What have you done to your Land Cruiser this week? (36 Viewers)

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Progressing well! Looks like you have the high performance version, me too. Thinking it's pretty straight forward. But, I am a bit worried about fitting up the condenser as I will have a cross flow radiator and have some fabrication to do. Engine compartment is getting crowded and I have to fab a battery tray.

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Nice mounting bracket. Mine is now finished except for the condensate drain in the cabin and hooking the power to the fuse block and battery. It's a really nice kit. I'm going to start the motor on my fj40 tomorrow. I have not ran it since I started the restoration over 6 years ago.
 
Got my grille laser cut on Friday. Spent a couple of hours cleaning off the letters then welding them to the grille before applying a couple of coats of clear coat. Will get it on the cruiser tomorrow, but so far I'm super happy with it. Old school font, new style hex grille, best of both worlds.
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Just like skis. Wax is applied to some hot hardware to prevent further rust, excess is wiped off. Lightly sanding and polishing the heads of the screws brings out the highlights. If you file the cross point screws, you can remove the sharp part left by a screwdriver, making it smoother to touch (like pre-'75 front doors on 40/45). I used a torch, best using an oven for the hardware. I didn't seem to harm the paint, but for anyone concerned about seized hardware due to corrosion or looking to mitigate flash rust, consider hot wax. The hardware pictured is either second choice, or museum wall art. If nothing else, much of the old hardware has lost spring on the lockwashers, so consider replacing. Check the tightness of your hardware when doing this, as it really is changing the surface contact area between threads. This practice should be for vulnerable body stuff, don't experiment with critical engine and drivetrain. It is so you can feel better about freeing a frozen screw and not finding it frozen again. Disolves in Boeshield and gasoline if you want to thin it down (Boeshield in bottle, stay away from the aerosol), or remove it entirely.

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Sheet metal brake, DIY.

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The bedframe angle is high carbon steel - failed "spark test." I knew it when it was easier to fracture after a few bends when I notched it for the jaws of the bench vise. I made a repair just to see after the first one broke, but got a new pair of hinges from the home center.

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Still, it was capable of easily making a good pair of bends on some "weldable" 16 guage metal. I have some good 1" hot rolled steel (HRS) that I will remake my sheet metal brake with.

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Plenty frozen out there but it still feels warm.
 
removed the manifolds, ordered new studs and an EGR cooler block off plate and other needed items for a gentle refresh from @FJ40Jim and @ToyotaMatt. Hoping to get this old girl back on the road shortly!
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I knew better. Just got in a hurry.. made it up to
65 one time and she went.

Top 85% survived hitting the pavement at 65, no broken glass. Just some scratches and some broken metal.

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How did that happen? I'm assuming the bolts to the body weren't installed?
 
How did that happen? I'm assuming the bolts to the body weren't installed?

I just bought it. It’s been sitting for years.. best I can see and see it had no bolts to the tub.

I told myself to strap the top before I left because you never know on stuff that’s been sitting.. I got the hood strapped but forgot the top..

Made it approx 10 miles from purchase location, about a mile on the interstate.

At least it survived, no one was hurt, and I got it loaded and Back on the road quichly
 
I just bought it. It’s been sitting for years.. best I can see and see it had no bolts to the tub.

I told myself to strap the top before I left because you never know on stuff that’s been sitting.. I got the hood strapped but forgot the top..

Made it approx 10 miles from purchase location, about a mile on the interstate.

At least it survived, no one was hurt, and I got it loaded and Back on the road quichly
Same thing happened to @toomanytoyzz with a 40 he pulled out of the hills of West Virginia.
 
Same thing happened to @toomanytoyzz with a 40 he pulled out of the hills of West Virginia.

I’ve seen guys hauling fresh buys with tops strapped.. told myself do that, it’ll be bad if it comes off..

It wasn’t good. But could have been much much worse.

Very thankful I got it recovered before any major problems.

It’s currently strapped on the trailer and truck. Headed 150 miles home.

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First attempt at real hammer and dolly work. I’m happy with the outcome. Could have used a grinder to smooth it more but I don’t want to thin the metal. The imperfections shouldn’t need anything more than a sandable primer so there’s no point in grinding down the metal. The other side hood apron is horrible. I’ll post that up when I take a run at it.
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My father picked up the Grey Bondo Queen outside of Pittsburgh. I wanted the rig for the roof. He gets home and when I arrive (I live seven hours away) the top is gone. I ask him about the roof and he hands me a clapped out vinyl bikini top. He said that was the only roof with the truck. I show him pictures of the truck on his trailer with the roof…..gone. Glad the scenario worked out where you still have all the parts.
 
A red '73 in my area lost its top due to Pennsylvania rust and Southwest spring wind. The guy I was going to buy it from was pretty upset about the top, but the tub was worse, he spent some time trying to get the parts together, but, the body shop was at war with him and "lost" all the body and door little parts - he told me that CoolCruisers stocks everything that is missing. The guy was trying to have me buy body panels that were under bubble wrap. It had green factory paint and primer, then it became a complete looking red and diamond plate offering.
 
The last several weeks have been filled with all the Christmas and New Years stuff, but in between, I was playing with new FJ40 parts! @baldboy got me the hardlines for the rear heater I bought from him, as well as a center console and some other goodies. Like this gem: The Radio Delete Plate!
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I never thought I'd have the real hard lines, I just had planned on running heater hose, but this is definitely much nicer! I had the standard/mandatory heater hose troubles with getting them to seal, but all is well now.
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Baldboy gave me the choice between 2 different center consoles, and I intentionally chose the one that had some extra holes drilled in it. My reasoning was that it looked like a handy place to mount something, if I wanted to, and then I wouldn't be the one who had drilled holes in old LandCruiser parts! LOL The scars on this one match my ride perfectly. I splurged on some Cruiser Corps pewter spray paint for this project. The last time I used my duplicolor stainless steel (on the heater) it had a rough texture, I guess the can is just getting old. I sanded the heater top back down and treated it to this pewter as well.
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And here it is in place. I'm glad I had extra M6-1 Overland Metric stainless hardware sitting around for the front 2 bolts. I got those seat covers for Christmas, but they are a bit big, I think I will move them to my Ram 2500 and re-expose the Cruiser Corps seat covers. Only problem is I need something on the driver seat bottom, I'm rough on the seats getting in and out and I have cracked the vinyl.
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And then, the cherry on top, I got a @Racer65 City Racer reproduction sticker for the top of the heater:
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It all turned out great! Thank you @baldboy ! Hope everyone has a great week!
 
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Front grille on
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Drove her home too

 

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