Well I figure I start a thread to both keep me motivated and also so I can ask the million questions I am sure I will have!
This first post will be a bit lengthy.....you can skip it for the most part though if you just want to see work.
Quick info though...
1976 FJ40
Chevy 283
TH350 Tranny
Stock transfer case
Bit about me...Im 28 right now. Its only been the last ~5 years I have really been into cars/trucks/ect. Even so it has mostly been just basic "swapping parts" on my Tacoma and taking it out off-roading and camping. But Ive learned to do brakes and the such. Also picked up a welder a few months ago and have been playing with that....which turns out will come in quite handy! Ever since I saw a FJ40 I wanted one. Its on of the vehicles that soon as I saw it I knew i wanted it.
Well last weekend my desire/dream came true! I saw another member post a for sale ad on here and base don the post I jumped on it. We started talking on a Wednesday (tuesday night i dont remember) and I met up with him Saturday morning and purchased it after looking at it for maybe 30 minutes. Had it towed to my place that evening.
All I knew about it was it showed 40k on the odometer, but wasnt sure if that was 40k or 140k. It had a Chevy 283, TH350 automatic tranny, and the stock transfer case. The brakes also didnt work. The PO also told me about 15 years ago it was "worked on" and alot of bondo was used. The PO told me he had been daily driving it for a few years then had parked it and it sat for four years.
But looking it over it looked pretty good! I didnt see any real major rust on the frame, the engine was there and looked good, and a lot of stock parts looked good.
So for the first pictures will be the day i brought it home. I did clean the wind shields up a bit. 4 years of pollen and dirt took a bit of elbow grease but cleaned up nicely!
it came with Ambulance Doors. They just werent installed. Same with the tire carrier. Both of those looked to be in pretty good shape and wont need to much work thankfully.
Upon getting it home I discovered problems 1 and 2. Problem 1.....the rear pumpkin started leaking when we off loaded it from the tow guys trailer. Not to big of a deal since I planned on rebuilding the axles anyways. But always a bummer to see something like that! Problem 2....the brakes. I pressed the pedal down and heard a nasty hissing and it bottomed out. Well this turned out to be why....
The brake line was cracked and spewed brake fluid everywhere. I replaced that line with a temporary fix line, rebleed the brakes, and.....crap another leak. This time the rear line from that runs across the rear axle. So replaced that line and had some brake pressure. At this point I called it quits on the brakes. They work for stopping at slow speeds but Id never trust them at anything over 5mph. Not sure if the booster is bad or its another leak or what. But part of my build plan is to replace the brakes anyways.
O and I got it running during all that too. Luckily it mostly just needed a good cleaning and a new battery to get started.
Well with it running and the brakes only marginally working, I decided it was time to pull it into the garage and start tearing it down. Which ends post number 1
This first post will be a bit lengthy.....you can skip it for the most part though if you just want to see work.
Quick info though...
1976 FJ40
Chevy 283
TH350 Tranny
Stock transfer case
Bit about me...Im 28 right now. Its only been the last ~5 years I have really been into cars/trucks/ect. Even so it has mostly been just basic "swapping parts" on my Tacoma and taking it out off-roading and camping. But Ive learned to do brakes and the such. Also picked up a welder a few months ago and have been playing with that....which turns out will come in quite handy! Ever since I saw a FJ40 I wanted one. Its on of the vehicles that soon as I saw it I knew i wanted it.
Well last weekend my desire/dream came true! I saw another member post a for sale ad on here and base don the post I jumped on it. We started talking on a Wednesday (tuesday night i dont remember) and I met up with him Saturday morning and purchased it after looking at it for maybe 30 minutes. Had it towed to my place that evening.
All I knew about it was it showed 40k on the odometer, but wasnt sure if that was 40k or 140k. It had a Chevy 283, TH350 automatic tranny, and the stock transfer case. The brakes also didnt work. The PO also told me about 15 years ago it was "worked on" and alot of bondo was used. The PO told me he had been daily driving it for a few years then had parked it and it sat for four years.
But looking it over it looked pretty good! I didnt see any real major rust on the frame, the engine was there and looked good, and a lot of stock parts looked good.
So for the first pictures will be the day i brought it home. I did clean the wind shields up a bit. 4 years of pollen and dirt took a bit of elbow grease but cleaned up nicely!
it came with Ambulance Doors. They just werent installed. Same with the tire carrier. Both of those looked to be in pretty good shape and wont need to much work thankfully.
Upon getting it home I discovered problems 1 and 2. Problem 1.....the rear pumpkin started leaking when we off loaded it from the tow guys trailer. Not to big of a deal since I planned on rebuilding the axles anyways. But always a bummer to see something like that! Problem 2....the brakes. I pressed the pedal down and heard a nasty hissing and it bottomed out. Well this turned out to be why....
The brake line was cracked and spewed brake fluid everywhere. I replaced that line with a temporary fix line, rebleed the brakes, and.....crap another leak. This time the rear line from that runs across the rear axle. So replaced that line and had some brake pressure. At this point I called it quits on the brakes. They work for stopping at slow speeds but Id never trust them at anything over 5mph. Not sure if the booster is bad or its another leak or what. But part of my build plan is to replace the brakes anyways.
O and I got it running during all that too. Luckily it mostly just needed a good cleaning and a new battery to get started.
Well with it running and the brakes only marginally working, I decided it was time to pull it into the garage and start tearing it down. Which ends post number 1
