1976 FJ40 Resto-Expo

[Trail Outfitters]

Well we started working on some previous owner fixes on this FJ40 for a customer of ours, and of course couldn't leave it at that.

The owner is a geologist and wants to use the 40 to help him get in and out of the areas he goes to for mining...and look good doing it!

Here is where we started after pulled the front clip off...

Scary

Well here are some good before shots to give you an idea...enjoy.

 

[Trail Outfitters]

Boxing in the frame rails for more strength...

 

[Trail Outfitters]

Freshened up the 350...

No a rebuild just changed most of the parts, gaskets and paint.

 

[Trail Outfitters]

The previous owner really went to town on the inner fenders. Looks like he used a chisel to cut it apart!

 

[Trail Outfitters]

Here are some shots of our custom built Optima battery box. Turned out really nice. Fits the inner fender on the 40 like a glove. We are putting a template together for the steel shop in town to put into production.

Currently building a similar style for a FJ62 we have at the shop.

 

[Trail Outfitters]

Here is a front bumper we built for it.

 

[Trail Outfitters]

This section of the job is all finished up, but he is going to come back for his roof rack/ladder, rear disks, rear locker(hopefully), and I'm sure a few other things.

Let us know what you think.

Scott
http://trail-outfitters.com/

 

[RJ40]

Very, very nice! What do you think you will ask for the battery holder for the 40?

Cheers!

 

[Wander]

Very nice fab work, looking forward to seeing more of the build.

 

[BlueBomber]

That is some clean fab work! My only question is why go with the "ram horn" exaust manifolds?

 

[esh]

That is some clean fab work! My only question is why go with the "ram horn" exaust manifolds?

They can be relatively cheap, though that was probably a thing of the past. Clears steering rod (nice close block fit), has decent low end flow(adds engine usability for an FJ40), good against leaking, cast keeps temps down under the hood, comes in 2.5" (corvette) and 2".

 

[Trail Outfitters]

We used the Ram Horns for clearance. You need a center dumb exhaust to clear everything.

Thanks for all the compliments.

As for the battery box we will have prices as soon as we get our price from the metal shop. The will be doing all of our cuts and bends.

Thanks folks.

Scott

 

[BlueBomber]

We used the Ram Horns for clearance. You need a center dumb exhaust to clear everything.

Gotcha. Did you look at any shorty headers? I've seen a few center dump ones that look like they are of good quality. Also, what paint did you use? All of the paints Ive used didnt stay on very well and Id like to paint a set of manifolds for my girl's camaro. Well, Id like to coat them in ceramic, but thats more money than I have right now.

 

[Trail Outfitters]

I've never used a good header paint. These ones were not painted actually. Best thing to do is ceramic. I just ordered Summit's ceramic coated block huggers for about $270 and they look great.

The reason we needed to use the ram horns is that it is a CA smog vehicle, and CA smog legal headers are $$$$$.

Ram Horns are great IMO. Just ugly as hell!

 

[Trail Outfitters]

We would love to get more feedback on the Optima battery box. We will be doing a similar design for the 60 series as well.

WHat do you guys think? We will get some more detailed pics as soon as we are done in the next couple weeks.

Scott