FJ 40

[riverfever]

Looked at a 64 FJ 40 last night. Body was in great shape (typical FJ rust on the back and towards the bottom but I know where I can get that replacement panel for 55 bones) and along the rockers but not bad. Floors were great. Original, rebuilt 2F motor (I6), 3 on the tree, stock axles with 4:11 gears, new tires, even had the factory Jerry can mounts that are on the front fenders, and the factory option roof rack. 800 bucks. About 140,000 miles. Fired right up.
Right now we have 2 XJ's (96 and 01) that will both be paid off in the next year. After the relocation, and home purchase, we're looking forward to a decrease in bills. We talked about getting a cheap foreign car that's easy on gas but we both work at the same school and are less than a half mile from work so we ride our mountain bikes. Once school starts we really don't do any crazy driving save for vacations and then we like to be able to explore with the XJ's. She wants to (and so do I) get a project. This FJ would be perfect. I'd like to strip it down totally and do a 350 with a TH350 trans and stock TC. Stock axles, discs all around. I know it would take several years to be driveable again. It would be a huge learning thing for me b/c there are things that would need to be done that I've never dealt with before (pulling motors and doing a pretty major conversion). She wants to learn too. As ghey as it sounds, we both want to be able to cruise around in the mountains with the top off (the FJ) but don't really care for the price and look of a TJ. We'd keep the XJ's. Anyone else into FJ's? My neighbor is all about Cruisers and so I'd use him as a resource if we went that route.

 

[shortxjdoug]

i'm an in the closet fan of fj's they are really classic lookin vehicles but i've never had to money to buy one that doesn't look like swiss cheese. if the motor runs so well it wouldn't be a bad idea to drive it and have fun while you gather parts together for the swap. course if it were mine i would wanna keep as much stock toyota stuff as i could, they are getting rare and i could never convince myself to cut up a good running fj.I have an 83 cj-7 with no mods at all, just a set of AR rims and new seats, its just in too good of shape to cut up and put a 350 in. oh btw lets see some pics....

 

[Gil BullyKatz]

I'd take an FJ40 over a CJ or TJ any day...

and yes definately go the v8 route...

almost bought one locally two years ago

 

[IcedXJ]

Love FJs, almost got one as my first 4x4. Had the 350 in it and everything was only 3000 and my moms bf suggested against it so I did not get it (I was 15 so did not have a job yet)...

 

[BlueCuda]

They are bringing stupid money around here. I haven't seen one that runs and drives for less than 3K or so. Saw a lifted one with some 37MTRs that was pretty damn rough for 7K and it sold!

 

[riverfever]

Well my neighbor bought that one and is going to fix it up just a little bit and then put it on ebay. He said he'll hope to get 3000 for it. I found another one today for 500. It was just a rolling chasis with a body. No motor, trans, or tc.

 

[TC]

I had a '78 for years and wheeled the heck out of it, my wife and I LOVED that rig. The V8 is the way to go for sure as well as replacing the crappy steering setup. Pirate would be one good source for info, even if ya only lurked. For a while they were way overpriced just like the early Broncos. Both seem to be dropping back down again. Have fun, great project vechile. TC

 

[Root Moose]

Just to through an idea out there... you could change the drivetrain to TLC diesel. There is always someone pulling diesels out of BJ42s and FJ60s around here it seems. One of the guys in our club put a 454 in a FJ6x. Cool. Not sure where the diesel engine went though.

Ugh, just remembered that you guys might have to deal with smog... Would a '64 be exempt?

 

[Fish'nCarz]

There are a ton of FJ sites out there. I think one is called Billstein, or something like that? (Like the shocks). And you can probably find them from Pirate.

$800 was a steal!

I would love to have an FJ 55 to play with, but I have too many other places to put my money right now. The 40's and 45's are truly classic and there are a zillion around. They weigh a ton, but they are built for safari work. The idea of deisel is really sound. Longer life, better mileage and thus cruising range, simpler maintenance.

For a 4x4 toy or a Sunday car they would be my choice, but not for a daily driver.

 

[Fish'nCarz]

This is a GREAT site for Fj's. They also have really scenic calenders and posters.

http://www.coolcruisers.com/

 

[riverfever]

See that's the thing. Unless we go on vacation, we really don't go anywhere. My fishing is all within 40 minutes of the house. Plenty of trails to hike on right around the house. Even if we drive down the mountain for a fancy dinner it's 25 minutes. We could still take one of the XJ's on longer vacations for storage room.

Back when I was into German cars we would do fairly complex conversions like stand alone management, turbos or superchargers, and those types of conversions always seemed to be risky. They were generally always problematic. We didn't care too much b/c they ended up being powerful. I wonder if it would be the same here?

I rebuilt a 327 with my father when I was 17 but I know it's a huge undertaking. With a fresh motor and trans I wonder if I took my time getting everything buttoned up with the vehicle, could it be fairly reliable? My neighbor takes his to Moab quite a bit. It would be cool to be able to take a vehicle like a classy, head turner FJ on a nice drive through the mountains headed down to the Bluegrass Festival in Telluride or Blues and Brews in Ouray? Know what I mean? I know I'd ahve to do TONS of research and ask millions of questions but I'm sure there are ample resources for help and people out there (like in this club) that just want to see/meet and hang with other Cruiser lovers.

I lurk at Pirate but you can't really ask a question over there without getting your a$$ handed to you. One forum that has good info that I have been visiting again lately is
ih8mud.com
They cover the 40, 45, 55 and the rest too.

 

[riverfever]

That's the place where my neighbor gets all his stuff from. I found a pic of him in one of their calendars in the customer rigs section last night. It was taken out in Moab.

 

[OverlandZJ]

I had a few 40's in my younger days, last one i converted to V8,Saginaw steering etc. It was a very reliable vehicle and alot of fun.

Each "vintage" cruiser had it's own strongpoints. The early had the preferred smaller non-ambulance rear doors, 75 started the 2F with the 4 speed and disc brake front axle. Early also had the upper mounted windshield wipers.

If you can find a clean chassis/tub cheaply you would have a nice starting platform. However nowadays you can practically build a 40 from the catalogs if you have a frame.

I went to see a guy locally a few weeks ago about an M101CDN trailer for behind the Jeep, he had a few 40's he was about to part out that made me think. Then i walked inside his place and spotted the unrestored and clean FJ-45 in the corner and almost wet myself.

 

[Fish'nCarz]

I lurk at Pirate but you can't really ask a question over there without getting your a$$ handed to you. One forum that has good info that I have been visiting again lately is
ih8mud.com
They cover the 40, 45, 55 and the rest too.

You're right about pirate. You have to be willing to wade through a bunch of shit to get what you need much of the time. PM's might work better?

Ih8mud.com rocks! When I was looking to restore a '74 FJ 55 I spent a lot of time on there. Great people, much like here.

Of couse you can do it! It ain't rocket science, it just cars.

 

[riverfever]

The other one we've considered is the older Bronco. I think we're partial to the Cruisers though.

 

[Fish'nCarz]

They're both cool, you can't go wrong either way.

 

[IXNAYXJ]

Really cool rigs. I got introduced to 4x4s with my parents '64 FJ45W (4-door version of an FJ40). I have a lot of fond memories of that truck. They need more power, though! The 350 swap is a must.

Here's a pic from about 1981 of our old truck:

-----Matt-----

 

[riverfever]

From what I've heard, the 45's and 55's are extremely difficult to deal with. I guess they don't make replacement panels for those. Somewhere I have a ridiculous thread that a guy put together about a 45 he was restoring for his wife. He replaced a bunch of panels that had the corrugated section. He did it all by hand and it looked like it just rolled off the assembly line when he was done. Fawkin incredible ability. Did it all right in his garage.

 

[IXNAYXJ]

From what I've heard, the 45's and 55's are extremely difficult to deal with. I guess they don't make replacement panels for those. Somewhere I have a ridiculous thread that a guy put together about a 45 he was restoring for his wife. He replaced a bunch of panels that had the corrugated section. He did it all by hand and it looked like it just rolled off the assembly line when he was done. Fawkin incredible ability. Did it all right in his garage.

Check out www.root45.com for all your FJ45w needs. I was even able to track down our old truck and see pics of it currently. I'll never forgive my Dad for selling that thing. *sniff*

Here's a pic of it currently:

-----Matt-----

 

[riverfever]

WOW....that looks really nice. I really like the 55 but I think the 40 would be more fun to drive.