My 2 FJ builds:

Things have been going a little slow of late on the 40, but I got some good things done:

-finally ditched the electric fuel pump which was causing intermittent problems. Got a mechanical pump installed, all new metal fuel lines to the pump and halfway to the carb. Developed an inlet leak on the carb, so got that fixed (had to get rid of the filter and tighten the poop out of it) and had the carb adjusted by a guru. Runs like a beast now. Put an inline filter in between the pump and carb. Fuel delivery should be set: tank, all lines, carb, etc have all been replaced since last year. While the carb was off, I painted the manifold and valve covers which were looking pretty ratty. Looks decent, but I just sprayed what I could reach without taking lines off. Also working on restoring/refurbishing another hard top. My current one is a frankenstien, so I found one pretty cheap that is all one year and in great shape overall. Other than that, not much else happening currently!

Looks good. Definitely makes me want to look around for one.

I love watching the progress of the 40 build! Very nice looking truck!!

Did a little inside the cab work this past weekend. Cleaned the floor/floor boards with degreaser, coated with Rust Bullet, then painted with Rust Bullet chassis black. Came out pretty decent I think. Couple of pics:

The 40 is currently in the shop getting some transmission, transfer case, and diff work done. New U-joints, bearings, seals, gaskets, and find out why it jumps out of 4th gear some.

Got my truck back finally. New bearings and seals in the tranny and front/rear diffs and new U-joints. Plus, new shifter fork which fixed the popping out of 4th gear issue. I also "refurbished", put together and installed my new hardtop, replacing my frankentop. A little progess finally!

Another update: New passenger front fender painted and installed. Tranny cover is done. Had to cut new holes for the shifters, as the tranny was moved forward a bit during the conversion. Welded up the old holes and painted (my cousin did an amazing job... looks factory). New Tuffy stereo console, mounted extinguisher with a quickfist to the console, etc, etc.

Time to go topless for a few months! Next up: adding some tunes. A friend gave me some Pioneer TS-X200's that should be easy to mount behind the seats and I have a Kenwood Marine receiver on the way (cheap on ebay).

Oh man, I know that was a pain taking the top off! We took ours off of our 72 when we first started restoring it (Strip, sand, repaint, reglass), and were suprised at the weight of those suckers. Didn't put it back on until we were ready to sell! The 74 is only soft-top, which is convenient, but I've always loved the look of the HTs.

Yeah, it is not light for sure! But, I copied someone on the IH8MUD forum and installed a Racor ceiling storage lift in the garage. With that, I can back underneath, undo all the bolts, and then use the lift to help me lift the top off. I can actually do it by myself now and the tops stays stored above the 40 and I park underneath it. For $125, it was a worthy investment. Doing it by hand is a major pain as I did it that way the first time.

Holy crap I never even thought of that... GENIUS!

Wow, I really like your '74! Someday, when I'm independently wealthy, I want to do a FJ-40 build. Those things are tanks! Great job!

Finally have some tunes in the 40! Kenwood Marine Stereo (cd/ipod), pioneer speakers. Made quick RCA connections- installed female RCA's in the rear of the console so I can easily unplug them. Speakers are mounted with velcro, quick and easy. Not bad overall!

Doing a little painting of the doors while off for the summer. And, a "family" pic of my wifes FJC, the 40, and my FJC: