Build 1963 FJ45LP SWB Fixed Top "Sweet Simplicity"

[middlecalf]

Ok, but that’s not just a vacuum leak now?

Any fuel or oil additives to consider to help clean out causes of blow by?

 

[wngrog]

Yeah. Not sure it it would not just be like a 4 barrel and one side not open. But man. I don’t know.
Do you have a regular f135 intake? I have one I can send you if you want to try with one carb

 

[whitey45]

We used to put a little atf in the cylinders to help free up rings. Ya gotta go drive it, your overthinking this!

 

[middlecalf]

I’ve got to get the fenders, hood, brake lights, et al back on so I can drive it! Almost there, interesting the body alignment issues I’m having since this thing was originally mega-shimmed all over the map.

 

[cult45]

We used to put a little atf in the cylinders to help free up rings. Ya gotta go drive it, your overthinking this!

Any more info on this mate?

 

[Michael B]

I used to put a quart of atf into a full tank of premium fuel to clean the valves, carb and the rest of the fuel system.

 

[whitey45]

Any more info on this mate?

ATF is a detergent , it acts like a cleaning agent, you can soak the cylinders overnight, clear them out, and run it, or add some to the tank. Sea foam works well too. Regarding
running a single carb at a time. Most dual and triple carb setups are progressive, on a tripower setup, the center carb is the only one functioning until you get into half throttle when the other two start to open via linkage or vacuum. It should run fine on one carb or the other. It’s just a way to establish that each carb is functioning properly.

 

[cult45]

Thanks @whitey45 and @Michael B - is there any need to change plugs after this?

 

[whitey45]

If they are in good nik, they will be fine

 

[Michael B]

It may actually help clean he plugs Dan, if they weren't in very bad condition before.

 

[cult45]

Thanks fellas, sorry Mr. Calf for the hijack.

 

[middlecalf]

Tech hijacks are good. Even entertaining non-tech hijacks are good. Better than trying to get 57 yr old body components to line up. Sure have an appreciation for the shop floor wonks who put these things together on a moving line. Which tells me there’s a right way to to do this, and also tells me I haven’t figured that right way out yet.

 

[whitey45]

Cab mounts must be loose to get the fenders and front bib to line up. Also slight notching of fender mounts may be necessary.

 

[middlecalf]

Yeah, got everything loose. When I started into this before tear down, everything was reasonably lined up but there were obnoxious shims in the back of the cab mounts - 4-6” or more, and there was no bib hinge. Now I look at the pics before tear down and there was 4” or more below the bib where the hinge should be. Now if I have a bib hinge in place with a typical shim (0.125”) the angles between the cowl and fenders are all wonked up, plus I need about an inch more length in the hood to clear the grill screen - but pulling the cab and therefore hood forward moves the fenders forward because of the body/fender interface in front of the rockers. Notching of the four fender frame bolt holes would have to allow for translation and rotation, not sure I could even get there without shimming the rear of the cab like it was before I rebuilt it. And I still have to figure out the dip as a result of the bib hinge. It will be a 1+” shim to get that to a matching height with everything else, but even then I still need roughly a 1/2” length in the hood/body system. And lastly, the bib hinge needs to be pulled - using a ratchet strap - to the passenger side about an inch to align with holes in frame cross member.

About 2-3 hours per day moving, rotating, jacking, banging, cussing, bolting, unbolting, and frustration before I call it a day to do something useful. So far I’ve avoided ”PO” fixes, but ...

 

[whitey45]

Sounds like you frame is bent, twisted to need that much shimming?

 

[middlecalf]

Yeah probably. I measured the frame using the dimensions in the back of the body repair manual and it wasn’t bad, but that doesn’t account for twist. As a famous person recently said, it is what it is.

Somehow I’ll get it back together so I can drive it around to kill the mosquitoes with its smoking lol.

 

[middlecalf]

Ain’t gettin’ back to here.

With the four bolts in the fender frame mount, even loose, there’s only an 1/8 linear travel, some rotation of about 10-15 deg. Can’t drop the cab, need floor clearance for the t-case (which didn’t exist in first photo) and the body mounts match OEM height. You can see the proper rocker panel clearance at the running board mount.

Gap in bib and cross member is a bit larger than the (obnoxious) gap that was there before tear down, so the PO’s 4” rear body mount shims that were there rotated the bid downward.

Here are those shims, er pylons

And same gap with those pylons

Guess I should have kept the glue (green-blue) colored paint job.

 

[middlecalf]

Additional info. The battery tray stand matches the fender contours and height. Also shock and steering box clearance match my ‘65’s. Body mount heights are exactly the same as the ‘65 which is aligned great.

 

[middlecalf]

Issue? High centered frame bend (front/rear end up lower than frame center) vs. a ditch crossing frame bend (front/rear end up higher than frame center). Has to be former as the front where the fenders mount is lower than the middle where the cab mounts.

I really have no clue.

 

[middlecalf]

Some FORTRAN WAT4 programming:

IF

(mostly aligned, some play still to work with)

(hood closes and aligns)

THEN

(drill new holes, extend support length? need 4 bolts?)

(interference of guard and shock mount, guard needs trimmed)

(need extension to mount bib hinge, fab some sort of deflector shield to protect lower radiator)

ELSE

punt