FJ40's

[Cascadia]

I might be getting into a 76 FJ40 and I'm wondering what I would be getting myself into? What are the weak spots? What should I look for? How are the stock axles and transfercase? What's the easiest way to stretch the wheelbase staying with leafs? I've been wanting on since I was a senior in high school and might finally have the chance.

 

[hedonist]

there are no weaknessess......it's a cruiser. Buy it
YOU'LL HATE IT SOMETIMES BUT I HAVE had mine since 93 and it's been like a best friend (most times)
Drive train is stout. they are old so...you never know how it's been treated. see if you can get some history
good luck want pics WHEN you get it

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Its all relative. What size tires do you plan to run? How much do you want to stretch the wheelbase? I'm finishing one for a customer that will be ~95" WB on 35's. FJ60 axles so its ~3" wider than the stock axles too. With the FJ60 axles you get improved brakes, birfs and knuckles, all of which are easily upgradeable on the 40 too.

T-cases are fairly stout up to moderate wheeling and 35's, Advance Adapters makes the ORION for applications stressing beyond that. Chromo shafts are availale for both axles, so 37's are not out of the question with minimal issues.

Biggest needs with a stock FJ40 such as a 76' will be power steering and suspension. My preference is suspension kits for 33's and under and spring-over for 35's and up though there is a bit of carry over both directions. I'm SOA on 35's with my 40 and like the way it drives and handles both on and off-road. Its no rock-crawler by any means but handle a week in Moab and drive home all the same.

 

[Cascadia]

It's got a chevy 350 tbi and sm420 trans. It's on 35's with a SOA and 35's. I would just want to stretch it to about just under 100. I would go more but don't want to get in to a ton of work. Is there a way of just flipping springs to get it up that much or no? I also don't plan on wheeling it super hard. Just to have fun with and occasionally wheel Moab and local trails.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

You can flip the springs but you then have to deal with some funky pinion control when flexing. Instead of the pinion tilting up on droop (good) and down on compression (good) it will do the opposite, possibly binding the pinion and breaking pinions. If it has stock pinions they will be course spline and somewhat weak links with 35's and particularly with bind issues.

 

[Cascadia]

So what is the best way to get around this and stretch it?

 

[cruiseroutfit]

So what is the best way to get around this and stretch it?

Link it, move perches, different springs with a closer to center or centered pin. Or modify your driveshafts so that you can run regular flipped springs without worry.

 

[iamsparticus]

FJ40

At the rad jeeper we where doing a FJ40 that had a 104inch WB it simply had different springs, and the mounts moved, then again it also had wider axles, a 6.0L V8 a stake that had 5:1 and lots of other stuff but different springs and moving the mount points should easily get you to 100WB, or like kurt said Link it

 

[Bart]

I've seen the rear stock axles break off at the pinion a couple of times. If you are planning on wheeling it hard, you will be putting a ton of money into it. I love FJ40s, but I would buy one more for expedition than hard core wheeling, and keeping it more stockish than built, like Kurt described in his first post.

 

[Cascadia]

I think that's what it would be used for. More expedition type stuff. IF I jkeep my jeep I will eventually build it for more of hard core crawling than mixed duties. I think a 40 would be fun for exploring and camping and just getting it out around town. The stretch would just make for a nicer ride and not so straight up.

 

[Brian P]

Mine is right around 100" both front and rear springs have been flipped.
I will attest to the longer WB being great for road travel, I have put over 3300 miles in two trips in the last year most of which were highway, Its a good way to go.

 

[cruiseroutfit]

Go spend some seat time in a 40 before you consider it for an "expedition" rig (whatever that means as of today?). They are SWB, the drivers seating particularly with stock seats is pretty upright and you have room for 2 people and gear, any more than that while doable is uncomfortable and tight at best. If your really looking for an "expedition" rig (yes I'm using quotes again) then look towards a 60 Series or 80 Series, both of which can be had for the same price range you'll pay for a SOA/V8 FJ40. Don't get me wrong, I have an will travel all over the western states with my FJ40 but its not optimal by any means and really is a far better trail rig than anything long distance. That said we did have a gentleman come on the Relic Run this past year with a wife and 3 kids in his FJ40 and here I was rolling solo and was packed tight and a couple of other FJ40 participants were pulling trailers.

 

[Max Power]

I wouldn't buy one for crawling unless you plan on heavy modifications. If it has the stock drivetrain they are very heavy. They do look cool with the ambulance doors.

 

[iamsparticus]

I agree a Fj 40 can be turned into a very worthy trail rig if set up right, and for not a lot of money, they are not very comffey to sit in and i would rather have a FZJ80 for expo rig anyday, my boss i go wheeling with has one with teh factory lockers front and rear 33's and 4.10s and it is a serious trail rig and expo rig and he loves it. He has had a FJ40 and FJ62 before and he likes the 80 the best partly becasue it is great for expo and the family

 

[cruiseroutfit]

That's so expo

 

[SUPERFLY]

I’d buy one to restore, and drive to the gas station and cabin once in a while. It takes a lot of patience to run a long trail in one. I sat in the back seat of one on the Rubicon when i was 15, it was fun but i would take my 80 or my 4runner next time. that being said Kurt has rocked his for like 10 years now as seems to really enjoy it(he was on that Rubicon trip as well).
my own 2 cents, if you want an awesome classic 4x4 that will turn heads and take you to your cabin, get a 40. if you want a cheap but still bada$$ camping rig that is capable of reliably driving across the us on dirt roads get a 60 series. 60 series, imo, is hands down, buck for buck, best camping truck you can buy and you can fit a queen size blow up mattress in the back!. if you want the same reliability but are stuck on the removable top and willing to sacrifice some space get a first gen 4runnner. imo skip the second gen runner, they don’t have much more room than a first gen, they are heavy, under powered, no removable top, ifs, and about the same price/gas mileage as a 60 series. If you want a rock crawler build one, or buy a jeep or a Toyota pickup.

...OR
if you want to go on "expos" and to Starbucks, and pack an aluminum Dutch oven, you will need a silver 80 series with an rtt and if you are serious you should get a snorkel (yes i do own an 80 series its great but on bumpy trails i always spill my coffee all over my macbook pro, iphone 4, ipod touch, police scanner, cb radio, ham radio, motorola talkabout, golf digest, latest garmin gps, and my tom tom, so its strictly for expos... right now i have a reef attached to my arb bull bar for the holidays) .....in all seriousness its cool and all but if i didnt tow with it, id much rather have a 60 series. they have more room, easier to maintain, cheaper parts etc etc

 

[Jesser04]

Get me the spec's on the 40 and I will get you a rough draft on a classified ad

 

[Bart]

:greg: Now that is funny.

...OR
if you want to go on "expos" and to Starbucks, and pack an aluminum Dutch oven, you will need a silver 80 series with an rtt and if you are serious you should get a snorkel (yes i do own an 80 series its great but on bumpy trails i always spill my coffee all over my macbook pro, iphone 4, ipod touch, police scanner, cb radio, ham radio, motorola talkabout, golf digest, latest garmin gps, and my tom tom, so its strictly for expos... right now i have a reef attached to my arb bull bar for the holidays) .....

 

[SAMI]

Classic post Robby.

If indeed you do get an expo 80 series, you have to also run the 255/85/16 tire; official expo sized tire. Just tall enough to be an aggressive all-terrain size without the fatness of the everyday 'mall crawler' 33x12.50.. My God, do these 33x12.50's make my FZJ80 look fat?!

 

[SUPERFLY]

Some might call it "silver" but it's ACTUALLY "sage green"