Newb's new '78 fj40

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Fast Eddy

Fast Eddy

10 Year 15 Year 20 Year
Joined
Apr 4, 2006
Threads
450
Messages
14,192
Location
NorCal
Gotta go to a meeting. More later. :)
cruiser_7.webp
 
Man I love that brown color on a 40, congrats!
 
cc93cruiser said:
Man I love that brown color on a 40, congrats!
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:cheers: :beer: welcome.

HATTRICK:grinpimp:

'75 FJ40 / '87 FJ60 / '93 FZJ80
 
my64fj40 said:
Whatcha going to do with her.
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I'm going to break off all the rusty bolts and hurt my knuckles. What did you think? :o

I'm going to keep it mostly stock for now. The only aftermarket mod is going to be a small shackle lift. I don't really want aftermarket springs. I'll fix stuff while I cruise it around for the summer, and probably tear it apart for paint next winter.

It's going to get steelies and hub caps as soon as I can. I like that look. I'll probably run 9.5x30 AT T/As. 9.5x33s look nice, but I don't think I want that much lift.

I've got a ton (literally) of extra parts, including a hopped-up 2f, a needed spare crank and a stock 4 speed and case. I'll have to decide what I want to keep and what's going to the swap next week.

This weekend I'm going to do the brakes, pull out the carpet and the taped roll bar padding, and install the jump seats, belts and shoulder harnesses so I can drive the kids around safely. I bought it for them, not me, right? ;) I learned to drive when I was 11 in a cj2a. My daughter is 13, so she's overdue.

Every feature I've tried has worked; lights, heater, wipers, etc. I'm pretty impressed.

There's rust, but nothing like some trucks I've looked at. I'll address the worst spots soon. There are two 2x4" sections above the tail lights that need some metal welded in.
 
A couple more pictures

I subconsiously spared you all from the metal-on-metal brake pads and the trashed rotor. I could slap the PO for not telling me just how bad they were. I'd've driven it less before I fixed it.

The front lug nuts haven't been removed since they were put on with an air gun and left in the rain for three years. How do you think that went? Ouch.

Bad things I found:
  • Brakes are trashed. I'll do calipers and rotors when I get around to it. With some brake cleaner and sacrificial pads it's on the road.
  • The one hub I took apart was full of rusty-looking 28 year old grease. I doubt it engages. I ignored its badness and put it back together.
  • Ambulance doors are a bit 'off', and have about half the bolts they came with with; some broken and some stripped.
  • The door posts from the top have been cut off, I think.
  • The drivers window regulator is flopping around inside the door. The bolt hole below the latch is bigger than the washer on the bolt.
  • The door panel is attached with some sticky black shi t.
  • I'm missing one of the short, hard sections of the front seat belts. Anyone have one for me?
  • One of the frame horns on the front is tweaked enough that the bumper holes don't line up.
  • The rear springs sag about 2" according to my measurement. Anyone have some new condition Toyota springs?
  • Two missing roll bar bolts going into the body are missing because they were stripped and redrilled.
  • Hole in one of the headers. I already contacted my muffler shop about patching it.
Stuff I fixed:

  • Removed the wood work the PO had installed. Kind of a pallet in the bed, a flat piece of plywood between the seats and a radio blank.
  • Removed the padding and electrical tape job from the factory roll bar. It's in decent shape.
  • Painted over the rust on the headlight bezel. It needs to be blasted and powder coated.
  • Adjusted the headlights. They're nice Hella H4 housings; bonus.
  • There was a pair of NOS rear view mirrors in the giant parts lot I got with the cruiser. Nice. One of the donor mounts was nicer than the original, as were the gaskets.
  • Realigned the wipers. See the top photo.
  • Installed the great-condition jump seats. I'd like to find the correct bolts though.
  • Installed the shoulder belts and moved the lap belts to the jump seats where they belong.
  • Installed the donor bumperettes. They were just a tiny bit nicer.
  • Replaced one of the two gray metal covers over the gas tank hoses behind the passenger seats with one from the donor.
  • Replaced the ashtray bezel with the nicer donor.
  • Checked out the radio. It seems like it will work. I didn't try it.
  • Edit: I tested the radio. Even the original paper speaker is good. I need an original antenna.
  • Started the weeks-long task of waxing off 28 years of Turtle Wax residue. The original paint is good enough to consider not repainting it all.


New Mirrors and Some Waxed Spots

fj40_10.jpg


Not bad for 28 years, eh?

fj40_11.jpg


Got one of these?

fj40_01.jpg
 
Last edited:
rsrai said:
nice rig, btw, fast eddy, do you mountain bike? part of mtbr.com? screen name is the same to another bay area biker.
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Yup. There's only one Fast Eddy!!! There's a thread in the norcal board on mtbr with the same picture at the top of this thread.

pirate4x4 actually has an mtb board:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=25

Land cruiser content: I ordered a shackle lift for the rear to eliminate the sag, and had a buddy weld up a minor exhaust leak. While it was on the lift I checked out the u-joint I thought was bad, but it's the pinion shaft bearings that are bad. Luckily, I've got a new rear end that's being held hostage by the PO.

I also sent a pm to Cruiser Dan on PBB to see about getting a rag joint and a steering idler rebuild kit to help with steering slop.

I'm pretty sure something's wrong with my gas gauge. It goes from 'F' to 'E' too fast. Any ideas? :crybaby:
 
Fast Eddy said:
I'm pretty sure something's wrong with my gas gauge. It goes from 'F' to 'E' too fast. Any ideas? :crybaby:
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maybe change your name to slow eddy. ;) im rsr on mtbr, im in the gilroy area. pm me if you need a hand, cuz i seem to need one in this area too.

there was thread on here a little earlier about the gauge and how it flickers. i would try the sending unit on the gas tank and make sure the connectors are all solid and clean first.
 
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