1970 in CT (1 Viewer)

[ryanwk628]

So the thing that took my 40 off the road was a cooked wire and I glossed over that in my last post. The Red/Black wire from my ignition switch sizzled and smoked when I tried to start it to get back to work when I was out for lunch (warm, had not been sitting for a long time). I tried to replace the bad section of wire hoping that could get me going again but I realized quickly that would not work. I need to pull the harness and do this right.

Pulling the harness has been more challenging than I expected due to the fact this is 50 years old and much of it looks like it has never been touched. It also is not easy for a big guy with big hands and long arms to snake them in up behind the dash. This is not really a glamorous thing to photograph but here are a few. The flash makes the rust look worse.

While I do not think the voltage regulator was the issue, I will be replacing it because I simply cannot get the screws out without trashing it. This looks to be the correct one. I am also replacing a few other bits that just did not look good when I was in there.

Getting the dash out was tricky and makes me wonder how I am ever going to get this back together. I will throw in some LEDs while I have it out

You can see where the PO spliced in power for a stereo. While I have everything out I may upgrade or replace the fuse block. I do not expect to be running a fridge or crazy lights so close to stock works for me.

This is the ignition switch that came with the vehicle and was clearly not Toyota. The blue wire was my attempt to see if only that short section was cooked. Noting happened when I tried to start it (probably for the best)

I bought this dash mount Toyota ignition switch which fits like a glove. Any reason why I couldn't use it if I rewire for the blade terminals?

This has taken me much longer than I hoped and I am working in less than ideal conditions. Heater box is out of the way, switches are all disconnected. Most of the harness is out and the rest is just resting there disconnected. I am finding the wire colors on the diagram above are not mating on my 11/69 build date. I am labeling things as I go before I lay it out on a white board hence why I did not rush to get it out... at least now things are close to where they came from vs the harness wrapped up in a ball. Once it is out of the vehicle I can move it to a better lit and warmer spot to work on (and photograph for Mud.)

To be continued....

 

[mtquivr]

It also is not easy for a big guy with big hands and long arms to snake them in up behind the dash.

Many times while working on my cruiser I wished for an 18yo Japanese girl to help. Especially for the upper right side door hinge.

 

[White Stripe]

You may want to consider going to a gm 1 wire alternator with a built in regulator since your messing with wiring anyway.

 

[ryanwk628]

This appears to be the correct diagram for my vehicle

Looks like my light circuit grounded out, didn't blow the fuse, cooked the supply wire and melted a small part of the fuse block.

Now that I've got my harness disconnected I can start chasing down this issue. One of the electrical guys from my company has offered to come help me test circuits. I'll make sure everything is labeled and on the white board before he comes by. Progress!

 

[ryanwk628]

Harness is out. Wow what a pain. If I was on the fence about getting rid of my vac transfer case mechanism and converting to a floor shift, I am firmly off the fence. Also why does the front cowl vent have to be so difficult? Bloody knuckles. Anyways....

It looks so simple laid out. Honestly, issues aside, I am glad I am the one going though this exercise because it is giving me a ton of insight into my rig.

It appears the Black-Red wire from the ignition switch melted all the way back to the White-Blue wire that runs to the alternator. I spent a while removing tape and melted sheathing. I will test circuits when my buddy is around to help but nothing looks damaged other than this one and the melted spot right the top fuse on the fuse block.

Does anyone have any insights into why this may have happened? Based on where the fuse block has a melted spot I am going to focus my attention on the light circuit, however those wires appear OK, certainly not as bad as the Black-Red wire. Perhaps the incident was between the Black-Red and it grounded at the block, just upstream of the fuse (it was not blown)..? Im just spit-balling here because not knowing is bothering me much more than if I knew what happened.

I purchased this fuse block from Blue Sea Systems off Amazon. It seems very well made and will get me away from the glass fuses. It looks like it will also protect the terminals better. It is about the same size as the factory fuse block so I will have to make an adapter plate with two countersunk holes for the OE location, then the staggered tapped holes for the new block. I am also thinking about leaving provisions for things I may do in the future like changing the heater (I think mine is on its last leg) or fuel injection. These things have a way of snowballing dont they?

 

[ryanwk628]

While waiting on harness components from coolerman to complete the rebuild I decided to make some new cables given I have the rebuilt 8274 to connect as well. I looked at what @GA Architect did here and ordered the same 1/0 welding cable from wireandsupply.com. I ordered 5' of red, 15' of black and 2' of 3/4" shrink tube. I picked up a crimping tool and cutter from Amazon which for some reason is NLA. I also got new terminals and the copper lugs on Amazon.

After watching a few youtube videos I opted to melt solder into the lug, stab the fluxed end of the cable into it, crimp, then flow some more solder into the lug before finishing it with the shrink tube. I am very happy with how they came out.

I am very impressed with how flexible this wire is given its thickness. My old cables felt like they would split if you bent them too much.

The military spec battery terminals are accommodating both my winch and the land cruisers cables and look really clean doing it.

The necked down area is where I cut the jacket back a little further than needed so I could flow the flux. The shrink tube is high quality so I am comfortable with it. This will be one less thing to worry about when the harness rebuild is complete!

 

[mdsims]

Did you also crimp the lug onto the conductor?

Edit: read it again, yes you did!

 

[ryanwk628]

So above I mentioned I plan to switch to the Blue Sea Systems fuse block to have modern fuses. To do so I needed to make an adapter. I got the drawing off the blue sea systems website and added the holes for the M6 mounting hardware currently in my firewall. Then I had one of the guys in my shop cut this out of 1/4 on our water jet. He cut the pilot holes for the M4 cap screws that I only wanted etched, but I told him it is fine because the part is symmetrical.

I cleaned off the scale, drilled and tapped the M4 holes

I am using countersunk M6's to attach it. This will allow the fuse block to sit flush. I am also going to use some synthetic washers in between just to keep it off the fire wall. The window is just for weight and to keep it from touching more than it needs to.

I threw the block on there just to see how it fits. The 6 fuse unit looks like it will be a great replacement for my stock unit and fit right in the stock location which mean no harness modifications

I popped it out while I continue to rebuild the harness and the bracket is getting painted

 

[ryanwk628]

My package from @Coolerman arrived today! Everything was nicely packaged in individual bags and labeled. I am glad I went with his harness tape, it looks just like OEM. I am working on replacing damaged wires with the correct color (thanks Coolerman!) and cutting back connectors just enough to strip to new metal. One thing I am doing along with the Blue Sea Systems fuse block is using a lot more marine crimp terminals with the integral heat shrink, which hopefully will slow any corrosion, especially in the engine bay.

 

[ryanwk628]

I put the harness aside for a bit to go check out this guy's collection of parts. He has multiple really well done FJ40s, all post 78 with ambulance doors. I am not in a position to buy everything though Im sure someone could and part it out to make some money, but did talk him into selling me a pretty rust free bib he had sand blasted and painted. Also in his pile was what I first though were half doors, then when I pulled it out I realized it was an OEM tail gate. It will need a corner replaced and some other small patches but for a couple bucks I figured it was worth it just for the right and left latches.

The tailgate rotted out near the passenger side hinge. When I do a 3/4 tub Id love a tailgate rather than the half doors so I hope it can be saved

It is a later style bib than my 1970, different buckets

This is where it and mine differ

 

[ryanwk628]

This harness rebuild has been slow going but I’ve learned a ton so it’s absolutely time well spent. Really happy with how it came out and the upgrades made such as marine terminals where I could, some thicker wire in key areas, the fuseable link and the fuse block. My buddy came over and we tested the circuits as well as a few switches so I feel confident it’s ready to go! My fiancé helped we wrap it with the non adhesive tape. That is definitely an easier job with two people! Now time to get it back in my 40

 

[ryanwk628]

So Ive been that guy I swore I never would be and let a lot of other things get in the way of getting my truck back on the road. I have been acquiring parts for future tasks but getting the wiring done has taken a back seat to wedding planning, house projects and the tree work associated with a bad May storm I'm am still cleaning up form.

Last night I made some time while my fiance was out and plugged away at reinstalling the harness (pun intended.) It is a lot of matching wires and not something that lends itself to photos. I replaced the horn relay while I was in there got the new voltage regulator hooked up and installed. These simple tasks turned out to be time consuming because of rusted hardware breaking off.

I put in a new alternator since the old one was rough and one of the terminals snapped off when I was trying to remove the nut. I referenced this thread Mixing Alternator Parts: Pulley Nut Torque; Internally & Externally Regulated and coolerman confirmed what I thought about the external regulator. In hindsight I should have upgraded it to an internally regulated stet up as suggested above when I was doing the harness but I had already ordered the parts.

I used ACDelco 334-1554 for 19134547 which seems to be a direct fit save for the pulley. I installed it just to see how bad it was and its safe to say the belt was riding VERY proud of the pulley. Once I got the wide pulley off the old alt (did not want to budge), the swap over was easy with a leather glove and my milwaukee impact gun on the new one.

Useful information:

That is definitely an EXTERNALLY regulated alternator.
You can tell due to the connector labeled FEN. F is for field which connects to the external regulator. E is for ground and N is used for a charge light.

 

[ryanwk628]

Reviving this thread and posting to keep myself motivated and accountable. I had the unfortunate confluence of life getting in the way and the project hitting a wall. My goal was always to keep this running so I could enjoy it while working on it. The electrical short put an end to that and when my rebuilt harness was fighting me at every step it just made it that much easier to put off. I kept trying to make it work instead of ripping it out and doing it on the bench. Changing jobs, getting married and some personal stuff all took priority and what should have been an escape started to feel like another chore on the to do list.

All the while I hadn’t stopped lurking, acquiring parts, planning my build and fantasizing about my dream rig. It was people here on mud who kept me motivated and engaged.

Life is settling down and the craziness of my job during the pandemic seems to be returning to normal. I am making time to get back into this and am really enjoying it. I’m kicking myself for waiting as long as I did.

 

[ryanwk628]

With my tiny 1 car garage just getting it out so I could remove the seats and all the stuff I put in it was a project in itself. Also one of the rear drums locked up on me which explained why it wouldn’t roll at all.

I spent several hours on my back with my head under the dash just sorting things and trying to figure out what changes I needed to make to the harness. I am rewrapping some sections and extending a few wires to make life easier. I deleted the cowl vent which I deeply resent as it’s being the cause of the floor rust I’ve been fighting. The mechanism doesn’t make wiring any easier.

I am also considering a heater delete as well if anyone wants to talk me out of it. There’s just so much more room for activities with it out of the way. The vintage air heater Project Wrong Way used looks nice…

I digress. Get it running. I am rewrapping most of my harness with braided cable sleeve. The plastic wrap was not as forgiving when I realized where I was wrong and this lays a lot nicer. This is a before shot. The kinks don’t look at bad in the photo. I am implementing some lessons learned to make things easier on myself for the reinstall and have a better plan to tackle it.

Also the clutch master hard line was leaking. Then it snapped. I’m going to try and reuse these m11 fittings with some new hard line instead of changing everything. Getting the old rusted tube out was a pain but it looks good now and I cleaned them up. Quickest path to back on the road.

 

[Jdc1]

With my tiny 1 car garage just getting it out so I could remove the seats and all the stuff I put in it was a project in itself. Also one of the rear drums locked up on me which explained why it wouldn’t roll at all.
View attachment 2707077
I spent several hours on my back with my head under the dash just sorting things and trying to figure out what changes I needed to make to the harness. I am rewrapping some sections and extending a few wires to make life easier. I deleted the cowl vent which I deeply resent as it’s being the cause of the floor rust I’ve been fighting. The mechanism doesn’t make wiring any easier.

I am also considering a heater delete as well if anyone wants to talk me out of it. There’s just so much more room for activities with it out of the way. The vintage air heater Project Wrong Way used looks nice…

I digress. Get it running. I am rewrapping most of my harness with braided cable sleeve. The plastic wrap was not as forgiving when I realized where I was wrong and this lays a lot nicer. This is a before shot. The kinks don’t look at bad in the photo. I am implementing some lessons learned to make things easier on myself for the reinstall and have a better plan to tackle it.
View attachment 2707080
Also the clutch master hard line was leaking. Then it snapped. I’m going to try and reuse these m11 fittings with some new hard line instead of changing everything. Getting the old rusted tube out was a pain but it looks good now and I cleaned them up. Quickest path to back on the road.
View attachment 2707081

Those aren’t the right brake fittings. What’s the build date on your 40?

 

[ryanwk628]

Those aren’t the right brake fittings. What’s the build date on your 40?

Its 11/69, and they are from the hard line from the clutch master to the flexible section. What is wrong about them? It measures at 11mm which matches info from a search here. Based on what I read they are discontinued from Toyota, hence SOR and CCOT offering conversion kits to the later model stuff.

 

[Jdc1]

Its 11/69, and they are from the hard line from the clutch master to the flexible section. What is wrong about them? It measures at 11mm which matches info from a search here. Based on what I read they are discontinued from Toyota, hence SOR and CCOT offering conversion kits to the later model stuff.

The threads measure at 11mm?Brake fitting size - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/brake-fitting-size.946110/

 

[ryanwk628]

The threads measure at 11mm?Brake fitting size - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/brake-fitting-size.946110/

Yes, the major diameter is just under. Its definitely not 10mm. 1/4" line as well

 

[Jdc1]

Yes, the major diameter is just under. Its definitely not 10mm. 1/4" line as well

Aren’t the early trucks 9mm, w/ 3/16” line?

 

[ryanwk628]

Aren’t the early trucks 9mm, w/ 3/16” line?

I think we are talking about different parts. As I understand it the brake lines were 9mm (PO changed axles which included later model brakes) but the clutch master hard tube was 11mm, at least that’s what I’ve read but it matches what I measured