TTORA Forum banner

Taking delivery of my first FJ40 tonight

9K views 31 replies 19 participants last post by  Roadnoiz40 
#1 ·
Well, my first FJ40 is on its way to my house right now. Its a 75, mustard yellow, and all stock. I'll post some pics tomorrow.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Its here!




 
#6 ·
Thanks guys. I'm not sure exactly how I'm gonna build it yet, and I have to finish some other projects first, but it's gonna be a fun rig. The cool part is that I got it from my fiance's stepdad, so we're keeping it in the family.
 
#8 ·
Thanks! I'm having a hard time not working on it, but I'm trying to finish another car to enter in HOT ROD mag's Homebuilt Heroes contest. I haven't done all my research on the Cruiser yet, but I'm thinking put in a new clutch (the clutch is toast), longer shackles and shocks, and 33's for now just to start wheeling it a little. Eventually I would like to do a 350 and either link it or spring over. Anybody have any suggestions?
 
#23 ·
Eventually I would like to do a 350
ewwwww, please don't do it. theres nothing worse than a once proud toyota being reduced to relying on a chev to keep it's wheels turning. please keep it toyota unless this truck is going to turn into a total frankenstein rock crawler or something crazy.

my 2 cents of course
 
#9 ·
Awww man . . . Please don't do the 350 conversion. If you replace that Toyota engine, you're removing the strongest link in that vehicle, IMO. If you take care of it, that engine will run FOREVER. It won't win any races, but those FJ40 engines are bullet proof, and are so awesome and torquey on the trail.
 
#10 ·
Thanks Jamie, that's the kind of advice I'm looking for right now. So I guess putting in a new clutch will be money well spent. The engine seems to run fine, but we'll see once the clutch is in and I can drive it around.
 
#13 ·
Hey! Long time no see! I moved down to Tempe, and all the wheeling I've been doing has been the go-fast desert type. Maybe when I get the Cruiser rolling we can go rockcrawling, or if you do an EASY trail, I'll bring my truck.
 
#15 ·
Another opinion......

the stock F & 2F motors are fine but here is a short list of reasons to swap in a chevy SB......

Weight: SB Chevy, 250 lbs lighter

Torque: SB Chevy, easily 100-150 ft/lbs more, you can also build more right where you want it.

Reliability: More or less the same, perhaps a little in favor of the F motor but the cost to repair outweighs that manyfold.

Mileage: The best running F motor won't give you 14mpg where a stock SB can get you 18-20 in an FJ40.

Please don't take this the wrong way, I own 2 FJ40's and a '69 FJ55. BTW, the FJ55 is the coolest cruiser ever made but it MUST get a larger engine, 125HP moves 5900lbs very, very slowly.....And another thing, get those FJC's out of the Cruiser section, they haven't yet earned the right to be called a Land Cruiser!:rolleyes:
 
#16 ·
Nice! Stick with the stock 2F engine. A V-8 is too much horsepower. I've seen many a twisted drive shaft on the trail with V-8 powered cruisers.

Oh, and paint the bezel. Cygnus white. :D

My :2cents: .
 
#17 ·
No reason to pull a healthy 2f... They offer pleanty of torque if geared right. The straight 6cyl has great low rpm performance (some would argue better than a SB350). Mods should include new clutch (obviously), 4 wheel disc brakes, Scout or Chevy power steering, winch, lockers, lift, and gears - pretty much in that order. Brakes and steering are Safety, the rest are capability. For gearing you can swap in a granny 1st Chevy transmission like an sm420 or sm465 and do well up to about 35" tires. After that you need to look at something like a 4:1 t-case of some kind ( See Advanced Adapters). Just my :2cents: for what it's worth...
 
#18 ·
No reason to pull a healthy 2f... They offer pleanty of torque if geared right. The straight 6cyl has great low rpm performance (some would argue better than a SB350).
x2,3,4 keep the 2F, nothing beats rumbling along at 250rpm. Check out ih8mud.com, they have a post that goes over the differences. Welcome to the club!
 
#19 ·
Ok, about the engine......

Staying with the stock F or 2F is ok in alot of places but I live in California and I have to merge onto the highway to get anywhere and a V8 certainly helps.....offroad an F motor is really fine.

The first mod I always do on an older vehicle is 4 wheel disks if it will be driven on the road at all. My reasoning is pretty simple, every car built today can stop in a much shorter distance than a 40 can with even the best adjusted stock brakes. Period.
 
#20 ·
Staying with the stock F or 2F is ok in alot of places but I live in California and I have to merge onto the highway to get anywhere and a V8 certainly helps.....offroad an F motor is really fine.

The first mod I always do on an older vehicle is 4 wheel disks if it will be driven on the road at all. My reasoning is pretty simple, every car built today can stop in a much shorter distance than a 40 can with even the best adjusted stock brakes. Period.
Right on the money Dan. Don't even screw with the old drums. Don't get me wrong, when properly built and adjusted they work very well but they are not self adjusting and with two cylinders per wheel adjusting can be a PAIN! The 4 whell disc swap is fairly cheap and easy - I do it first thing on every Cruiser I own/have owned. As stated above, next issue is steering. These ol' rigs were kinda sloppy when they were new. Trow on some bigger tires and things get interesting. A good power steering swap will have you :D ear to ear!
 
#22 ·
Thanks for all the help guys.
 
#25 ·
Nice looking cruiser. After you fix your clutch. the first mod I would do if you offroad it is throw in a aussie locker. Fairly cheap. Then I would work on getting rid of the drum brakes. In 75 they shifted from 4 wheel drum to front disk and rear drum. What do you have? I think they shifted in November.
 
#26 ·
It has 4 wheel drums, definitely gotta fix that.
 
#27 ·
I understand why everyone says to stick to OE running gear, I run a 350 in mine but mine's so far from stock it doesn't even matter. If you want more power (and money's no object) try DOA engines, they have a sweet 3FE stroker I saw on www.IH8Mud.com. Either way, nice rig you got yourself and give the 4 wheel disc some thought.

Can't wait to see your build-up.

Kevin
 
#28 ·
I agree with gravel maker on the 350 engine swap, parts are easy to come by not to mention $$ power, torque, weight a ++++ if your 2f is tired or in need of a rebuild, a swap would take my vote, p.s there's never enouph horse power.
 
#29 ·
Crazy power isn't everything. When tires spin, they spin, having the extra hp to make them spin faster doesn't get you outta trouble.. Gearing will get you up and over things that MUCHO hp won't. Awesome aquirement! Look forward to seeing the progress!:D
 
#31 ·
Amen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top