My First FJ40 - 1977 (2 Viewers)

[hhampton]

Hey y'all,

I saw my first 40 in high school and it immediately became my dream car. After years of stashing birthday money, fantasy football winnings, and change from the couch, my dream came true this weekend. I bought a 77 FJ40 from Texas with 59k miles on it. I moved it from the dry air of the Texas panhandle to the oppressive humidity of deep East Texas. The question is now where do I start?

My first goal is to bring some consistency to its life. The PO didn't drive it hardly at all for the last decade, but took it to the shop the week before I bought it to get it running. They put in a new battery, new spark plugs, carb and bench cleaning, new fuel filter, and repaired the fuse to the headlight. In the notes the mechanic put "Intake manifold gasket leaking vac causing rough and erratic idle."

The biggest problem is getting it started. Despite the new battery, I have to jump it to start. I know that means there is probably a short somewhere in the electrical. My question is do I go scorched earth and replace all of the electrical or can I remove all of the non-essential electrical wiring to limit the possible problems?

After I get it started, the mechanic was right about the idle. It won't stay running without a half choke. Is this tied to the manifold gasket?

Other than these specific questions, any suggestions on where to buy the parts I need, what repairs to prioritize, or hints would be great. I am so excited to finally be a contributor to the forum and no longer merely a consumer.

And of course, here are some pics:

View media item 69169View media item 69170View media item 69174View media item 69172View media item 69173View media item 69175View media item 69176View media item 69177View media item 69178View media item 69179View media item 69180View media item 69181View media item 69182View media item 69183View media item 69184

 

[Jdc1]

Welcome. Looks like a great start.

Thanks to @Trollhole the FSMs are available online and will walk you through most of the work that your truck will need.

For Sale - 40, 50, 60, and 80 series FSM for a hell of a price.

 

[OverLand Cruisers]

Welcome. Looks like a great start.

Thanks to @Trollhole the FSMs are available online and will walk you through most of the work that your truck will need.

For Sale - 40, 50, 60, and 80 series FSM for a hell of a price.

X2, welcome!!

 

[Martyt]

If you are going stock then I would remove all non-stock, hack job wiring and get yourself a wiring diagram. Many of the electrical problems will have to do with bad grounds. I am going to start on my electrical shortly. There is also a tutorial thread on electrical which was posted recently. I plan to look at that as well. I like your rig; also, you won't have to worry about the bezel police

 

[pjohnson]

Welcome to 'Mud. Nice FJ40 there.

I have to jump it to start

This can be caused by a number of things, not necessarily a short. Start with the easy stuff like battery cables and connections. It's possible for a battery cable to look perfectly fine but be corroded inside the sheath.

 

[rrv333]

Great start and excellent looking 40!

 

[Kleatus]

Welcome! Nice looking truck! I spy the factory jack and rods too! I wish my PO’s had been thoughtful enough to keep those with the truck.

I also see added multiple switches and wiring (including tap splices ) and a partially unwrapped harness that I would correct at once. It’s difficult if not impossible sometimes to know what’s going on or be able to correctly diagnose electrical issues unless you remove that crap. Those tap splices cut the insulation of the wire and allow moisture and corrosion to develop and travel inside the wire and often you’ll find a few inches of corroded wire on either side of them depending on how long they’ve been there.

As much as I don’t like diamond plate, that’s a whole new can of worms when you go taking that stuff off. I’d get it baselined and running and driving good before diving into any rust/body repair. Otherwise before you know it you will have the whole thing blown apart for a frame off and you’ll wonder where 5 years went .

 

[barrys]

That's a great Cruiser to start with - good year, looks like original paint, lots of original parts. Is there an original floor mat underneath the pieces shown in the picture? The section under the heater looks original.

I agree with the preceding comments regarding what could be causing electrical and running issues. Is your alternator working? A vacuum leak could certainly cause the rough idle, so I'd trust the mechanic's diagnosis on that because he mentioned it very specifically. Several very good vendors on Mud can sell you an intake manifold gasket. My experience, learned from many others on Mud, is to always go OEM whenever possible. It will save you time and $$$ in the long run.

Get those two issues fixed, then drive it for awhile to appreciate what you've found, and determine what major issues need attention. You can do small stuff while driving it, and learn a lot about your truck and decide what you ultimately want to do with it. FWIW, I would think twice or thrice before putting new paint on it. That original patina can never be duplicated. When you do rust repair on the rear sill, you can do a reasonable match of the original paint. You've saved yourself a lot of headaches by starting with a really good 40!!

 

[barrys]

Consider taking a clay bar and detailer to the original paint to see how good that 41 year old single stage paint looks:

 

[shawnfj40]

A great way to start out 77 its a very good year. The start issue should be pretty simple to track down. You really only have two wires that matter on the starter. One is the big battery cable directly off the battery. The other is "start" wire. I would just make sure the rig is in neutral and using a test wire apply 12 volts to the start wire. If the engine turns over fine then your battery wire is fine and you need to find the voltage loss in the system. If the motor turns poorly or not at all the problem is the battery wire/connections. Repair or replace that and you are done.

 

[65swb45]

1. Disconnect ALL the aftermarket wiring while you’re trying to track down the hard start issue.
2. Check the electrical connection and the ‘click’ on the fuel cut solenoid.
3. Get a vacuum gauge.

 

[VTX78FJ40]

Welcome to MUD!

My first 40 was a 78 and I had a ton of wiring issues as well. I found that bad grounds created a world of issues for me. @Coolerman was a fantastic resource for me. Look him up, he has some good stuff in his signature as well as his webpage.

 

[VTX78FJ40]

!Oy: Coolermans 1971 FJ40 Build = Coolerman website

 

[tls3601]

@barrys did the same to my old paint and a remarkable transformation just like yours. Super nice truck as a starter!!! More pics please

 

[hhampton]

Thanks for all y'alls help. I spent some time on the rig today. Well, a few hours on youtube and @Trollhole 's wiring guide, and then an hour of actual work. I removed the wiring for the aftermarket speakers, cd player, and headlights. I cleaned and tested my battery cables and they were both good. As I kept checking wires going away from the battery, I found what I am pretty sure is the horn relay extremely corroded. I took the pic after a wire brush cleaning on the relay and a lot of shaking the wire. The end connecting to the horn was also extremely corroded. Is this a clean up and replug or tear out, replace, and rewire?

I also charged the battery, turned the key, and it started right up. I was really happy with how it idled. The problem is that as it idled I went and stuck the battery with my multimeter. As I watched, the volts steadily dropped. It started around 13.9, but got down to about 13.6. Based on some looking around, I think I may now be in the market for an alternator. I'm going to test it again tomorrow, but would a bad alternator drain my battery down to 4 volts? That was what it was at before I charged the battery.

I am going to focus on the alternator and its wiring tomorrow. Tips, pointers, and suggestions are always welcome.

 

[hhampton]

A great way to start out 77 its a very good year. The start issue should be pretty simple to track down. You really only have two wires that matter on the starter. One is the big battery cable directly off the battery. The other is "start" wire. I would just make sure the rig is in neutral and using a test wire apply 12 volts to the start wire. If the engine turns over fine then your battery wire is fine and you need to find the voltage loss in the system. If the motor turns poorly or not at all the problem is the battery wire/connections. Repair or replace that and you are done.

I was hoping you were right, but the starter worked great today after I got the battery charged. I didn't need the jump. It turned right over. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[shawnfj40]

No problem. You do know that 13.6V at idle is fine right? Especially with a fully charged battery. You can watch your voltage while you rev your engine and you will prolly see closer to 14V.

 

[hhampton]

No problem. You do know that 13.6V at idle is fine right? Especially with a fully charged battery. You can watch your voltage while you rev your engine and you will prolly see closer to 14V.

I didn't know that. Based on the few YouTube videos I watched, they all said anything under 14.2 was a sign of a bad alternator. But that is why I trust this forum more than YouTube. Thanks for the help. I will test it with higher RPMs today.

 

[hhampton]

I have got my 40 up and running. I appreciate y'alls recommendation to just keep driving it. It has been as much fun as I hoped it would be. But now I am looking to do some upgrading. I figured I would start with the seats since they are in the worst shape. I don't think they are OEM, but I am hoping for some help with that. Any help on where to start and how to proceed would be great. My first question is is it worth buying $500 torn up used seats only to buy $350 covers to replace them? Or is should I just buy two new aftermarket seats? If so, where should I start looking? Any help is always appreciated.

 

[TLCJC]

Seat covers arent OEM, but the seats themselves might be. Especially since the headrests and backing panels are. Specter, Cool Cruisers Of Texas and Cruiser Corp all make great resto cushions and covers. Keep those head rests. They are worth their weight in gold...