Builds '78 Refreshtoration, what next? (1 Viewer)

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Goldbug

SILVER Star
Joined
Apr 14, 2020
Threads
29
Messages
578
Location
Rhode Island
So I picked up my '78 40 with the F55 engine and the 4 carbs about a month ago and trailered it back from Idaho. From the mountains to the sea. So far I've:
- Replaced horrible skull shifter knobs with OEM
- Repainted the emblems
- Rebuilt rear drum brakes and wheel cylinders
- Installed points for the car seat
- Replaced the coil after getting stranded on way home from Napa
- Sent 2 of the 4 carbs to @FJ40Jim to be rebuilt into one "bionic carb"
- Repainted the bezel
- Cleaned several pounds of dirt out from the interior and from the frame

I'm very scared about what the salt air and humidity of Rhode Island will do to it. I'm lucky enough to live a couple blocks from the beach. Years down the road I'd love to do a frame off resto, but that's not in the cards soon. In the meantime, I'm debating rust prevention/mitigation options.

For the frame, POR15 or Rustoleum Rust Restorer or FluidFilm? Not planning to wire wheel the whole thing, much less take the tub off
For the body/painted surfaces, including interior, CLR and some carnauba wax?

Rust 1.jpg


Rust 3.jpg


Rust 4.jpg


Rust 5.jpg


Decal After.jpg
 
That thing looks awesome. Can't wait to see how you go about refreshing. I'm doing one myself I'm in the process of restoring. But it looks like you have a very good starting point. Clean her up and enjoy it for a little while as much as you can before doing anything too serious. I'll be subscribing.
 
Hah, thanks @airon23 for the reminder to update. I'm still doing about 1/2 cosmetic, half mechanical. It's looking better, but not running that great. Good news is I discovered that a high school friend of my brother in law is a long time cruiserhead who lives close by, and he's been a fount of knowledge so far. Also probably the only other 40 owner for 100 miles around. Bad news is that I'm growing more and more concerned by the engine swap the PO did with an F1.5. The carb is still misbehaving, hopefully @FJ40Jim sends me the rebuilt one soon!

I fixed the horrible PS whine by putting in a new belt that goes around the crankshaft and water pump, not just the water pump pulley and PS pulley. That was a win.

Here are some pics of recent work.

Next up is putting in new wheel cylinders, since 1/2 of the ones I rebuilt are still leaking. And trying to find the story behind a mystery coolant leak. I'm hoping it's not a BHG, as the oil looks good and the plugs are all pretty dark, not steam cleaned. Then new carb as soon as I get it.

I've been getting a lot of inspiration from here though, love what you did to yours.
 
Repainted the original air cleaner cover and reinstalled. Need to find a replacement for the gasket between that and the carb though. Also put in that new belt that eliminated the whine. But you can see a suspicious bolt and washer combo in the top right on the head. It's standard, not metric :oops:

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Looks like a very solid cruiser. 78 and mustard color I'm jealous. Do you have the 40 series power steering box or a mini truck? Didn't read all the text. When I see carburetor I generally don't read as they are carburetor experts here who are far more qualified to answer any questions. Not sure what an F55 is? Power steering pump location looks like a 1/79+ 2F.
 
1. It looks like your rear spring shackles have been over-tightened, bent in on the spring bushings, this will keep them from cycling properly, soooo you'll get a stiffer ride.
2. With your floorboards soooo rusted, my guess is the bottom of your gas tank may also be ready to die from cancer. If I am right, then you'd be prudent to consider one of my 22 gallon rear fuel cells, they mount under the floor panel behind the rear differential, and they are nylon, won't rust ever.
 
What was the process you had for the rear bumper (cleaning and painting)? I'm in almost the same boat as you (78, Mustard) that I'm doing some cosmetic updating on and would like to clean up my rear bumper as well as the front.

TIA
 
Looks like a very solid cruiser. 78 and mustard color I'm jealous. Do you have the 40 series power steering box or a mini truck? Didn't read all the text. When I see carburetor I generally don't read as they are carburetor experts here who are far more qualified to answer any questions. Not sure what an F55 is? Power steering pump location looks like a 1/79+ 2F.
Thanks for the complement @Living in the Past ! You've got quite the collection yourself I think I saw on the hardtop thread. I went after this one for the year and relative lack of rust. I know the PS was added by the PO, and I've been told it's from a mini truck and also that it's a tercel based. Either way, it now works with the new belt.
The motor is from an FJ55, and it's an F engine, though some call it an "F and a half". The PO had it rebuilt, thinking it was a 2F. Only when the shop called to say his 3.9 was ready and he said, no it's a 4.2, did he realize it wasn't a 2F. So I have the original 2F in pieces in the garage..
 
Thanks for the complement @Living in the Past ! You've got quite the collection yourself I think I saw on the hardtop thread. I went after this one for the year and relative lack of rust. I know the PS was added by the PO, and I've been told it's from a mini truck and also that it's a tercel based. Either way, it now works with the new belt.
The motor is from an FJ55, and it's an F engine, though some call it an "F and a half". The PO had it rebuilt, thinking it was a 2F. Only when the shop called to say his 3.9 was ready and he said, no it's a 4.2, did he realize it wasn't a 2F. So I have the original 2F in pieces in the garage..


Just seen the Toyota power steering pump in the stock 40 series location. Looking better at the pictures see the steering box is too far forward for either 40 series or mini truck power steering box. Does not look like a 60/62 series. I know the International Scout mounts they but look like could be a Toyota box. Tercel may be correct.

For the F engine just look at the engine serial number by the Distributor. Will start with either F or 2F. Will also be a build date on the driver's side of the block.
 
What was the process you had for the rear bumper (cleaning and painting)? I'm in almost the same boat as you (78, Mustard) that I'm doing some cosmetic updating on and would like to clean up my rear bumper as well as the front.

TIA
@78Mustard For the bumper, I removed the bumperettes, tail lights, and tow hitch receiver, wire wheeled it as best I could and used Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator, then their Extreme Chassis Black. This was very helpful in deciding which product. Encapsulator vs Convertor I went with Eastwood mostly because I don't have a paint setup and wanted cans. But POR or even rustoleum rust restorer would have probably been fine. I used Duplicolor Pewter Metallic for the bumperettes, though it's not a great match to the OEM pewter. The color is about right, but it's sparkly (I guess that's what they mean by metallic). But overall, it was a one night job and looks much better. Expect the bumperette bolts to sheer off. I ordered replacements from SOR that are similar to OEM, but not exact. They are held on by square nuts on the back that are perhaps tack welded to the frame, or were just heavily rusted on. Definitely hit the bolts and even tail light screws with PB Blaster a day or more ahead of time, maybe even a few days in a row.

Oh, and I grew up in Alexandria, on Prince St. Don't remember many 40s around town back in the 80s, glad to know there's a few now.
 
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Just seen the Toyota power steering pump in the stock 40 series location. Looking better at the pictures see the steering box is too far forward for either 40 series or mini truck power steering box. Does not look like a 60/62 series. I know the International Scout mounts they but look like could be a Toyota box. Tercel may be correct.

For the F engine just look at the engine serial number by the Distributor. Will start with either F or 2F. Will also be a build date on the driver's side of the block.
Yeah looked up all the engine stuff, it's a '73 from an FJ55. My concern is the installation, marriage of motor to valve cover/manifold etc and quality of rebuild. That big standard nut with a giant washer gives me the creeps. Once I get my nice new carb back from @FJ40Jim and installed, I'll see if I need to do anything with the motor.
 
@78Mustard For the bumper, I removed the bumperettes, tail lights, and tow hitch receiver, wire wheeled it as best I could and used Eastwood's Rust Encapsulator, then their Extreme Chassis Black. This was very helpful in deciding which product. Encapsulator vs Convertor I went with Eastwood mostly because I don't have a paint setup and wanted cans. But POR or even rustoleum rust restorer would have probably been fine. I used Duplicolor Pewter Metallic for the bumperettes, though it's not a great match to the OEM pewter. The color is about right, but it's sparkly (I guess that's what they mean by metallic). But overall, it was a one night job and looks much better. Expect the bumperette bolts to sheer off. I ordered replacements from SOR that are similar to OEM, but not exact. They are held on by square nuts on the back that are perhaps tack welded to the frame, or were just heavily rusted on. Definitely hit the bolts and even tail light screws with PB Blaster a day or more ahead of time, maybe even a few days in a row.

Oh, and I grew up in Alexandria, on Prince St. Don't remember many 40s around town back in the 80s, glad to know there's a few now.


Much appreciated - looks really good! Yep; there's a few 40's in the neighborhood (in Beverley Hills, off Braddock and bordering Del Ray).
 
I have a 73 FJ40 that currently has a 74 F engine under hood. It came with the original F engine in the back but probably going to us. 78 2F that came in a 70 FJ40 I bought back in the nineties. Tow company had aqquired a title and original wanted to get it back. End of the day both the PO and tow company owner were flakes and I had ownership legally. PO want to buy if from minus the engine transmission and transfer case. He flaked out on that so parted it out just make it go away. still have the running which was free after parting the rest out. Well except for the front clip and windshield which I also kept. For the 1990s in AZ really wasn't that good a shape.
 
I loosened the bolts on the shackles @Downey, had been on my list but thanks for the reminder! I’ll see if it rides better tomorrow.

oh, and took the dog for a ride earlier. She’s a fan of 40s..

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1. It looks like your rear spring shackles have been over-tightened, bent in on the spring bushings, this will keep them from cycling properly, soooo you'll get a stiffer ride.
2. With your floorboards soooo rusted, my guess is the bottom of your gas tank may also be ready to die from cancer. If I am right, then you'd be prudent to consider one of my 22 gallon rear fuel cells, they mount under the floor panel behind the rear differential, and they are nylon, won't rust ever.
Can you send me some information on this tank? What mods need to be done to the existing fuel door? I’ll be doing a sniper 2300 along with this.
 
Sweet, another mustard 78, not too far from me, just a hop across the sound, eh? If it were me, I'd just be squirting in gear oil (I get it, not ideal and smells, but it penetrates) into the underside of the rear sill, rockers, rust prone areas to have it lap it all up. It will help!

Very cool cruiser - maybe our paths will cross at some point.

Cheers!
 
Sweet, another mustard 78, not too far from me, just a hop across the sound, eh? If it were me, I'd just be squirting in gear oil (I get it, not ideal and smells, but it penetrates) into the underside of the rear sill, rockers, rust prone areas to have it lap it all up. It will help!

Very cool cruiser - maybe our paths will cross at some point.

Cheers!
Yeah, I’ve been admiring your builds in fact, nice work. By gear oil I assume you mean like fluid film? If so, I think you’re right. Be great to cross paths, just came across a ‘76 yesterday in northwest Maine, so there are a few in the northeast.
 
Big day today. Finally got my carbs back from Jim C and I was jumping like a kid on Christmas. Looks like he did a great job. Also got some de-smog parts, now just gotta figure exactly where they go. Looks like the PO did an EGR block off plate, but the one from Jim looks much better. Goes in the red circle I think. When in there, I noticed a bolt missing (blue circle). Does that matter? Also seeing lots of soot, exhaust getting out?

Figure I’ll do this then do carb swap next.

oh and check out the zip tie job on the 3rd photo

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