Refurbishing a legend - drooartz's 1976 FJ40

[drooartz]

Fifteen years ago I sold a 1976 FJ40 as I had no tools, time, or talent to keep it running. It as the first vehicle I purchased myself (prior car was my mom's old Ford Escort wagon, given to me when I graduated from college). Didn't know a thing about Land Cruisers other than that I wanted one. I still remember to this day what it was like driving it home from where I worked with the top off for the first time. Magic.

So a year ago I decided that maybe I needed some sort of 4x4 again (after crashing on a bike in the middle of the desert by myself and breaking my ankle). I like to explore in Utah's south desert by myself, and a truck is less likely to fall over. Put the idea away for a while, then in the fall of 2011 decided to make the leap.

I had one aborted attempt to buy a local cruiser:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/533372-got-cruiser-again-after-15-years-without.html

After that deal fell through I found this '76 out of Sacrament, CA. A bit faded, but looked all there and unmolested. I'm somewhat of an originality guy, so finding one with little-to-no rust and no modifications was key and not all that easy. Still, after an inspection by fellow MUDer pighead I had found my truck. Made the deal and flew out a couple weeks later with a good friend to drive it the 700 miles back to Utah. Tough old truck.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/535661-now-i-mean-new-proud-owner-76-fj40.html

My vision for this truck is to make it as if it was a 5 year old truck -- so a few dings and dents, the odd small modification or two, but essentially a solid, reliable rig for cruising the desert. The planned specs are:

Stock FJ40
30x9.5" tires on new stock steel wheels with hubcaps
3.70 diffs
Warn 8274 winch (came on the truck already)
MAF long range tank
Possible desmog/trollhole carb (still thinking about this one)

That's about the list, really. Other than fuel range and cruising speed the stock truck's specs are well capable for what I want to do. This winter's projects will be mostly sorting through a few issues and fixing anything that the previous owners may have done (very little found so far). I spent my budget on finding a clean truck, so after this initial push I'll be without funding for a while.

I'll be at this little workbench a bunch over the winter. It's not much, but I've worked on a couple British sports cars (Bugeye Sprite and MGB) and some bikes in this garage so it's workable. A second garage is planned but as yet unfunded.

 

[drooartz]

First work begins

The first order of business was to put in a large order with CruiserDan for some factory parts: 5 new steel wheels, hubcaps all around, bumperettes and a bunch of small bits like belts, hoses, gas cap and a few other small things. Once that order was in it was time to do what I can to get things in order.

First up was to give the truck a good cleaning inside. I would have loved to have pulled it outside and hosed everything down, but as it was about 20 degrees outside that wasn't the best choice. So I grabbed a bucket of water and a couple rags and set to it. Mucked out a bunch of sand and dirt, and also pulled out the period CB and wiring.

I also found out that there is a light above all the pull knobs in the dash. Who knew? The '76 I had before was missing all of its dash pad so I never even guessed there was a light there. A trip to the parts store for a few bulbs got things working better. LEDs for the internal lights are planned as well.

Next up was yanking the AM radio from the dash -- and hoping that the opening was not hacked up. Very pleased to see that the opening was still stock, with just the little tabs cut down a bit. I'm just planning on a radio blank there so this was a nice find.

Glove box, with original speaker still mounted against the right side.

Once that was out I moved around to the back and pulled the old bumperettes and hitch, and cleaned up the wiring where they had patched in the trailer lights. So far that's been the only modification I've found to the stock wiring -- very nice indeed!

Old bits gone:

Nice clean rear end:

To make room to get to the back of the headlight switch I temporarily pulled the little warning-light bracket that's present on the '76. The seatbelt light was working, but the brake light wasn't and no idea on the EGR light. For now it will stay off as it was a simple disconnect from the factory harness. Seatbelt buzzer still works -- at least until I can find the buzzer and unplug it.

So far everything works with the following exceptions:

* Hot air knob doesn't work the valve (valve works, but cable won't push it back closed only pulls it open)
* Light bulb for the headlight switch needs to be replaced
* Dome light works but switch is mostly broken off and cover is missing, needs to be replaced.
* Windshield washer doesn't work (was disconnected, whole thing is on my bench right now)
* Rear heater has hot coolant but fan doesn't come on

Functionally that's what I've found so far. Paint's quite oxidized but that can wait until it's a bit warmer. Few spots need some touch up, and there are a few *very small* rust spots I need to address in the spring.

Next up is a full service and tuneup. I'm at 5550' in elevation so I'll need to make some adjustments as the truck was set up at sea level. Once the parts come from CruserDan I'll be shopping for new tires -- current tires aren't bad but tires are a safety thing and not somewhere I'll cut corners.

 

[drooartz]

Useless trivia

And in case you were wondering, an upright bass fits in an FJ40. Just release the front passenger seatback and fold it forward. Needs some padding and support underneath, but it does fit in there. Good thing too, as I've got gigs coming up and need the money to buy new Cruiser parts!

 

[SAWTOOTH 55 LC]

Great Cruiser!I did not know that style tire carrier came on a '76...learning everyday.

 

[alaska60]

Nice find.....76 must have been the last year they did that style tire carrier, as my 77 has a tube style tire carrier.
Ill see you around Midway as I work there December - April.

what up sawtooth?

 

[cruiserkev]

Yep 76 was the year of transition for the tire carrier. My 76 FJ40 (May 76) has the square one and my 77 FJ40 (November 76) has the tube one. The 77 also has the rear vent hardtop windows and shoulder mounts for the seatbelts on the rollbar but everyting else seems the same between them. Oddly enough the 77 has 3x the rust as the 76.

 

[SAWTOOTH 55 LC]

Sounds like we all need to meet and go Cruisin'
Is Guardsman still open down into Midway?
And I swear my cousins '76 has a tube carrirer,but it is a late '76 and I could be wrong

 

[taro]

Just a heads-up, on my '82, the dash brake light doubles as an electrical fault light. If the same is true for the earlier models, you'll want it hooked up so you'll know if your alternator is failing. Looks great!

 

[drooartz]

Just a heads-up, on my '82, the dash brake light doubles as an electrical fault light.

I'll have to check the wiring diagrams and see if they are the same. My brake light wasn't working anyways -- but it would be nice to have one that was working. I'll probably just put the stupid thing back on once I'm done working up behind it.

Sounds like we all need to meet and go Cruisin'
Is Guardsman still open down into Midway?
And I swear my cousins '76 has a tube carrier,but it is a late '76 and I could be wrong

Cruiserkev nailed it, '76 was the transition year. The early '76 still has the square carrier and no vent windows in the hard top.

I'd love to connect up sometime. I have met one local guy (think he's uglyoinker here on MUD) -- ran into him at the local parts store. Nice guy with a beast of a 55. Deep admiration for the fabrication skills there.

Guardsman is probably closed at the snow gates by now though.

 

[mud dog]

nice looking 40 - I purchased a 76 fj40 about three years ago - olive brown - I have a lot of rust issues as I live three hundred miles north of sacramento on the Humboldt coast. I went haves on a mig welder and a fellow 40 finatic is going to help cutting out an replacing bad stuff. had to put in a brake master cylinder last week - 3000 miles ago had to get rings and pistons - new valves - rods sized - new exhaust manifold with magnaflow muffler. sounds and runs great - my warm pull behaves as yours -wont close the valve. oh well - its winter now. good luck!

 

[cruiserjunkie]

Check ground on the blower motor in the heater it ground thur the housing and will corrode between the two

 

[Slowerthanu]

Nice FJ40, mine has taken a decidedly different route in life but they still feel the same.

Good luck on the work. There are a lot of Cruiser guys around here to if you ever need anything let us know.

 

[subzali]

Nice! Always wondered where the OE speaker was - did you pull a vintage CB or the factory AM radio? If CB, is it a Toyota CB?

Also post up where the seat belt buzzer is when you find it - I'm curious to find mine but not enough to go digging around for it I don't think there is any "check engine light" function in the earlier 40s warning lights - at least none that I can tell from the wiring diagram. Your lights may be out just due to the bulbs being burnt out.

My 10/76 FJ40 didn't come with roll bar-mounted seat belts I don't think. But when I got it it didn't have the OE seatbelts in it so I can't say for sure.

 

[Fast Eddy]

I purchased a 76 fj40 about three years ago - olive brown

It's olive green. All the green codes start with a '6'.

Nice! Always wondered where the OE speaker was - did you pull a vintage CB or the factory AM radio? If CB, is it a Toyota CB?

It's on the outside of the glovebox on a '78, between the box and the cowl way up there. Not sure about 77 or when they switched.

Also post up where the seat belt buzzer is when you find it - I'm curious to find mine but not enough to go digging around for it

Mine works. I'll figure out where it is if I think about it today.

I don't think there is any "check engine light" function in the earlier 40s warning lights - at least none that I can tell from the wiring diagram. Your lights may be out just due to the bulbs being burnt out.

My 10/76 FJ40 didn't come with roll bar-mounted seat belts I don't think. But when I got it it didn't have the OE seatbelts in it so I can't say for sure.

Mine is 2/76 and it has them.

 

[drooartz]

Check ground on the blower motor in the heater it ground thur the housing and will corrode between the two

Thanks for the tip. I'll take a look at it when I get a moment and see what's going on out there. Don't even know if there's power out to the heater.

my warm pull behaves as yours -wont close the valve. oh well - its winter now.

I'd be more worried about it if it wasn't staying open. I can live with it working the way it does for now, and will dive in when the weather is warmer.

Nice! Always wondered where the OE speaker was - did you pull a vintage CB or the factory AM radio? If CB, is it a Toyota CB?

Also post up where the seat belt buzzer is when you find it - I'm curious to find mine but not enough to go digging around for it

Radio and CB were period but not Toyota as far as I know. Will post pictures when I get a moment. I've got a friend who's big into electronics (he does aircraft electronics) so I may have him go through the CB and see if it's salvageable.

I don't think there is any "check engine light" function in the earlier 40s warning lights - at least none that I can tell from the wiring diagram. Your lights may be out just due to the bulbs being burnt out.

Tried swapping the bulbs around and didn't see any change -- will dive in soon and test all three to make sure that the bulbs are all good, then it's on to the switches elsewhere. I'd really like to have all these little things working properly.

 

[drooartz]

Radio and CB

So here are the radio and CB. Definitely period items -- CB is dated 1977.

 

[drooartz]

A few numbers

A few numbers of interest for this truck.

Built: 1/76
Frame: FJ40215853
Model: FJ40LV KCJA
Trim: 309 LE11
Trans/Axle: H42 K082

On the winch:
Model 8274
Part Number: 8403
Serial Number: 86136
Date: DD8 ( April 1978 )

 

[alkarich]

Congrats on the new 40, it looks to be in great shape.

Really like the 70's stripes!

 

[Jacket]

I'm pretty sure the seat buzzer is a wire down near the seat belt receiver on the driver side. Between the belt receiver and the center console IIRC. I found the loose wire, plugged it in, and then figured out it was the buzzer - quickly unplugged...

And x2 on the rear heater ground. I thought my motor was shot, but I upgraded the ground wire and ran it to a cleaner ground and it works great now.

 

[drooartz]

I've got the week off between Christmas and New Years so I'm going to look into the rear heater then. Too much to do before then.

Spent the evening doing a basic service on the truck. Oil change and check both diffs, transmission, and transfer case. Diffs and gear boxes all had plenty of lube in them so I left them alone for now -- it'll be a summer project to do a drain-and-replace, but for now I just wanted to make sure they weren't empty.

Oil change went fine other than a bit of a mishap with the drain pan I was using. *Some* of the oil made it into the pan. I'll be smarter next time.

Also wound up draining and refilling the radiator. Used my tester and it looked like the mix was a bit light on the glycol side (tested only to 0 F) so a bit of fresh coolant was in order. Gets down into the negative teens here in the winter and I really don't want to crack a block. All is well now. Long night, but I feel better knowing I've looked through all the fluids.