So I walked into a burning building today...

[Weber Sarge]

Just to show you how tough these things are - that one is easily repairable . If it were anything else , might have to write it off . At least you don't have a lot of extensive damage , considering the shop's position - I'd just start saving up and hunting a few parts to fix it .
Sarge

 

[inkpot]

A tale deserving of gracing the pages of Toyota Trails.....albeit a bit more embellished, sensationalized, with more words and commas.

Sucks today, I'm sure, but the story alone may be priceless in the future.

Sad day, indeed, but reminds me of a story called " The Broken Birfield Bar"?

 

[JohnnyC]

BBB

The Broken Birdfield Bar

I dedicate this short story to all you "Cruiserheads" out there, men and women, the only people who really understand what this is all about... H.C.
The Broken Birfield Bar

The slender young man drove confidently, reveling in the looks
that his shiny new Wrangler attracted from people. Although it was still
brisk, he had taken the top down at the dealership, for he thought he
could attract more attention that way. He had also wrapped a brand new
tow strap, the thin kind with the hooks at each end, around the front
bumper. Crawford really felt like a four wheeler now.

Later that day he had gone into a construction site near his
house, and the way the shiny Wrangler had climbed over the dirt mounds
put a smile on his face. He had avoided the puddles, though, because he
didn't92t want the new truck dirty so soon. Plus, he was supposed to pick
his friend Gombay up that night for a night in the town, and he wanted
the truck to look its best!

Later that night, after he and Gombay had stopped and talked to a
bunch of girls in another Wrangler, Crawford proposed that they go get a
drink. "Where do you want to go?", Gombay said, as he watched yet another
shiny Wrangler go by. This time the people in it didn't wave. "Well, I
heard there's a bar on the west side where all the four wheelers gather,"
Crawford answered, "and I though we should go check out the scene". "The
west side? Isn92t that kind of seedy?" Asked Gombay. "How bad can it be?"
Crawford said confidently. "Plus, now that I got the Wrangler we'll fit
in perfectly". The two friends took a U-turn in front of a Wendy's, and
sped towards the west side.

"Are you sure this is the right place?" asked Gombay, "I don't
see any other Wranglers. I don92t even see any Jeeps, for that matter;
only those weird looking old trucks!". " Yep! The Broken Birfield! This
is the place I heard those guys talking about!". Crawford drove slowly
into the large parking lot, stopping to look at the vehicles his friend
was referring to. "Those are Land Cruisers, stupid!" he said haughtily
"they're supposed to be good for off-roading". "Better than a Wrangler?"
Gombay asked. "No, man, don't you know this was picked as Four Wheel
Drive Vehicle of the Year? I have the magazine at home if you want to see
it". "All right", his friend answered, "but they look pretty beefy".
"Yeah, and rusty!! Ha, ha, ha!" Both friends laughed loudly, not noticing
the smirk that the driver of a Cruiser with Canadian plates was giving
them. They parked between a zebra-striped FJ40 from Tennessee and a
mean-looking, rusty 55 wagon with big tires. The shiny Wrangler almost
disappeared between the two trucks, and a feeling of dread passed briefly
through Crawford's mind briefly. As they walked towards the entrance,
Gombay noticed that there were a lot of trucks with Canadian plates in
the parking lot, many of them parked together as if by design. He also
noticed a huge brown truck with Alaska plates and 38" tires, and a bright
yellow FJ40 with evil-looking tires and Georgia plates still dripping
muddy water out the back of the tub. "Wow", he thought, "I guess these
people are serious"!!

Under a wooden sign with bright yellow letters that spelled "The
Broken Birfield Bar" stood the meanest-looking bouncer Gombay and
Crawford had ever seen. He wore an Aussie-looking hat and a t-shirt with
the letters "GSMTR" on it. Neither Crawford nor Gombay knew what words
the letters represented. The man, who was wearing a name tag with the
words "Mr. Greenway" on it, was in the middle of a good-natured argument
with some guy he called Jack, who insisted that you hadn't wheeled unless
you had run a glacier. "Five dollar cover charge, unless you drive a
Cruiser!" the bouncer said, "You can get your raffle tickets right here,
as many as you want, unless you're Canadian. Then it's a 5-ticket limit".
Since neither friend understood what was going on, they paid their cover
charge and bought five tickets each. "I'm going to have to pawn my watch
tomorrow" Gombay thought. As the two friends walked in, the first thing
they noticed was a massive wooden bar that sprawled from one end of the
room to the other. At the end closest to the entrance, a lively
discussion, between seven or eight people on the advantages of gas vs.
Diesel was in full swing. Gombay and Crawford walked up to the bar and
sat next to the group. Gombay ordered two beers from a tall bartender. A
shorter bartender, whom Gombay thought looked vaguely familiar, was
engaged in conversation with two girls, one of which was flirtatiously
pulling her waistband down to show him her tattoo. The blushing
bartender, who happened to be happily married, was saved by a tall young
man who spoke with a Dutch or German accent. "Hey, Rainman, give me
another Broken Birfield" the bartender smiled as he poured the young man
a shot. "Sure, Willem-Jan you want a beer with that?" Both men laughed,
and Gombay and Crawford were left to themselves. At the other end of the
bar, two men, obviously Australian, were having a drinking match with two
Canadians and a bearded fellow that everyone called Gary. Bits and pieces
of their conversation drifted towards the two friends, and pretty soon
they had figured out that the Aussies were named Nigel and Jack, and the
Canadians Mike and Warren.

Across from the bar were a trio of pool tables. At the first one
were a group of men and women with Windy City Land Cruiser t-shirts, a
tall young man with a fleece vest, and a thin looking fellow with a pipe
and a handlebar mustache; at the second table a foul-mouthed short
fellow, a tall, stocky young man with longish blond hair who spoke with a
British accent, a short, redheaded fellow named Will and a bearded man
named Ernie were obviously playing for money. Under the table, a shaggy
brown dog laid placidly, but nobody seemed to mind. From time to time,
the short man with the bandanna around his head would lovingly throw the
dog a couple of french fries, which immediately disappeared without the
dog moving. At the last table, two guys named Lance and Kerry were
playing a guy called Kevin and his wife, both of which spoke with a soft
southern drawl. All four were laughing at something, but somehow Crawford
and Gombay missed the joke.
Two women walked by Crawford and Gombay on their way to the bar,
but they didn't even look at the two fellows. One of them, with a thick
New Brunswick accent, called at the tall bartender for two beers, and
then called at the other woman to join her; "Annie, over here. I want you
to meet my friend Mooseman!". The big fellow she was referring to had
just spotted a good friend of his, who was unsuccessfully trying to
convince a man named Andy and his wife that he could not get them a Land
Cruiser from Venezuela!

Sipping their beers, Gombay and Crawford continued to look around
the bar, hoping perhaps to find someone talking about a Wrangler, or
perhaps even another Jeep! They tried to start conversation with two men
who had approached the bar, but as soon as the word Jeep came out of
Crawford's mouth, one of the two guys, wearing a "Land Cruiser FAQ"
t-shirt, turned to the other and said "C'mon, Gord, let's get "oat" of
here!".

No matter where they turned, the two friends couldn't seem to
make conversation. One crazy looking guy from Philadelphia started
rambling about double-galvanizing-triple-POR-15'ning the chassis of his
military trailer to stop the rust. Another guy who everyone called
"Corky" was bragging about how we would go to a place called "Catamount"
and not do any work for a change; this brought laughter from a guy named
Tim and a couple of Canadian brothers, who were all drinking out of
fiberglass mugs. Across from them, another Canadian, a particularly
shaggy-looking fellow, was describing to a delighted crowd how his wife
had followed him on a trail, destroying her wagon in the process.

Suddenly, two friendly looking guys, one tall and lanky and the
other one strong and grizzled got up on the bar, proudly announcing that
they had driven fourteen hours to the bar. This brought a round of
applause, until an even taller and lankier fellow whose last name nobody
could pronounce announced that it had taken him fifty-two(!) to drive
from California, triggering another round of applause. Some man named
Day, also from California, whipped out a Mexican sombrero and invited
everyone in the room with a wagon to follow him to Baja for an
expedition. Everyone laughed and many a drink was passed around.

Gombay turned to Crawford and said: "I'm going to walk around for
a while and try to mingle". While Gombay was gone, Crawford took a look
at the walls, most of which were packed with pictures of Land Cruisers,
not just FJ40's rockcrawling (of which there were more than a fair
share), but of every model of Land Cruiser, conquering every kind of
terrain on every corner of the earth. Other memorabilia included a broken
rear axle signed by C. Gregory, an autographed copy of the original
Clevis Bungeecord cartoon, a chrome grill piece donated by an R. Benett,
and dozens of the parts that had given the bar it's name, all hanging
from the walls and ceiling.

Suddenly, Crawford turned around and his blood chilled. An entire wall of
the bar was covered with pictures of Wranglers, CJ's, and Cherokee's
being pulled out of harm's way by all types of Land Cruisers. In the
middle of the wall was a small shelf, upon which sat a thin bluish
hardcover book, written in a foreign language, that seemed to glow with a
sinister light, as if mocking him. And then Crawford understood. He did
not belong here, he never would!

With sweaty palms and nervous gestures, he walked across the bar,
rescuing Gombay , who was being told by a giant, fiery chef that if he
didn't like chicken fingers marinated in Diesel and coated in graham
crackers, he would have to leave. Hurriedly, the two men left the bar,
dropping their raffle tickets on the counter in lieu of payment. As the
two fools tried to start their Wrangler (a difficult task in the presence
of such intimidating company), a young Canadian, on his way back from the
restroom, saw the raffle tickets and picked them up, chuckling to
himself "looks like another good night, eh?".

By Henry J. Cubillan
PS: I apologize to those who weren't at the bar (and to those that were!)
Maybe you'll make it to the next one, "Crawford and Gombay hit the Trails"!

 

[MoCoNative]

The pre 75 roof panels differ from the later ones. Earlier panels have a longer overhang on the front and less rivets and no reinforcements on the sides above the "B" pillars. Later panels have a shorter overhang on the front and a row of closely set rivets along with a thickened area above the "B" pillar. REally early tops have a vent in the back area through the roof. The front piece riveted to the fiberglass that bolts to the top of the windshield is also different due to the movement of the wipers from the top of the windshield to the bottom, bolt holes and number are also different. The bolt pattern for the rest of the gutter to the hardtop side panels is the same between years for the most part, as is the gasket. Only difference is near driver "B" pillar as earlier models had a dome light mounted in the roof panel with two bolts through the roof, and later models have the dome light mounted in the "B" pillar itself.

The front windshield piece can be easily removed and refitted to a differing roof panel. The extra reinforcements above the "B" pillars was to take care of cracking problems in the fiberglass and rivet connections due to body flex. Usually the gutters have some rot in the rear corners amoung other spots due to water entrapment between the gasket, or the fiberglass itself. Usually the gutter needs thoroughly cleaned and resealed. A flexible sealant is preferred, the piece above the windshield is also very poorly sealed from the factory and benefits from a good resealing. Pieces of a good gutter can be cut and welded into a bad gutter without redoing all the rivets if most of it is in good shape. Resetting and even finding the proper rivets if pretty difficult. I assume they were done with a press at Toyota, maybe even stuck through hot, I'm not sure.

 

[Jay-]

MoCoNative so in noob speek I need a 76,77,78,79 or above roof?

 

[MoCoNative]

Yes, that is what I would look for if possible. I only know cause I took a late 70's top and put it on my 73 after rolling it. However, if you can find decent fiberglass, and it is not the correct year, you can salvage the front piece from yours, repair the gutter as needed either by cutting patches from your gutter, or little chunks of free steel and make it work either way. If your gasket is cooked beyond use, take the gasket too from the top you end up finding.

 

[Jay-]

I found a local entire top, sides, $1500 and it looks like its rust free.
i could sell the glass and rubber and end up pretty ok!

please no one snake this ahaha

Hartop off my 76 fj40

 

[Jay-]

wow I found three tops next town!
Guys can you advise me, he does not know the year but said
"one is really really nice complete with gutters"

Can I put my gutter on and put the top on?

its cheap enough I could just buy it and experiment, almost...

 

[Mace]

Pics would help a lot

 

[MoCoNative]

From my experience, it would be great to remove the metal rain gutter piece from the fiberglass top shell, and put modern sealants in-between. However, unless you have the tooling to press all those rivets back on you will never get it put back together properly. If you find a decent top, use it. As I said above, if you have limited rust issues on the gutter itself, cut and replace in small sections. Also externally clean the area around the circumference of the gutter and fiberglass and reseal it with a non-hardening flexible sealant, or else you will have a leaky roof. An automotive grade sealant, that is paintable is preferable. We tried pouring fiberglass resin it there and it was too brittle for body flex and ultimately cracked and leaked. The flexible sealant was doing great on my second attempt at top rebuilding.

 

[peteinjp]

The rivets are aluminum and can be bucked with a hammer.

Pete

 

[MoCoNative]

I've done a few that way, but I found it be very frustrating to get a good set on them, yet alone doing all of them around a roof.

 

[Jay-]

ok this is sounding scary bad again. your saying the top even the same year 1976 might never be correct if I remove my fiberglass top and attempt to rivet this new one in its place it will leak and suck ass?

 

[MoCoNative]

Have you looked at how these things are built. You have a big panel of fiberglass, that got melted on your truck. This big panel is riveted to a metal rain gutter piece that goes all the way around the roof panel. The rain gutter piece is bolted to the top of the rear sides of the truck and two separate pieces over the front doors with about 20 bolts along with 4 bolts on the top of the windshield frame. You buy the entire "white top piece with gutter attached. Unbolt yours. The pieces over the front doors are a little tricky, you have to remove the 3-4 phillip headed bolts on the inside and pop out the tapered piece that the door weather-strip rides against to access the bolts inside. The rest of the bolts are easy to see and get to as I recall. Two guys lift the entire white piece off, you put the replacement on.

You will probably break some bolts off if things are rusty, take you time if you wish. Your top is junk, once they break off, not a big deal. Make sure all the bolt holes are clear on the replacement top. They may need the threads chased, or you can drill them out and use a nut on the top from inside the cab. If the large special rubber gasket under your roof is cooked, then find a replacement.

The level of restoration you wish to do at this stage or later is up to you. A direct swap of the "white" roof panel is literally about a 30 minute job if all goes well.

 

[slickrock]

The rivets were installed by primates, not robots, so the rivet holes between the tops will not line up so you will be drilling, hogging, and filling holes with the new top. People estimated the hole location at times (like on a Friday at 4:50pm). Believe this was already covered.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

ok this is sounding scary bad again. your saying the top even the same year 1976 might never be correct if I remove my fiberglass top and attempt to rivet this new one in its place it will leak and suck ass?

Question - what do you want this to be when you're done? a nut n bolt restoration or something that will work fine and not leak? If it's the later, get the entire top off anything from 69 up. Will it be perfect? no, on the other hand, it will keep the rain out and rattle as only a FJ40 roof can rattle... if you're looking for close, then as you said 76 up....

oh yeah, and whatever you do, don't remove the fiberglass from the metal rain rail. the seal alone costs about $400.... you said you were looking to save money, there ya go

Believe this was already covered.

or failed at funny?

 

[stayalert]

Damn…What some guys will do for "patina"

And yes that turn signal is pretty awesome!

 

[slickrock]

Question - what do you want this to be when you're done? a nut n bolt restoration or something that will work fine and not leak? If it's the later, get the entire top off anything from 69 up. Will it be perfect? no, on the other hand, it will keep the rain out and rattle as only a FJ40 roof can rattle... if you're looking for close, then as you said 76 up....

oh yeah, and whatever you do, don't remove the fiberglass from the metal rain rail. the seal alone costs about $400.... you said you were looking to save money, there ya go

or failed at funny?

I should have put a "ha-ha" after the word covered to be more explicit, but figured someone would catch it. I tip my hat to you good sir.

 

[Jay-]

well this is the top, im going to drive almost to far for the FJ40 addiction.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

Is there such a thing? I'd argue that driving a FJ40 (pre-74) is high-miles at 100k because there's not enough hours between 1974 and 2016 for one to drive a '40 100k miles.

You've confused me just a little - are you buying just the fiberglass or the entire cap?