Builds Rub A Dub Dub, Pablo's Got A New Tub!!! (1 Viewer)

[PabloCruise]

Around the time I moved from NM back to CO, I realized I had a problem with rust. My dogs loved riding around in the 40, but when they stepped on the tub floor close to the ambi doors, the bottom latch would spring. Not good!

I got a recommendation to go see a father and son team that specialized in restoring classic Chevrolets - '55, '56, '57 Bel Air and Nomads. These guys were great! They thought the 40 was pretty cool, and didn't like the idea of the doors opening when the dogs were in the back, so they were up for the challenge.

Josh and Tracy:

In the above pic, they have just finished repairing the rear channel. Here is how it looked before:

And after:

 

[PabloCruise]

Tracy and his son Josh would ultimately be the saviors of this 40. For guys that restored classic Chevies in their spare time, they figured out the 40 pretty quickly. I really admired their work ethic. Tracy worked full-time, but had built a separate barn for his restoration work. Josh had his welding certificate before he finished high school. After the power steering, it was time to switch to the 33s. Since I had flipped the rear spring pack, we would have to cut the rear wheel openings to accommodate the larger rubber and a rear axle that had moved back 4 inches. I called Tracy and he thought we could figure this out. So I loaded up the new rubber and went back up the road to see my friends. We peeled off the diamond plate (she looks better w/o it), used it as a template, and removed about 4 inches from the back of the wheel opening.

Shazam!

This felt like another change that meant we were not going back to stock, but I felt like this was a subtle change that still looked like factory. I liked the longer wheel base, new wheel opening and less overhang. This was the way Toyota could have built 40s...

 

[PabloCruise]

At same time as I was doing these mechanical projects, I was eyeing the dreaded rust and thinking about the body. Around this time, I went to the Rising Sun club rally and ran into my Cruise Moab friend - Ige @nuclearlemon . Ige was selling a tub from a ’77 40 that she was parting out. Suddenly I had a way to work on my 40’s rust while still driving my Land Cruiser!

Tracy and Josh said they could take the tub and work it into their schedule as time permits around their beautiful Bel Airs and Nomad restorations.

Then another Cruise Moab friend, Eric @sorenoneill , had a set of front fenders from a rust-free Cruiser that I could put towards the re-birth of my 40. He found these fenders out in Las Vegas, and they were perfect! Ultimately, it would be about 10 years before my Land Cruiser would emerge with this sheet-metal and new paint.

This kind of brings us back to the origins of his thread - Pablo had a new tub!

 

[PabloCruise]

@PabloCruise

yes at one point I was crazy enough to own 2 of these. Sadly I should have kept the one I sold, it was in much better shape overall.
@osagecruiser bought it and took it to Kansas. Not sure if he is still around or not??

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Looks like he was last on MUD in Feb!

 

[FJBen]

Looks like he was last on MUD in Feb!

Maybe he’ll show back up.

now we just need all those cool updated photos of the 40.
what other plans do you have for this 40?

did I also see a 3rd brake lighton the hardtop?

 

[PabloCruise]

Maybe he’ll show back up.

now we just need all those cool updated photos of the 40.
what other plans do you have for this 40?

did I also see a 3rd brake lighton the hardtop?

Spoiler: 3rd Brake Light

You do indeed see a 3rd brake light up there! Stay tuned, true believers...

 

[PabloCruise]

For several years, I just enjoyed driving my 40 on and off the road.
We went to Cruise Moab whenever we could.
Then I found an FJ-55 project and started spending all my free time on that - I blame @FJBen : Builds - POTM - March, 2014 - Javelina By Pablo Cruise

I kept talking with Tracy and Josh about when we should pull the trigger on the 40 - take her apart and get that shiny new tub put on. It seemed like our timing was never right for both parties to take the 40 off the road for paint. The restorations they were doing had their own pace, so we just kept in touch and figured when it was time, we would know.

 

[PabloCruise]

Lots of adventures - getting our $ worth out of that factory paint!

Getting ready for a swim in Horsetooth Reservoir:

I think this wall is in Moab? Reminded us of the Rosalyn's Cafe in Northern Exposure:

Camping and biking up in the Poudre Canyon:

Getting the Christmas tree (yes, we brought our cat):

 

[PabloCruise]

And of course the Cruise Moab pictures...

While I am in here telling stories, let me tell you about the Cruise Moab that my 40 wheeled, but I didn't. In 2006, I drove out to Moab with @kipper - a great guy. He had bought @Uncle Ben V8 powered 62 "Long Grain" (Wild Rice?) and together we formed a caravan to CM '06. We got to the campground in the evening and met up with our buddy Eric @sorenoneill . We set up camp and were soon fast asleep.
The next morning was a perfect, beautiful morning in Moab. I had made a French press of coffee and was sitting in my little camp chair just feeling the sun's goodness bouncing off the rock. I thought, "This is beautiful.". My phone rang, it was my sister in law, calling from California. She wanted to know where I was, and I told her I was in Moab. She asked if her sister (my wife) was with me? She was not. She was about 3 months pregnant and stayed home. My sister in law was calling to tell me that their Dad had passed in the night, and she wanted to make sure I was there with my wife when she got the news. I was stunned. I had to get back home (~6 hours) ASAP. I got off the phone and talked with my friends. Kipper tossed the keys to his V8 powered 62 at me and wished me God speed. Wow! I threw my tent and other stuff in the back and headed out. Kipper and Eric wheeled my 40 and had a great time. I still get a little teary-eyed thinking about that - thank you @kipper

In no particular order, some pictures from Cruise Moabs past...
This was fun - Wipeout Hill:

Does anyone remember this image from the Henry Brimmer calendar?

Does anyone remember the infamous @mickey Rubicon?

 

[PabloCruise]

@subzali - who is this guy?

 

[PabloCruise]

Another fun adventure was going up to the Walden Sand Dunes with a prototype FJ Cruiser before Toyota launched them.
Toyota's ad agency hired Bill Burke to drive the prototype and reached out to local clubs to get some Cruisers out there with the FJC.
@FJBen and I drove up the Poudre Canyon in tandem and then we assembled with the group in Walden before headed out to the Dunes. It was below 0 degrees the entire day. We never turned the vehicles off. @treerootCO showed up with a 40 on a trailer that had straight 40 weight in the crankcase, we had to pull start his 40!
For a while, Toyota put out a quarterly FJ Cruiser magazine, and my 40 made it in one of these mags.

Group photo:

Did I mention it was cold?

@FJBen Pigastic and the 40 hanging out, looking cool:

Pigtastic hanging with the FJC:

 

[subzali]

The V862 was Long Grain.

Pics of me were 2007! Great run on Wipeout Hill!

 

[subzali]

I liked the Walden pictures. But should also “sad” them

 

[FJBen]

Great pics TJ!


Yeah that was a bad day

sorry for hijack...

 

[PabloCruise]

The V862 was Long Grain.

Pics of me were 2007! Great run on Wipeout Hill!

That is it - Long Grain! Thanks Matt!

And Wipeout Hill, I couldn't remember that either. Is that still on the CM trail roster?

 

[PabloCruise]

I liked the Walden pictures. But should also “sad” them

Great pics TJ!


Yeah that was a bad day ☹

sorry for hijack...

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Yeah, that was a sad day.

No problem Ben, not really a hijack if I brought it up, I just didn't want to induce any PTSD!

My wife and I spent several hours driving behind @FJBen and Pigastic on the way to Walden. I had been trying to convince her that we should get a Pig. She was open to the idea, but she thought we should get rid of the 40 to get the 55 Finally after 2+ hours she was on board with getting a Pig.

And then it happened... The Pig drifted left, caught the snow in the opposite side of the road drainage ditch and flopped over - hard. Ouch.

It was a sad, sad day.

 

[PabloCruise]

Another fun adventure was going up to the Walden Sand Dunes with a prototype FJ Cruiser before Toyota launched them.
Toyota's ad agency hired Bill Burke to drive the prototype and reached out to local clubs to get some Cruisers out there with the FJC.
@FJBen and I drove up the Poudre Canyon in tandem and then we assembled with the group in Walden before headed out to the Dunes. It was below 0 degrees the entire day. We never turned the vehicles off. @treerootCO showed up with a 40 on a trailer that had straight 40 weight in the crankcase, we had to pull start his 40!
For a while, Toyota put out a quarterly FJ Cruiser magazine, and my 40 made it in one of these mags.

Group photo:
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View attachment 2254692

Did I mention it was cold?
View attachment 2254694

@FJBen Pigastic and the 40 hanging out, looking cool:
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Pigtastic hanging with the FJC:
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Astute observers will note that the Pig has her windshield here, but not in the picture w/ the FJ. This picture is probably one of the last before she flopped.

I can't talk about it anymore...

 

[FJBen]

Astute observers will note that the Pig has her windshield here, but not in the picture w/ the FJ. This picture is probably one of the last before she flopped.

I can't talk about it anymore...

thanks for those pictures! I hadn't seen some of those in a LOONG time. This last picture is cool. I just remember how damn cold it was! -18F below.

 

[PabloCruise]

thanks for those pictures! I hadn't seen some of those in a LOONG time. This last picture is cool. I just remember how damn cold it was! -18F below.

It was cold indeed!
I was pretty impressed you drove back to Walden with no windshield...

 

[PabloCruise]

Dropped off the 40 at the shop over the weekend.

I sure do miss it!

So here we are, a little over 8 years ago I brought the 40 up to undergo renovation.

I was looking through dates and realized that it was 29 March, 2016 when we picked it back up! The 40 was there for 4 years...

My picture folder is a mess, I must be sorting by the wrong criteria b/c I can't get the pictures in chronological order.

I need to figure out where I left off on this thread and then pick things up from there - once I can get my darn pictures in order.