Build 1977 FJ40 - USA Spec Restoration - Father & Son Project - AKA "Blue"

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40Pete said:
What paint type / brand did you use?
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It is the Toyota paint code 854 Sky blue

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I've been silent for a couple months. Lots of updates coming soon, but here is a quick one...

Picked up this Red 78 FJ40 and drove it back to Atlanta from Chattanooga 100 miles doing 65 mph smoothly the whole way. More details soon. I will start a new thread, but the short story, Is I just plan to put new quarter panels on it, paint it and drive the wheels off of it. It is 98% untouched and all orginal and came packed full with new parts. It still has all the smog stuff on the motor, and I don't think the top has ever been taken off. His name is "Rusty"!

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More pics

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Don't worry... I have not give up on Belle. I have been driving her a lot lately. Just lots of little things to finish up and she will be good to go. Having this untouched 78 will be helpful for the last few details on Belle. I can look and see what few things I need to get to put Belle back to 100%. More details soon :)
 
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I got Belle out and drove her around the neighborhood for a few mins today. I thought I would let Rusty and Belle pose for some pics together. Their build dates are about 7 months apart, so it is pretty cool to think about how many of their parts were probably in the building in Japan together back in late 77 early 78. They were probably assembled by the same people on the assembly line, they have traveled around the world, and are reunited in my driveway 45 years later.

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Started a cab rebuild today. I've got a little more to do, and hope to finish it up tomorrow. I can't get the little "c-clip" in the accelerator pump valve (AKA the accelerator pump check nvalve clip) without a hemostat. Going to pick one up tomorrow at Harbor Freight and hopefully finish up the reassembly tomorrow. I also have to wait for the Secondary Diaphragm to come from Cruiser Outfiters. My rebuild kit did not include it, and mine was broken. The kit I got from Cruiser Outfiters was good, but wish I would have ordered the diaphragm and not have to pay shipping twice. I called CO and asked and they said I probably wouldn’t need it, so I didn't order it the first time. Oh well. NAPA has a kit that includes more parts (extra gaskets, the diaphragm, etc.) and next time I will probably just go with that. (no shipping costs so it ends up being cheeper).

Here are some before pics.

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It was pretty dirty. I soaked it in Chem-dip for about 30 mins and cleaned it up.

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Here is some after pics... It looks a lot better.

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By the way, I used PinHead0001 videos on YouTube. They were very helpful. I just wish he did a beter job with the camera. He explains everything well, but often does not have the camera showing what he is doing... but I am super thankful for the vids!!

Here is a link to the first one. I belive there are seven in all...

 
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Got the job finished up except for the secondary diaphragm. After some dialing it in, it seems to be running great and idling smooth. It just smells like it is running rich. I adjusted the idle mixture screw and that didn’t really help. After I install the new diaphragm, I will double check all the vacuum lines, and install the air cleaner, I’ll drive it around a little and dial it in a little more. Here are some pics.

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I waited 36 hours to start it again and with a little choke it cranked right up the first time. Normally I would have to spray a little starting fluid in the carb to get it to start. After about two mins it idled smooth with no choke so for now that is a big improvment. I just need to figure out why it smells rich. I am going to pull the plugs and inspect them and then adjust the valves next and see if that helps.
 
DirtDauberGarage said:
I waited 36 hours to start it again and with a little choke it cranked right up the first time. Normally I would have to spray a little starting fluid in the carb to get it to start. After about two mins it idled smooth with no choke so for now that is a big improvment. I just need to figure out why it smells rich. I am going to pull the plugs and inspect them and then adjust the valves next and see if that helps.
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Did you adjust the RPMs to 650-700?

forum.ih8mud.com

Mixture and Idle Adjust 79 FJ40

Hello to All. . . New member and hoping someone can clarify. Had a new shop do extensive work on my 79FJ40 recently. Part of work included new exhaust manifold gasket and now carburetor and linkages seem not right. Carb was rebuilt less than a year ago by a guy that's done hundreds of cruiser...
forum.ih8mud.com forum.ih8mud.com
 
Did you put paper gaskets on the carb spacer? The reason I ask is that I had a rich condition once that was caused by the secondary butterfly being held slightly open by the gasket under the carb. I had to trim the gasket a little. The truck ran okay, but idled super rich. One way to check this without pulling the carb back off is to crank the truck, let it idle and while it's idling, unplug the green connector to the idle fuel solenoid. The truck should die. If it doesn't die immediately, the carb is getting idle fuel from some other circuit other than the idle circuit. Either the secondary is fueling or the float is set too high and it's sipping fuel around the idle circuit.
 
roadstr6 said:
Did you put paper gaskets on the carb spacer? The reason I ask is that I had a rich condition once that was caused by the secondary butterfly being held slightly open by the gasket under the carb. I had to trim the gasket a little. The truck ran okay, but idled super rich. One way to check this without pulling the carb back off is to crank the truck, let it idle and while it's idling, unplug the green connector to the idle fuel solenoid. The truck should die. If it doesn't die immediately, the carb is getting idle fuel from some other circuit other than the idle circuit. Either the secondary is fueling or the float is set too high and it's sipping fuel around the idle circuit.
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Thank you. Yes is dies with the solenoid unplugged but I will also look down and make sure the butter flies are working properly. I also need to dial in the idle mixture fule better. I am going to take some time over thanksgiving break to try and dial it it.

It is nice to have it fire right up and idle smooth though... making progress!
 
SergP said:
Did you adjust the RPMs to 650-700?

forum.ih8mud.com

Mixture and Idle Adjust 79 FJ40

Hello to All. . . New member and hoping someone can clarify. Had a new shop do extensive work on my 79FJ40 recently. Part of work included new exhaust manifold gasket and now carburetor and linkages seem not right. Carb was rebuilt less than a year ago by a guy that's done hundreds of cruiser...
forum.ih8mud.com forum.ih8mud.com
Click to expand...
Going to work on this next week! Thanks
 
DirtDauberGarage said:
Thank you. Yes is dies with the solenoid unplugged but I will also look down and make sure the butter flies are working properly. I also need to dial in the idle mixture fule better. I am going to take some time over thanksgiving break to try and dial it it.

It is nice to have it fire right up and idle smooth though... making progress!
Click to expand...
I have a similar issue with the incorrect mixture. When I adjust the idle mixture screw the RPM never drops below 800.
I have sonicated the screw several times with no luck. Finally, I decide to replace the screw (from the spare carb) and it works.
I am able to set it to approximately 650 RPM and the mixture looks correct (or much better) now.
 
Getting ready to put the data plates back on. I wasn't sure how best to clean them. I didn't want to remove the graphics but did want to get the stains off and make it readable. Here is what worked for me.
  • Clean with a degreaser (Purple Power, 409, etc.)
  • Rinse off with water.
  • Use toothpaste, finger, and fingernail to gently scrub the data plate.
  • Dip finger in water occasionally to keep toothpaste lubricated.
  • Rinse often with water and apply new toothpaste.
* rubbing compound would probably do the same as toothpaste.

I rinsed and applied new toothpaste several times keeping the paste fresh and clean. This also allowed me to continue to inspect and make sure I was not losing any of the graphics and to make note of what places to focus my efforts on.

The entire process took about 30 mins, and I am happy with the results. I am not doing a concourse restoration and I don’t believe I lost any of the paint on the graphics, so I am totally happy with the results.

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