Project Ugly Duckling: 4WD Toyota Owner Magazine's 1970 FJ40 build/3B swap

[toyotaspeed90]

Should be a good build to watch...

If the rear bumper bolts/rust is the worst of it you'll be far ahead of many on this forum who wish that was all we dealt with rusted/bolt-wise!

Was, um, interesting to start?

 

[4WD Toyota Owner Magazine]

Should be a good build to watch...

If the rear bumper bolts/rust is the worst of it you'll be far ahead of many on this forum who wish that was all we dealt with rusted/bolt-wise!

Was, um, interesting to start?

Oh man...the rust...I certainly can't say it's as gnarly as our Canadian or east coast salted roads Cruiserheads deal with, but pretty much the whole rig is one big happy family of rust!

About the PTO, it's off the rig but saved for resto, only because a diesel engine and corresponding tranny/tcase are being swapped in. No way could we dump that, even if currently seized. We'll get it running. Here's a few more shots of the 4X4 Labs bumper install.

 

[4WD Toyota Owner Magazine]

There are two tabs on the back of the 4x4Labs bumper that slide between the frame and body. To install them, we needed to remove the two outer body mounts and bolts, one came out pretty clean, the other was rusted solid and it took the trusty Milwaukee Sawzall to cut through the bushing and bolt.

Set the 4x4Labs bumper into place, making sure to slide the rear facing tabs between the frame and body and the old body mount sites. Our body bushings were worn and collapsed enough that a little persuasion with a block of wood and a big hammer was needed to get it in place.

View attachment 1387212

 

[4WD Toyota Owner Magazine]

The 4X4 Labs bumper was then clamped in place with the center four bolt holes lined up, which also align the OE rivets up with more holes in the 4x4Labs rear bumper so it can bolt-up flush. Note that the some holes of the bumper do not line up perfectly with the holes in the 45-year old frame, which is to be expected, so we will need to drill out the frame to match, followed by Grade 8 hardware to hold it all in place.

 

[4WD Toyota Owner Magazine]

The tire holder and cooler basket pieces sit right down on the pre-mounted swing arms and bolted in place with Grade 8 hardware. 4x4Labs sure makes it easy to bolt it all in place—or remove if necessary.

The swingouts are a true 4X4 Labs innovation. In Luke’s own words: “Our clever swing out solution is the key to the functionality of this system. We recess our heavy-duty spindles through the main shell of the bumper and weld to the side plates of the bumper for optimum strength. The swing arms have two fully welded tube sleeves for the attachments to bolt through. You have the choice of which attachments to carry or leave at home. Built in stops on the spindle shell prevent opening too far and create a clean integrated look eliminating bulky external apparatus welded on as an afterthought.” We also say, check out the beautiful gusseting and dimple die patterns, plus the rugged tubing used for the basket.

 

[4WD Toyota Owner Magazine]

Two features we really like on this bumper are the swing arm struts and the latching mechanism. The struts make opening and closing the swing arms smooth and they hold the arms open, even on a side hill with a decent sized spare tire. Note the superb, thick steel shell that protects the taillights. 4X4 Labs thinks of everything!

 

[4WD Toyota Owner Magazine]

The latch mechanism is burly (4000lbs over center domestic industrial clamp guaranteed not to fail) and very easy to operate. No locking pins and cams, no yanking or banging to get things open, just finger pull the lock level and open the latch--very nice indeed!

 

[4WD Toyota Owner Magazine]

She’s bolted in and done, and looking awesome. The main section of the 4X4 Labs bumper is of 3/16” cold rolled steel. There’s no receiver hitch, and we’re totally okay with that. We tow with a Tundra, not our FJ40, and anyway this rig will soon have a 3.4L 3B--not exactly a towing powerhouse. Of course there are two recovery points welded to the main section. As mentioned, swingout attachments (spare tire carrier, cooler/fridge baskets, bike rack, fuel can holder, etc) can be swapped out or removed entirely when not needed/wanted by unbolting them. There’s a lot of design time, welding and powdercoating in this bumper and it looks the business all the way. www.4X4Labs.com.

 

[tls3601]

Nice project-thanks for posting up! I read your magazine and I am sure many others on here do as well..................

 

[4WD Toyota Owner Magazine]

Nice project-thanks for posting up! I read your magazine and I am sure many others on here do as well..................

Thank you, TLS3601. Very much appreciate you and anyone who subscribes. Hope to spot you a beverage at camp someday!

 

[White Stripe]

So how does the tire carrier latch down if you leave off the cooler carrier? I have ambulance doors and a cooler carrier would get in the way. You mentioned you can leave a attatchement at home so thats why I ask.

 

[ryanwk628]

So how does the tire carrier latch down if you leave off the cooler carrier? I have ambulance doors and a cooler carrier would get in the way. You mentioned you can leave a attatchement at home so thats why I ask.

It looks like you would need to leave the horizontal bar on there and unbolt the bracket. Its also looks like you could flip the brackets if so inclined, say if you wanted to put the tire on the passenger side where it was originally on a 1970.

 

[4WD Toyota Owner Magazine]

So how does the tire carrier latch down if you leave off the cooler carrier? I have ambulance doors and a cooler carrier would get in the way. You mentioned you can leave a attatchement at home so thats why I ask.

If you remove the cooler carrier, the swingouts still latch since the horizontal swingout bars are still there. Only if you removed the entire swingout arm would there be a problem.

 

[4WD Toyota Owner Magazine]

Next we had to fix the abomination of a hood. For whatever reason, this previous owner decided he didn’t like the seam down the center and tried to weld it up, with too much heat and not enough skill, resulting in a seriously warped and irreparable hood. The best choice for us was to find a decent replacement hood and find one we did, over at Torfab (www.torfab.com) who not only had a solid two-piece early hood, but they even had one that was the same blue as our FJ40. Before the replacement hood went on, we decided it needs a bit a freshening up. A quick visit to Cruiser Corps’ website (www.cruisercorps.com) and we were only a couple clicks away from a full hood kit consisting of new hood latches, windshield bumpers, windshield latches and hood rest pads.

Our replacement hood came stripped of everything but the center chrome trim. Compared to the old warped hood, this thing looks mint.

 

[4WD Toyota Owner Magazine]

The Cruiser Corps windshield bumpers (#525-117, $28.93) and latches (#A52, $18.95 galvanized) bolt right the OE holes in the hood. Other than rusty bolts to break loose (and break in half) this is a pretty easy upgrade for any FJ40 owner. www.cruisercorps.com

 

[4WD Toyota Owner Magazine]

The Cruiser Corps hood hold down latches (#A50, $34.95, stainless) bolt right in to the OE mounts as well. Being brand new and beautifully chrome plated, the springs are nice and stiff and will give us years of hood hold down power.

 

[4WD Toyota Owner Magazine]

Getting the old hood off was a chore, the hood hinge bolts were rusted solid and the screw tops were stripped out. So the trusty Makita 18V cordless came out and we had the old bolts drilled out in about two minutes each.

 

[4WD Toyota Owner Magazine]

While the old hood was off, we installed the Cruiser Corps hood rest pads (#549-144, $14.95/set). They are a perfect replacement for the OE pads, one banana piece for ease of installation and they pop right in, in about 30 seconds.

 

[4WD Toyota Owner Magazine]

With the hood done (for now) we moved on to the 4Plus Products front bumper ($325 powder coated, $275 bare metal). It’s a good-looking unit, built with ¼” plate steel and is low profile; a big (4)plus in our book.

 

[4WD Toyota Owner Magazine]

Getting the old bumper and factory PTO winch off was tough. Most of the bolts were pretty corroded and just would not come loose without a bit of penetrating lube and lots of muscle.