Introduction

JackRabbit Slim · 10-17-09, 04:33 PM

Hello all! As this is my first post on the forum I thought I'd introduce myself a little. I'm decently new to the world of the 40.. I've wanted one for over 10 years but only recently acquired my first rig.. I had a 60 back in High School that was a down right gorgeous truck. Bought her off a retired banker that had treated her right, garage kept, less than 80k miles. She was an '85 in Nordic Blue... ah memories... haha... well one fine day a Dodge Ram blew a red light at 45MPH and t-boned me... Good-bye FJ60

... fast forward ten years... Hello FJ40!

So I suppose I should get some pics up... It's on the agenda for the weekend.. My weekend doesn't start exactly until tomorrow, so you'll all have to hang tight til Monday evening as I have a project in the works for Monday which brings me to my first question.

The truck is in pretty darn good shape from what I can tell so far... SPEAKING OF... she's an '82... I've encountered a few problems so far... at first she wouldn't heat up even after being driven for 10-20 miles. I ordered a new thermostat and upper and lower gaskets. When they came in I removed the old thermostat to find that it wasn't old at all but looks pretty brand spankin new indeed. The problem was though, that the PO had installed a pre-80 lower gasket and had completely neglected to install the upper gasket ring. So I took a gamble and left my new thermostat in the box and simply installed the new gaskets. Presto. Now my 40 gets warm. She still never goes more than a quarter of the way up on the gauge but then again, it's been pretty cold here.

Issue # 2... My power steering went on day 3... Noticed it was gone so I turned around and headed for home... Boy it's not so easy to drive without it... Feelin sorry for all you guys out there who actually have to use a little elbow grease in those slow turns.. I know what some of you are thinking already... Gee this guy is a wanker but we don't know him well enough yet to poke fun at his weinyness... Don't worry about it... Go right ahead... Anyway... I pulled the 40 into the garage and sure enough there was fluid blown out all over everything... It was a real mess... So I started by cleaning everything up and then since the system was pretty well emptied I started looking around for the likely cause.. The return hose looked prehistoric while the pressure hose looked pretty new so I figured I'd start with that... I tore it off and replaced it and it's hose clamps. Refilled the resevoir and fired her up... Ah ha! Wasn't the hose although I feel better having a nicer one in there... It was in one of the bolts on the front of the (pardon my ignorance here) unit directly beneath the resevoir. It has what look like locking washers (it was leaking from the crack in the washer) and flanged bolts with smaller rubber gaskets on the inside.. I tried to run it out the whole way but it ran into something... I forget what. So all I could figure was well to run the bastard back in and see if it was a little loose.. So I ran it back in and gave it a good tug, fired her up again and no more leaking... I must say I'm not real satisfied with this solution... I refilled the resevoir with a stop leak type steering fluid but it seems like this may happen again... Anyone seen this?

Okay so now I'm rambling and finally getting to my actual question which in comparison to the two issues mentioned above will seem stupid... So my inside door panels, window cranks, pull straps, door regulator/pull lock etc. are going to be replaced on Monday. All the abovesaid parts are actually pretty decent but, I want them to be perfect so they're being replaced... If anyone is interested in my old ones, let me know. I have both driver's and passenger's side. Complete. I couild put up some pics if you like. ANYWAY... getting back to the issue, I went out to the garage to remove the old bits this afternoon and everything was going great until I got to the window crank.. I hate to yank on things and I can't really see any logical means of removing it. So, there's my question. How do you get these things off?

Wow that took a while and a roundabout way but well that's just how things go around here I guess... So if anyone could provide some insight let me know! Thanks!

ocdbeetle · 10-17-09, 04:38 PM

Welcome....Cant wait to see pics......

Ron B · 10-17-09, 04:50 PM

pull the retaining clip off behind the handle.

AGreekBoy · 10-17-09, 04:55 PM

on the window crank there is a u shaped clip holding it on.pull it out and then you can pull the the handle off. 82 wow, we need pics. and welcome to mud.

JackRabbit Slim · 10-17-09, 05:20 PM

hey guys thanks for the welcome and the quick response... I'm heading down to Pittsburgh for my friends birthday and we're doing a South Side Bar Crawl... Should be memorable... Or should I say... Not memorable... haha... anyway thanks for the answer... I'm gonna give it a shot on the way out of the garage... But I'll do a before and after photo shoot with the interior on Monday and get some good pics up Monday night! Thanks all!

BlackDiamond72 · 10-18-09, 06:49 PM

No one has given you the official welcome yet, so here ya go.....

edwjmcgrath · 10-18-09, 07:58 PM

That's a lot o words for a post with no pics.
We neeeed pictures.

JackRabbit Slim · 10-19-09, 12:43 PM

okay so i've got the doors torn open and have removed all the hardware. I already installed the new lock in the rear ambulance door and it went very smoothly. Now I'm ready to reassemble the front doors with all their new hardware but before I do I was wondering if anyone new of a good way to loosen up the window regulator mechanism. It seems to be unnecessarily stiff and I don't think I should have to put quite as much force into that handle. Also, is there anyway to tighten up the actual glass as it seems to be pretty sloppy in there. I've got the before pics taken and I'll have them up as soon as I can get the after shots done. I wanna post them all at once.. Thanks!

Oh and thanks for the two handed salute... I feel right at home already.

obayha · 10-19-09, 12:53 PM

Welcome from a 3 post rookie. My 82 might need some new (old) skin for the doors. PO put speakers circles in them. Any pictures of the panels and cost?

JackRabbit Slim · 10-19-09, 01:08 PM

Hey yeah I'll throw up some pics of the panels and all the old hardware once I finish the install in a few hours. thanks

JackRabbit Slim · 10-20-09, 12:28 AM

Okay... so it took a little longer than expected... yeah well... what doesn't? So without further ado... here's some before and after shots... they're not the best but i'll take some day light shots tomorrow...

So I started tearing into it before I got the first shot off.

And here's the other side... These are all decent parts. Original panels, door regulators, door locks (sorta work), windown cranks everything... any takers?

close up...

Ah... what a PITA! but they look great now!

Cabin shot

If you're wondering about my mat... the answer is yes... it's a brand new toyota factory mat...

While I'm waiting for photobucket to load more photos I have a question for anyone who's installed CCOT's replacement seatbelts. I think they may have accidentally given me the wrong buckle fasteners. (The part that fastens to the floor) They're about twice as long as the stock one and I can't see any reasonable way of mounting them as they don't look like the ones in the photo. There is an angle bracket, but even that doesn't come with a nut just a bolt.. so what are they expecting me to fasten this with?

Ok pics are done here they come...

some other random vehicles in the garage

booty shot

Well like I said, it's 2a.m. and I'll get some more pics tomorrow in the sunlight... as for now I'm spent.. I gotta be at the gym at 7a.m. and I'm not looking forward to it...

edwjmcgrath · 10-20-09, 01:57 AM

"While I'm waiting for photobucket to load more photos I have a question for anyone who's installed CCOT's replacement seatbelts. I think they may have accidentally given me the wrong buckle fasteners."

Based on my experience with CCOT, I would not buy anything from them that is not OEM. I got an oem battery tray and an aftermarket hold down bracket. The bracket doesn't work with the tray. I got oem replacement lenses and an aftermarket reflector. The reflector is the wrong size and has two bolts, not one...I haven't had this kind of problem with other vendors of aftermarket products.

Texx · 10-20-09, 01:58 AM

The buckle end mounts to the floor with the 90 degree bracket in the original bolt hole. The buckle end can be bent to shape and will hold its shape. Sounds like you may need to provide some hardware to attach the two.

cruiser enthuiser · 10-20-09, 08:40 AM

Wow...that's a super nice rig! Soooo clean it looks almost show-room. Congrats on scoring a beautiful 40.

-Ed

thecrazygreek · 10-20-09, 10:14 AM

Your stuff is so nice, I can't tell the difference between the before and after pics...

CruiserStuff · 10-20-09, 11:02 AM

dibs on window cranks and door pulls....I'll PM you.....

igotta40 · 10-20-09, 03:30 PM

CCOT = Cruiser Poison

laxman33 · 10-20-09, 05:42 PM

Has your 40 been stored in Howard Hughes hanger for the past 25 years ? Congrats on a primo rig . Great paint job ..... .

JackRabbit Slim · 10-22-09, 10:40 AM

okay so I'm starting to get the idea that nobody likes CCOT... what's this all about? They seem to like themselves enough to make up for it but really what's the deal?

thecrazygreek · 10-22-09, 02:38 PM

CCOT is ok for some things, dont let everyone scare you off of them. Just be aware there may be some issues with some of thier stuff.

One GREAT item they sell is the rear sill kits. Those things are sweet. Also I have purchased items such as badges, boots, bolts, seatbelts, all have been nice.

I think I would stay away from thier rubber stuff?

CruiserStuff · 10-26-09, 10:41 AM

Sent you a PM about your door pulls and window cranks.....didn't hear back. You selling them?

JackRabbit Slim · 10-26-09, 11:19 AM

hey sorry... I'm a little new at this forum stuff so I haven't gotten real good at checking my PM's. They're still for sale. Someone has asked for the panels but that's it so far so the pulls and window cranks are still available. $20 +shipping (which will only be a few dollars as I ship commercially from my business)

feel free to email me at chrishollingsworth@mac.com

as I tend to keep up on that address much better. Thanks!

CruiserStuff · 10-27-09, 10:33 AM

I'll take 'em.....I'll email you at your mac.com address. Thanks!

land cruiser stalker · 11-06-09, 03:58 PM

Welcome... Are you close to Pittsburgh?