out of hibernation, my 78 FJ40 (1 Viewer)

[kruisinkid]

after driving one three years ago in costa rica and deciding thats where im retiring (in 25 years), i finally bought one. my very own money pit.

the short (known) history of this car: owned by an 83yr old man in IL, it has sat in climate controlled storage since November 1990. a man in CT bought it inoperable and had it shipped to him a few months ago. he turned out to be an ex mechanic of 25 years and Class D race car driver here in the NE. he did the bare minimum to bring it back to life before the wife said to get rid of it. very bare minimum, but ol george in IL had the sense to change every fluid in it as it went into hibernation. im told it only needed an oil change, new gas tank, battery, thoroughly cleaned weber carb, new main fuel filter, added secondary fuel filter, new air filter and it fired right up. before that, old man george in IL slapped on a new dizzy cap, those giant wheels (35's x 12.5's!! rubbed on the fenders) and maybe that zombie fence out front (which i cant wait to cut off, yes cut)

it idles super fast (850-900) but stutters and hesitates a ton, stalls at red lights sometimes (almost every vacuum hose is cut), but all the power is there when im ready to step on the gas. she moves. steering is very tight for 67K. came with a 4" lift that looks well done for at least 23 years ago, but i want new bilsteins. the body has been patched with sheet metal here and there. worst remaining rot ive found is where the pass footwell meets the firewall. not horrific. shes a work in progress. i want to get her looking closer to when she rolled off the lot, a "reset" if you will. the IL PO molested her pretty good. random hardware to fix things all over, hosed black paint inside and out, lots of bizarre choices, but that was the 80's i guess.

about me: i live in brooklyn, know little of cars, but am very mechanically minded and a fast learner. am a union stagehand on broadway (industrial automation carpenter is my fancy title) so i have all the knowledge to fix similar issues that would arise, i just have to transfer that to an engine. i will be asking a lot of beginner questions starting tonite, so please be gentle. ive been searching and reading this forum like mad the last 2 weeks. (i only just got the car in my hands yesterday!) i have the FSM's that haven been floating around the interwebs and the haynes, trying to memorize terms and part names. sorry in advance if my questions are super basic, but thats where im at at the moment. thanks everyone! im excited to be here!

 

[tucker74]

Very nice ... let the adventure begin!

Tucker

 

[Fast Eddy]

if the passenger side has rust, there's more rust under the fuel tank.

 

[kruisinkid]

i think the cause of the rust in the footwell (im hoping) is the lack of hood hinge gasket and missing hood screws on that side. the glove box floor has a good amount of surface rust and i think it trickled down and collected in the footwell under some former attempt at either a bedliner material or a melted on floor mat. that former bedliner-esque material is coming off in rock hard chips. the drivers side doesnt seem to have that. and actually, under the gas tank well is one of the cleanest parts of the underside...somehow

 

[DSRTRDR]

welcome

 

[kruisinkid]

DAY 5!!

got rid of that awful bumper and new tires and period correct rims!! did a few other housekeeping things today: belts and wipers. cant wait to get that license plate off the fender tomorrow.

 

[fj401978]

DAY 5!!

got rid of that awful bumper and new tires and period correct rims!! did a few other housekeeping things today: belts and wipers. cant wait to get that license plate off the fender tomorrow.

Wow...looks so much better without that cow pusher on the front! Good lookin' '40! Congrats, and welcome to Mud!

 

[Chamba]

Looking much better, welcome! What did that ridiculous front gate weigh? Where in NY are you?

 

[pavieSD]

i think the cause of the rust in the footwell (im hoping) is the lack of hood hinge gasket and missing hood screws on that side. the glove box floor has a good amount of surface rust and i think it trickled down and collected in the footwell under some former attempt at either a bedliner material or a melted on floor mat. that former bedliner-esque material is coming off in rock hard chips. the drivers side doesnt seem to have that. and actually, under the gas tank well is one of the cleanest parts of the underside...somehow

Take a real good look at that non-OEM antenna on the passenger side hood/cowl. It appears to be mounted right where you're having all that rust underneath. I'd pull that sucker out and figure out a way to seal the hole.

 

[kruisinkid]

Looking much better, welcome! What did that ridiculous front gate weigh? Where in NY are you?

i felt like 80 to 100 lbs. ill know for sure next week when i take it to the scrap yard

Take a real good look at that non-OEM antenna on the passenger side hood/cowl. It appears to be mounted right where you're having all that rust underneath. I'd pull that sucker out and figure out a way to seal the hole.

i will certainly do that. i dont know why i didnt think of that before. ill just remove it and plug it with a plug and RTV. i already ripped the radio out anyway. and i hate that its day glow red.

 

[kruisinkid]

Looking much better, welcome! What did that ridiculous front gate weigh? Where in NY are you?

oh and im in park slope (technically gowanus) brooklyn

 

[kruisinkid]

any one know what the jacketed braided steel cable that comes through the firewall with the water temp sender is supposed to be connected to in the engine bay? its just cut off about a foot from the firewall. thanks much.

 

[kruisinkid]

Take a real good look at that non-OEM antenna on the passenger side hood/cowl. It appears to be mounted right where you're having all that rust underneath. I'd pull that sucker out and figure out a way to seal the hole.

i looked at the relation of antenna to glove box and it is NOT over the glove box. but im gonna pull it and plug it anyway. its ugly. i am still thinking its the lack of hood hinge gaskets and wrong screws in the hinges. new hinge (cause its bent), gaskets and screws are on the way.

as for the jacketed steel cable coming through the firewall, i think that is the old choke cable as i have a weber carb. correct me if im wrong.

cant wait to get rid of this weber 32/36. seems like it is totally wrong for a 2F and it idles pretty bad as is. im gonna try a fix for the return fuel line that goes nowhere and use a jeep CJ fuel filter just before the carb that has a tap for a return line, in hopes to regulate the fuel pressure better.

gonna call weber/redline and see if its crazy to drill and tap the carb for a port for the charcoal canister purge line. there is a boss for it above and to the left of the fuel inlets, but its molded plugged from the factory. i gotta get the EVAP system plugged back up. fumes galore in the cab.

 

[KruiserK]

Nice! You'll be styling pulling up to the Gowanus Yacht Club in that 40. I'm in Williamsburg. Welcome!

 

[kruisinkid]

Nice! You'll be styling pulling up to the Gowanus Yacht Club in that 40. I'm in Williamsburg. Welcome!

we should meet up sometime. what year is yours? i do love oysters

i found 2 issues with the fuel tank setup and why it reeks in the cab. 1. the output hose of the vapor seperator was cut off 4" away from the separator and 2. its not a perfect seal around the sender. i RTV'd around the sender and will reattach the vapor hose back to the charcoal canister.

also today, saw a pool of coolant sitting in the rad support bar. new 4-core on the way!!

 

[KruiserK]

we should meet up sometime. what year is yours? i do love oysters

i found 2 issues with the fuel tank setup and why it reeks in the cab. 1. the output hose of the vapor seperator was cut off 4" away from the separator and 2. its not a perfect seal around the sender. i RTV'd around the sender and will reattach the vapor hose back to the charcoal canister.

also today, saw a pool of coolant sitting in the rad support bar. new 4-core on the way!!

Yikes! Sounds you have a bit of work ahead of you.
Hopefully the oysters don't come from the canal. I have a 1990 FJ62 but I'm dying for a 40. I would love to check yours out.

 

[Chamba]

i looked at the relation of antenna to glove box and it is NOT over the glove box. but im gonna pull it and plug it anyway. its ugly. i am still thinking its the lack of hood hinge gaskets and wrong screws in the hinges. new hinge (cause its bent), gaskets and screws are on the way.

as for the jacketed steel cable coming through the firewall, i think that is the old choke cable as i have a weber carb. correct me if im wrong.

cant wait to get rid of this weber 32/36. seems like it is totally wrong for a 2F and it idles pretty bad as is. im gonna try a fix for the return fuel line that goes nowhere and use a jeep CJ fuel filter just before the carb that has a tap for a return line, in hopes to regulate the fuel pressure better.

gonna call weber/redline and see if its crazy to drill and tap the carb for a port for the charcoal canister purge line. there is a boss for it above and to the left of the fuel inlets, but its molded plugged from the factory. i gotta get the EVAP system plugged back up. fumes galore in the cab.

Not a fan of the Weber myself. Have you looked into the Trollhole carb?

 

[kruisinkid]

Not a fan of the Weber myself. Have you looked into the Trollhole carb?

oh yeah. forgot to mention i bit the bullet and bought a trollhole over the w/e. wont get to installing it til late september sadly.

im sure im also fighting major vac leaks but havent put the gauge on it yet. it just idles terribly at the moment. runs fine under load, just idles poorly, and hard starts.

what are the symptoms of a dying starter/igniter/ignition coil? i left the key in the ON position the other day and needed a jump. it started IMMEDIATELY when jumped. it's never started up like that so im wondering if the hard starts are an electrical issue. it is a brand new battery but maybe it's too small?

 

[kruisinkid]

a little update:
-after reading through the majority of infamous "My Desmog Thread", i went ahead and removed all the hacked up, disconnected emissions gear. it was mostly just a lot of tubing that went to nowhere and the small manifold that normally sits on the aisin carb.
-got FJ40Jim's air rail plug kit and removed the air rail and large hoses to air pump.
-removed carb cooler fan. there is an obscene amount of space on that side of engine now, and i still have yet to pull the rest of the EGR system. waiting for the gasket for exhaust side plug
-sealed all the small holes around fuel sender where fumes could escape.
-ran new main hose from vapor seperator into the engine bay. new "brackets" for the larger new autozone charcoal canister need to be test fit, but NO MORE GAS FUMES!!!
-found a decent amount of coolant collected at the bottom of radiator support bracket. went ahead and bought new 4 core radiator. the next big project is to replace nearly every component in the coolant system.
-installed new water temp sender. now i finally see how hot/cold she runs. runs right where she should
-plug welded/sanded/primed kick vents and gas door. need to glue in new vent gaskets and reinstall

lots and lots of parts sitting in the kitchen waiting to get installed, but life is getting in the way for the next 2 weeks (possibly a month) til i can get back to work on her.

 

[ARCTICMUTT]

Sounds like you're going about everything the right way and you will definitely enjoy it when you're all done.