She's a beaut! What a combo, terrific choice.
Build Project Beach Cruiser | The 1971 FJ40 Patina RestoMod
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I was running that size tire on the 45 back in ‘06 when you were shooting video from the back of the truck at Glitter Gulch.
Remember that?
Remember that?
- Thread starter
- #163
@65swb45 I remember that trip really well. Can you believe that was 15 years ago?!?
Well now I know where I got the idea that this tire size is perfect on a 40: your 45 and the way you used it was more fun than any 10 people used their cruiser.
I’ll have to dig through my old computer. I have those photos and the video somewhere.
Well now I know where I got the idea that this tire size is perfect on a 40: your 45 and the way you used it was more fun than any 10 people used their cruiser.
I’ll have to dig through my old computer. I have those photos and the video somewhere.
Your 40 reminds me so much of our 72 FST that is nearly 100% original.
Hmmm, bezel?
How have those seats held up? I’m thinking of getting the same dark red/maroon on a different model Procar seat. I thought they may fade quickly.
- Thread starter
- #169
I’m not sure if others do this; but half the time I can’t remember what I did or what parts I used; so excuse me while I jot down notes for my future self.
Maybe its surprising or maybe it isn’t but this 40 is built with many old leftover parts. Service parts are no exception. Saturday I drive the cruiser to lunch and it would not want to run under load. Upon investigation, I remembered that the cap, rotor, and wires came off one of my parts engines.
Call to cruiser outfitters set me up with 2f plugs, and 3fe cap, rotor, wires, and distributor o-ring.
As a reminder for my future self: I should have used 2f wires as 1 and 6 wire are too short with the tall deck and coil mounted to the block. It fits, but barely.
Live and learn. I’ll remember to go with 2f plug wires when I read this thread again in 10 years.
Maybe its surprising or maybe it isn’t but this 40 is built with many old leftover parts. Service parts are no exception. Saturday I drive the cruiser to lunch and it would not want to run under load. Upon investigation, I remembered that the cap, rotor, and wires came off one of my parts engines.
Call to cruiser outfitters set me up with 2f plugs, and 3fe cap, rotor, wires, and distributor o-ring.
As a reminder for my future self: I should have used 2f wires as 1 and 6 wire are too short with the tall deck and coil mounted to the block. It fits, but barely.
Live and learn. I’ll remember to go with 2f plug wires when I read this thread again in 10 years.
- Thread starter
- #170
I had a melancholy moment today. Back in the day, I was a part of the Toyota Trail Teams. At the end of the year, we were celebrating the end of our first year, completing a huge accomplishment in the Launch of FJ Cruiser. That night, we had a big dinner, and Toyota leadership gave us gifts, including a Grille Badge.
The badge I received made it onto Project Rocinante (A truck, named after a truck, named after a horse. But also my double; like Don Quixote, Rocinante is awkward, and engaged in a task beyond his capacities.), where it lived for 15 years. Last weekend, I sold Rocinante. It was a somber experience, after the thousands of hours I put into it, making it the perfect truck.
Now the badge on it’s new home, on Beach Cruiser.
While Rocinante is gone, it feels good to see a piece of it live on.
The badge I received made it onto Project Rocinante (A truck, named after a truck, named after a horse. But also my double; like Don Quixote, Rocinante is awkward, and engaged in a task beyond his capacities.), where it lived for 15 years. Last weekend, I sold Rocinante. It was a somber experience, after the thousands of hours I put into it, making it the perfect truck.
Now the badge on it’s new home, on Beach Cruiser.
While Rocinante is gone, it feels good to see a piece of it live on.
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- Thread starter
- #171
Nothing major, but it feels good to get the 40 in better shape.
- Thread starter
- #172
It is about time to update this thread. The 40 has mostly been sitting, which led me to a bit of an existential crisis. I found a 911 I wanted to buy, but quickly realized I didn’t have the garage space for both. I in no way felt done with this truck, so I skipped on my dream 911 and have been doubling down on enjoying my 40.
My new goal is to get it comfortable driving on the highway and get the top back on it, so it can sit outside at my cabin.
It also helps that one of my closest, long time friends @fresnoLC just bought a 1977 ‘40. Land Cruisers are fun, but building trucks with friends is the best.
To really get my 40 to where I want it to be, I started by buying the lower priority, but high return things for it. I started by replacing the Monroe shocks with a set of Bilsteins and using lift shackles to level the rear.
My new goal is to get it comfortable driving on the highway and get the top back on it, so it can sit outside at my cabin.
It also helps that one of my closest, long time friends @fresnoLC just bought a 1977 ‘40. Land Cruisers are fun, but building trucks with friends is the best.
To really get my 40 to where I want it to be, I started by buying the lower priority, but high return things for it. I started by replacing the Monroe shocks with a set of Bilsteins and using lift shackles to level the rear.
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- Thread starter
- #173
Overall, shocks were worth it. The monroe’s were fine when the 40 was on 31’s, but these Falken’s are so stiff, I needed more suspension to make up for the E load range.
Tech tip: don’t forget the poly bushing grease on the shock bushings!
Tech tip: don’t forget the poly bushing grease on the shock bushings!
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First: Nice LC. Huge fan of the Bilstein shocks. They are a “unidirectional shock”. They can be mounted in the configuration that you have them in now with the boot in the upper position. But, they’re meant to be mounted boot down. Sounds counter intuitive I know. If you look at the boot, you’ll find weep holes at the bottom of boot (top in your picture/installation). That’s so that when the shock is compressed it helps evacuate expanding air and H2O from the weep holes. When the boot is mounted in the up position H2O will collect on the face of the shock potentially compromising the seal.
If that doesn’t sound right just remember, the marketing guys at the factory want you to be able to read “Bilstein” when it’s installed correctly
.
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- Thread starter
- #175
Good advise. It’s something I realized an hour after I installed them. If I had read this message the day before, I would have ‘flipped’ the shocks. Oh well.First: Nice LC. Huge fan of the Bilstein shocks. They are a “unidirectional shock”. They can be mounted in the configuration that you have them in now with the boot in the upper position. But, they’re meant to be mounted boot down. Sounds counter intuitive I know. If you look at the boot, you’ll find weep holes at the bottom of boot (top in your picture/installation). That’s so that when the shock is compressed it helps evacuate expanding air and H2O from the weep holes. When the boot is mounted in the up position H2O will collect on the face of the shock potentially compromising the seal.
If that doesn’t sound right just remember, the marketing guys at the factory want you to be able to read “Bilstein” when it’s installed correctly
Since it really doesn’t matter, and with a big list to do on my 40, I fully expect this will not get ‘fixed’ for a long time
- Thread starter
- #176
Project of the evening: led turn/marker lights.
The front turn signals are very hazy from being 55 years old (but for whatever reason, my marker are in good shape
). Because the turn signals didn’t match the intensity of the markers, LED’s went in.
Amazing how you can find stuff like this easily on amazon now. When I started on this project; led lights were custom and expensive. Now they are $12.
Orig bulb on the passenger side, LED on the driver for comparison.
The front turn signals are very hazy from being 55 years old (but for whatever reason, my marker are in good shape
). Because the turn signals didn’t match the intensity of the markers, LED’s went in. Amazing how you can find stuff like this easily on amazon now. When I started on this project; led lights were custom and expensive. Now they are $12.
Orig bulb on the passenger side, LED on the driver for comparison.
- Thread starter
- #177
Project of the day: bluetooth speaker battery replacement.
I always wanted a real car stereo in my 40. It came with a factory radio (which disappeared between looking at it and picking it up), but even that left alot to be desired.
For the last few years, I have used a TDK A34 weatherproof bluetooth speaker on the dash. It works surprisingly well. But I can tell how long it’s been there, because today I installed the 3rd battery into it.
I always wanted a real car stereo in my 40. It came with a factory radio (which disappeared between looking at it and picking it up), but even that left alot to be desired.
For the last few years, I have used a TDK A34 weatherproof bluetooth speaker on the dash. It works surprisingly well. But I can tell how long it’s been there, because today I installed the 3rd battery into it.
- Thread starter
- #178
I’m enjoying these small projects. While not the most important, it helps make progress when otherwise it would sit.
Tonight was a quick glove box refresh. Dawn soap, then Evaporust clean, wax, new panel, paint the knob, and reassemble.
I found that cleaning the knob with ‘the pink stuff’ worked really well. Then the Milwaukee paint pen followed by using a wax to rub the excess off made it look like new.
Tonight was a quick glove box refresh. Dawn soap, then Evaporust clean, wax, new panel, paint the knob, and reassemble.
I found that cleaning the knob with ‘the pink stuff’ worked really well. Then the Milwaukee paint pen followed by using a wax to rub the excess off made it look like new.
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- Thread starter
- #179
Spent some time this week dealing with the hood latches and the rust around the mounting points. I have been avoiding this, as I admired the shape of the originals versus the replacements; but at a certain point, getting rid of the rust had to win.
The original latches and hardware were completely done. No attempt to save anything — all of it came off and went straight in the trash. My Milwaukee M12 impact made short work of the job, which mostly meant snapping nearly every bolt off the old hinges. Honestly, probably the cleanest and least frustrating way this was ever going to end given the condition of the hardware.
Replacement latches are new OEM Toyota pieces, with flanged bolts and nuts from McMaster-Carr.
Before installing the new latches, I cleaned up the rust on the hood itself. I used Evapo-Rust on painted surfaces with a grey Scotch-Brite pad, same approach I’ve been using in the tub. Process was to soak a blue shop towel in Evapo-Rust, lay it over the rusty area, and let it sit for ~20 minutes, then lightly scrub with the Scotch-Brite.
It worked reasonably well at knocking down the rust staining and stopping anything active without getting aggressive. I chose this instead of CLR to keep things a little more controlled. New process for me, so open to any advice on future applications is appreciated.
One thing worth noting: it definitely stripped the wax where I worked. You can clearly see the cleaned areas on the hood now — the paint is flatter and lighter in those spots. Not unexpected, but worth calling out.
The new latches installed easily, adjusted well, and the hood now closes and latches the way it should. Small job, but one of those details that makes the truck feel more sorted every time I open it.
Quick note:
I’ve been getting a lot of use out of a set of parrot-jaw / sway-bar-link style locking pliers on this truck.
What makes them different from standard Vise-Grips is the 3 spots for clamping action and the way the jaws grab from multiple angles. Great for hex nuts and round tube.
The original latches and hardware were completely done. No attempt to save anything — all of it came off and went straight in the trash. My Milwaukee M12 impact made short work of the job, which mostly meant snapping nearly every bolt off the old hinges. Honestly, probably the cleanest and least frustrating way this was ever going to end given the condition of the hardware.
Replacement latches are new OEM Toyota pieces, with flanged bolts and nuts from McMaster-Carr.
Before installing the new latches, I cleaned up the rust on the hood itself. I used Evapo-Rust on painted surfaces with a grey Scotch-Brite pad, same approach I’ve been using in the tub. Process was to soak a blue shop towel in Evapo-Rust, lay it over the rusty area, and let it sit for ~20 minutes, then lightly scrub with the Scotch-Brite.
It worked reasonably well at knocking down the rust staining and stopping anything active without getting aggressive. I chose this instead of CLR to keep things a little more controlled. New process for me, so open to any advice on future applications is appreciated.
One thing worth noting: it definitely stripped the wax where I worked. You can clearly see the cleaned areas on the hood now — the paint is flatter and lighter in those spots. Not unexpected, but worth calling out.
The new latches installed easily, adjusted well, and the hood now closes and latches the way it should. Small job, but one of those details that makes the truck feel more sorted every time I open it.
Quick note:
I’ve been getting a lot of use out of a set of parrot-jaw / sway-bar-link style locking pliers on this truck.
What makes them different from standard Vise-Grips is the 3 spots for clamping action and the way the jaws grab from multiple angles. Great for hex nuts and round tube.