Builds 1978 US Market FJ40 Factory Restoration (14 Viewers)

[dmaddox]

Thank you for all of the wonderful comments. I love that we are all following each other, in all of the various projects we have going on. Truly a great community to be a part of, all these years later.

For some reason, this restoration has been extra special.

I am working on the tear-down. I finally got all of these little demons out of the air injection ports. A major chore.

Snap-on was kind enough to replace the bit I broke on my hammer screwdriver trying to dig these out:

There isn't a single system on this cruiser that wasn't mucked with or rigged in some way. Just an absolute cluster.

The rear axle is leaking gear oil out on side and on the other side brake fluid. At least they both leaked, to keep it consistent.

The spring pin and shackle bushings all crumbled as I took them apart. Some yellow, some red, some black. German?

I'm happy to report the frame is cancer free and should clean up very nicely! Getting down to the bones:

Next updates should be (knock on wood) rebuilding axles. Have a great evening my friends! Cheers from New York.

 

[dmaddox]

I'm cleaning up my axles today and I noticed a typical salvage yard "79 Toyota 4x4" on my rear axle. No paint on the front.

I pulled off the rear diff cover worried that I am running 3.56? gears or whatever came in a 79 and my front is 4.11. Wouldn't that just follow suit with this cruiser? OF COURSE it would.

I don't know how to tell what gears I have, and the search isn't helping.

Here is what my ring gear says. Is there labeling anywhere else? Thank you for any assistance. I did run in 4x4 a few times to test it out, and didn't notice any lurching or issues....I'm not sure what the symptoms would have been with 4.11 up front and whatever these are. I'll continue to search the forums.

Are there any other signs / issues I'll have with a 79 axle? Ugh....

 

[dmaddox]

I counted 37 ring gears and 9 pinions (probably the 9x37 stamp)

.....so (I've always wanted to say this....) "according to my calculations".....I have 4.11 gears, as that would be the ratio.

Maybe the salvage yard labeled the axle wrong?

 

[SteveH]

Maybe the salvage yard labeled the axle wrong?

Yes - the '9' almost looks like a '7' in their scrawl. I think you're good with these. I'd scrub off their yellow paint with brake cleaner and move forward.

 

[dmaddox]

Going over the frame in detail, I found four holes not originally there, along with a stress crack in the boxed section.
I did two passes to ensure it was welded solid.

 

[dmaddox]

I filled all of the frame holes, ground everything smooth and continued to prep the frame.

 

[dmaddox]

I must have sand blasted areas, scrubbed, sanded, vacuumed, welded, ground, polished three or four times.
I will admit to throwing in the towel on sandblasting. I hate it and would much rather spend 4 times the effort with a stripper wheel, wire wheel and whatever else!

 

[dmaddox]

After I finished the cleaning and scrubbing, I wiped the frame all down with lacquer thinner.
After allowing it to dry, I hit every square inch with compressed air and a tack cloth.

I’m pleased with the results of the next product, the tube worked incredibly, hosing inside the frame rails, tube cross sections, all hidden areas a spray gun would miss.

I used a lacquer thinner soaked towel to clean up the areas of the frame it dripped out. There is also a peace of mind factor with this product, knowing it saturated the boxed section internals, front, mid and rear internal cross sections, etc.

 

[dmaddox]

Once the internal frame coating cured (overnight), I primed everything with a POR-15 "like" product from Eastwood. "Rust Encapsulator Plus".

I reduced with a 20% Xylene mix, as suggested by Eastwood. I hit the frame rather hard, a light coat followed by two thick coats (30 min between each coat).

I had 3 runs (oops), so I again, let it cure overnight and I wet sanded the entire exterior of the frame and any runs.

 

[dmaddox]

After wet sanding the next day, I hit all areas with scotch pad (maroon auto body kind) to de-nib the inside/rails, cross members, etc.. and then blew with compressed air, and wiped it all down with a tack cloth.

I know you're all thinking "just drop it off at the powder coating shop". However, I'm pretty sure Toyota painted with a satin black paint (from all I can tell in sales/brochure/commercials/ads) which to date has lasted 42 years. I think what I am doing will last another 42, at least.

Last, I want to control the thickness over the VIN on the frame horn, not tape it off. Preference, I guess.

Last product, A 2K, black satin ceramic frame coating. I used a 1.5 tip @ 38psi, 84 degrees, 80% humidity. It laid down beautifully. I am very happy with the three-part process and how well it turned out. It is smooth, clean, and I have the peace of mind knowing it is "encapsulated", I hope! I applied two coats of this:

 

[dmaddox]

Results of the work on the frame:

 

[Curtice]

I must have had a bad batch of the 2k chassis black. That is the product on my thread that I painted used and it didn’t work (paint scraped off with a fingernail after it dried). Eastwood told me I did it wrong. So I re stripped the whole frame and had a friend who paints cars for a living come over and help. After he did it, still the same problem. Eastwood said I just have had a bad batch, but I was dubious. I hope yours works better!!

 

[dmaddox]

I know the cure time is long, but I will give it a go in a couple of days on the fingernail test and report back.

 

[Curtice]

By the way, your frame looks fantastic.

That product got good reviews, so I’m hoping mine was just a bad batch. We did paint on the colder side, but still within their recommended range.

 

[dmaddox]

All I can say is if I can scrape this all off with a finger nail...keep an eye on the evening news.

 

[John McVicker]

@dmaddox your frame looks beautiful...good job and appreciate your attention to detail.

 

[ToyotaMatt]

x2 Dallas

Your frame looks extremely " PLANT A11 “


i will suggest you consider the use of one or more cheap low cost plastic common ground level BOX Fans at all times , this will speed up and aid the curing and drying process greatly and prevent and undesired FLASH effect in the process too ...........

both our shops reside in a HUMID location , and i have experimented with box fan use over the years much , its a needed
shop aid hands down in my opinion at all times during hot summer months etc..........


matt

 

[dmaddox]

@caboulto just did the fingernail test. Not a chance of even making a mark. It is bulletproof. Of course I tried in several inconspicuous areas but unless you have meat hooks for fingernails, this product has won me over.

it’s a bummer yours was so wonky!

 

[Curtice]

Awesome! Very happy yours turned out well. That’s how it was supposed to be and what I was expecting.

 

[dmaddox]

Indeed, sorry again yours was bunk. I couldn’t be happier with this system.