[coiled40gary]

Oops, I got to start by apologizing for not being on the ball, i have my calendar marked for next week...

OK, I'll try to put a quick list together, I've been running this through my mind for a month now, and then missed the start gun

I have a '76 FJ40 that I've put a lot of work into over a long time. As custom as it will sound, it is still a lot Toyota Land Cruiser.

We'll start at the beginning...
I bought it in Arizona when it was 5 years old, and had only 29K miles for $4500. I was the 6th owner. It took only a month to figure out why; it looked brand spanking new, but burned a quart of oil a week, and finally died. I had little money, and it was my only transportation. I took one weekend and $200, I pulled the pistons out the bottom and saw the rings had never seated. I put new rings and rod bearings in it, ran a quick hone through it to be safe, sent the head to a shop to replace two burnt valves, and mill out the warp. It also had a leak in the top of the radiator, and I discovered that the radiator was completely filled with silver stop leak. I had it rodded out. I believe that this leak came from the factory, the original owner over heated the engine before the rings seated, so it burned oil and ran hot. Each owner then pored more stop leak in it, and sold it to the next guy. The buck stopped here, and it has been my daily driver and trail beater since.

In the beginning, there was no support, I had to figure out things on my own. I remember when I drove it from Tucson to Dubuque and back, I had a problem with it running rough then dieing when the sun went down. Ran great in the heat of the day. No matter what I did to it, even if I just kicked a tire, it started right up and run great, for thirty minutes of so. I later figured out I had a problem with carberator icing because I was running headers. But anyways, in Colorado I stopped in several shops to see if they could diagnose it, or let me have access to their Sun or Bear machine so I could see what the ignition was doing. Every shop said a Jeep, sure, then after a closer look, every shop refused to touch it, saying they knew nothing about Japanese Jeeps and would not waste the time. East of Colorado, I was quite the attention getter and subject of much CB chatter between the truckers. Back in those days Downey and Man-a-fre, the only choices available, both denied any problems with headers, and carb icing did not exist. So I put a plate under my intake manifold and connected my water jacket to it on my own, which is now an article in TT, I think June of 2000. OK, blah, blah blah, then about 7 or so years ago I learned about the mailing list and the TLCA, and that was the end of my ability to save any money, the start of real changes to my truck, and I learned that I was not the only sick puppy in this world .

The engine current configuration:
Original 2F.
Head has been milled a couple times, and the block, but I don't know how much. The rebuild went with .030 over on the cylindars.
Have the newer LC oil pump, which is what TPI sells as their high volume pump. I still have to run 20w50 oil to keep the pressure in operating range. The cam is modified, I've posted the specs before, which turned out to be the specs Mark W. recommends, I can find them if need be.
The alternator is a 65A self exciting GM (one wire), that has been running without issue for like 12 years so far.
The carb is the Webber 38, I've played a lot with the jetting, I mounted it backwards, so the throttle cable has one gentle bend, and all the adjustments are a lot easier to get to, even the mounting screws. I made my own adapter between the carb and stock air cleaner so I could get rid of that stack of adapters underneath. I use only the two metal ones that offset the mount. And with that I filed down the inside bolts, and eliminated the mounting studs for screws I could control the depth of, so I have no air leak issues beneath the carb any more. I modified the base of the carb to take the stock bolt pattern when I ran the stock exhaust manifold and stock heat isolater. With the stock heat isolator, I could notch out clearances for moving parts underneath the carb, but with the header, I don't want heat isolation, but need clearance underneath so I use two of the funky adapter parts. I'm now running a conicle K&N filter with a nylon cover over it (which according to the tests done by the ATV guys fixes the dust transmittance issue with K&N filters).
The distributer is a DUI HEI that was recurved mechanical only. When DUI recurved it, it was really bad, and the only help I got from them was, "if you think you know more than us, then do it yourself". So I worked with a local distributor shop and get a curve worked up that I'm happy with. I've posted that curve a few times, but I can find it again if need be. This ignition is mediocer, but I'm going with it because it frees up my fender of ignition parts. My fenders are empty and pop on and off for servicing the engine (this is a VERY nice feature). I have tried many different ignition combinations over the last 25 years.
I've got a Zena welder mostly mounted up, I still have to wire it and connect the auto throttle stuff.
Got Saganaw power steering because of the front lockers, but the best steering I've ever had was the manual Saganaw from a Camaro, easy steering with one palm, but complete feel of the road. Made the parts from 1" PTO shaft a collection of U-joints and yokes that interface to the stock column, the Saganaw box, and have 4" slip joint, I posted the parts list once a long time ago. Made a Delran donut to shove in the end of the stock steering column, the brass one from AA lasted two years, the Delran one is still going after more than 20. These parts all worked with the old manual Saganaw and the new power Saganaw.
Lets see, what else... I put in an electric fuel pump because I read that mechanical one that are far from the tank have vaper locking issues. Never had a problem until I put in the electric one. Then one winter the fuel line froze, that with the summer vapor locking problems, I relaid out the fuel system so it is all in the cab, the system is about 5' long, and I can see the flow in a glass filter from my drivers seat. Never had a problem again, any leak issues are realized and fixrd immediately, and most people who realize what they are looking at don't ask if they can smoke in my truck. The plusses just go on and on.
Body, still the origianl factory red paint, some of which is under a variety of red rattle can paints and primers, some POR 15, some Hurculiner and some Durabak. The under side of the tub is all covered with black Durabak, the inside of the tub is all covered with red Durabak.
I made my own 2" body lift, wrote an article on the details with lots of pictures, intended for TT, but not sure they are interested, and never quite wrapped it up.
The frame is painted on the outside with black Durabak and the inside with POR 15.
Made my own rock sliders / running boards from 2X5X1/4 steel tube, painted those with Hurculiner.
The suspension is the Warn XCL, now that is long story, that I suspect few are interrested in, but I like the suspension, not too radicle, will ramp only a 1000 or so. But that is with my wheel base being almost 10" longer than stock. I can pick any wheel three feet in the air, and the other three stay on the ground. Tons of up as well as down travel. A nice ride, but tips pretty good in the corners, first time passengers often gasp or scream. On the trail, the cab rides level through stagered ruts that most vehicles lift tires in. All those cool shots you see of people who run a front tire up the side of an embankment and get lots of air under the other front tire, then stop there for pictures... well I can't do that.
Under the heading of one year when the stock market was really good, I tried single handedly to convince Warn there was a market for LC stuff. Along with the XCL, I got the Birfield eliminator and the rear FF conversion. I also had Toyota electric third members put in the front and the back. (The actuator motors are currently burned out on both. Toyota want $650 for each, so I've got to get around to making my own actuators.)
The brakes are stock disks up front, and the Downey disk conversion in the rear. I really like this too, especially the independent adjustable proportioning valve. I took the stock proportioning valve out.
The rest of the drive line, the tranny is the H41 Toyota LC tranny with a 5:1 first gear, behind that I have the Orion, with a 4:1 low range. Still have the stock 4.10 R&Ps.
What am I forgetting... there are lots of little things, like I've plumbed the axle breathers, the locker breathers and the tcase breather all to a 2" K&N filter that I mounted just under the hood with a tin can water shield over it. All the electrical in the truck except the starter and welder are running off a Jacobs AccuVolt, which I've set to 14.1V +/- 0.1V. Aircraft landing lights from a military cargo plane. Eshan's replica of original soft top. 16.5 internal dual bead lock wheels with 37x12.5 IROKs. Eight point roll cage with a cradle for a scuba tank - my on-board air. I made my own rear half doors that are 2/3, 1/3 offset, so I can mount a 37" spare on the back without it sticking out past the body, and still open one of the back doors to get in and out. I made my own front bumper from 6" ship channel with D rings that bolt horizontally through the frame rails, rubber dock bumpers and a receiver.

The main future project interest is multiport fuel injection, like before Feb '07, when I have to pass DEQ again. Passing DEQ is just getting to be too much work and stress, and they won't give a 30 year old truck a break. That and I need to fix those lockers, and make a trailer. These IROKs are no rounder than the recaps I tried earlier, and I'm getting old, I would just feel so much better if I could trailer it to and from the trails, and start heading for trails a lot further away. Like trying my hand at Rubicon again, I want to try Moab, The Black Hills Cruiser Classic, TGSMTR, head back to Arizona...

Up until I just started a new job 30 miles away a couple weeks ago, I drove this to and from work nearly every day for 25 years. Now I have to drive my wife's Dodge Stealth R/T to work, it gets twice the milage.

It is late right now, and have to get up in a few hours to go to work, so I will post this now, again sorry for falling asleep on the job there, I just got back from a four day back-pack trip, checked the calendar, and saw I had this week to prepare for posting next week. Checked the forum on a fluke before going to bed and saw personal messages asking me what's up.
I will go out and take some fresh pictures in the day light after work tomorrow and post them. I've got lots of pictures from the many times when things were apart, but I'm already taking up lots of picture space on the forum, so I'll post any of those on request. Unfortunately I don't have any good trail pictures, can't take my own pictures while I'm driving, and others just aren't interested.

gary

[tucker74]

Sounds like a really unique ride man - be sure to include lots of pics of your coil conversion!



Tucker

[brian]

a rotw with no pics, what a slacker

[bad_religion_au]

he pm'ed me, pics tomorrow, he's gotta take some

[REZARF]

Sounds great Gary!

Post 'em up when you get some. I would like to see your custom stuff, especially your rear doors, and your coil over suspension.

Rezarf <><

[HawkDriver]

All I see is a bunch of words

I assume they're talking about his cruiser but I'll have to wait til see some pics for visual reference before my attention span will last long enough to read all that

[Pyro-boy]

Looking foward to the Pictures, sounds like an awesome rig.

Vince

[coiled40gary]

Here are some pictures, took some quick ones, I had to put a new alternator in the Suburban so My daughter could get to school tomorrow.

These are the general walk around, front, side, back...

gary

[coiled40gary]

Here are some engine shots...
The Zena is mounted so I put a small belt from the alternator to the Zena generator, and move the top bracket to the second hole, and it runs. Gotta finish the wires and the auto-throttle still. 30 foot of weld cable plugs into a socket below the bib, and all the weld controls are built into the stinger.

You can see that the Weber is mounted backwards, the throttle linkage is towards the radiator instead of the fire wall. This makes for a smooth cable path with gental curves, no more boken throttle cables. Plus all the adjustments are way more easily accessable, and the two hardest mounting bolts (least clearance under carb body) are now facing the fender where you can see them instead of on the valve cover side where you have to work by feel.

That conical K&N filter is the one made specifically for the Weber, but offered by none of the LC parts providers selling Webers, not even Redline. Too bad the nylon cover sold for it does not actually fit it.

You can see where the fuel line comes out of the fire wall an runs straight to the carb. You can see one of four in line filters, one on the input to the fuel pump, a glass one where I can see it from my drivers seat, that one (it i a very fine paper one) and the one built into the carb. Webers are very sensitive to crud in the fuel. I still have to take it apart an clean it out periodically.

The Accuvolt is the thing on the right, with the muffin fan I mounted in front of it. Being one who always gets it right on the third try, I burned out the 100 amp fuses while installing it. I could see that happening again, so I went to a high end audio shop and bought 100 amp circuit breakers, which are the two large switches I mounted on top of it. Consiquently those two switches turn the whole truck on and off. I welded a pedistal to the top of the spring tower to mount the Accuvolt to, so it is not actually on the fender, which pops on and off.

If you want to see better pictures of any part let me know.

gary

[coiled40gary]

oops forgot the pictures I was explaining

[coiled40gary]

OK. now I'm mixing my self up...
Here is the third engine compartment picture.

The first shot in the above cluster shows a few small things on the back..
You can see the rear half doors I made from angle iron and plate. I used some weld on hinges and bolted them up to the stock lower hinge mounts for the ambulance doors. These hinges are rated for 400 pounds each, they have worked fine with just one on each side. They also just lift off if I need them out of the way. I have pictures through out the manufacture process if any one is interested.
I made some steps that slip into the rear receiver to make it easier for the kids to get in and out of the back, which is why I also had to make a door they could open without moving the spare. Though with the coil suspension and the 37s, I really need to add a couple more steps to it.
That odd thing on the top of the bumperette is a little tray that my tool box sets in. That makes it accessable on the trail without having to dig for it. The tray matches the bottom of the tool box, and two 2" webbing straps keep the tool box from bouncing out of the tray.
The other thing on the bumperette is my angle iron licence plate frame, to match the one I made on the front.
You can also see where I modified the stock tire rack to hold 35" tires and still open the ambulance door and access the tire rack latch. But this will change again for the 37s, but I will have to do more to make it support the weight of these new tires. Hopefully I will come up with something different to do with the tire, and mount an ammo box to the tire carrier to keep the welding lead and stuff in.
I can't see the picture while writing this, but I think you can also see my 2" rear body lift piece I made to look like a bigger frame cross member instead of a 2" gap.

gary

[coiled40gary]

Here are two old scanned in shots from 25 years ago when I lived in Tucson. One shows the roof rack I made from B-Line, a very heavy U-channel material with a curl on the edges. It is designed to hold twirl nuts. Uni-strut is a same type of stuff. Anyway, I made a roof rack out of the stuff with the opening pointing out all the way around. So anything you want can be attached to it by popping in twirl nuts and bolting to it. Amoung other things like ski racks, light mounts, antenne mounts etc., I made some wood sides and a duck back tarp top to make a tent for it. The rack is 5 feet wide and 6 feet long, and only added about an inch and a half to the height of the truck. It is quite strong, I've put over a 1000 pounds on it with a forklift. Actually I still have the rack, and can't use it anymore if anyone is interested...

You can also see that sometimes the desert is wet, and at one time, my cruiser actually looked nice.

gary

[coiled40gary]

Here are a couple pictures from Oregon, one old, and two newer. The newer ones are actually on a spot called Can Opener. I've seen pictures of a jeep with the hard top ripped open here, and another picture of a jeep on it's side here. This is actually a sorta steep part that many vehicles actually can't get up, after it rains. Though I have not figire out what the trouble is, it is as easy as it looks. It is a spot where people congrigate to take pictures, which is how I got these, some one took them and sent them to me later. The really cool places with rocks, the camera people don't go to, and those who do don't usually stop to take pictures. Anyhows, I don't get to go nearly as often as I would like, but I do have proof I've been out once ot twice.

gary

[coiled40gary]

Here is a collage of shots I took when the XCL was first installed and we were using a forklift to check for clearances. Each tire actually measured a little over 35" above ground with the other tires still touching the ground.

gary

[FJBen]

Nice and flexxy! VERY COOL!

[HawkDriver]

Dude that is sick!!!!!

Same cruiser for 25 years, that is just awesome.

Ya I'd be interested in the rack. Got any closer pics of it, mounting etc...?

Tell us the "long story" about the XCL, and show us some pics of the door build.

[HawkDriver]

Oh yeah, the soft top is a nice touch, those are the coolest. I like the rear doors 70 30 setup, real nice. Are those the aircraft lights with the covers on them? That visible fuel filter idea is pretty cool too.

Nice job man,
Like I said, 25 years of ownership, that's inspiring .

[camcruiser13]

looking good, i love the flex. i want more

[coiled40gary]

The tail gate...

I made this in preperation for Eshan's soft top. I looked for 1X2 angle iron, and since I could not find any, I made some. I took 2X2 angle iron, and cut one inch off of one side with a hand held saber saw (if you are looking for one of these, you have got to get the Bosch, no bout-a-doubt-it), then I hand filed it to make it all smooth and even.
Then I cut them into eight pieces with 45s on the ends, put then together with magnets and clamped it down to my welding table, and welded then up. 7018, I like stick welding, and made a dry box out of a small refridgerator so I could keep low hydrogen rod like 7018.

gary

[coiled40gary]

tailgate continued...

Here you can see the tailgate I made a long time ago out of tire chains, I used the outside lengths with the tensioner latches, and put 1" webing between to form a net like thing that could be pulled tight while latched. This prevented it from knocking on the bed while driving down the road, and made it able to actually hold things in like lawn rollers or power airators that I might rent from Home Depot. But it does little good for attaching a soft to, so I had to make something different.

Here you see my fitting of the frame after I welded it.

Then I laid the frame on some plate, traced around it, cut it out, and welded it on. The weld was in the inside corner, all the way around, in sections with delays to prevent it from warping up on me.

Then I took my trusty 4" hand grinder and rounded the edges, and flattened the welds on the frame face. Most often when you look at something that was welded, and you think, "gee that guy can weld" (I know this is not one of those situations, but bear with me one second) The situation is often that the person is actually really good with a grinder.

gary

[coiled40gary]

tailgate end (finally)

Then I looked through a JCWhitney catalog and found some weather stripping that looked like it would work. And it had a slip on edge, so I would not have to use weather strip cement to hold it on, which I usually have mixed results from.

I also added a long small strip of steel to cover the seam between. This strip i welded to one side, and put a strip of straight sticky on one side weather strip. I added a straight gate latch to hold it closed, becuase it was simple, I spent a lot of time planning out all these variation on those cam latches, then went simple.

I bought a spring loaded latch to hold the long side closed to the bed, but have not installed that yet, as the tire carrier holds that side closed very well.

I welded some weldon pin hinges to small reactagle plates, drilled one to match the stock hinge mount bolt pattern, and welded the other to the tailgate frame.

You can also see that with a 35" tire on the carrier, I have 4" of clearance for the other door. This 35 sticks 2" past the side of the truck. A 37 will stick out 3" and have 3" of clearance. So I can move the tire over 3" on the carrier, and it should not sticj out, and I can still open one side. Or so t he plan goes.

I think in this shot you can also see where I took some cheap blue plastic tarp, cut and folded to make a slip over cover for the seats, and since I don't sow, I used grommets to hold the folds together that shap the covers. These grommets also make nice air escapes, so the covers slip on and off easily, and roll up and slip under or behind the seat. After all I do live in Portland Oregon, rain is unusual in the summer, but unheard of .

gary

[coiled40gary]

rear suspension...

Here are some shots of the rear suspension (plus a few other deveations from stock).

I think the pictures show more than I can explain, so I will just shut up (waiting for the cheers to die down so we can move on).

gary

[coiled40gary]

suspension continued...

Integral to this whole suspension is a massive center skid plate. The four rear control arms and the two front control arms connect to the center skid plate. This skid plate prevents access to the gear boxs even for simple things like draining fluids. Sure you can drill hole in the right places for the fluids to drain through, but sometimes, as much as most of really try to avoid it, you have to get at the gear boxes for real work. To remove the skid plate, you have to lift the frame so both axles hang free. Then you have to unhook six control arms from the skid plate, each is cotter keyed, and double nutted, and access to these is blocked by the skid plate. Then the axles have to swing outward to pull the control arms from the skid plate. Then remove ten 1/2" bolts to the frame, and whar-lar.

So, knowing that the arrival of my long awaited Orion box would be one of those times I wanted to make it easier to get at, and pulled the tub to make that work easier. And luck would have it (the good kind for a change), after two years of waiting, the Orion arrived while I still had the tub off (yet another story). Anyhows, I cut a big hole in the center of the skid plate, the entire center actually. Then I cut the remaining skid plate in half, so I could drop the front or the rear control arms (or both) without disconnecting them. Then I added another pair of 1/2" bolts to the frame, so each half is held up by six bolts. Then I gussetted the length across the back between the control arm mounts to try and make that stronger, and I added a length of square tubing between the front control arm mounts to make that end stronger. Then I made a new skid plate that covers what is left of the original skid plate, from 3/16 plate, and is held in with sixteen 3/8" bolts to return the integrety that was lost by cutting the center out of the original. I welded the sixteen nuts in place to make life easier, and welded 1/4 bar stock down the bolt lines with holes in them for the bolts to act a counter-sunk protection for the bolt heads, and stiffeners for the new skid plate (as if that was needed).

Now 1 minute with an air ratchet, or five with a hand ratchet, and I have full access to the gear boxes and anything else up there, and the backs of the control arms. I can now drop the control arms without disconnecting them. These changes not only made installing the Orion possible, but paid off again when one of my control arms broke, and I had to put new ends on all of them.

gary

[coiled40gary]

Front suspension...

Here are some shots of the front. The double shot is older, before I had to take it to W for a new front housing with the knuckles rotated 16 (? memory is not what it used to be... or maybe it is, high school in the 70 can be hard on... something) degrees. Anyways, it shows the bent up panhard rod to get around the pumpkin, shows the drag link running at the same angle (or would if the camera were angled right), and shows the two front links. Also shows the angle on the lower front drive shaft u-joint that I had to get rid of. Don't look too awful, but when this suspension starts to droop, the joint would lock. I think that lower u-joint is from an 80 so it would have the right yoke for the diff from an 80, but the top u-joint is one of those from a Toy PU that has greater range than the LC u-joints.

Then there is a shot showing the control arm and spring/shock attachment to the axle housing. That top attachment for the control arm is a caster adjustment, which is a nice thing that they designed in a few degrees of caster adjustment. But of coarse, I'm pushed to max adjustment at 6 degrees. If you look too close, you will see that the bracket is seperated from the housing, which is why it is apart for that picture. The last picture is my repair of that problem. Again, some 7018 because I was able to pre-clean the area pretty well. Had it had to have been a trail fix, I would have used 6011, and whipped it.

Speeking of welding rod, any of you heard of Eutectic? I started using Eutectic 680, and really like it. And the specs are pretty impressive. Got it from my father-in-law, it is all they use for maintenance in the copper mines anymore.

gary

[HawkDriver]

That is freakin bad ass man. You've done a lot of nice work. The tailgate kicks, the plate underneath kicks, pretty much the whole thing kicks ass.

[74fj40]

very cool, lots of flex

[Boberino]

That control arm set up with the skid plate is pretty cool.
Did you have interference problems when you were building it?

[Ullr]

Great rig! I really like your tailgate design, do you find it works well with just the one hinge per side?

[coiled40gary]

Originally Posted by HawkDriver

Dude that is sick!!!!!

Same cruiser for 25 years, that is just awesome.

Ya I'd be interested in the rack. Got any closer pics of it, mounting etc...?

Tell us the "long story" about the XCL, and show us some pics of the door build.

HawkDriver,
I intend to own this truck for the rest of my life, they are built to last. A standing joke amoung my friends is that they feel sorry for the grave digger when I die, because he will have to dig one very big hole. I tell them they will know my time is near when I put in the satin, diamond tuck head liner. Other then the wearing out of hydraulic cylendars and the like, the only Toyota designed part I've broken was a birfield shortly after getting it. Any other problems I've had over the years have been self induced. Before it, I owned a brand new CJ7 Renegade with every "heavy duty" option, and rear limit slip. On that rig, something broke every time I took it out, nad it lasted 11 months, the LC replaced it.
My thoughts of owning it for ever were shaken when it was stolen from the parking lot of a Cascade Cruiser club meeting. I went looking for it, and found it in the parking lot of an apartment complex, half stripped.

If you are really interested in the rack, pm me.

Well I'll pass on typing the long story, but I hope I provided enough to answer questions without boring too many.

gary

[coiled40gary]

Originally Posted by Boberino

That control arm set up with the skid plate is pretty cool.
Did you have interference problems when you were building it?

Boberino,

Not sure what you mean by interferance problems, the original suspension was pretty much completely removed. This started as a kit from Warn, so it was designed to "fit", though that was a relative term. I also had to fill out a work sheet with measurements and weights as part of the suspension order. The one who built mine up was one of the people involved in the original prototype testing, as Warn in local here. And because of delivery timing issues and other things, mine wound up being built up with some of the prototype parts. Not wanting to get into the "long story", I will just say that even though Warn only sold through their own approved installers, and did not allow someone like me to buy a kit myself; Warn had enough issues with the installations that they terminated production after the first run of 12. They had good success with the Jeep kit, but the LC kit took a lot more engineering to install properly.

Did I sufficiently avoid your question?

gary