Hi all,
My name is Matthew, and I have loved Land Cruisers for as long as I can remember. My dad has a '75 FJ40 that he bought before my brother and I were born, and took us to the Black Hills Cruiser Classic continuously since I was about 6. I spent my childhood riding around in a 40, and always wanted my own.
5 years ago, I was away with the military on training when my dad contacted about me about a non-running, very rusty '72 that was about an hour away from our house. I told him I would pay him back as soon as I got back home, and by the end of the summer, I too became the owner of a land cruiser.
I ended up going to university that fall, and the cruiser sat for a long time as I balanced the army reserve during the summers and university in the winter and fall. About 2 years ago, Dad and I managed to get it running, and I triumphantly drove it around town celebrating its resurrection. Only when I stopped to fuel up did I notice that my seat belt would not unlatch, and some girl opposite my sweet ride must have been disgusted or fascinated as she watched some filthy young man unsuccessfully attempt to exit a vehicle with no doors.
Later on, as Dad and I were attempting to time my cruiser, it suddenly stopped running. I was convinced that it was an electrical problem, but Dad was confident it was seized. After replacing the battery and testing the starter, I agreed with Dad's diagnosis, and began preparing to remove the motor. As a last ditch effort, he suggested running the oil pump with a power drill and trying to turn over the engine manually with a big wrench, and to my surprise, I managed to bust it loose, and the cruiser runs and drives on its own like nothing ever happened (I hope). I always heard about the reliability and toughness of the F and 2F, but witnessing it personally was still a shock.
I finished my degree last spring, and after two different jobs as a grade 9-12 math teacher and another summer spent with the army, I finally have some time and money to fix up the iron beast. I am no professional mechanic by any means, but I've managed to do all my own repairs on my 2008 Ford Ranger as required with a Haynes manual and some guidance from old Dad. The cruiser is going to be 100 or 1000 times the amount of work as my ranger, but this has been something I have wanted to do for a very long time, and I want to get better at something practical.
So far I have:
changed all the fluids except for the front diff and the brakes,
new spark plugs,
disassembled and cleaned the carb,
scavenged and installed a throttle cable from a junkyard 4runner
resealed the gas tank and replaced the fuel lines
installed some very inexpensive brake/signal lights
I still need to:
My name is Matthew, and I have loved Land Cruisers for as long as I can remember. My dad has a '75 FJ40 that he bought before my brother and I were born, and took us to the Black Hills Cruiser Classic continuously since I was about 6. I spent my childhood riding around in a 40, and always wanted my own.
5 years ago, I was away with the military on training when my dad contacted about me about a non-running, very rusty '72 that was about an hour away from our house. I told him I would pay him back as soon as I got back home, and by the end of the summer, I too became the owner of a land cruiser.
I ended up going to university that fall, and the cruiser sat for a long time as I balanced the army reserve during the summers and university in the winter and fall. About 2 years ago, Dad and I managed to get it running, and I triumphantly drove it around town celebrating its resurrection. Only when I stopped to fuel up did I notice that my seat belt would not unlatch, and some girl opposite my sweet ride must have been disgusted or fascinated as she watched some filthy young man unsuccessfully attempt to exit a vehicle with no doors.
Later on, as Dad and I were attempting to time my cruiser, it suddenly stopped running. I was convinced that it was an electrical problem, but Dad was confident it was seized. After replacing the battery and testing the starter, I agreed with Dad's diagnosis, and began preparing to remove the motor. As a last ditch effort, he suggested running the oil pump with a power drill and trying to turn over the engine manually with a big wrench, and to my surprise, I managed to bust it loose, and the cruiser runs and drives on its own like nothing ever happened (I hope). I always heard about the reliability and toughness of the F and 2F, but witnessing it personally was still a shock.
I finished my degree last spring, and after two different jobs as a grade 9-12 math teacher and another summer spent with the army, I finally have some time and money to fix up the iron beast. I am no professional mechanic by any means, but I've managed to do all my own repairs on my 2008 Ford Ranger as required with a Haynes manual and some guidance from old Dad. The cruiser is going to be 100 or 1000 times the amount of work as my ranger, but this has been something I have wanted to do for a very long time, and I want to get better at something practical.
So far I have:
changed all the fluids except for the front diff and the brakes,
new spark plugs,
disassembled and cleaned the carb,
scavenged and installed a throttle cable from a junkyard 4runner
resealed the gas tank and replaced the fuel lines
installed some very inexpensive brake/signal lights
I still need to:
- Decide what I am going to do with the tub. The previous owner welded on some very poorly placed steel and used some fiberglass to cover up the rust. The front end is rusty but not rotted through anywhere, but the back end is so hole-y that I feel like Fred Flintstone when I sit in the driver's seat. The exhaust fumes that spill through my floor holes as it idles concern me from an aesthetic, structural, and DUI standpoint. I have the original doors and hardtop, but the half ambulance doors at the rear end have been replaced by an iron tailgate. Its been painted 3 different versions of the original colour, so I see sandblasting in my future.
- Figure out how to do electricity and the instrument cluster; as far as lights go, I have headlights and brake lights. None of my gauges work, I have no turn signal switch, no wipers, and I know my speedometer cable is destroyed. Additionally, I have about 10 miles of extra wiring from the previous owner, as he must have head extra lights and gizmos all over the place at some point. I am hesitant to get into the wiring, as I am worried that I will unintentionally do more harm than good.
Last edited:
