Build it up, test, tear it down, rinse and repeat a million times! I am in that phase of test-fitting all things I want to fit together, tearing it back down to make adjustments, and then doing it all over again. It is time-consuming but necessary. I got the interior mostly together just to find out that the transfer case linkage designed for a later model FJ40 doesn't play nice with the earlier model transmission tunnel cover. So I had to cut a hole in the freshly painted floor! The seats, column, wheel, and shifters all work well together though. I do have to bend the transmission shifter a bit toward the passenger side so I can get it into reverse without displacing my leg in the seat. The pieces of floorboard removed to clearance the shift linkage I'll be refurbishing my wheel to match the brown vinyl on the seats and have new brown clamshells for the column. I plan to use black marine carpet to cover the floorboards and transmission tunnel and the massive fuel tank will co...

 I got most of the cooling system installed. I am waiting on more of the "proper" belt clamps and the radiator will go in last. I also got the Sniper bolted on. The A/C and alternator brackets are being powder coated now, but I test-fitted them first. That alternator is a test unit from Premier Power Welder. I am waiting for the water pump and crank pulley to come back from the powder coater so I can test for belt alignment. We also got the fenders and aprons bolted on and I couldn't resist a chance to see the hood up there too.

 The Tub & Body Panels Made it Home It has been a long time coming, but the tub and most of the panels are home! I'm still waiting on the tailgate and doors to be completed, and I might do late-style doors instead of my early-style ones. This is because the vent windows won't be usable with the cage and the window frames are pretty bad. We'll see. I had to bolt something on, so I installed the fuel filler and cap. LOTS more to come!

 Seats, CHECK! We Even Have Bun Warmers... I finished the seats today. This was my first venture into upholstery, and I enjoyed the work and the results. It was satisfying and fun. I managed to find new foam for the bottom cushion but had to repair the uppers myself. Here are a couple before photos for reference... I started with thoroughly cleaning the frames and springs and coating them with a rust converter and a topcoat. You can see the damage in the upper foam in this shot. Both sides had tears in the side bolsters. I started by lining the insides of the bolsters with marine-grade vinyl. I used spray adhesive to hold it in place. This provided me with a solid surface for the frames, improved rigidity, and backing for the holes in the original foam. I removed any flaps from the tears around the rips and cut similarly shaped foam filler from 1-inch high-density foam stock. I then patched it with the same marine-grade vinyl. The foam filler pieces were also blued into place to th...

 Paint is 98% Complete! The unsettling notion that I would never see this day has been floating around in my head since I turned the first bolt on disassembly day back in 2018. All that's left are the doors and the body will be ready to bolt to the frame. I foresee a lot of wet sanding in my future though. Gotta knock down that orange peel.

 No Panel Untouched The winter weather is slowing us down, but we are finally ready for paint! Of course it is supposed to rain or snow this week and the coming weekend, so it will likely be a bit before we can lay down the color. Rich even leveled the dash out! The GOAT will be straighter than when it rolled off the factory floor.