(Re)Build / Resto - Rufus the 1984 FJ40 (1 Viewer)

[PiratelooksatFJ40]

So some of this story is over in my intro thread (Introduction - ‘84 FJ40 non-US spec - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/introduction-84-fj40-non-us-spec.1294212/) but I’ve learned a lot getting this guy back into shape so thought I’d collect the info in one place. Buddy has a 1978 that he got in the late 90s after college, and I’ve been hooked ever since. Finally got to a place where I could acquire one so started watching them on BaT a few years ago but unfortunately didn’t know about IH8MUD at the time. Saw this one (No Reserve: 1984 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 - https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1984-toyota-land-cruiser-fj40-7/) come through in August 2022 - NR auction and it looked good to the others that I’d seen over the prior 18 months. I’d bid on a few but never one, though never seriously tried. So there I am, at work on a random Thursday afternoon and I get the alert that the auction is ending in an hour. Price looked really low, so I dropped in a bid thinking that I’d get beat because all the auctions seem to take off in the last 30 mins. Then promptly jumped on a conference call and forgot about it. About an hour later I get a call on my cell phone from a number in TX that I didn’t recognize, and I suddenly got an “oh sh!t“ moment - hadn’t exactly cleared this with the wifey. So that’s how the story began.

 

[sedonut]

Split rims, very cool in third world countries where the closest tire shop is 500 miles away.

Before you take on a restoration I would just drive it and enjoy it for a while.

One cool thing is it is probably almost rust free. My BJ44 came from Japan via New Zealand, by the time I am done only the frame the top and part of the tub will be what I got off the boat from New Zealand.

 

[PiratelooksatFJ40]

It showed up a few weeks later, and I was definitely in love. Seemed to run well, looked great (to a noobie at least), and I had a blast driving it around and tinkering. Such fun and mental therapy taking things apart and putting it back together, ordering little bits and cleaning it up. Took it to a local Toyota dealer to have it checked out and make sure there were no major issues, and they didn’t find any - the were working on someone’s 1969 FJ40 and seemed to know what they were doing. Changed the oil and other fluids, helped install a few things and all seemed OK. It was “restored” in Saudi before being imported to the guys that sold it on BaT. But as I was going through it, there was a lot of lipstick on this pig. Electrical things seemed to go first - spending 30+ years in the desert doesn’t do good things to wiring. Couldn’t get the windshield wipers to work. As I started pulling things apart, the “mud” really started to show up. I found the guy who did the restoration in KSA and found out it came from the city of Abha (Abha - Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abha) which isn’t terribly dry. On the plus side, it had a kill switch and air horn.

 

[PiratelooksatFJ40]

Later figured out it is (was?) an LX model, though not much left to show for it. Originally Freeborn Red, but had been painted beige at one point and then Charcoal Gray Metallic in its current state. Changed the ignition coil, fixed the clutch cable.

Blacked out badges from the restoration, some of which appeared to be partially melted. I decided to touch them up with new colors which I thought looked pretty cool. The drain tubes were clogged with mud - and I found some missing screws when flushed them out. Scraped a bunch of mud off the chassis, actually pounds of mud. I had fun messing around but quickly found there were more issues than I could handle with my limited skills and available time.

 

[PiratelooksatFJ40]

Split rims, very cool in third world countries where the closest tire shop is 500 miles away.

Before you take on a restoration I would just drive it and enjoy it for a while.

One cool thing is it is probably almost rust free. My BJ44 came from Japan via New Zealand, by the time I am done only the frame the top and part of the tub will be what I got off the boat from New Zealand.

We’ll get to the rust part - no lack of that, as I later discovered.

 

[PiratelooksatFJ40]

“The remains of a five tone fanfare, played "la cucaracha" or similar” according to a Mud expert.

 

[PiratelooksatFJ40]

Typical crusty wiring throughout. Love the hard wired fuses, just to make sure nothing shorted… Chasing electrical bugs isn’t my strong suit, and this thing had been Jerry rigged so many times by different people over the years it was tough to figure out what was plugged into anything. And any time I touched a wire it seemed to just crack from age and desert heat.

 

[PiratelooksatFJ40]

Working A/C, which is a plus. Might be factory.

 

[sedonut]

Those fuses are scary. New Toyota fuse panels are relatively cheap, I would put that high on the priority.

 

[PiratelooksatFJ40]

Those fuses are scary. New Toyota fuse panels are relatively cheap, I would put that high on the priority.

Yeah, going with a whole new wiring harness.

 

[PiratelooksatFJ40]

Lucky and Louie like the truck.

 

[PiratelooksatFJ40]

So now some issues are starting to become apparent. Lots of sandy mud in just about every crevice creating rust pockets. The body was welded to the frame in a few spots.

 

[PiratelooksatFJ40]

So it’s been a bit since I’ve posted, and Rufus has been (and still is) in the FJ40 hospital.
Have learned many things from the doctors about the less than stellar work that had been done on this guy previously. Including welding the body to the frame, random sheets of metal papering over rust and holes (sometimes held in place by wood screws), rhino sprayed over problems to cover them up, and general hackery. First, some more tear down photos. Notice the Saudi mud caked on the shifter / transmission.