Rebuild begins!

I kicked off the new year by taking the first steps at reassembling my 1980 FJ40 Land Cruiser.  For over two years I've been disassembling, cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, blasting, stripping, grinding and painting some of the piece parts, while the body and chassis were out getting a makeover at TNT Hot Rods. After recovering from my New Years Eve bender I began the rebuild!  Fitting that it be the dawn of a new year!

First, some background:

I purchased the truck in June 2005 from a "broker" who found it in the high desert of Oregon, nearly rust-free, where it may have spent it's entire life.  For anyone who is familiar with the Land Cruiser, rust was inevitable if you lived anywhere near the ocean or where roads were treated with salt during winter.  When I was but a pup I bought my five-year-old 1971 Land Cruiser when I returned from basic training in (grrr) 1976 and, already, the body was nearly Swiss cheese and the chassis was etched to a fine rust colored patina. So, when I first saw this 25 year-old truck (with original paint still visible on the frame) there was no time to procrastinate (the line was forming) and I made it mine.

Here is a pic of the truck taken in Oregon before it was shipped.

 Note the Michelin X radials!  They dated to the early eighties and were popular off-road tires back then.

 The engine had undergone typical performance modifications:  Webber carb and headers.