1974 Pua'a (2 Viewers)

[gonzopancho]

Put the wife in the pig, drove her to the local. She laughed. (She drove an ‘89 Toyota PU when I met her. Wanted a LC, but couldn’t afford it then. The ‘88 we have is “hers”.)

 

[gonzopancho]

Hinges rebuilt.

 

[RUSH55]

Did you rebuild them, or did you send them off?

 

[gonzopancho]

Did you rebuild them, or did you send them off?

Sent them off to @Midgainc. No spare time right now, and he’s already setup to do it.

Did drive the pig to south Austin to pick up 6 lbs of coffee, then up to work in far North Austin.

Guess the H41 needs a rebuild, kinda difficult to get into 1st once it gets hot. Chatters a bit in 4th.

Yet another way it reminds me of driving those old 2.5 ton trucks when I was working for my father and grandfather at Thompson Drilling in Las Vegas in the 70s and early 80s.

Stopped for gas and had a bit of a time getting it started again with the starter hot after 20 miles at highway speeds.

The 1F is fun, but kinda tired. Used about 1/2 quart of oil between fill-ups. AFAICT, it’s original to the truck. (Date codes line up.) The H41 isn’t, of course, @Cruiser Innovations installed that.

Strongly considering dropping some coin on a 1HD-T and H151 that @joekatana has for sale or maybe a H55 and splitcase (already owned, convert to manual with twin stick with the parts from @orangefj45) and transplanting that, then moving to a FJ70 rear end for the parking brake, and a LRA 55 gallon tank, again from @orangefj45. Expedition build.

@FJ73Texas also has a 1PZ for sale nearby if the 1HD-T won’t fit. No idea what it takes to bolt a H55F to a 1PZ though (should be the same bell housing and input shaft as the 1HD, right?)

Thoughts?

 

[gonzopancho]

Also, I think I remember Gorg (@orangefj45) told me that the ammeter blows out of you send more than 60A thru it, and then you can’t charge the battery.

Would be running at least a 120A alternator if I move to a diesel. Can the stock gauge be reworked, or am I headed for a set of aftermarket gauges?

 

[RUSH55]

Bypass it and run a voltmeter

 

[gonzopancho]

Bypass it and run a voltmeter

Is this the “run mechanical gauge” option or is there some variant of the ‘55 gauge set that has a volt meter instead of an ammeter?

Found a thread for fj40s that says the early (up to 78?) are all 30A and after are 50A.

Maybe @Coolerman knows.

Harness on this pig needs a complete rewrite anyway...

 

[J Mack]

Thoughts?

I like all of it and cant wait to watch, hopefully you'll take lots of pictures and bring us along!

 

[RUSH55]

No factory volt meter that I know of, so yeah, it would have to be aftermarket. You basically connect the two ends of the amp meter wires to eliminate the amp meter. You then find a convenient 12v wire (that comes on with the ignition) to tie in the volt meter.
This is the abridged version. There’s much more in-depth information to be found in searches on the 40/55 tech section. I’m going off of memory from last year when I was doing searches on alternator alternatives and necessary wiring mods.

 

[gonzopancho]

I like all of it and cant wait to watch, hopefully you'll take lots of pictures and bring us along!

That’s really cool of you to say, Jim. My name is also Jim, and I used to shoot NRA HP rifle (still have my grandfather’s M-1 NM. Pretty much stopped when we moved to HI 2004-2011, and just never got back into it. Austin runs a reduced yardage range, and it just ain’t the same.)

Target Carrier is also the build I most enjoy here. If I don’t paint mine blue and white (close as a i can tell that was the original color scheme on mine), then I guess I’ll just break down and paint it Nebula Green.

 

[J Mack]

I'm reading your post and just about the time I start thinking in my head "hey this Gonzo dude and I could be besties" you drop this bomb ........

then I guess I’ll just break down and paint it Nebula Green

 

[scrapdaddy]

Now he's getting serious!

 

[Megadoomer]

Friends dont let friends paint pigs green

 

[gonzopancho]

Friends dont let friends paint pigs green

I heard the sty thinks they look best in Nebula Green or Dusty Pink over Cygnus White.

I’m just tryin’ to fit in here.

 

[gonzopancho]

Of course, if I’m gonna paint it, first I have to solve the bodywork issues. The Tin Worm has been a bit busy. The rockers need replacement, but I have a set from @bobm. The front floorboards seem OK (@Cruiser Innovations did a patch on the driver’s side back in 2012)

The rear floorboards have a few holes

The little raised part between the rear floorboard and the cargo area is the worst.

I assume @bobm doesn’t make replacement for this.

But that’s all, as i understand it, pretty normal for a pig.

The thing that has me scratching my noggin’ the most is the B pillars. Words can’t do it justice, so here’s a pic of each.

Driver’s side:

Passenger side:

Can these be patched/scabbed or do I find a donor?

 

[gonzopancho]

Also, someone got in a hurry back in 2012. Can’t believe it’s lasted this long.

 

[gonzopancho]

One of the reasons I bought this pig is that I found neked pics of her back when she was younger (under 40). That let me lookseelu to try to understand any rust issues before I flew to NM to do the deal.

Then @Cruiser Innovations did one one the best rattlecan paint jobs I’ve ever seen. Can’t believe it’s lasted seven years.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/attachments/img_4349-jpg.601408/

There’s even a movie of her neked!



And the test drive

Anyone care to guess what size shoes the kid is wearing there? Super Swappers on American Racing rims?

The smaller set, still worn by the pig, are 33x12.50R15, but I love the stance with the larger shoes!

 

[RUSH55]

You could probably just try to weld those B-Pillar cracks and see how they do. That is weird though - had to be some kind of crazy body flex going on to cause that, but how hard would it have had to been flexed to cause that? Don’t recall Cruiser Innovations wheeling it much

Also, someone got in a hurry back in 2012. Can’t believe it’s lasted this long.

View attachment 1986285

Is that a bare metal front housing we’re looking at?

From memory, I thought he put some 37’s on it at one point?

 

[gonzopancho]

It’s the protective film on the (bottom of the) radiator.

37s is my guess.

Two owners between me and @Cruiser Innovations

 

[J Mack]

Can these be patched/scabbed or do I find a donor?

I think that’s fairly common on a pig that’s been driven off road, I’ve had five pigs here at one time or another and several have had cracked A and B pillars.

A guy could cut those spot welds and reinforce pillar with a chunk of 1X2 box tube then put everything back together if strength was a concern or just weld up the crack if not.

Either way I would take a close look at the body mounts.