Why is this so hard?!?

The other night I was staring at my FJ40 project, drinking a beer and wondering what the hell I’m going to do with this thing… I’m really not looking for something that will replace my 80 series, but I really don’t want a trailer queen either. But where is that dividing line? How far is too far?

I know that I need to have a set of goals for this rig and stick to them to the best of my ability, but I also know that building a rig a nothing but a series of compromises and cheap opportunities! I would like it to be street legal. I want to be able to run a soft top with doors for the rain/snow. I want it to be geared down enough that I can run a manual without hating it. (I need to do this because of driveline length.) It needs to be fuel injected or propane fed for angles. I want it to be able to run the Crushers. I want it stable enough to drive it to Dairy Queen on a nice summer night. Dependability is a must. I’m sure there are other things, but I can’t think of them!

As for cheap opportunities, I can get a 1968 tub for $100. The problem is none of the body mounts will line up and I will loose the under-tub gas tank. This is not a huge deal if I decide to run propane. Speaking of which, I have a good used 2F bottom end (and a line on a rebuilt head) that I could set up for propane rather cheap, but I don’t know about the legality issues of making it pass DEQ and I would love to put a V8 in her! I can pick up well built 40 series axles for a good price, but would love to have the stability of a 60 series front axle and a full-floating 80 series axle in the rear. Another problem with that is I would need to run an off-set transfer case, where I really want a 3 speed Stak. I guess I could run a ToyBox, but it’s longer…

The fact of the matter is there is so many things that need to fall into place and I just flat want this thing on the road… I think I’m going to need your guys help to stay focused and not just throw it together just to start over again in a couple years! I’m finally getting the opportunity to build a rig from the ground up and I feel so overwhelmed I almost want to sell it (scrap it?!?).