I've been working on my FJ40 crawler for a few years now and although I work fairly slowly, I think I've made enough progress to start the build thread. Hopefully this thread and the actual build will converge as I finish it up. I expect it will be a couple of years still since I herniated a disc in my kneck and that has slowed me down quite a bit.
If you are interested in my 4Runner build-up, it can be found here:
Zog's 4Runner Build
After I "finished" the 4Runner I started getting the itch to build a rig with less sheet metal and overall length that I could wheel without bending up the body like tin foil. I also wanted to build something even more custom since although the 4Runner has alot of custom work, alot of the modifications are bought and welded on rather than built from scratch. To that end, I started the search for a good FJ40 to use as the starting point.
My overall idea was 40" tires, SBC 350, medium-low 4:1ish gearing, wheelbase similar to the 4Runner with overall length much less, and Dana 60s around 62" wide since that width works really well on the 4Runner.
I found this FJ and brought it home. Don't let the picture fool you, it was a mess but it did have some promise.
The bad:
This was an unskilled guy's unfinished project and everything that was done to it was done poorly.
Every bolt was loose or missing.
The welding looked like bird droppings with almost zero penetration
The tub from the front of the door openings back had been reskinned. Not with replacement panels but over top of the existing rusty metal and the new metal was rusting out from the inside and through the bondo.
Stock radiator and electric fan was inadequate for the RamJet and it needed the heads resurfaced and new head gaskets.
A driveline vibe that would shake your teeth out above 25mph.
Certain switches would blow fuses and overall scary and unfinished wiring.
The wiring!
The good:
The portion of the tub I cared about could be saved and the rest was going away anyway.
The frame was relatively rust free where I cared about it.
There was an expensive pile of parts attached to this pile of junk and I could make most of my purchase price back by selling off those parts. Here's some of what it had:
RamJet 350 crate motor (keep)
Wilwood disc brakes (sell with axles)
Power steering conversion (sell)
Nearly new 33" BFG M/Ts on black steel wheels (sell)
Ranger overdrive/350 bellhousing adapter (sell)
Tuffy console (sell)
4" lift springs + shackles (sell)
Dual battery mounts,
Lots of extra stock parts (sell some, keep some)
In addition I sold off all the unneeded stock parts like:
Hard top, doors, seats, spare tire + holder, axles, springs, shackles, shocks, instrument panels (2), fenders, heater, radiator, gas tank, stereo.
I ended up with an FJ40 frame, nearly new RamJet 350, body ready to be cut in half, and a general plan as to what I was doing for about $1500.
My first step was to have a little fun with the rig and to do that I needed to make it into less of a deathtrap:
Tighten all the bolts and replace the missing ones
Fix the rear driveshaft that was out of phase
Redo a little wiring so it won't actually catch fire
Shim the rear axle to fix the rest of the driveline vibe
Pull off the top, doors, and everything else I could
Redo the electric fan setup and tear the motor down for the head gaskets
I ended up with a ~2500lb rig with a 350hp motor and no top or roll cage -- fun fun fun.
I surprised alot of people with this rig and basically was a hooligan for a few months. The only giveaway was that it sounded like a muscle car and when you got on the gas it was pure NASCAR.
I survived driving it around like that and then pulled it into the garage for tear down.
Next time the cutting begins...
If you are interested in my 4Runner build-up, it can be found here:
Zog's 4Runner Build
After I "finished" the 4Runner I started getting the itch to build a rig with less sheet metal and overall length that I could wheel without bending up the body like tin foil. I also wanted to build something even more custom since although the 4Runner has alot of custom work, alot of the modifications are bought and welded on rather than built from scratch. To that end, I started the search for a good FJ40 to use as the starting point.
My overall idea was 40" tires, SBC 350, medium-low 4:1ish gearing, wheelbase similar to the 4Runner with overall length much less, and Dana 60s around 62" wide since that width works really well on the 4Runner.
I found this FJ and brought it home. Don't let the picture fool you, it was a mess but it did have some promise.
The bad:
This was an unskilled guy's unfinished project and everything that was done to it was done poorly.
Every bolt was loose or missing.
The welding looked like bird droppings with almost zero penetration
The tub from the front of the door openings back had been reskinned. Not with replacement panels but over top of the existing rusty metal and the new metal was rusting out from the inside and through the bondo.
Stock radiator and electric fan was inadequate for the RamJet and it needed the heads resurfaced and new head gaskets.
A driveline vibe that would shake your teeth out above 25mph.
Certain switches would blow fuses and overall scary and unfinished wiring.
The wiring!
The good:
The portion of the tub I cared about could be saved and the rest was going away anyway.
The frame was relatively rust free where I cared about it.
There was an expensive pile of parts attached to this pile of junk and I could make most of my purchase price back by selling off those parts. Here's some of what it had:
RamJet 350 crate motor (keep)
Wilwood disc brakes (sell with axles)
Power steering conversion (sell)
Nearly new 33" BFG M/Ts on black steel wheels (sell)
Ranger overdrive/350 bellhousing adapter (sell)
Tuffy console (sell)
4" lift springs + shackles (sell)
Dual battery mounts,
Lots of extra stock parts (sell some, keep some)
In addition I sold off all the unneeded stock parts like:
Hard top, doors, seats, spare tire + holder, axles, springs, shackles, shocks, instrument panels (2), fenders, heater, radiator, gas tank, stereo.
I ended up with an FJ40 frame, nearly new RamJet 350, body ready to be cut in half, and a general plan as to what I was doing for about $1500.
My first step was to have a little fun with the rig and to do that I needed to make it into less of a deathtrap:
Tighten all the bolts and replace the missing ones
Fix the rear driveshaft that was out of phase
Redo a little wiring so it won't actually catch fire
Shim the rear axle to fix the rest of the driveline vibe
Pull off the top, doors, and everything else I could
Redo the electric fan setup and tear the motor down for the head gaskets
I ended up with a ~2500lb rig with a 350hp motor and no top or roll cage -- fun fun fun.
I surprised alot of people with this rig and basically was a hooligan for a few months. The only giveaway was that it sounded like a muscle car and when you got on the gas it was pure NASCAR.
I survived driving it around like that and then pulled it into the garage for tear down.
Next time the cutting begins...