Builds The Architect's '77 FJ40 (3 Viewers)

[GA Architect]

I didnt appreciate my first vehicle that was given to me until I blew the engine and had to put some sweat equity into it. 80 series seem to be cheap and a quick/easy fixer upper might help the new driver to appreciate what he is given.

With a similar thought process as above, my son will have to put in over 100 hours of work this summer before he gets any vehicle. And those hours will not come from around our house or Grandma's. And once those hours are obtained, he will need to work to put gas in his ride, or he won't be going anywhere. Mom & Dad are not filling his gas tank, thus he will have a stake in his new driving situation/privilege.....Right now, the vehicles I'm leaning towards is an older 4Runner, older Tacoma or older full-size tuck. Being he plays High School football & baseball, and loves to fish, I'm leaning more towards a truck of some sort. That way, he can throw all his nasty-ness in the back.

 

[Jdc1]

With a similar thought process as above, my son will have to put in over 100 hours of work this summer before he gets any vehicle. And those hours will not come from around our house or Grandma's. And once those hours are obtained, he will need to work to put gas in his ride, or he won't be going anywhere. Mom & Dad are not filling his gas tank, thus he will have a stake in his new driving situation/privilege.....Right now, the vehicles I'm leaning towards is an older 4Runner, older Tacoma or older full-size tuck. Being he plays High School football & baseball, and loves to fish, I'm leaning more towards a truck of some sort. That way, he can throw all his nasty-ness in the back.

Cant beat a late 90s chevy 1500 w/ a slow but unstopable 4.3L.

 

[handcannon]

With a similar thought process as above, my son will have to put in over 100 hours of work this summer before he gets any vehicle. And those hours will not come from around our house or Grandma's. And once those hours are obtained, he will need to work to put gas in his ride, or he won't be going anywhere. Mom & Dad are not filling his gas tank, thus he will have a stake in his new driving situation/privilege.....Right now, the vehicles I'm leaning towards is an older 4Runner, older Tacoma or older full-size tuck. Being he plays High School football & baseball, and loves to fish, I'm leaning more towards a truck of some sort. That way, he can throw all his nasty-ness in the back.

I like your thought process! Kids that have things just handed to them normally don't appreciate what they've got. Have them put in a bit of sweat equity and they appreciate things better. If I hadn't used my own money to purchase, fuel up, and repair, I would have been walking.

Don

 

[sterling]

I vote for a 3rd gen 4runner,if you can find one with decent miles.

 

[70fj40]

I vote for the older toyota pickup. 90's tacomas are an excellent 1st truck. Single cab is only big enough for two and so he won't be the guy who drives every time his buddies want to go somewhere. I restored a 1990 tacoma for my youngest son and surprised him with it. He now drives a new tacoma.

 

[Weber Sarge]

Simple and effective - first-gen Tacoma 4ycl...easy enough to work , tough as nails and not fast enough to get into trouble with it .
Sarge

 

[70fj40]

The only problem is old tacomas are habit forming. Much like FJ40's he will never stop spending.
From this

 

[70fj40]

 

[70fj40]

To this

 

[Weber Sarge]

LOL - I totally understand that . I miss my '08 Taco TRD Offroad V6 - but the frame rust bs and rear springs finally just became too much and I needed a full size truck anyway .
Sarge

 

[70fj40]

Then in the end your son will finally get wise and end up here

 

[G-Cat]

Have owned my 98 4Runner with the 3.4 since 2000 with 50K miles. Now has 285K miles.

Clear coat failure aside, most trouble-free Toyota (1 of 13) I've ever owned. Less expensive to buy than a comparable Tacoma.

That said...I'd vote for an early 90s 4cyl truck.

 

[GA Architect]

I've got a call in on this '04, 98K miles.....hope to get if for around $11K.....

 

[Weber Sarge]

I'd go for it , local owner here in town has that exact truck and you'd have to pry it out of his cold , dead fingers...and he's an old Chevy fan to boot .
Sarge

 

[handcannon]

That looks good. Many years ago I had one of the early Toyota 2 wheel drive pickups. I loved it. The only reason I replaced it was I had to have something that would tow a 1000# flat bed trailer loaded with shipping crates. I was making shipping crates as a side line job. Delivering the crates (often over 6 ft tall) was very hard on that Toyota as it struggled to get up to 50 MPH from the weight of the trailer and the wind resistance caused by the crates.

Don

 

[Jdc1]

I had a 00 V6 TRD w/ 5 speed and elocker. I kick myself every time that i think about trading it. Atlanta commuting and the 5 speed was not fun.

 

[Gun Runner 5]

I've got a call in on this '04, 98K miles.....hope to get if for around $11K.....

Nice score. Exactly what I'm looking for.

 

[GA Architect]

My Door Restoration:

Broke out the surgical table last night.

Tossed the patient upon the table.

With a steady hand, I opened the patient up to reveal a nasty case of the torn interior barrier & tar/butyl ooze.

I'd like to punch the person who came up with using tar/butyl tape to hold the barrier in place. There has got to be a better solution!

With persistence, some xylene and almost a whole roll of paper towels, I was able to rid the passenger door of the tar/butyl $hit.....Yea, the black crap went from the frigging doors to my hands!!! And for the love of mercy on the absent minded, I purchased a whole case of black nitrile gloves to wear for this. Like a dumbass, got in a hurry and forgot to put them on. None the less, I cleaned up as well, like the door below.

More to come this weekend.....

 

[tstepp920]

your ongoing restoration will be my "How To" guide if I can ever actually get my paws on one worth having.

 

[Solace in Solitude]

I thought a PO had put that crap on my doors... I didn't realize it was 'oem'... looks great Rick!!