread will document the journey up to this point and the rebuild, which started yesterday. I'm not the most mechanically savvy person, but I can find my way around. What I lack in knowledge I make up for in willingness to try. I will inevitably ask good and dumb questions during this rebuild. All help and advice will be appreciated.

And with that being said, the journey which will eventually end in Ushuaia, Argentina begins...

 

[Jetlander]

These are the photos I took from day 1 have a good record of where I started.

The rear sill was non-existent as evident by the giant patch with lots of bondo in the front doors. In fact, a magnet won't stick to the driver and passenger doors until about halfway up. The seat covers were in great shape. The rattle can paint job, well... terrible is about as good as I can call it, and there is overspray on virtually everything.

 

[Jetlander]

I have my work cut out for me. The engine had several vacuum leaks, coolant was brown, the carb was shot, chocolate milk came out of both diffs and transfer case, and the frame has a pretty substantial rust issue on the rear driver side front leaf spring hanger. The heater fans didn't work and not a single switch worked.

The girls helping me diagnose one of several vacuum leaks. They love everything about the FJ40! Future Land Cruiser drivers in the making.

 

[Jetlander]

I replaced the tires with 10.5x33 BFGs and the shocks and springs with CCOT HFS 4” inch springs and shocks. The stance is much more pleasing to my eye, and the ride isn’t any worse than an A1 Abrams tank.

 

[Jetlander]

Slowly, one project at a time, I’ve managed to get everything working. The heater motors were both frozen solid with rust. I literally pulled them apart and used a Dremel to grind the rust off of the coils and magnets. I polished what I could, lubed everything and spun each of the motors for about 30 minutes with a drill to free them up. As you can see with the weatherstripping, I’m not after a factory restoration. Function over form will be my motto going forward. Both heaters now work perfectly and will cook all the occupants out within 20 minutes.

 

[TheHardWay]

Welcome to Mudville. Cool name - you already have a theme song too - by the Beach Boys! Let's see, the opening line is Wendy... Wendy what went wrong... whoa-a-a. Man, you've got your work cut out for you. BTW, check the build date on your driver's door post. Your spare tire carrier looks like a '76. Oh, and let me be the first to salute you!

 

[Jetlander]

I had about 3” of play in the steering wheel when I bought Wendy. The Tie Rod Ends had seen better days. Before and after. Lots of PB Blaster, heat, and a BFH finally got them loose. The new TRE reduced the play to about 2". The steering coupling has lots of play and will be replaced as part of the rebuild. I will also have to move the Saginaw steering box as the PO jacked up the location.

 

[Jetlander]

Welcome to Mudville. Cool name - you already have a theme song too - by the Beach Boys! Let's see, the opening line is Wendy... Wendy what went wrong... whoa-a-a. Man, you've got your work cut out for you. BTW, check the build date on your driver's door post. Your spare tire carrier looks like a '76. Oh, and let me be the first to salute you!

Thanks! Build date is June 77. The tire carrier is wrong, but as of yesterday, it's gone. I will be replacing it with a 4+ rear tire swing with basket. I haven't gotten to post it yet, but I have already replaced the front bumper with a 4+ and I love the quality.

 

[Jetlander]

Sporting a 4+ front bumper. The quality is outstanding. I will eventually move the 9500lb winch from my Tacoma over to the LC.

While trouble shooting a fuel indication problem the original color was discovered. I haven't decided yet what the final color will be, but I'm leaning between Khaki or the new Toyota Cement gray.

 

[KingAir Driver]

Nice! Sounds like an epic road trip! Keep up the good work, 77 is a great year!

 

[Jetlander]

Nice! Sounds like an epic road trip! Keep up the good work, 77 is a great year!

Spokane is my old stomping grounds. Was up there a couple weeks ago fishing the Grande Ronde for steelhead with a buddy. Miss the area.

 

[TheHardWay]

Hey, is that Olive Green? Check for the ID plate inside the engine compartment above the passenger fender. Should be 637 or 653. One of the best colors (okay, may be a little biased).

 

[KingAir Driver]

Spokane is my old stomping grounds. Was up there a couple weeks ago fishing the Grande Ronde for steelhead with a buddy. Miss the area.

Awesome! Great place to live for the outdoors. My co-worker floats / fishes the Grande Ronde all the time.

 

[Jetlander]

Hey, is that Olive Green? Check for the ID plate inside the engine compartment above the passenger fender. Should be 637 or 653. One of the best colors (okay, may be a little biased).

Must be the light when I took the pic. It’s mustard yellow.

 

[fjdiesel]

You should probably have another fj40 with on a trip like that! Just in case you need help or something. I will gladly get mine done and go with you, even if for just morale support.

 

[cruiserkev]

Nice 40. Good luck on your road trip.

 

[Jetlander]

You should probably have another fj40 with on a trip like that! Just in case you need help or something. I will gladly get mine done and go with you, even if for just morale support.

Hell yeah! Having a small group of Mudders do the trip would be even better. Looking at 3 months minimum start to finish though, and that’s without any major deviations or breakdowns. Hard for most people to pull that off.

 

[Bripars40]

Hell yeah! Having a small group of Mudders do the trip would be even better. Looking at 3 months minimum start to finish though, and that’s without any major deviations or breakdowns. Hard for most people to pull that off.

Honestly this is a trip I’ve long dreamed about. I think it would be awesome to do the trip and then import a 40 from somewhere in South America.

 

[Geezer Cruzzer]

Congratulations on Miss Wendy. She may have been rode hard and put up wet, but many folks here are envious. They only wish they could have started out with a girl with that little rust. Good solid bones.

We've been on parts of the Pan American Highway as a tourist. We were in Belize back in the 1990s when the
Camel Trophy race came through with all their Land Rovers. Look it up on Wiki. Their stop was at the hotel where we where staying. Lots of Camels, booze and testosterone at the bar that night.

I really like the picture of the girls with their pink bikes in the background. That would be a really cool family trip, but somebody is going to be really unhappy riding in the jumpers in back. Worst nightmare... a couple of teenage girls crammed in the back for a few thousand miles. I suggest you call the grandparents!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[rrv333]

Welcome to the fray and the trip sounds like a blast. My 76 was also originally Mustard Yellow as well but the PO painted it a off white/cream color. I'll be going back to the original color in the near future