well, ive gone from no toyotas to owning 2 landcruisers in 2 months. i recently bought a 74 fj 40 project with mint sheet metal for my next build. My thoughts were to take the buggy apart and use the parts i have to build my fj40 for 4. i would like to have this build done in time for the rubicon trip in sept. the first pics are how she sits right now. it needs a little work.

my current build is a 96 landcruiser we just bought for my wife(andrea). mint one owner, i actually knew the lady who owned it, only down side was it just blew a head gasket 3 wks ago. so ive pulled the head, decided to pull the motor and rebuild it too now also since all i need to do is rebearing it and rering it probly. im gonna try and design a nice production bumper for the front and a cool bumper for the rear. i also want to try and lift it 2.5" roughly to just give it a bit more clearance. i dont plan on wheeling it per say but would like to be able to take it out for like crown king and camping.

You sir, have a lot of work to do lol will be awesome to see it come together! If you ever need a hand, let me know.

yup, i do have a lot to do. i figure the biggest jump will be getting the old motor and trans out. once i get the motor and trans mounted in the fj frame then from there i can mount the front and rear suspension, making it a roller. ive got the motor location 98% figured out already for the fj frame so that shouuld go pretty quick once its in. my current dilemma is im thinking of going manual trans and ditching the c6 auto. i love stick and one less set of fluid lines and cooler would be nice, plus reliability with not having a slushbox(ive built a fair amount of c6's and never had an issue). oh and its gonna be a RHD instead of LHD fj 40. ill be needing any help i can get since i work by myself mostly(my little brother helps if he has time), and i have a 20month old little girl that takes up a lot of my time. oh and im planning on driving it the whole trip if i finish it. no trailer anymore.

avis-when are good times for you to help? week nights or wkends?

lostoffroad wrote:
avis-when are good times for you to help? week nights or wkends?

Saturdays most Likely will be the only available days simply because of how far away you are.. Lol next couple Saturdays ill be busy and I got a camping trip coming up soon but after that I should be free quite a bit. Maybe I'll pull my dodge up there and leave it for a few Saturdays so Ill be more motivated to drive up there lol

Chris let me know what's going on. I swing by when I can.

Avis, that totally works if you want to leave it there to work on it. Im gonna try and figure out the tranny thing by the end of this week. Once thats figured out its tear down time on the buggy and start fitting a motor and trans in the new frame.
Sweathog, ill try and post in here a little in advance so if anyone has time they know when.

Well ive decided to use the auto i have for now since i built it last yr and it only has about 3k on it. Plus itll speed the build up quite a bit. So after this weekend im gonna pull the motor, trans abd tcase out.

well after a bit of calculating i decided to bend up a new frame for the FJ40. i ordered up some tube a few wks back and got busy drawing up the layout. the new frame contours to the original tub( and retaining as much original sheet metal as possible) and lets me build the setup i want now. ive got a fair amount done in the few hrs i can get to work on it in the shop. ill post up some new picks tomorrow hopefully with the rear sides trimmed and pairtially fitted. the rear axle is sitting pretty close to where i want it which works out for a good triangulated 4 link in the rear. the front will also be a double triangulated 4 link.

heres a few pics from last week. this week i got the windshield put on for a base on the height of the cage, and got the start of the rear bumper done.

looking good Chris. Are you in the shop next Monday? I'm off work and can swing in to get the plates and would love to check out the build.

ya ill be at the shop all day probly. did you figure out what size hole yet?

I get back in town tonight. I'll check before heading over. I can drill them myself if we don't have time tomorrow.

This needs an update. I have seen some killer pics on FB

ya i know Bob. been busy actually and just havent had time to get on here and update it. ill try and put some pics up in a few days. as for an update i have the rear link mounts on the axle and frame all in place, the front axle(which was complete from my buggy) is in place and all i have to do is get the frame side mounts in place. the rear bench seat is on order now and i should have the seat frame this thursday for mock up and mounting, then ill take it back to get covered. the motor, trans and t case setup are mounted and in place. started the cage and the seats are mocked in place. fuel cell is bent up and ready to be welded, along with the rear alum cargo box. got my big order of FK hiems in a few days ago so i now have all the joints for the links. ill be ordering up a bunch of alum in a day or 2 for links and for tj/jk steering kits. making progress but man has life kinda sucked/been busy lately.