Builds 1978 FJ40 Mustard Yellow - almost perfect thread.

[WarDamnEagle]

Much like Land Cruisers, there can be a lot of deferred maintenance on old pinball machines. My oldest game is a Stern Ghostbusters that was built in 2016. These machines are all designed for commercial routes and can withstand tens of thousands of plays. I doubt I have a machine that has more than 500 plays. So far all of them have been trouble free.

There are a lot of games from the 1990’s that I would love to add to my collection but I’m kind of out of room. My next barn will be substantially larger in order to accommodate a bigger arcade.

Nice arcade. I only have two and had to rebuild both of them. 1983 Williams Cosmic Gunfight and an early '90s Data East Checkpoint. Supposedly there were only 1008 of the Cosmic Gunfights built. Wife bought it at an antique auction in the UK when we were living there for less than $200. It's been a good machine after a lot of TLC.

 

[jomelo]

@spazzyfry123 got behind the wheel today for his first 40 series experience.

 

[wngrog]

He’s Ruint now

 

[spazzyfry123]

I told John today that we need to change the name from Mustard to Bananas. This thing is crazy.

It takes less effort to drive 60mph in this than it does in my 80. Single handed driving is not an event and really makes the drive enjoyable for something I fully expected to be a tractor. My favorite part is how 2nd gear just perfectly hands off to 3rd - there’s a fun gap between the ratios and fall of the RPMs that allows such a casual up shift.

Back to the single hand. The steering. Y’all. The steering. As John said, I have never driven a 40. Sure, plenty of old CJ J%$ps, but never a 40. I was floored. We could take sharp turns in the canopy roads at speed without worry that we’d float into a 250 year old oak. The pinky-effort turn with confidence makes it such a joy to drive.

You rip it and it just keeps going and going. Torque when you need it in second gear at ultra low speed and a healthy cam that surprisingly loves high revs.

Such a sweet harmony between old and new. New that disguises itself in such an understated way (it took me a hard minute to realize the gauge cluster was quite a bit more trick than first glance). Patina that I just could not get enough of. Exhaust wizardry that had both John and I rolling on the ground for MINUTES (hey it’s cold in Florida) to drool over - we were especially interested in the work near the crossmember and the might-as-well-be-OEM hangers.

Do you adopt 80s @wngrog ? I think I’m spoiled for this to be a first experience. It’s like hitting the bunny slopes in the Alps.

 

[wngrog]

Man. I’m so glad to hear other peoples thoughts on this truck. It’s really such an awesome experience for sure. People think I’m nuts when I drive my relics at speed because they don’t understand what one with the proper geometry will do.

I’ll pass the compliment on to the Wizard on the exhaust.

 

[spazzyfry123]

Who doesn’t want more Mustard?

 

[cruisermatt]

What is the final verdict on the lengthened parking brake cable? Is that working well?

 

[wngrog]

What is the final verdict on the lengthened parking brake cable? Is that working well?

Those clowns have still not shipped it

 

[jomelo]

Those clowns have still not shipped it

It’s not even necessary.

 

[wngrog]

I may have it by the time we get the next project going

 

[Goldbug]

@wngrog and @jomelo : can I ask why you went with Dobinsons instead of Bilsteins?

 

[wngrog]

@wngrog and @jomelo : can I ask why you went with Dobinsons instead of Bilsteins?

The Dobinsons IMS are in a completely different class than Bilstein.

 

[samc2447]

The Dobinsons IMS are in a completely different class than Bilstein.

Can confirm. I've installed them in 40s and 60s. Plus they are fully rebuildable and can be re-valved if needed.

 

[jomelo]

@wngrog and @jomelo : can I ask why you went with Dobinsons instead of Bilsteins?

What the others said. Not even in the same class. We did Bilsteins on this truck the first time around but that was because it was a quick little refresh and we knew the bigger work would be done once the Cop motor was ready. That gave us some time to really figure out the final plan. In comparison, the Bilsteins suck.

 

[wngrog]

What the others said. Not even in the same class. We did Bilsteins on this truck the first time around but that was because it was a quick little refresh and we knew the bigger work would be done once the Cop motor was ready. That gave us some time to really figure out the final plan. In comparison, the Bilsteins suck.

To be fair some of that ride was the 3/4” bolts smashed though the 7/16” spring bushings. Not much give on that old setup.

Bilstein is better than yella OME but not even a fair comparison to the IMS.

 

[middlecalf]

Those are shocks, right, or do they do something additional?

 

[wngrog]

I think they work best when coupled with the Dobinsons springs but the IMS shocks are just mono tube shocks. No remote res.

 

[toyotaboy92]

Nolen,

What were the final part numbers on the IMS shocks you went with on this, I have Billsteins on now with my Dobinsons springs and need to get some new shocks due to age. The Billstein's have been fine for me over the years but now I want this suspension to really shine.

 

[wngrog]

Nolen,

What were the final part numbers on the IMS shocks you went with on this, I have Billsteins on now with my Dobinsons springs and need to get some new shocks due to age. The Billstein's have been fine for me over the years but now I want this suspension to really shine.

Well I’m using 4 “rear” shocks due to the 4Plus front towers. If you have a standard 2.5” lift and the rear lower shock mounts are below the spring pack just order standard IMS for their 2.5” lift

 

[wngrog]