Direct answer: restore an FJ40 body in this order — assess honestly, strip completely, repair structure from the floor up, hang and gap every panel before paint, refinish, then assemble with new hardware and seals. The sequence matters more than the skill level; most blown budgets come from doing these steps out of order.
Stage 1: Assessment
Media-blast or strip the tub before you budget anything — paint hides half the rust on every FJ40. Map the damage against the nine rust zones and make the big call early: individual panels, or a tub/cab assembly? More than half the structure gone means the assembly wins on cost and straightness.
Stage 2: Strip and document
Photograph everything before it comes apart — hardware locations, wiring routes, seam sealer patterns. Bag and label fasteners by panel. Fifty-year-old bolts fight back: soak in penetrant for days, not minutes, and buy the hardware you snap.
Stage 3: Structure first
Floors, sills, braces and mounts before any cosmetic panel. Brace door apertures before cutting; keep factory cross-braces or replace them in the same operation; plug-weld at original spacing with weld-through primer on every flange. The body must sit true on refurbished mounts before a single outer panel is judged.
Stage 4: Panels and gaps
Quarters and corners weld in against a hung tailgate so the opening gaps to something real. Then bolt-on panels — fenders, doors, tailgates, hood — fitted loose, gapped to 4–5 mm consistent margins, on new hinges. Every panel trial-fits in bare metal or primer; nothing gets colour until the whole truck gaps correctly as one.
Stage 5: Refinish
Epoxy primer over clean metal, seam sealer on every joint the factory sealed, cavity wax inside doors, sills and gates. Colour is the easy part if stages 1–4 were honest.
Stage 6: Assembly
New rubbers and glass seals everywhere — old rubber on new paint leaks like old rubber. Torque body mounts to spec with new pads, then set final gaps.
Budget reality
Parts are the predictable half of the budget; labour hours are where projects die. Every panel you buy pressed to factory profile is hours you don't spend hand-forming — which is why the panel-buying decisions are the real restoration decisions.
Everything you need: the full FJ40 range