Hi All,
I've been lurking around a month or so and finally signed up now that I've actually picked up my new (to me) toy. I don’t have a digital camera to take pictures, so I ran through really quick with my camcorder and shot this if anyone wants to take a look (about 20 MB). I was actually planning to buy a truck so I could tow my bike to the track and do a little trail driving when we go camping. But I’ve always wanted a FJ40 and my buddy happened to be selling his at the time and it all worked itself out.
The Cruiser seems to be in really good condition, it’s a '70 with about 102k miles on the chassis and has a 2F engine from a '78 with around 30k miles on it. It has a semi new exhaust, headers, and alternator on it. It has a little bit of surface rust in a few spots, but nothing bad, thank goodness for the desert.
The previous owner has left everything pretty much intact it seems, no holes in the dash other than for a CB receiver mount, and nothing really drilled into the body. It came with the hardtop, a softtop and soft doors. It definitely needs some work on the brakes; you've got to pump them 3-4 times to build up a little pressure. He had purchased new drums and shoes, but just hadn't put them on, so I'll end up doing that and bleeding/adjusting the brakes. He ran the hose mod between the transfer case and transmission, but purchased the seal that goes between them, I just have to put it in and I’ll just pull that hose out and plug the holes. He told me it needs a new pressure plate installed, and he had already purchased it, I just have to install it. He mounted a tape deck behind the driver seat as not to blemish the dash, so that'll be nice to have some tunes once I toss a couple speaker boxes in the back.
This is going to turn into a long term project for me. I plan on enjoying it for a month or so now that it's nice "top off" weather, but after that it'll be down to business, mostly cosmetic, as it already pretty much runs like a champ. I'd like to strip it down to the frame and do all the paint prep work on of the body and have it repainted its original beige color and have a liner sprayed in the tub. I’ll need some new bench seats as they're in pretty bad shape. The turn signals don’t work at the moment, it’s hopefully just the relay. Most of the exterior rubber on it needs to be replaced as well. I'd like to put a lift kit on it so I can put some larger tires on it to get those highway speeds up a little bit for camping excursions and towing my crotch rocket to the track. I may decide to lose the 4.11 gears on it as well for the same reason. I like the way it drives, but I think the addition of power steering and front discs will definitely make life a little easier. There seems to be about a hundred different ways to do these mods, so I’m sure I’ll have plenty of questions. I’ve done plenty of reading on the site, trying to catch onto all of the board lingo as this is my first non-car/motorcycle. I’m pretty mechanically inclined and I do a fine job repairing my bike and my car, so I can imagine this can only be easier (in a relative sense) as the Cruiser is a much simpler vehicle. I’m looking forward to starting my new project and bugging the hell out of all of you with my questions.
I've been lurking around a month or so and finally signed up now that I've actually picked up my new (to me) toy. I don’t have a digital camera to take pictures, so I ran through really quick with my camcorder and shot this if anyone wants to take a look (about 20 MB). I was actually planning to buy a truck so I could tow my bike to the track and do a little trail driving when we go camping. But I’ve always wanted a FJ40 and my buddy happened to be selling his at the time and it all worked itself out.
The Cruiser seems to be in really good condition, it’s a '70 with about 102k miles on the chassis and has a 2F engine from a '78 with around 30k miles on it. It has a semi new exhaust, headers, and alternator on it. It has a little bit of surface rust in a few spots, but nothing bad, thank goodness for the desert.
The previous owner has left everything pretty much intact it seems, no holes in the dash other than for a CB receiver mount, and nothing really drilled into the body. It came with the hardtop, a softtop and soft doors. It definitely needs some work on the brakes; you've got to pump them 3-4 times to build up a little pressure. He had purchased new drums and shoes, but just hadn't put them on, so I'll end up doing that and bleeding/adjusting the brakes. He ran the hose mod between the transfer case and transmission, but purchased the seal that goes between them, I just have to put it in and I’ll just pull that hose out and plug the holes. He told me it needs a new pressure plate installed, and he had already purchased it, I just have to install it. He mounted a tape deck behind the driver seat as not to blemish the dash, so that'll be nice to have some tunes once I toss a couple speaker boxes in the back.
This is going to turn into a long term project for me. I plan on enjoying it for a month or so now that it's nice "top off" weather, but after that it'll be down to business, mostly cosmetic, as it already pretty much runs like a champ. I'd like to strip it down to the frame and do all the paint prep work on of the body and have it repainted its original beige color and have a liner sprayed in the tub. I’ll need some new bench seats as they're in pretty bad shape. The turn signals don’t work at the moment, it’s hopefully just the relay. Most of the exterior rubber on it needs to be replaced as well. I'd like to put a lift kit on it so I can put some larger tires on it to get those highway speeds up a little bit for camping excursions and towing my crotch rocket to the track. I may decide to lose the 4.11 gears on it as well for the same reason. I like the way it drives, but I think the addition of power steering and front discs will definitely make life a little easier. There seems to be about a hundred different ways to do these mods, so I’m sure I’ll have plenty of questions. I’ve done plenty of reading on the site, trying to catch onto all of the board lingo as this is my first non-car/motorcycle. I’m pretty mechanically inclined and I do a fine job repairing my bike and my car, so I can imagine this can only be easier (in a relative sense) as the Cruiser is a much simpler vehicle. I’m looking forward to starting my new project and bugging the hell out of all of you with my questions.
