My 1969 fj40 Landcruiser

bought a 1988 fj62 for $400.  used a trailor to get it home, it has no running gear.  pulled everything off it, including the engine, a 3fe, 4 liter, fuel injected hog….oh ya.  sold the left overs for $130 and moved on.  cleared out the drive way.

bought leftovers of a 1975-76 fj40 for $50.  needed a few items, lots to sell away.

got a few things going well.  i pickeled the 3fe for future use, made a cart with wheels and rolled it out after wrapping it up real good for storrage.  took off the alternator and had it checked so it couold be used for the larger battery needed for the winch, it checked good.  saved $125 more off the cost of stripping the fj62-88 down for parts. 

took a 600 mile trip to portland and back to buy 4 35×12.5×16 tires on 4 16×10 wheels.  paid $1000 for them all, open country mt’s from Toyo.  put em on and wow they look and feel great.  i may pass on the seat shock mounts after all.  still need to get one more wheel and tire for spare.

ordered a new winch from Warn, 8274-50.  will be here next week.  visited two hardware stores, habor saw and then englund marina.  found all the stuff in the accessories bag for about $130.  minus the warn logo though.

ran to a steel yard for parts, FMC Metals in Clackamas Oregon.  bought $225 worth of plate for new floor under driver, winch mount plate, new bumpers front and back, skid guards all over, and seat mount for driver, maybe for passenger too.  metal for the roof rack, which i will fab up for myself.

altogether i think i spent about $3200 this last week.

Well, here is the scoop.  after the old steering column was removed, the new one had a bit of an angle change towards the drivers seat.  so i cut open the dash and cut off the mount and welded it back on 3 inches higher.  this opened up a real can of worms as the electrical was a real mess behind there.  made the decision to completely rewire the vehicle.  went down and bought 12 colors of 16ga and 6 colors of 14 gauge and several terminal blocks and wire anchors and tape and more.  after the winch is in and the wheel are done, then the electrical will get done.  also, here is where the lift folks hid the vehicle ID, i opened this up and rewelded it back up, but away from the numbers.  forunately, they had missed completely the ID numbers themselves.  fj40-64690.  “the old man.”  as long as we’re documenting stuff, here is the “f” on the engine block.  a real interesting label. 

here is the underside of the power steering mod.  real sloppy welding here, but it should hold well.  i tightened up with shims, all the knuckles of the steering arms.

Well, off I go into the world of power steering.  Bought the kit from Power Steering Pro’s, but after opening the box, found that the p/s pump pulley is not wide belt like I ordered, and worse yet, the pulley is 6 1/2 inches in diameter.  So, at low RPMs the power steering head pressure will be low and make it hard to turn.  Called junk yards from Seattle to POrtland, and they all want the vehicle that the modification comes out of to get a pulley for it.  SInce I don’t know that information, off I go the junk yards to find the right part.  We came down to Portland for Wendy’s dad’s funeral, and Jon drove me around from place to place and we finally came up with a wide belt, 5 1/2 inch pulley in a Ford bin from the early ’80s.  So now I am ready to start cutting out old steering parts and pulling in the new ones.  I went to Landcruiser Specialties in Hillsboro for the alternator bracket to mount the alternator up and on the passenger side.  He also had the dual belt harmonic balancer I needed.  So, when I get home I can start in.  First getting all teh old manual steering gear off, then installing the p/s pump and the alternator so I know where there might be interfearance with the new dual belt orentation.  Other than fabrication of some brackets and wleding them on, this should be somewhat straight forward.  Saginaw 4.25:1, coming up.  I talked to Tim at LS in Hillsboro and he says that 14 guage is the right wire to use through out on the fj40, so I need to oreder on-line the 12 colors and get the wiring harness fixedup.  I plan to start with a relay panel so that I don’t have the dash switches running the current out to the lights and such.  So, wiring will be battery, fuses, dash switches, relay panel and then battery to relay to application to ground.  I do plan to hard wire as many ground wires as I can to avoid any possible open loops in the system.  A wide belt pulley for a v-belt has an outer opening of about .6 inches.  Narrow belts have about .4 inches.

Every man should have a passion.  One of mine is children.  We have four.  Each in turn has married.  So, now I have four daughters, one by birth, and three by marriage.  This picture is of one of those married daughters.  She has the notion that she has better fishing skills than those of us who were born below the 49th.  But, then again, the results do speak for themselves.  I just want to say that the personal training of her guide service, David,  was mine alone to bring up to skill level enough to provide these opportunities for sucsessful outings.  You are welcome, daughter.

Here is a picture of me and Moses in the Fj40 taken October 2008 in South Bend, Washington where I pastor a church.

There has been a flury of work lately that needs to be documented.  In the quest for a drivable vehicle, there are several issues that needed addressed.  First was the oil change, that had not been done since July 2004.  Since this is an 1F engine, it has the force flow to the pistons and to the head, but the crank is a splash type system.  As everyone knows, if you run a 1F engine at a nose down or tail down pitch for extended periods, the crank bearings will burn and gaul, and that will be the beginning of your next project, an engine rebuild.  Since the mid sixties, there have been miles of improvements in engine lubricants.  One such improvement is the add-in to normal hydro carbon oil of synthetic lubricants that enhance engine life, reduce friction, and improve compression.  After some to do over which additive to use, I choose the Prolong product.  I use it in both my 87 Toyota truck and the Fj40.  So once I got the engine oil changed, I tired to turn her over.  A real disappointment there.  I found significant ampacity issues to the starter motor.  Rather than just fix the first problem and then try something else, I choose to redo all the grounds and then rebuild the starter.  That is just why I really appreciate TAPs (Toyota Auto Parts).  The book (Max Ellery’s Factory Workshop Manual) showed just what to do, step by step.  And, that is where the problem was at.  The starter is a 1.0Kw type, and the terminal for the windings had rusted significantly so that the voltage drop at the point was large.  Rebuilt the solenoid, and then reinstalled the starter.  Removed the coil lead and engine turned over nicely.  Pulled all the old plugs at one time and added 4 cc of engine oil to each cylindar.  Ran the starter motor for about 30 seconds to lube the pistons after such a long wait, and the rings must be dry by now.  Piston pressure was as follows after oil added; 1-156, 2-161, 3-158, 4-154, 5-160, 6-159.  Looked real nice.  Put back in the plugs and reset the plug wires, then pulled the distrubter cap to clean the contacts.  Yes, I still have them.  That will be a future project to get an electcronic distrubter.  Checked the coolant capacity, added some gas, and tried to fire off the engine.  Started right off, and I let it run for a few minutes before I dropped off the choke to lower the RPM.  Backed it out of the garage, and noted that there was a big coolant leak somewhere in the heater box area.  Let it run, since the new oil additive needs to be ran through well on the first start-up.  Found the leak in a hose, and put on a clamp with a piece of radiator tubing to temporarely stop the leak.  Ran the engine for about 30 minutes.  Everything looks as I had left it some 4 years ago.  I vacuumed out the back, and took out the final moss patch under the broken window.  Later in prep for the back gas tank, this last fern will be removed.

Found my manual windshield cleaner pump.

New problem.  With the hose leak, I inspected all the other hoses.  Time for all hoses swap out.  Next problem.  I have to install the back heater I bought during this process.  That means the rusty tub needs to be cleaned, treated, and painted.  Man.  Pulled inside gas tank, and then got a product called OSPHO.  Its chemistry included Phosphoric acid to bond to all the rust and eliminate spread.  Next problem.  Found that I has some dark blue paint in equirment enamel from Miller Paint in Portand.  I wanted the light blue.  Went down to Portland and picked up 2 gallons of white.  Mixed at a ratio of, with lots of trial and error, 4.25 white to 1.25 blue.  The color is near perfect, but it is kinda bright.  I might get a quart of grey to tone it down before I paint the outside.  Next problem.  I needed the webbing for under the tank and under the straps.  I drove in the right hand lane until after about 100 miles I found a truck strap.  YES.  Free parts.

When I was pulling the gas lines the the tank, I noted that there was a rear tank switch.  I removed it and cleaned it, and then reran the inside tank hoses to the switch.  New Problem.  I had purchased a used gas tank for the rear tank.  It was out of a 1982 Ford pasenger car.  By my estination, it will fit.  So, off I go down that road now.  Made carboard cutouts of the profile, and very nice fit.  Sized more webbing and upper pads to hold the tank without rubbing.  This cap will be on the left side of the vehicle.  So, I will need a patch for the left hole that was already there.  Fine.  I am cleaning under the tub where the tank will be so that I can give the under side an undercoat, rattle can type by 3M. 

Well the rear tank is in.  Used an electrical box to frame the rear gas cap into the body line which avoids it getting whacked off on brush.  The tank install went well.  After the coating, I used a floor jack to press the tank into the foam pads above and then fitted the new straps to the tank and lined the straps with webbing materail to avoid chafing the tank.  Fits better than expected.  But having the tank dead center leaves the hoses from the gas cap very taught.  I adjusted the center line 1 inch to the driver side.  Removed the old bumper that held the tail lights and intalled the ball reciever flange.  Numbered and clipped all the wiring for the rear lights, so that will need to be done when I redo the harness to the back.

From December 1998 to July 4th 2004, there were many journeys for parts.  A friend needed help in Steamboat Springs, and I traveled there several times to help him.  I took afternoons to find parts for my Fj40 in the junk yards of Colorado and more.  I have stored those parts until now, 2008, when they will begin to be put into play on the vehicle.  On one trip, I purchased a 1972 Fj40, which has long been sold to a guy up in Port Angeles, Washington.  My youngest son, Jon, and I worked on it for many hours at Mom and Dad’s house on 73rd and eventually it became more than we could tackle.  Having purchased a different vehicle for Jon, I sold the 72 and bought a camera for my wife, Wendy, a Cannon Rebel XTI with and extra 300mm lens.  It has been a great trade off.  Jon’s Uncle Peter did the pictures for his wedding to Kaylee.  That represented a big savings to Jon and Kaylee, so we stretched the dollars from the 72 to the maximum we could.  Total investments on the 72 were about $2900 dollars, and we recouped about $3000, plus or minus, so that was at least a even deal.

Here we are inserting the engine back into place after rebuilding it.

We worked late getting the body work done, and here is a night shot of the grinder spray off the 72.

Once we got it close, the work came to a halt for reasons, and we sold it as far as we got it.

In the mean time, I took every opportunity to gather parts, books, and ads from magazines for the 1969 Fj40.  I have a nice collection of stuff.  I want to thank M&M Auto Parts near Steamboat Springs, Colorado for all the free snowmobile trips up to the fields of Fj40’s where I spent many a long day digging out parts from 6 to 10 feet of snow during the Winter Canival at Steamboat Springs.  I have had so much fun.  And, thanks to John for allowing me to drag home the 72 during one of the worst storms in Nevada history.  Oh, the journey has been full. 

Here is the actual beginning of the story, although, it has yet to enclose the actual Fj40 into it’s grip. 

The LandCruiser bug and how to get it.  I believe that somewhere in our past is someone, a grand dad, a dad, a mom, a aunt, a friend’s dad, somebody… who placed intrinsinc value on these vehicles.  when one passed by them or they passed by one, we were near by and they released into the air some fermone, that left us spell bound by the tilt of their head and the glink in their eye as they spoke the words… “hey… a fj40″  and BAM.  we got the bug.

for me it was a guy who worked for the forrest service in Oregon, and he hunted where we hunted, and he drove his fj40 all over the place, no road closures in those days, and we talked about rigs and what got around the best.  i remember a time up at Flag Point Lookout in 1965, he sat across the fire from me and started in on a tale of rough road and … he started having that eye looking into the flames thing and then the fermones heated up and shot across the fire and BAM, right in the kisser,  I got the bug.

there ya go,  life long ago.  lived out now, in the flesh, in my fj40-1/69, it was not even off the assembly line when i got the sickness…  oh my i’m tearing up here…

This is at my wedding to Wendy, Saturday, September 28th, 1974.  The onwer of the Fj40 that I now call my own is pictured at the left side in blue shirt.  His name is (Jeffery) Lincoln Forrester.  He will later be the primary driver of my machine and then after his untimely death, the family (Cheri) will sell it to me on the Decmeber 1998.

pictured at left in black pants and a blue shirt. Candle Lighter.

I paid $1000 for the machine.  Trailer loaded it, and took it to Tacoma at the house there.  This was the beginning of the whole deal.  The Fj40 sat under the trees in the front of the house until 2002 when I will move it to my brothers house in Gresham, Oregon and that is where I finally got the engine running again in 2004.   Initically, the engine did run, but so many other problems presented themselves that the vehicle sat unused all the time.  During that time, I installed, or better yet, completed the Offenhauser 4 barrel intake manifold install.  I put a Quadrjet on the vehicle, but the engine did not run very good.  The engine had been rebuilt and was out of a 74 Fj40.  It is a “1F” engine with 3.878 liter displacement.  I checked the specs on an Edelbrock Carburetor, and indeed the 600 Series (650 CFM), 1406 carburetor will run with 14-15 A/F ratio on the Offenhauser set up.  What a deal, on January 12th, 1999 I bought the new carburetor.  When I first fired up the engine, wow, I could not believe the difference.  So, being the nice guy that I am, I ran down to the local DEQ and tried to see if it would pass emmissions.  The first test failed, and so I came home and went over to the Napa Store and selected a new set of Rod/Jet replacements and the second test failed, but much closer.  After one more purchase, the engine ran and passed with superior performance well beyond the specififications for newer vehicles of that day, which was January 15th, 1999.  There were no requirements for this vehicle to pass emissions for licensure.  But, it did pass very very well.

A special friend, Linda came over and tried out the front seat on March 22, 1999.  This was back when the vehicle had regular plates.  I have plated it, “GFNOFF2″ for the last 8 years.  My brother, Jeff, has his rig plated “GFNOFF” so, this was in responce to his plate.  Thanks brother, for the idea.  A friend of mine, Fenton, who lives down in Gaston, Oregon gave me this plate cover a few year’s back before Linda came over that day and it has been Ty’s Toy ever since.  Thanks ole sturgeon buddy Fenton.

Wow, what a journey. 

The vehicle had many modifications done before I got my hands on it.  Here is the list of all I know.

Repainted in light blue.  Rebuilt for unleaded fuels.  New Forged Crank.  RV Cam set up.  Header shaved and rebuilt.  Electric Fuel Pump with seperate fuel pump switch.  Horn Switch moved to dash.  No turn signals.  Re-caped P78-15 AT tires, 5.  The drive transmission and engine are from a 74 Fj 40.  Rancho Supension completed.  Original Aux starter switch in engine compartment still installed.  Alternator/Generator replaced with a heavy duty high amperage model.  Clutch was new with less than 20 miles on it.  Steering box was bad, and needed replacement. 

Thank you Lincoln.