A Restomod ’70 Toyota FJ40 V-8

TEXT AND IMAGES BY JOSHUA ELZEY

This ’70 Toyota FJ40 was discovered during a Craigslist search residing in rust-free New Mexico, but not in the condition that you see here. The FJ was all-original, displaying faded tan paint with some old graphics on it. Aside from it being all-original, which was a blessing to begin with, the FJ was also completely stock and free of rust, too. As often is the case with older off-road vehicles, it sat on a set of white spoked wagon wheels that were wrapped in all too aggressive Baja Claws.

It was just what Dale Manahan was looking for in a project. Dale had been looking for the same model and year truck his father had when he was just a kid. The FJ40 was just like the one he fondly remembered, making it even more sentimental of a build. Once the Toyota arrived to Dale in Massachusetts, he needed to have the FJ40 tuned up and its mechanicals updated to get it back to road-worthy condition. To do this, he enlisted the help of Greg’s Restorations in Rutland, Massachusetts, a shop that Dale discovered on the internet while searching for a nearby Toyota specialist.

A Plan Comes Together

During one of his visits to Greg’s Restorations, Dale mentioned he would eventually want some fresh paintwork done and wanted to go the restomod direction for the FJ40. Greg, at this point, had already taken the original straight-six three-speed and 100hp motor out for a sorely needed rebuild that was determined during the original assessment of this desert find. Greg proposed that if a restomod build was going to be done, now was the time to do it. The plan was to update the motor with a more powerful unit, while using all factory Toyota parts from various years to update the rest of the vehicle.