what have i done?
I’m not sure how it happened, but i ended up with this beautiful...complete disaster in my driveway...now what do i do?....
what have i done?
I’m not sure how it happened, but i ended up with this beautiful...complete disaster in my driveway...now what do i do?....
what have i done?
I’m not sure how it happened, but i ended up with this beautiful...complete disaster in my driveway...now what do i do?....
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In the Beginning
I “accidentally” bought this one day. I had been looking on and off for a few months and this one popped up on Craigslist. What I love about it was (in addition to the extremely cool curved rear quarter panel windows!!) that it was actually running and it was literally just out of Golden up Clear Creek Canyon just a few miles from my house.
I knew just enough about restoring a vehicle to know I was in way over my head. I had very average mechanical ability and knowledge of the inner workings of the internal combustion engine. I grew up in rural Illinois without much money, so I did learn a thing or two about how to fix go-carts, dirt bikes, then later, my 1974 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser station wagon that boasted a 455 cubic inch, V-8 and a souped-up stereo system that surely annoyed my poor neighbors!
So, armed with the knowledge that I knew next to nothing about how to restore this beast, I approached it slowly, and with humility. There were things that I knew I could not screw up too badly and the rest, I would solicit help from an experts.
Plus – it would give me an excuse to learn a thing or two along the way…and buy cool tools of course.
My goal – to restore the FJ to its former glory of course. But I wanted it to be my daily driver so ultra-high end perfection was not what I wanted or needed. I decided to strive to keep it as original as possible and practical, compromising when the cost was outrageous, or it just wasn’t needed for a daily driver.
I was mostly successful in my venture and my goals. I certainly learned a thing or two and the results were…well read on and see for yourself…
I “accidentally” bought this one day. I had been looking on and off for a few months and this one popped up on Craigslist. What I love about it was (in addition to the extremely cool curved rear quarter panel windows!!) that it was actually running and it was literally just out of Golden up Clear Creek Canyon just a few miles from my house.
I knew just enough about restoring a vehicle to know I was in way over my head. I had very average mechanical ability and knowledge of the inner workings of the internal combustion engine. I grew up in rural Illinois without much money, so I did learn a thing or two about how to fix go-carts, dirt bikes, then later, my 1974 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser station wagon that boasted a 455 cubic inch, V-8 and a souped-up stereo system that surely annoyed my poor neighbors!
So, armed with the knowledge that I knew next to nothing about how to restore this beast, I approached it slowly, and with humility. There were things that I knew I could not screw up too badly and the rest, I would solicit help from an experts.
Plus – it would give me an excuse to learn a thing or two along the way…and buy cool tools of course.
My goal – to restore the FJ to its former glory of course. But I wanted it to be my daily driver so ultra-high end perfection was not what I wanted or needed. I decided to strive to keep it as original as possible and practical, compromising when the cost was outrageous, or it just wasn’t needed for a daily driver.
I was mostly successful in my venture and my goals. I certainly learned a thing or two and the results were…well read on and see for yourself…
Open Full Gallery
Disassembly
“Disassembly” (I’m referring to my mental state…and possibly my marriage.)
Oddly – the first thing I had repaired was the exhaust system. As I drove my kids around Golden in this death trap, they were buckled in…sort of, but a seat belt is lackluster protection from carbon monoxide that was seeping into the cabin through the multitude of rust and drain holes in the tub. Granted, the FJ was much lighter with all those holes, but ultimately, they had to go. But first, a spanking new exhaust.
Shortly thereafter, I started the disassembly of the FJ, with the help of my son, Owen. It turned out to be great bonding time together, and also I suspect his vocabulary expanded significantly (e.g., impact driver and W*%**#& R@#$% E#()/!).
All pieces, large and small, destroyed or intact, were bagged, and labeled, and many photographs were taken. My iCloud pics now are dominated by, in order of quantity, odd pictures of screws, and unidentifiable metal brackets and hoses, beer, and rock outcrops, followed by pictures of my cats and, finally, loved ones.
I sold the front seats and the brackets.
This was the first of many stupid things I did. I should have kept them in retrospect. But I was confident in my hubris. Anyway, I did keep the rear jump seats, thank goodness, and restored those. They turned out really nicely.
As Owen and I started work on the guts of the tub, it became apparent that I would need a new one due to the extensive rust…so after researching to the ends of the earth…the various options, types of tubs, used and new, Owen and I ended up trekking to rural New Mexico to pick up a tub cut out of a 1975 FJ. It was in much better shape than my current one at least and would be solid enough to strip and repaint without filler.
Sidebar – The downside of being ignorant is that one does not always know we are ignorant, a.k.a. the Dunning Krueger Effect. The research I conducted indicated that the 1975 and 1974 tubs were identical. Stay tuned for more exciting news on this below!
We stripped the FJ down to its underwear…not the full monty. Then engine stayed in since it was actually running pretty well. I was envisioning minimal work on that front so it stayed. The electrical also stayed…for now (this writing trick is called “foreshadowing”).
“Disassembly” (I’m referring to my mental state…and possibly my marriage.)
Oddly – the first thing I had repaired was the exhaust system. As I drove my kids around Golden in this death trap, they were buckled in…sort of, but a seat belt is lackluster protection from carbon monoxide that was seeping into the cabin through the multitude of rust and drain holes in the tub. Granted, the FJ was much lighter with all those holes, but ultimately, they had to go. But first, a spanking new exhaust.
Shortly thereafter, I started the disassembly of the FJ, with the help of my son, Owen. It turned out to be great bonding time together, and also I suspect his vocabulary expanded significantly (e.g., impact driver and W*%**#& R@#$% E#()/!).
All pieces, large and small, destroyed or intact, were bagged, and labeled, and many photographs were taken. My iCloud pics now are dominated by, in order of quantity, odd pictures of screws, and unidentifiable metal brackets and hoses, beer, and rock outcrops, followed by pictures of my cats and, finally, loved ones.
I sold the front seats and the brackets.
This was the first of many stupid things I did. I should have kept them in retrospect. But I was confident in my hubris. Anyway, I did keep the rear jump seats, thank goodness, and restored those. They turned out really nicely.
As Owen and I started work on the guts of the tub, it became apparent that I would need a new one due to the extensive rust…so after researching to the ends of the earth…the various options, types of tubs, used and new, I ended up trekking to rural New Mexico to pick up a tub cut out of a 1975 FJ. It was in much better shape than my current one at least and would be solid enough to strip and repaint without filler.
Sidebar – The downside of being ignorant is that one does not always know we are ignorant, a.k.a. the Dunning Krueger Effect. The research I conducted indicated that the 1975 and 1974 tubs were identical. Stay tuned for more exciting news on this below!
We stripped the FJ down to its underwear…not the full monty. Then engine stayed in since it was actually running pretty well. I was envisioning minimal work on that front so it stayed. The electrical also stayed…for now (this writing trick is called “foreshadowing”).
Open Full Gallery
BodyWork
I did what little I could do myself and at home. I found a friend of a friend who sandblasted all the metal parts, there in my driveway. Similar to after a beach holiday, there was sand in places I did not even know existed. I was also later informed by the body shop guy that sand blasting may not have been the best option but that it would all be fine in the end. Still, it was very cool to see all the pieces parts shiny and metallic again instead of in various shades of iron oxide.
Another sidebar – I applied for, and quickly received, a membership in Bob’s Towing Company frequent flyer program and I quickly became a platinum member. I can’t remember how many times the ghastly dismembered FJ had to be moved from one place to another for whatever reason. But Bob is now surely comfortably retired in the Bahamas.
The Beast was towed to the body shop…never to be seen again.
That is an exaggeration. But only just. The old tub was cut out. The new one welded in. The engine was cleaned and painted. The chassis was cleaned and coated with Por 15 The “new” tub and the rest of the parts were prepped, primed, and painted with “Desert Sand” high-end product. They were gorgeous.
Sidebar – Do you know that scene in the Bond movie Goldeneye when Xenia Onnatop mows down a roomful of her own soldiers? Xenia must have had a side job at my bodyshop, in charge of Por 15 application. But instead of putting holes in her surrounding, at the bodyshop, she fill all holes. Xenia was apparently very generous in her application of Por 15 and filled all holes (including brake bleed valves) and covered all surfaces (including ball joints, steering rods, and a plethora of others) that later, had to be cleaned. Live and learn.
About half way through my painting phase, the bodyshop I was using, decided to change locations. Annoying. But my options were limited. I decided to stick with them. This decision ended up adding OVER A YEAR to my project. I won’t bore you with the details, but while the end product was very good quality, the waiting and the final cost, reminded me of a colonoscopy that is not covered by insurance. Part of the added cost was the challenge of fitting the 1975 tub onto my 1974 frame. As I cleverly pointed out above, this ended up being challenging and required custom-designed parts to make it work, especially the back half-doors. Meanwhile, the roof was expertly refinished by a fiberglass expert who prepped and refinished the fiberglass and coated it with an extremely durable spray hardcoat. It turned out perfectly and did not break the bank.
I ended up buying two front seats. They are really nice but not original. So there is some room for improvement there for the next owner. Like I said above, I should have kept the originals and just put the time/effort into restoring the. That said, they were a complete disaster and so at the time, my decision made sense. The jump seats were a resounding success. I love how they turned out using a restoration kit I got online.
I “accidentally” bought this one day. I had been looking on and off for a few months and this one popped up on Craigslist. What I love about it was (in addition to the extremely cool curved rear quarter panel windows!!) that it was actually running and it was literally just out of Golden up Clear Creek Canyon just a few miles from my house.
I knew just enough about restoring a vehicle to know I was in way over my head. I had very average mechanical ability and knowledge of the inner workings of the internal combustion engine. I grew up in rural Illinois without much money, so I did learn a thing or two about how to fix go-carts, dirt bikes, then later, my 1974 Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser station wagon that boasted a 455 cubic inch, V-8 and a souped-up stereo system that surely annoyed my poor neighbors!
So, armed with the knowledge that I knew next to nothing about how to restore this beast, I approached it slowly, and with humility. There were things that I knew I could not screw up too badly and the rest, I would solicit help from an experts.
Plus – it would give me an excuse to learn a thing or two along the way…and buy cool tools of course.
My goal – to restore the FJ to its former glory of course. But I wanted it to be my daily driver so ultra-high end perfection was not what I wanted or needed. I decided to strive to keep it as original as possible and practical, compromising when the cost was outrageous, or it just wasn’t needed for a daily driver.
I was mostly successful in my venture and my goals. I certainly learned a thing or two and the results were…well read on and see for yourself…
Open Full Gallery
Mechanical and Electrical
I was pretty proud of myself. I removed the entire electrical harness, laid it out, and replaced all connections, conductors, switches that looked in need of love. I worked with an online FJ expert to get the parts needed and re-built the harness from top to bottom. I then re-installed it and wrapped it in high end wrapping tape. It looked great. I then also bought and had the stereo system installed, including a Retro brand head unit, sub woofer and new speakers.
Sadly, after many months of troubleshooting electrical, I had to admit that it was above my skill level. I found Lee Jachter in Morrison Colorado who specializes in restoration projects including electrical. He had a one-car garage dedicated to one project at a time and he was just finishing a project. Cool! So started the final phase of the restoration.
Lee quickly convinced me to rip out the old harness and start fresh with a new harness. It pained me and my fragile ego, but I conceded and he forged forward with the electrical. While waiting on parts for the electrical, Lee went through the Beast from head to toe and identified a couple hundred hours of work that really needed to be done to get it ready for daily driver status. A complete list of what was finally done is HERE, including an engine overhaul, master cylinder, restoring the rear heater radiator and the main engine radiator, new alternator, removing the old emissions stuff, rebuilding the carburetor, replacing hoses, and more.
Now – timing was becoming a thing and from Lee’s house in Morrison, the FJ was put on a flatbed and sent to Washington state….
Open Full Gallery
A New Beginning… and Ending.
If you have ever done a restoration project, you know that life goes on while the restore project progresses…pauses…leaps forward…and stagnates. In the time it took to restore my FJ, my dad and mother-in-law passed, we moved three times, my daughter left for college and my son to New York City, my wife and I sold our consulting business, and we moved to Friday Harbor, Washington. Needless to say, lots had changed and continued to change.
I was excited to move the FJ to Friday Harbor and now…here it is. And, oddly, I have decided to sell it. My wife, Anita, and I are now in the next phase of life, with kids out of the house, that includes, for better or worse, the clear need to downsize. This includes almost everything, including vehicles and projects. The idea of this FJ as a daily driver has to take a back seat to life’s changes and priorities, at least for our family.
So on the chopping block it goes. It is not perfect or pristine, but it is gorgeous, fun, and ready for the next phase of its life. It could be a daily driver, weekend driver, or could easily be bumped up to the next level for an amazing show-car ride.
2018
2025
