Iconic Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40

1970 FJ40
True nut-and-bolt rotisserie restoration of museum/concours quality. This vehicle is the culmination of over 1000 man-hours of labor and over 25 years experience in FJ40 restoration and ownership. It is a completely custom assembled example of the legendary and iconic Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40. Absolute attention to detail was painstakingly taken in every aspect of this build.
The mission of this project was to hand-build a Toyota FJ40 from the frame up, utilizing some of the best components from the two decade run of FJ40's imported into the United States while staying true to the spirit and authenticity of the brand, yet carefully considered for safety and drivability. In this case, a 1970 would serve as the archetype. Every effort was made to keep the vehicle looking as though it just rolled off the factory assembly line.
I am a one-man operation and I typically restore one FJ40 per year since retiring as an automotive technician. As such, I dedicate 100% of my time, my heart and soul into each build. Of my last six restorations, four now reside in separate museums across the country. Take a close look at the results, and you can see that no detail was overlooked and no short-cuts were taken. You will not find a finer example of an FJ40 restoration anywhere else.
Exterior

• Extremely rust-free main tub and all additional body parts media blasted to bare metal.
• Any imperfections were repaired correctly (cut out, welded, metal worked).
• Epoxy Primer
• Three coats of period-correct, single-stage acrylic enamel
• Color: Toyota Fashion Green (T303)
• Fiberglass roof panel sanded, resurfaced, primed and painted
• Toyota Olympus White paint (T1453), correct for period
• Front headlight surround also Olympus white.
• Tub Floor and entire underside sprayed with Raptor Liner
• Tinted to exact match of Fashion Green with toner made from the same batch as exterior paint.
• Driver and passenger doors completely rebuilt, with all new:
• rubber,
• internals,
• felts, and
• door latches (inner and outer).
• NOS (New Old Stock) items from Toyota dealership:
• emblems,
• lights,
• reflectors,
• front and rear bumpers, and
• mirrors.

Interior

• Front and rear seats
• Custom-sewn in a "coral" colored marine grade vinyl using original patterns as reference to reproduce the factory look, correct in color and style of the era.
• Frames were media-blasted and repainted to match silver trim found on bumpers and interior trim pieces.
• New foam cushions.
• High quality reproduction headliner installed.
• NOS sun visors

Chassis

• Frame media blasted and powder coated.
• Axles disassembled, media-blasted, and powder coated
• Rebuilt with new bearings, seals and brake components.
• Original front axle was exchanged for that of a later model FJ40 unit, complete with disc brakes.
• Steering box rebuilt with new worm and sector shaft gears.
• Tie rods and bell crank replaced, as well as all four shocks
• Rebuilt and re-arced springs, new bushings, heavy-duty custom-made shackles
• Complete brake system upgrade to a dual-circuit system, with new:
• master cylinder
• front calipers,
• hoses,
• steel lines, and
• rear wheel cylinders.

Running Gear

• The more refined Toyota 2F inline six cylinder was implemented, as was the stronger, larger, 4-speed transmission and transfer case.
• All were disassembled, inspected and rebuilt.
• New seals and warn parts were replaced.
• Engine overhauled with complete head rebuild.
• Steel header replaces the cast iron exhaust manifold and new custom exhaust system that mimics the original in appearance.
• New clutch components:
• Disc,
• plate,
• bearings,
• slave,
• master,
• hoses,
• lines.
• Factory Toyota carburetor was completely rebuilt.
• Valve cover and air cleaner were interchanged from the earlier F engine in order to achieve the correct early 70s look.
• New water pump, belts, fuel pump, alternator.
• Rebuilt radiator.

Miscellaneous

• Hardware, nuts, bolts etc. were cleaned and re-plated with yellow zinc as per factory spec.
• Stainless steel hardware used in place of missing, obsolete or unusable pieces.
• Re-chromed components (rear glass hatch struts, handles, etc.)
• OEM glass retained, cleaned, and polished
• New windshield (factory correct green tint)
• Rubber and soft parts are NOS new replacements, including:
• weather stripping,
• glass seals,
• grommets,
• windshield wipers,
• shift boots,
• shift knobs
• Instrument cluster and gauges restored
• Steering wheel rebuilt and restored to like new.
• Complete heater system restored including:
• box,
• fan,
• ducts,
• hoses.
• Dash knobs replaced and/or restored.
• NOS key cut to code, matching front and rear doors.
• Vintage 1970 issued AZ License plate.

Electrical

• Entire electrical system harness updated to a modern, simplified unit.
• Han-run and wrapped from front to back.
• New period-correct battery.
• New headlights, switch, bulbs, battery cables, and ignition switch

Wheels and Tires

• Five OEM 15-inch wheels painted with correct factory grey color
• Five new 31x10.50 mud terrain tires.
• Five NOS hub caps.

Fashion green FJ40 - YouTube

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