I am from QLD and i'll be on my opens licence in roughly two months so that sort of stuff is not an issue for me. Where did you see that FJ40 1978, i'll take a look? I don't mind a bit of rust but i would prefer one that at least starts. I'm not bothered too much about interior condition and paintwork stuff. I just want the engine to be in somewhat working order. So short team, id be looking around the 5000-10000 for a running and moving car, but about another 5000-10000 to have it all shiny and rust free? Are parts hard to find?
It was for sale locally on the side of the road - could have been a good option as it was on QLD rego with QLD mod plates...
The body work is what will cost - you're about $700 for a set of cab rubbers if you need to split the roof off the cabs, $300 for a windscreen and rubbers, $40ish for window weatherstrips, $50 for bailey channel for the window to seal into. That's before you even start doing replacement cuts and panel work....
Parts are relatively easy to get hold of; Allfourx4 in Kotara (NSW) are good, so is Paul at Mr Land Cruiser. Drivetrain and engine parts are often still available from Toyota or anyone who does Terrain Tamer parts.
Also, i would love to have some sort of stereo unit setup in it. Nothing to fancy, just something that can handle bass quite well and isn't too overpowering. Would i run into any common problems? I have seen some photos of Cruisers with no doors. Is that a feature like the Jeep Wranglers have? If so, will i have to mount speakers elsewhere? Is the wiring in a car this old really difficult?
Post 1972 Cruiser's can't be run without doors IIRC because they aren't then compliant with ADRs.
If you want to hear your stereo, be prepared to do a lot of work on sound deadening as they don't really have any... Your best bet is to do a shelf above the windscreen and mount the main speakers there rather than trying to run speakers into the doors. You can mount a sub in the back if you want, but might take a bit of planning.
You will probably need to run new power supply wiring through, and include relays (a lot of the circuitry isn't relay switched)
Should i get it lifted a little bit and have 35" mud tyres on it, or does something like that ruin the integrity of the car and what it stands for. As i love the car so much and i want to be able to take it off-roading and have it look awesome, but i dont want to risk ruining the integrity and originality of the car by adding things that weren't available when she was built.
Stock tyre size is about a 31" so you'll be out of inches to lift it if you want 35s without engineering. Bear in mind most don't have power steering, so anything too big is going to be a bit of a challenge to drive with... we had 33s on ours to begin with, and whilst it looked great, it was a nightmare to drive. We're now running 235/85R16s, so a tall skinny tyre as a good option.
Sorry again for the long questions and the amount of them. I just have so many questions as i want my first project FJ40 to go well
Keep an eye on Gumtree etc; just a quick look throughout QLD and there's this one:
https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/ipswich/cars-vans-utes/landcruiser-bj42-turbo/1220382742
Carsales has more $$ ones, but this one in VIC looks quite nice:
https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/Toyota-Landcruiser-1979/SSE-AD-6122195/?Cr=53
This one in SA looks OK as well:
https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/Toyota-Landcruiser-1978/SSE-AD-5914246/?Cr=91