1970 FatherSonJ40 project (5 Viewers)

[Kmehr]

About got the steering wrapped up. Got all the linkage painted and installed. I may have bored the driver side steering arm a little too far because the cotter pin is pretty high on the castle but. Also kicking myself for not making the drag link about a 1/2in shorter because the steering is a little off center. Going to run for now and see how it does before trimming it down any.

Also have the new water pump and thermostat housing installed.

Overall very happy with how it’s turning out. Hopefully will get started on the hydroboost tomorrow. (Finally got my stuff delivered after my incessant ranting). I will say, all the new painted stuff makes me want to tear the whole thing apart and paint it all!

 

[Kmehr]

Have run into some issues finalizing the hydroboost steering and brake setup. I ordered the wrong size bracket for the proportioning valve, so that's on order and though probably not necessary, it will make things look cleaner.

The other real issue im having is the power steering lines. The Sweeting performance kit that finally showed up, is very nice quality stuff, however I think my hose fittings are not correct, and the instructions are too generic to be much help (not faulting them, it would be a huge pain to custom write instructions for each custom kit):

I have a stainless braided hose for the high pressure line between the pump and booster. the banjo fitting at the pump side won't screw all the way down, and I'm concerned that I have a poor quality reman pump- there are just not very many threads to engage before the compression faces touch- this doesn't seem right to me, would appreciate input on this:

Next, I'm having trouble with the steering box side connections. I can't seem to find a definitive answer on what the fittings are for intake and return, or which port is which. I've seen 16mm and 17mm, but seriously cannot tell which port is high and which is low pressure. I've looked in depth at the following thread that at post #443 the outside, smaller port is the high pressure, can anyone confirm this?

the DSRTRDR is getting some TLC . . .

It has a FJ60 fan, so too big for any FJ40 Shroud. Could have swapped it for a smaller fan, but decided to make a shroud fit instead. Used the fiberglass straight edge and lopped off a hunk of 16G. Used a form to round it.

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[Kmehr]

for future reference the return line on the 80 series box is 17mm and part #44416-60311. also, this website has about every power steering fitting you could need:

Fitting

leepowersteering.com

 

[Kmehr]

getting a little closer, but still in fitting hell a bit. It appears the booster I got is a pretty standard GM unit, I think its the same as 4107-02847179.

I also found the following diagram for hoses and standard fittings I find helpful:

I received banjo fittings for the booster side, however, I don't think they fit correctly. The 18mm and 16mm banjo fittings supplied just look like the should be o-ring fittings instead, anyone have an opinion on whether the supplied banjo fittings are going to seal?:

 

[Kmehr]

Got her fired up today, amazed at how easy it started after sitting since November 2022! Had a few leaks off the bat, but everything seems right now for the most part. Think I have ended up with a small leak from the radiator that I can’t see right now.

Power steering has some sweet boost but still struggling with the brakes. Bleeding them is not going great. The rear bleed valves are a bit loose so as soon as you crack them, they start leaking out around the threads and lose vacuum. Fronts have clear new fluid coming through but still lots of bubbles. Going to try blobbing some Vaseline around the valves to see if I can’t get a better seal.

Crazy to think I’ve made all this progress the past few months in preparation for my new shop, which is scheduled to break ground next week! Then I’m going to blow the whole rig apart! Hoping to be organized enough to be able to get it really apart this fall to fix rust, blast the frame and repaint. My son wants to go yellow and purple…but I think I’ll get him to settle with just yellow.

 

[Kmehr]

Brake lines are really fighting me today. My two unions to adapt the old brake lines to the Wildwood lines are both leaking and making it impossible to bleed the brakes.

 

[Kmehr]

She lives! Steering and braking is 100000% better than before, it’s actually a drivable car now!

The brakes gave me hell getting them bled. The steel line the previous owner used was a PITA to flare but I finally got it bled. The little vacuum pump I got was really worthless. Just kept pulling air in around the fittings. Ended up pumping the pedal by hand and then jamming a stick between the pedal and seat while I ran around to each corner.

Anyways, demo on my old garage began today and the new shop with tooons more space should be up in a couple months. I’m so excited to really have a space to tear into this and get the 12HT in its new home.

 

[CondeCruiser]

Congratulations! Good job! It's a great feeling isn't it.

 

[Kmehr]

Just went for the first decent drive since getting the steering and brakes finished. between the two, it has absolutely transformed how it drives, I couldn't be happier.

Next up on the priority list has quickly become getting my bucket seats installed and deciding on a smaller steering wheel. I'm sliding all over the place on the factory bench seat and now that I've got power steering, there's no need to deal with the giant steering wheel hitting my thigh as I drive. hopefully I can get the bucket seat moved back a little too as my long a$$ legs are really cramped in there. My stock steering wheel is cracked nearly all the way through on two of the spokes, so it's time to replace anyways. Hoping the new shop will be done by May!

 

[Kmehr]

Found a mint 80 series steering wheel that is on the way, I think it will look great in there and not be so excessive in size.

I've got pro-car seats for the front waiting to go in and the previous owner installed (albeit not very well) a fold and tumble Bestop seat. I know these are extremely popular both in 40s and many models of jeeps, but is anyone else concerned about the safety of these things?! The legs one mine are wobbly and to see its all held from rolling forward by that janky little pivot latch has me seriously considering looking for something else! I guess if someone is seat belted in there, the seatbelt itself provides a lot of the support/safety, but compared to any OEM folding seat like that I've seen before it seems really sketchy. For example the third row in my old suburban and even the second row in a jeep TJ are held down by 5 different anchor points, versus the 3 dinky ones on the Bestop seat. Curious to hear other opinions on these seats.

 

[pb4ugo]

I think the vehicle manufacturers seats and belts go thru more rigorous testing by the DOT and are held to a higher standards than anything aftermarket would go thru. Once they are adapted to another vehicle all that testing goes out the window because of how some folks adapt them to their vehicle.

 

[Kmehr]

I think the vehicle manufacturers seats and belts go thru more rigorous testing by the DOT and are held to a higher standards than anything aftermarket would go thru. Once they are adapted to another vehicle all that testing goes out the window because of how some folks adapt them to their vehicle.

totally agree OEMs go through way more extensive testing, but you would think the aftermarket would at least try to mimic the OEM attachment points as best as possible. This is a WAG but to me, the attachment point of the Bestop seat looks about 25% as sturdy as any of the OEM seats and makes me really not want to put my kids back there without seriously beefing it up!

 

[peesalot]

Why does the clutch fluid always turn dark ?

 

[Kmehr]

Why does the clutch fluid always turn dark ?

ive never changed it, so have no idea how old it is...

 

[peesalot]

Its just odd, brake fluid same age, much cleaner, I flushed clutch, new fluid, dark in no time. I think I should lokk into a new MC as mine is oem late 1970.

 

[Kmehr]

Check out what showed up in the mail today: