Landcruiser Unplugged...literally!

Well...its been a couple of weeks, but I have managed to get a couple of days of working on the Landcruiser in.  For the most part I've been working on the dash...what a mess of wires...half not connected to anything...half that probably shouldn't (they are brittle and cracked)...and most stuck in place for one reason or another.  Most of the plugs and connectors came undone pretty easily.  A few plugs were full of dirt...its hard to believe the rear lights worked at all.  But with lots of yanking and pulling and figuring out what was still connected...the wiring is out of the dash...actually the whole front end.  I'll get the wires that head to the rear of the car when the body comes off...easier that way.  I've also managed to get most of the dash out...I have one knob (a rusted in hazard light switch)...one turn signal dash light cover (again rusted in) and the speedo cable frozen in place on the backside of the instrument panel.  They are all soaking in penetrating fluid so hopefully next time I'm out there they will finally come off. 

Today I managed to get the heater off with a little bit of antifreeze spillage.  I was actually a little surprised at how much was in the lines and in the heater itself.  But the heater is out and ready for restoration. 

I've also ran into a few snags up under the dash....mainly the 4WD shifter and the parking brake lever.  The 4WD shifter is ready to come out if I could get the rod released from the linkage that runs under the hood.  I was able to get the clamp holding it in place off...but the clamp has bent into place...so I have a feeling it will take a bit of hammering to get it off.  Otherwise everything else with it is ready to come off.  The parking brake is almost off as well...1 bolt I can't get too!  I may have to wait until the pedals come off and the steering column is out. 

I haven't made much progress on the body since I've been concentrating on the inside.  I did get the running boards off...or whats left of them.  They were rusted through pretty badly and the piles underneath are proof.  They will be replaced in the end.  The roll cage is still on there...4 bolts left and hopefully loosening up in penetrating fluid.  I guess once I get the dash done and the roll cage out...I can start working on taking the body off the frame...only 12 probably very very rusty frozen bolts...

More Busy Work

So I have managed a couple of more days working out on the Cruiser this past weekend.  My main goal was to work on the fenders and the roll cage.  I managed to get one fender completely stripped of paint and my technique seems to be working well.  The outside of the fenders seem pretty good...minor rust along the wheel well edge, but nothing major.  The top has some areas that are pretty beat up, so I'll need to do some pounding on them to get them straightened out.  Again...nothing too major.  Now the inside of the fender is a different story.  While the rust isn't terrible, there are a couple of areas that will take some work.  They sanded out pretty well and most of the surface rust is gone.  But there are a couple areas that are flaking pretty badly.  My plan is to grind out the bad areas, put rust converter on the whole inside of the fender and fill to smooth.  The other fender is pretty much clear of paint and just needs to be sanded down to remove the surface rust.  Still a long ways to go, but they are coming along.  I also managed to get most of the paint on the aprons removed.  Hopefully a Dremmel tool comes out of Christmas this year since there are a lot of tight spaces I can't get the sander into.  All in all the paint removal process is going great.

The roll cage on the other hand has been a real pain in the rear.  I had one post where I managed to get all the bolts out...including a 6 inch bolt...out, while none of the others have budged.  Well I let them soak for a week in penetrating fluid and beat them with a hammer...and guess what...all but one are out!  Of course that one won't budge...I can't seem to break it loose no matter how much I beat on it and soak it in fluid.  I'll keep at it though and hopefully I can break it loose soon.

I've also been working on dismantling the wiring.  There are so many unconnected wires its unreal.  The wires that are there make me wonder how the heck anything actually worked!  I managed to get the heater off the firewall but can't completely remove it until I drain the radiator.  Anybody have a 5 gallon bucket I can have?  As for the wiring...I think I have one side done...the easy glove box side.  I also got the turn signal switch disconnected and labeled.  There are a ton more to go though...

So for now its continued paint removal...wire disconnecting...and start soaking the body mounts in penetrating fluid so I can get the body off.

Finally Got the Front End Off...

Its amazing what the right tools can do for you!  Today I managed to get the fenders and front bib off.  The fenders were the main challenge...getting to the four bolts that held it to the frame of the car.  Not only were they behind the front tires...I had brake lines...rubber ones...and the steering arm on the drivers side in the way.  I had penetrating fluid soaking the bolts for several days since they were very rusted in place.  Unfortunately my socket set is too deep to to allow me to use it on those bolts...and the wrench was just not doing the trick...so I made a trip to Lowes to pick up a shallow socket set.  It did the trick...was able to get the 1/4" drive and shallow socket in there and had the fenders off in just a couple of minutes!  Next was the front bib...I was able to get the shallow sockets back behind it and again...the bib was off in just a couple of minutes.  It will definitely be easier to work on the motor, suspension and steering with everything off the front.  Next I worked on the heating system...its off the car and ready to be overhauled.  I finally decided it was time to clean up and do a few odds and ends.  I worked on wire brushing the aprons and one side is done.  I think I have finally come up with a technique for removing paint...use stripper and scrapper first to get the worst of it off followed by the wire brush to get what the stripper leaves behind.  Its a long process, but leaves the metal ready to be primed.  Next up...working on getting the dash done...its a mess of wires and I have a feeling won't be an easy task...

Guttin the Inards...

Finally...a productive day out on the Cruiser.  Today I started gutting the insides...or what little insides there are.  My main goal was the get the front seats out.  That task ended up being quite easy.  I started working on the drivers seat first...its not original to the car so wasn't sure what I was getting into.  Two bolts...thats it!  And they came out with no problem.  Next was the framing and tool box lid.  They also came out very easily...I was a bit worried about the frame since it was bolted into the floor...but no problems there.  One thing I will have to research is the tool box.  From what I can tell its welded into the floor...so I don't think its coming out.  I guess its time to get a drimel tool set to work on it...lots of little corners and tight spots.  Next up...the passenger bench...again...no problems taking it out.  Since removing the seats did not take too long I decided to keep going.  The gas tank is located under the passenger bench and was relatively easy to take out as well.  There were two straps holding it in...and three lines...the filler line...the evaporator line and the fuel line.  All ended up coming out easily and I managed to not make a mess.  Luckily I managed to pretty much empty the tank before starting work so there was just a little bit left.  After that I worked on removing the wing vents and CB antenna.  From there I started work on the rear roll cage.  Not so easy work here.  I managed to get about 4 bolts out in 2 hours...two of them broke.  Lets just say they are rusted in place pretty good.  For now I have them soaking in penetrating fluid so hopefully they'll loosen up for next time I work on it. 

Next I think I'll work on the dash and getting the wiring unhooked.  From the looks of it...most of it has been done for me...so many loose wires not connected to anything.  I'm not too worried about salvaging the wiring though...I plan on getting a new harness to take care of it.  Still it should be a slow task to figure out how everything goes together...and comes apart.  I also plan on getting the roll cage off and the fenders.  So many frozen rusted bolts...

The Hood is Off...

Well I haven't been able to work much on the Cruiser the past week...but the one day I did I managed to get the hood off along with most of the hardware.  Most came off without a problem...except for one of the screws in the windshield latch...and one of the nuts on the windshield bumper.  I ended up having to cut them of to remove them. I'll replace those in the end anyways, so I wasn't too worried about damaging them.  I still haven't managed to get the bracket on the front end off...not sure what I'm going to do there.  Next up...figure out the frame bolts on the fenders...work on that bracket...and start gutting what little interior there is...

Another day...more work done...

Well...it may not seem like I got a lot accomplished yesterday but I think I did.  My goal was to get the whole front end taken apart...fenders, aprons, bib, etc but I ran into a few hitches along the way.  First I had to disconnect the electrical system so I could start taking apart the wiring.  I hopefully was smart and labeled everything and drew up diagrams on how everything is connected.  I plan on getting a completely new wiring harness since the current wiring is a bit scary...but if I have things labeled, hopefully when I start reassembling I can match up wires with the new harness...we'll see if it works or not.  Labeling the wires took up most of the morning and a lot longer than I expected.  The next step was the aprons...I had already removed the emblems and all that remained were the nuts and bolts holding them on.  I think I snapped about half of them trying to remove them...even after soaking in penetrating fluid.  Some bolts are beyond saving...besides it will have all new hardware when all is said and done.  Luckily I only had one bolt that caused a problem and I was finally able to take are of it.  Next I moved on to the fenders...I had to remove several pieces bolted in.  Most came off without a hitch.  The main problem I ran into was the four bolts anchored into the frame.  I'm going to need an impact wrench to get them out...anybody feel like donating one!  I tried penetrating fluid but there is no budge at all!  So the fenders will have to wait until I can find a way to get them off.  In the meantime I did start to strip the paint off the top sides of the fenders as well as the aprons.  The other part I wanted to remove was the front bib.  I thought this would be an easy task...3 bolts no problem.  Well two of the bolts came out no problem, but the third is unreachable unless the bib is fold down flat.  Currently there are the bumper tow hooks and old jack mounts in the way on the bumper.  Needless to say it won't lay flat and I can't remove that last bolt.  I started taking off the hooks and jack mounts...but once again ran into issues with the last bolt...impact wrench again?!  I also tried to kill my hand trying to take out that last bolt...the wrench slipped and I mashed my hand pretty good...ouch!  I did run into one bad rust area on each fender...under the turn signals...not sure what was holding them in!  Should be an easy fix though...and new turn signals will look great!  Well...all for now...

First week of work on the Cruiser...

So...one week down...and I think it looks like progress.  Both doors are pretty much stripped of paint...do have a few stubborn screws soaking in penetrating fluid...hopefully that does the trick and I'll be able to get them out tomorrow.  I also started work on the quarter panels...the outsides are pretty much stripped of paint but still need sanding.  There is also evidence of previous body work...luckily nothing too major and should be easy to clean up and refill.  I'm just hoping the spare tire carrier I bought for it holds works out ok...there is definite work where it used to be...so we'll see how that goes.  The main concern as far as rust goes looks like where I figured it would be...the rockers, rear sill and tub.  I have a feeling they will all have to be replaced...the bed has holes all the way to through...and the rockers are beyond repair.  The good news is the seal looks good.  I also started taking all the odds and ends off the body...marker lights, insignia, etc so I can start stripping the rest of the body as well.  I think the hardest part will be taking out the frozen bolts...so far I've managed to break 4 today!  Oh well...just have to tap them out.  Plan for tomorrow...take care of the front end...hopefully get the body off the front and start stripping the paint.

So the Restoration Begins...

Well...I thought I would start a blog detailing my attempt at restoring my 1970 Toyota FJ40 Landcruiser.  The old school Landcruisers have always been one of my favorite cars...I don't know if its the fact it can go anywhere...its tough as a tank or just unique...you don't see many of them around these days...but I finally purchased one in Nov of 2008.  It was hard to start working on it in Reno at our apartment, so I mostly toyed around with it.  After our move to Pueblo, I decided I wanted to enjoy it for the summer before really beginning on the restoration during the winter.  So the journey begins...