Owners Name & City- Gordon in Ogden, UT
Make, Model & Year of Vehicle- 1978 Toyota FJ40 Landcruiser
Engine- original 2F
Transmission- SM420
T-Case- 60's "3 speed" case
Axles- stock axles, Aussie in the rear
Suspension- OME 2.5"
Wheels and Tires- 33x10.50R15 BFG
Known-ish history:
Cruiser has been in Utah it's whole life. It was a "barn" find by some local cruiser dude who got a hold of it and brought it back to life. Not a restore by any means but he cleaned it up and got it road worthy again. Cruiser dudes son did a "soft roll" while on a mountain trail and decided to sell the truck for parts to Kurt (mr cruiser outfitters) Another cruiser dude (Jason i think?) decided it was salvageable and gave it a 3rd chance at life. I bought it from Jason in 2009 and have owned and loved it since then.
I bought the truck with:
-OME suspension. Medium fronts and heavy rear springs. Rides great with the top on loaded with gear. Rides a little rough topless and empty.
-Metal Tech Roll Cage
I've added a few things over the past 5 years. These are mostly in order
-Saginaw Power steering - best upgrade. I didn't mind strong arm steering on pavement but aired down and offroad sucked after a few trips.
-Rear Aussie locker. At first i was concerned about the way my truck drove with this addition. An Aussie locker in a 40 feels a lot different than it did in my 4runner. I made slight adjustments to the way I drove and it was no longer an issue.
-Rear Disc Brakes (front discs were stock in 78)
- Found some matching front doors (when i bought this it only had soft doors)
-lots of dents. (majorly improves aerodynamics)
-Aluminum radiator. I wasn't having heat issues but when my radiator starting leaking i just assumed aluminum was better. Plus it has a built in aux cooler for the Saginaw PS.
-"trollhole" carb (basically a stock carb replica without smog junk)
-"proper" desmog - I mostly just finished the job. When I bought the cruiser most of the parts were missing but I tidied it up and deleted the remaining unnecessary items.
-SM420 tranny with early "3 speed" t case. Roughly 70:1 low range with the same top end speed. I found a used EBI adapter plate for this upgrade. I know some FJ40 folk don't approve of my muncie tranny but it's stronger, same high end speeds, super low end gear, and almost the same overall drivetrain length. What's not to like?
-Rebuilt motor in Oct 2014. Pro Machine in Murray, UT did the machining and assembly based on recommendations from Wasatch Cruisers. They did a complete rebuild including balancing with a lot of OME parts. Basically if it was available from toyota, i bought it from toyota. Everything else was aftermarket parts based on info i found on MUD.
On to the pics. This is the day i bought it.
Make, Model & Year of Vehicle- 1978 Toyota FJ40 Landcruiser
Engine- original 2F
Transmission- SM420
T-Case- 60's "3 speed" case
Axles- stock axles, Aussie in the rear
Suspension- OME 2.5"
Wheels and Tires- 33x10.50R15 BFG
Known-ish history:
Cruiser has been in Utah it's whole life. It was a "barn" find by some local cruiser dude who got a hold of it and brought it back to life. Not a restore by any means but he cleaned it up and got it road worthy again. Cruiser dudes son did a "soft roll" while on a mountain trail and decided to sell the truck for parts to Kurt (mr cruiser outfitters) Another cruiser dude (Jason i think?) decided it was salvageable and gave it a 3rd chance at life. I bought it from Jason in 2009 and have owned and loved it since then.
I bought the truck with:
-OME suspension. Medium fronts and heavy rear springs. Rides great with the top on loaded with gear. Rides a little rough topless and empty.
-Metal Tech Roll Cage
I've added a few things over the past 5 years. These are mostly in order
-Saginaw Power steering - best upgrade. I didn't mind strong arm steering on pavement but aired down and offroad sucked after a few trips.
-Rear Aussie locker. At first i was concerned about the way my truck drove with this addition. An Aussie locker in a 40 feels a lot different than it did in my 4runner. I made slight adjustments to the way I drove and it was no longer an issue.
-Rear Disc Brakes (front discs were stock in 78)
- Found some matching front doors (when i bought this it only had soft doors)
-lots of dents. (majorly improves aerodynamics)
-Aluminum radiator. I wasn't having heat issues but when my radiator starting leaking i just assumed aluminum was better. Plus it has a built in aux cooler for the Saginaw PS.
-"trollhole" carb (basically a stock carb replica without smog junk)
-"proper" desmog - I mostly just finished the job. When I bought the cruiser most of the parts were missing but I tidied it up and deleted the remaining unnecessary items.
-SM420 tranny with early "3 speed" t case. Roughly 70:1 low range with the same top end speed. I found a used EBI adapter plate for this upgrade. I know some FJ40 folk don't approve of my muncie tranny but it's stronger, same high end speeds, super low end gear, and almost the same overall drivetrain length. What's not to like?
-Rebuilt motor in Oct 2014. Pro Machine in Murray, UT did the machining and assembly based on recommendations from Wasatch Cruisers. They did a complete rebuild including balancing with a lot of OME parts. Basically if it was available from toyota, i bought it from toyota. Everything else was aftermarket parts based on info i found on MUD.
On to the pics. This is the day i bought it.
