Heating up the MBX FJ40

The Matchbox casting of the 1968 Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40 is outstanding.  The level of detail immediately made this one of my favorite casting and I own quite a few of them now.  You've seen me add a lift kit to my safari FJ40 in the past, here.  This time I wanted to go for something a bit more subtle.

I started by cracking apart two different Land Cruisers, one from Matchbox and the other, the custom FJ40 from Hot Wheels.  The goal, to get the tube bumper off the HW FJ and put it on the MBX.  The nice thing about this swap is that the chassis are very close in dimension, but this is where the niceness ends.  So, I tossed the MBX chassis and the HW wheels and got to work opening the back of the HW chassis to accommodate the tab cast into the back of the MBX FJ.  Using my Dremel and a cutting tool, and keeping the old chassis nearby for reference this went pretty smoothly.  As always, go slow and take a little material at a time, you can't easily put back what is now gone.  Then came the bumper, I did not want to make any modifications to the casting itself, so this meant that I needed to cut a channel behind the bumper to allow the body to recede into it a bit, this was the dangerous part, if I cut to deep I would chop off the very bumper I was trying to mount!  Fitment of the interior/bumper was still a bit of a problem and I needed to cut and grind some internal structure both on the interior/bumper and on the chassis itself.  After that was fitting properly I used my Dremel and cut-off wheel to remove the rear of the original interior, this, with some trimming, would help hold the axle in place and keep the windows where they belonged.

To top it all of I added one of my model truckers, which consequently would not have fit in the cast Matchbox interior.  Now my FJ40 is ready to hit the trails and is still quite street-able.  Pretty sweet.  Anyway, take a look at the photos and judge for yourself.

A Caged Runner

Some of you faithful readers may remember this post from awhile back: 4Run Through the Jungle

So, with your memory whetted I can now show you the latest update.  It all started when I was trying to figure out what to do with one of my many MBX Sahara Survivor castings.  After I had pulled off the roll cage I started thinking, 'It would be great if I could stick this roll cage in another truck'.  Well with a bit of cutting, thank you Mr. Dremel, I streamlined the roll cage and started to test fit it in my 1985 Toyota 4Runner.  One thing that I knew from the beginning was that the fiberglass roof would have to go.  It took quite a bit of massaging, as these things often do, but I think it was well worth it.  I am on the lookout for some cool gear to put in the back, as it looks pretty bare right now, and what hardcore wheeler goes into the woods without a spare tire!  I am going to need one of those too.  It is always nice to breath some life into a long term project and this little Toyota is really coming along nicely.

Swap Shop: Land Cruiser FJ40 & Sahara Survivor

I always love it when a wheel swap goes well.  I love it all the more when a wheel swap goes both ways.

Having just picked up a few of the 2011 Hot Wheels Toyota Land Cruiser FJ40s I knew at least one of them was going to get some new shoes.  Introduced in 2010 from designer Jun Imai (think Sandblaster) this new FJ40 is a great example of an outfitted desert racer.  There was of course one complaint, the wheels.

After swapping in some wheels from a Matchbox Sahara Survivor I was pleased with the result.  Just for grins I fitted the axles and wheels into the Sahara Survivor and I was quite surprised to find that they were a really nice fit and actually look pretty darn cool. What do you think?

The Dune Dog - Matchbox Outfits the Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser

The 2011 model year sees a new addition to the Matchbox stables, the Dune Dog.  Modeled after the Toyota FJ40 Land Cruiser, the Dune Dog gets ready to tackle the harshest environments.  Now, I do feel that the name 'Dune Dog' might be better suited to, well, a dune buggy or that sort of thing, I suppose that it is well suited to certain arid lands.  Oh, but it is also suited to so much more.  Matchbox has fitted a roof rack with all the requisite survival gear, a water tank, gas can, duffel bag, cooler and even a chainsaw.  Mounted to the front of the rook rack are four HID lights, sure to light up the cold desert nights.  The roof rack can also be easily removed to give the truck a nice open feel for the more casual wheeling expeditions.  The engine has been fitted with a snorkel for those hazardous desert river crossings.  The hood has been vented to keep the engine bay as cool as possible to keep performance at a maximum.  The Dune Dog has had all of the glass removed to save weight (who wants broken glass all over anyway) so make sure you bring your sunglasses to keep the sand out of your eyes.  More survival kit is mounted one either side of the SUV, where you can find a fire extinguisher as well as an ax and shovel.  Helping to keep sand and mud out of your face is some nice large fender flares, though they do little to cover the massive Matchbox 44's that hold this desert beast high up off the ground.  I do like the lazy dog sleeping in the back of the truck, and I love the fact that they went as far as to include a water bowl for him in the cargo rack.  At the end of a long day racing about in the desert, one thing is certain, the 2011 MBX Desert Endurance Race has met a rugged new competitor that looks to be, truly, ready for anything.

4Run Through the Jungle

I am sure that I am not the only person that was very excited to see the Toyota 4Runner get added to the stables at Matchbox.  The "little Toyota that could" has been a very popular choice for off-road enthusiasts since it's introduction late in the 1984 model year.  1985 saw the addition of the fuel-injected 22R-E I4 greatly enhancing both performance and fuel efficiency, so it is no surprise to me that Matchbox choose this iconic first generation 4Runner for their lineup.

After gleefully tearing open the package and rolling the truck around it became immediately apparent that this SUV needed some bigger rubber and some improved ground clearance before it could really tackle the trail.  The main concerns that needed to be addressed were the approach and departure angles.  The stock front bumper was often the first thing to come in contact with obstacles on the trail and offered little protection. Next the mud flaps, while adding an authentic look, the whole "cast-in-plastic" bit made them to inflexible for trail applications, so they had to go.

So now all I needed was a suitable donor to provide not only some new wheels and tires, but also some suitable protection for the front end of the 4Runner.  After considering a few different options I decided that Matchbox's Rock Shocker would be a perfect match. I think the results are quite impressive.

The 4Runner now has a more aggressive stance and a slightly longer wheelbase thanks to the long-arm suspension from the Rock Shocker.  Gone are the plastic mudflaps and the new wheels and tires give the look of a nice set of some trail worthy 35 inch tall tires.  A nice beefy steel tube bumper offers protection for the front end of the truck, while the stock bumper holds up the rear.  The modifications to the interior of the Toyota where fairly substantial and almost none of the original 4Runner interior survived.  Even the interior of the Rock Shocker needed to be trimmed down quite a bit to get a satisfying fit.

All in all this project was a lot fun to put together and really tested my skills with the Dremel.  I hope that you find this an inspiration.  Till next time.