1974 FJ-40 - Frame Off Resto - My next 24 Months

[DonPancho]

Up to this point all I have is positive for using Troll holes carb, great customer service. I am still waiting on the dizzy to arrive and to put that in, having the de-smogged carb with the recurved and vac advanced dizzy will hopefully help clear up a few small issues with power on the road, and other things, like having to run my timing advanced etc (not that its a big deal, but the engine sounds so nice when its set to 7*TDC and 650 RPM.)

 

[eingeist]

Didn't look like it needed any work, to me.


Except to flip the bezel and paint the roof the proper color.


Oh, and put gas in it.

But good on ya for improving it even further! Looks better than mine.

 

[MarcoPolo]

there is something cool about having to deal with Gap and Dwell

Ahh, memories...

Implanted the Pertronix and haven't looked back

 

[DonPancho]

Update

1. Well as discussed before, I have gone through two carbs, one being my fault, I think, and the second a defect got me. New carb will be here this week so all is good. Third time is the charm?

2. Ordered the TrollHole Dizzy, nothing wrong with the one I got, other than its retard and having the recurved and vac advance will allow me to time to 7*TDC and stick with that, no more having to advance it to accomadate my existing Dizzy, will keep existing as a spare

3. Was not sure if I had to replace fuel pump, but after watching my oil get thinner and smell more like fuel, that convinced me the diaphram must be goin out, so new Fuel Pump on the way

4. Serviced the Transfer case, realized that I have the infamous leak from the parking brake, will look at doing the mudrak solution when I get a chance.

5. Above all the mechanical stuff is the other items that I need to take care of in getting my rig road ready again, the big one I have been working on is the back bumper. When I bought the rig, the PO had welded on the bumperettes, that being said, I do not have a plasma cutter, so it was acetylene, air cut off tool and most importantly a hack saw and a big fricking hammer, got them off, grinded and smoothed off all of the old welds. I next had to drill out all of the bolt holes, as it was apparent that the bumperettes were welded on because PO did not know how to use a drill and a tap, oh well. I did rust bullet, two coats of the base and top. Replaced the tail lights, and for the connectors I did weather packs versus trying to use what was on the rig (rotted) as well made sure I used heat tape and weather proofed all of my connections. Pictures below of before and after. Enjoy.


Rear bumper after i got original bumperettes off:

Rear bumper after grind, sand, prep, paint, rewired new tail lights and replaced bumperettes with some used ones i bought off Mud:

 

[ktmusa8]

Back bumper looks like new. I like.

 

[MarcoPolo]

Very nice work

 

[DonPancho]

Quick update,

Got the tailgate rigged onto the tub, just put it on ugly since I will be replacing the tub in the near future, looks great, it stays on when going down the road still needs a bit of repair.

I put on my front con-ferr bumper that i got off mud for a great price and really happy with out it turned out, let me know your thoughts.

Replaced my coil, voltage regulator and I had a great learning experience putting in the troll-hole dizzy I got. The 20 bucks I paid for my silver star is cheap in comparison to all the great info I get from here, lots of threads helped me get through doing a dizzy replacement for my first time without seizing up an engine.

Just had the exhaust replaced, I went with aluminum vs. stainless could not justify ss at this time, no more exhaust leaks and sounds very nice, had them custom make it and run the pipes just like Toyota would have for a 74, awesome muffler guy he loves FJ-40s and knew exactly what do to with connecting it properly to the exhaust manifold etc.

That all being said, I finally got to have my first Land Cruiser Adventure, myself and son took the 40 up into the mountains behind our home, we ended up nearly 20 miles in, got a few pictures, they turned out nice, it was a fantastic day to go get dusty and check out some trails.

New Con-Ferr Bumper

 

[DonPancho]

Okay, it has been a while and I have been AWOL. However, I have been enjoying my cruiser over the fall winter. I am getting ready to do more stuff, the bad news is I have a cracked head on my engine, so looking for a replacement, maybe someone out there in the Pacific North West doing a V8 Swap and looking for someone to buy their f.5 or 2f engine let me know. I also, just purchased the OME DAKKAR 2.5 Lift, leafs, shackes, bushings the whole works as well gearing up to get some 33x10.5x15 BFG's and also having my OEM rims blasted and Powder Coated. I plan on restoring everywhere I touch through this work, but hoping that I can get it all up and done by late summer so I can enjoy it a bit more before moving on to the dreaded body work.

 

[Ambrew]

I must admit I prefer your approach.... It's not very motivating when you are so far from driving your cruiser. And with all the little things taken car of, It will go quick when you pull the trigger on the body work. Keep it up!

 

[apeterson]

Great thread!! Another 74 bro here!!

 

[spotcruiser]

Hey Matt,

Ping Tor directly. He may have an F head or even a running F/2F motor sitting around. There's also Stan in Black Diamond, but I'll have to do some digging to find his contact info.

http://www.torfab.com/

 

[srgould41]

Here's an engine for $150 in Tacoma. No affiliation, I just happened to see it today.


FJ40 F engine

Okay, it has been a while and I have been AWOL. However, I have been enjoying my cruiser over the fall winter. I am getting ready to do more stuff, the bad news is I have a cracked head on my engine, so looking for a replacement, maybe someone out there in the Pacific North West doing a V8 Swap and looking for someone to buy their f.5 or 2f engine let me know. I also, just purchased the OME DAKKAR 2.5 Lift, leafs, shackes, bushings the whole works as well gearing up to get some 33x10.5x15 BFG's and also having my OEM rims blasted and Powder Coated. I plan on restoring everywhere I touch through this work, but hoping that I can get it all up and done by late summer so I can enjoy it a bit more before moving on to the dreaded body work.

 

[DonPancho]

24 Months LOL

Well, I knew that it was bad to put a time frame on anything, but sometimes setting a goal is the only way to get it done. However, no way am I making this. My 16 year old son, came to me a few months back and said that he wanted to get a LC. So, cool, he has been helping me wrench on the 40, we started to look, he then advised me that he really liked the 55 series. Okay, I can live with that, so we started our journey of looking for one. I am not going to go into anything about it here, however, my attention is now focused on working with him to get his LC done, a lot of work and the PO, well I wont even start in on that. However, this rig is now ours and it is getting a lot of attention. See you all someday, when i can get back to my 40, will post up a link after my son creates his account. Seattle cruiser heads, we will see you this summer at the meet in Silverdale, driving this.

 

[srgould41]

Sweet!

 

[spotcruiser]

Yep, very nice Matt. I love the look of a 55.

 

[Morse_FJ40]

You look very busy Matt.

 

[torfab]

I wish the 55's were easier to find with no rust, etc. They have a lot of character!

 

[DonPancho]

FJ55 Time Suck

Hey Ryan, no kidding, but the good news is we are working through it and only some what I now consider minor issues (that I know of) left to resolve on my kids 55. So hopefully back to the 40 in July I go, I have the replacement 2f engine sitting on the stand waiting to go in.

So as an update on my kids 55, it has been one heck of a learning curve, this was truly my first vehicle with a Chevy SBC that i have had to work on, most of my experience which is limited has been Subaru, Mopar and what I have learned from my FJ40. Here is a list of everything we have done over the last 45 days.

1. Death Wobble gone, complete knuckle rebuild, new shocks, new TRE's, still waiting to get it aligned at the shop.

Passenger side knuckle, look what I found,
before picture:

after picture:

2. Rear Disc Brake conversion completed (Plug for Posers Rear Disk Brake Kit, very thorough, other than finding the calipers, and a proportioning valve, everything else was there), rear axle serviced, new seals, tombstone tabs welded on, painted and brake lines cut, flared and adjusted, including install of proportioning valve, still dialing it in during our road tests.

Picture of rear disc brake conversion:

3. New Harmonic balancer, timing chain/kit, belts, hoses for the cooling system, water pump, and power steering pump.

4. Have not yet had a chance to put it in 4WD, praying that nothing is wrong there, well at least I know the front end is better now and the hubs lock just fine, well see how it goes.

Hopefully my next post will be about the 40, wait, isn't that what this was about anyways I gotta admit, I really do like the 55, it has a very unique look.

Also, Tor, I agree about the rust, the good news is this cruiser does have some (As it would be blasphemy to have a Land Cruiser without rust, some might call it a right of passage ), but nothing that I would call close to causing any major replacement of floor pans, body panels and the frame looks fantastic, its apparent to me some PO of this rig somewhere along the way did a resto on it.