Build 1965 FJ40, What Have I Gotten Myself Into?

[pb4ugo]

Theres a lot of boat videos on tops and covers. Sailrite has good tutorial videos and products too. They concentrate on boats tops, covers and interiors, but the concept is similar. Cechaflo videos are geared more for car interiors but is real good on patterning and detail. A member on here did a top a while back that offered a lot of good info. I don't recall his name. I found a decent used industrial sewing machine with a walking foot and reverse that can handle heavier material and larger thread. I did our boat, then I decided to keep the machine. It comes in handy.

 

[Krondor]

Well the wait for the door is over and Flora Jean has seen the light of day once more!

Here is the shop/ door before:

It has an old school fold out door which limited the height.

Here is the new hole expanded and framed. Ready for the door.

Flora Jean has left the building!

The sunshine sure looks nice.

 

[Krondor]

And another year goes by.. My son turns 3 today... Hard to believe.

Still trying to convince the wife that a car seat is perfectly fine in the front seat of an FJ40 with no doors.... For now, a ride down the driveway puts a huge smile on his and my face.

 

[Krondor]

Well I finally found myself with some time to get it up to temp and adjust the IAC on the holley sniper.

Old front door camera caught me struttin'.

I drove it a few times around the neighborhood and it drives great! Sure puts a smile on your face.

Only issue that I found is that the battery is no longer charging. I don't really know why it stopped. I'll check grounds then do some research on the issue. For now though it'll be short trips through the neighborhood to get a feel for how to drive a manual again and how it drives.

 

[RevISK]

Well I finally found myself with some time to get it up to temp and adjust the IAC on the holley sniper.

View attachment 4169791

Old front door camera caught me struttin'.

I drove it a few times around the neighborhood and it drives great! Sure puts a smile on your face.

Only issue that I found is that the battery is no longer charging. I don't really know why it stopped. I'll check grounds then do some research on the issue. For now though it'll be short trips through the neighborhood to get a feel for how to drive a manual again and how it drives.

Your voltage regulator is probably bad. I got a generic one from “Auto Parts Store” until I was able to get a legit one. Keep the generic as a spare.

 

[Krondor]

That’s what I’m thinking. I started the vehicle and disconnected the negative cable while it was running and it continued to run. So I think that rules out the alternator. I have a new voltage regulator on order so I should be able to test that out. May take the old one apart and play with it. Not sure if something short circuited in the internals.

 

[Krondor]

I also checked the battery voltage with the alternator running and before starting. The voltage just doesn’t get high enough while running to charge. So that’s probably the voltage regulator not working quite right.

 

[RevISK]

That’s what I’m thinking. I started the vehicle and disconnected the negative cable while it was running and it continued to run. So I think that rules out the alternator. I have a new voltage regulator on order so I should be able to test that out. May take the old one apart and play with it. Not sure if something short circuited in the internals.

There is a thread on opening up the regulator and seeing if it is toast or not. Somewhere in my Norman thread I go over that.

 

[RevISK]

here you go:

Build Post in thread 'RevISK’s ‘80 FJ40 - A Girl Named Norman'

Dec 29, 2023

Voltage Regulator (ext.) / How it works

A lot of you don't like electric stuff and especially not complicated things like an external Voltage Regulator. So maybe it's time to explain how this black box with 3 or 6 wires works. It's really pretty simple. A VR (Voltage Regulator) regulates the charging process of the alternator. Our...

forum.ih8mud.com

• MOTOV8R

 

[Krondor]

Had a few hours this weekend. I was able to get the voltage regulator switched out and it is back to charging!

I also worked on massaging the doors and hinges a little more... We are just about ready for some sanding, primer, and paint.

One thing I saw that was missing is the drivers side door handle washer. Does anyone know where I can purchase this part or an aftermarket equivalent? I'm not even sure what I would search for.