Well, I never would have expected it to take this long, but I'm still working on getting the interior of my FJ-40 prepped for painting. In the meantime, I installed a new Bestop top, a Hell for stout front bumper, and was surprised to find out that my 16 inch rims from my 4runner (Tech1 rockcrawlers) fit on the LC. Anyways, here's some pics:

1- The before and after tire switch, as you can see, I also stripped out the tub, so had to use a cooler as a front seat to get it outside:

 

2- The new front bumper, also installed a winch bracket that'll work with the M8000 winch currently installed on the 4runner:

 

Slowlyyyy making progress on the inside, less rust, more primer...Note Yotatech coffee mug in the back.

 

A nice surprise hiding on the floor under a piece of fiberglass/bondo. Time to buy a welder!

 

so then you're just scrubbing down the inside and rattle canning it to prevent rust? looks good so far!!!!

 

Wow... Cool beans David!

 

Very nice .. all these people buying old FJ40 .. made me go to Ebay last and check them out .. but then the amount of work involved is above my head to restore them :cry:

 

Thanks guys. I'm basically using a chemical stripper to get to bare metal, sanding off the rust, then giving it a quick shot of primer to cover it up. Hopefully in a couple weeks the rust will be gone, I'll clean everything up and get it ready for spray-on bed liner. I haven't decided what to go with yet, but am leaning towards Duplicolor's, since it's paintable (Herculiner, Durabak are not). I'll be spraying it myself with my new compressor.

Its a ton of work, and meant to be a long term project. I do hope to be wheeling it by some point in the summer though.

 

new compressor!?!?!?!?!?!? you're just getting new toys all over the place!!!! i bought an old sears compressor for $25 over the weekend, but i gotta fix it. im starting to think its a lost cause.

 

Nice work, David! I really like that bumper on there! *MUCH* better than the knee grabber that was on there

That passenger side floor board was always high on my list... I just never got to it... You should have seen the gas tank well before I re-fabbed it

Having welded that thin sheet with flux core mig, you'd probably want to go gas on there... Just look at the driver's side floor board to see how difficult it was for me to keep from burning through with the flux stuff... My welder is capable of using gas, but I've never bothered to go get any to try it...

Good job on the stripping, too... I always wanted to strip/dip the tub, too, but we all know how far I got on *that* project hehe

I just hope you're enjoying the work you're putting into it... I always thought that the work was the funnest part of having 'er...

ChrisCo

btw, anything that you find on there that's a goofy was done by the guy who owned 'er before I did, so I don't want to see any "What was the PO thinking" statements hahahahaha

 

im really wanting a project rig now david thanks a lot!!!! and i've only had my 4Runner a year!!!!

 

Well start with pulling your pants up and getting off the can and you might get some work done!

Nice work so far David!

 

Thanks guys!

Chrisco, I'm definitely looking into a gas setup for patching up that spot. The new bumper is quite a bit shorter than the plow that was on there before. Getting the winch bracket to work was a bit tricky, since the power steering pump sits a bit above the level of the frame rails. I had to make a couple of steel spacers to get the winch bracket up a bit higher, so it should work okay now.

Its fun to work on, despite being a total time sink! I'm amazed when I'm in the garage for about 4 hours, look down, and have a hard time seeing the progress. However, body work/paint prep is notoriously time-intensive to do right, so I think when it comes to mechanical swaps, things will start moving a little faster. If I need to curse at anyone, I'll make sure its directed to the PPO (previous previous owner).

 

Lookin good dude, keep up the hard work.

Jim

 

Looks great Mad Chemist.
Where are you going to get a floor pan?


What's your future plans? V8 or keep the I-6? Manual or Auto?

Please keep us posted. I appreciate the photos.

 

It's already got a 327 small block chebby in it. I'm curious about the stick vs. auto question, as well

And, yes, please *do* keep us posted, and include lots of photos

ChrisCo

 

Dude, thats looks great. The work involved in that is a major PITA. I have first hand knowledge of what you're doing as I am just a short ways ahead of you in my "rebuild the rust monster" scenario.

It'll be worth it in the end. Keep taking pics along the way.

Nice work,

Doug

 

Thanks guys. Still wrangling a little with whether or not to go auto. When I picked it up a couple months ago, I was still suffering from a torn ab muscle that hurt after just a short time working the clutch. Now that I'm more or less healed, I'm debating on how much to do this summer. I don't want it in the garage till November, when the weather turns to crap. So, I'm trying to decide where to pause so that I can drive/wheel it this summer with the top off, then hit it hard again this winter. At a minimum, I'll get the interior sprayed, the new Corbeau Baja SS seats installed, and the new bumper/tire carrier from JT outfitters installed. I'll probably do a basic 4" (Skyjacker/other, haven't decided yet) lift kit so that the 33's will clear, with plans to do an SOA later on. I may wait till this winter to swap transmissions. Oh, 4 wheel discs will be going on pronto as well.

 

Good!

hehe

 

Liking my automatic 4Runner, I'm thinking auto myself. Others prefer a manual tranny to wheel, but an auto doesn't bother me a bit.

As far as the SOA, you plan on doing any highway driving with it? If so, then I say stay under and get shims and shackle extensions just enough to stuff 35's under there. After buying 33's, you'll probably want to use them a while before they look way too small and you opt to get rid of them.

Center of gravity is a B**ch to overcome. I'd prefer to be closer to my crash point!

Seeing your ride has gotten me into the mood to work on mine.



Doug M.