Hi all I've joined here to pick the brains of folk for the purpose of being as prepared as possible for a planned resto / build project for myself & my two sons to sink our teeth into. I'm currently living in Orange NSW but will soon be relocating to somewhere on the mid / north coast of NSW. I have travelled extensivly around Australia & my background is a fitter machinist by trade. I have a pretty good selection of tools & equipment for the task at hand although mostly general hand tools, nothing really specific to car restoration. I have done some painting & very light / rough & ready panel repair work before & know the basics but for a great finish to that side of things I will be asking questions wherever I can when I get to those stages. Being in my mid 40's I have seen alot, done alot & know nothing! :) I've chosen the FJ45 or HJ47 as the vehicle for our resto for several reasons, firstly at the tender age of 12 I learnt to drive in outback NSW in a near new FJ45 that belonged to my father. Over the years I loved that ute to death, literaly & a few years ago I was crushed to learn that the same identical vehicle had come up for auction & of course I was flat broke, it went for $500 & I still lament about it today. I have an idea in my head of bringing one up to a nice tidy ute with some mod cons. I don't want to do a full & faithful resto but I do want the look & memories from yesteryear to pass onto my boys. What I'd like to find out from experienced people here is what I should be looking for BEFORE I purchase. I figure if I outline what I'm hoping to acheive then hopefully someone here will take pity on my sentimental heart & throw me a few ideas. So, not really knowing which of the two models are best suited to the task the first thing is which one? I want to end up with something that I can put a more modern diesel engine into, I don't want to break any records here, I just want reasonable speed, good torque & great reliability with a lean toward basic engines that can be re-built in a backyard workshop without too much outside help. I am also not sure which of the two models have the better drive train? I think I heard that the HJ's are better ratios for highway travel but not sure. Towing a boat is a must for the eventual finished product so grunt is reasonably important. Can anyone here possibly lend me their ideas on what a good solid (reasonably priced) engine would be best here (I dunno, maybe the original diesels are the best choice?) I also want to add 4x4 disc brakes to her. At this stage my idea is to lay out a plan & then source a suitable retired old girl from somewhere & rip it to bits & slowly teach my boys about workshop etiquet! From the chassis up is what I want to do & a bit a cutting & shutting here & there doesn't phase me. I'm reasonably handy with a welder & oxy. There ya go, no plan & no clues, hope you folks can offer me some starting points. Cheers Mik
