West Coast Road Trip in my 'new' 78 FJ40 (2 Viewers)

[NW40]

My wife and I recently purchased a 1978 FJ40 that’s been in her family for the last two decades. With the Land Cruiser in Southern California and us in Seattle, we had no choice but to road trip it up the West Coast, leaving our two young kids with grandparents and taking the longest way possible! (don't get too excited...it was still mostly on road)

I’ll use this thread to post some photos from the journey as I have time to sort through them from the cameras we brought along. If I find the time to edit it, I’ll post a GoPro video of the trip as well.

Here's a couple photos from the day I bought the '40 from my wife's uncle, taken by him as I drove the Cruiser away as the new owner. I had that grin on my face for hours!

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-.../jwrgiAzF8Pk/s800/Just%20purchased%20FJ40.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-...jHLyX71Ls/s800/Parting%20view%20of%20FJ40.jpg

And a few more photos below of what the Cruiser looked like when I acquired it. Mostly unmolested, with original rubber floor mats up front, Toyota AM radio (turns on but no sound yet), and uncut fenders. Did have a repaint about 10 years ago, and there is a bit of rust in the usual places, but nothing that appears too bad. I'll soon mention a few mods I had done before leaving for the long road trip, but nothing that is irreversible. Wanted to maintain the ability to return to bone stock if later desired.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-NrQeaXzZWDQ/UGxy_A-w8DI/AAAAAAAAAU0/Dz-Ic_TRWRQ/s640/IMG_8906.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Rp0UN4mX8iM/UGxy-4H7WZI/AAAAAAAAAUo/RZ-K90P5gno/s640/IMG_8908.JPG

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Pt-cYCMaDVI/UKqWf0IN-SI/AAAAAAAAAcM/yxUofUDbzMU/s640/IMG_8933.JPG

 

[spotcruiser]

Nice truck. I still have the '78 I bought new.

Are you Chad? Let me know if you have questions or need help with anything.

Todd.

 

[NW40]

Thanks, Todd. Yes, I'm Chad. Did we meet at the Seattle Cruiserheads meeting last week? I met so many guys I can't keep all the names straight yet! Looking forward to more club meets and getting to know you guys.

 

[Raddic]

Subscribed..


Have safe trip.

 

[cc93cruiser]

Put some oem steelies and some tall skinnies and your set! Very nice, 78 is finest year 40..

 

[NW40]

Subscribed..


Have safe trip.

Thanks Raddic. We safely finished the trip last Tuesday, and I'm just now getting around to posting some photos now that the dust has settled. At the rate I'll be getting the photos up, though, it'll almost be like you're following along real time with the trip!

Put some oem steelies and some tall skinnies and your set! Very nice, 78 is finest year 40..

You read my mind, cc93cruiser! A photo showing just that is soon to come... By the way, nice cruiser in your profile pic! Mustard yellow would've been my first choice, but I couldn't pass up a nice truck that had been in the family for so long.

 

[cc93cruiser]

You read my mind, cc93cruiser! A photo showing just that is soon to come... By the way, nice cruiser in your profile pic! Mustard yellow would've been my first choice, but I couldn't pass up a nice truck that had been in the family for so long.

I miss my 78 40 everyday!... Here's a couple pics of 33x9.5's and 33.10.5's from my old and departed 78 for comparison:

BFG A/T 33x9.5's:

BFG M/T 33.10.5's:

.....................Can you tell I miss my 78 ?

 

[CruiserStuff]

You KNOW I'm subscribed

 

[oUZIo]

Subscribed!

 

[tymayo34]

I miss my 78 40 everyday!... Here's a couple pics of 33x9.5's and 33.10.5's from my old and departed 78 for comparison:

BFG A/T 33x9.5's:

BFG M/T 33.10.5's:

.....................Can you tell I miss my 78 ?

Where, and how, did you get that gas tank ensemble? Please!

 

[NW40]

I miss my 78 40 everyday!... Here's a couple pics of 33x9.5's and 33.10.5's from my old and departed 78 for comparison...

Beautiful rig, Robert! I'd miss it, too.

You KNOW I'm subscribed

Was just about to send you a link, Greg! Had some time on my flight back to Seattle today to start the thread. Glad you found it.

 

[1973Guppie]

WOOOOHOOO!! hope everything went well on the drive. Can't wait to see the pics. Guys, this cruiser is a beauty for sure......

Noah

 

[cc93cruiser]

Where, and how, did you get that gas tank ensemble? Please!

It was made by conferr, not sure if the company is still around..

 

[NW40]

WOOOOHOOO!! hope everything went well on the drive. Can't wait to see the pics. Guys, this cruiser is a beauty for sure......

Noah

Hey Noah! It was a fantastic drive! I'm about to give you props in my next post for your excellent work. Feel free to fill in any details on the truck that you think would be worthwhile to add. This thread is as much for my historical reference as it is for the enjoyment of everyone else.

Chad

 

[NW40]

Maintenance & Mods

So here we go with the maintenance and mods. Bear with me if some of the photos, commentary, or details make you yawn. This is my way of documenting, for my own future reference, all the maintenance, mods, and soon, the trip.

Prior to making the 1500 mile road trip from Escondido to Seattle, 1973Guppie here on MUD performed a bunch of maintenance and a few mods to the truck. As mentioned in the first post above, the truck has been relatively unmolested over the last few decades, so I generally went with modifications that were mostly reversible except for very few new holes, all the while making the truck more reliable and more comfortable for long road (and off-road) trips. And ultimately, I wanted to make the truck my own and to make it suit my family’s use of it. After all, I gotta enjoy it or what's the point?!

Maintenance and mods included:

• The usual maintenance, including new belts, hoses, fluids, side and valve cover gaskets, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, pcv, filters, valve adjustment, and timing adjustment.
• Installed a Trollhole carb.
• Desmogged the engine, which made use of FJ40Jim’s cap & plug set and EGR blockoff plate, found here.
• Replaced my charcoal canister, which had broke, with a suitable replacement (Duralast VC120) that I found via this helpful MUD thread.
• Converted to Toyota Mini Truck power steering, including power steering cooler and MAF billet pulley for better belt fitment. And WHOA!, I had concerns that the Mini Truck setup wouldn’t be sufficient, but Noah was right: this is WAY more than adequate for 31” tires, and no doubt larger tires. Almost too effortless.
• Rebuilt steering linkages to clean up some steering slop and added an OME steering stabilizer.
• Installed a dual battery setup with Specter dual battery tray, Blue Sea 7622 Auto Charging Relay, National Luna voltage monitor, and opted for Costco automotive starting battery # 598178 and marine starting/deep cycle battery # 12852 to see how they meet my needs (can’t beat their cost!) before I dump a load of cash on some of the more touted deep cycle batts.
• Installed a Blue Sea aux fuse panel in the glove box and aux 12v outlet under the dash
• Replaced the rusted out exhaust system, everything aft of the stock manifold; used a Flowmaster 50-series muffler for just a bit of rumble, and routed the exhaust above the frame cross members for clearance.
• Installed an aftermarket windshield washer bottle from Specter since the stock bottle was cracked to pieces and needed to be relocated anyhow to accommodate the dual batt tray.
• Installed a Cool Cruisers HFS bumper and Warn 9.5ti winch
• Swapped out the 16" alloy wheels for the original 15” stock steelies, which I had powder coated at Olympic Coatings and wrapped in BFG 31x10.50 A/T tires. Would’ve preferred 33’s, but I don’t have the lift to accommodate them. Maybe next time!
• And no doubt other odds and ends that aren’t coming to mind.

Future to-do list:

• Install an inverter
• Install a rear Bestop bench seat for my kids
• Rebuild front axle
• Take care of some of the rust areas
• I don't have to tell you all that the addiction doesn't end, so I'm sure I'll come up with something else

Thank you, Noah, for your excellent work, great suggestions along the way, and attention to detail! Not to mention fitting in all that you did before I flew in to pick up the truck earlier than originally planned! The truck has definitely turned out as I'd hoped, runs waaaay better, and (spoiler alert) I made it home without a hitch! Feel free to add any details I left out regarding your work, Noah.

Now that the truck is home, I'll be tackling some of the remaining work myself, and some at Torfab.

If I haven't bored you yet, you deserve some photos:

Maintenance & desmog in work:

Noah prettying things up:

Engine bay now complete (you gotta compare to the BEFORE photo from the first post)

Original steelies waiting for powdercoating:

...and freshly coated steelies and hubcaps installed (I love the stock look!):

In work at the muffler shop:

Aux fuse panel and aux 12v outlet locations:

Frame getting prepped for the HFS bumper and winch, followed by the job done:

And with that (and all sorts of other details in between), I flew down to pick up the truck from Noah, left my two great kids with their awesome grandparents , and headed to Lake Arrowhead with my beautiful wife, where we unexpectedly spent our first night a mile high in the mountains, in December, in much colder weather than we had anticipated for the trip. Did I mention we were camping along the way? But my wife is a good sport, we were more prepared than not, and the trip was off to a rocky good start!

More to come in the next post.

 

[RattleCan]

Your rig is so clean, I love it!

Where did you get the stock steelies? how much? I am going to start looking for a set to replace the wagon wheels on mine. I am assuming you are getting the powder coat from les schwab?

Look forward to seeing that thing in person one day, I have been meaning work it with my boss to get tuesdays off so I can attend some cruiserhead meetings...

-Matt

 

[CLK Foxhall]

Great Cruiser - Subscribed!


Cheers!
~CLK

 

[UZJ40]

Looks very clean... congrats on the purchase

 

[pavieSD]

Your rig is so clean, I love it!

Where did you get the stock steelies? how much? I am going to start looking for a set to replace the wagon wheels on mine. I am assuming you are getting the powder coat from les schwab?

Look forward to seeing that thing in person one day, I have been meaning work it with my boss to get tuesdays off so I can attend some cruiserhead meetings...

-Matt

You can still pick up the stock steelies from Mr. Toyota. Just call CDan or your local toyota dealership. With mud discount, they are about 85 dollars a wheel last I checked. They will not come stock grey but instead come painted black. They are also the later welded type, as the earlier rivet type are no longer produced and are less desirable anyways, since the rivets won't clear disc brakes.

Noah, great work on the cruiser, glad to see you're still at it. Now get that pig finished! And NW40, welcome to the madness!

Mark

 

[1973Guppie]

Thanks Chad!

It was a real pleasure to work on such a nice truck and with a nice guy. So happy to hear everything went well on your trip.

For more information / background on me here's a link, shop is closed for now, I am going back to school for a career change to the medical field (very tired of corporate sales) but may have to step back into the landcruiser world for a bit depending on the job situation when I get out.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/ca-san-die...n-fabrication-modification-2.html#post8169397

please bookmark the above page as I will be updating it in the future.

Thanks!

Noah