Builds 1979 FJ40 Preservation-ish Project (5 Viewers)

[OPMACHINE]

 

[OPMACHINE]

Got the rear heater blower motor working yesterday. Super satisfying little project.

 

[wngrog]

What was wrong with it?

 

[OPMACHINE]

The wire solder came loose on the brush side in the motor. I resoldered the wire and then cleaned and regreased the spindle bearing.

 

[OPMACHINE]

I absolutely love this truck!! I have had so much fun with the family this week.

 

[wngrog]

I absolutely love this truck!! I have had so much fun with the family this week.

A properly sorted 40 is a great ride. Most people never know the way they can be

 

[405]

Beautiful truck! Your photos are REALLY encouraging me to go topless this summer. It looks so good!

 

[OPMACHINE]

Hardest part is getting the wife and kids to ride with me when its cold!

 

[mattressking]

Hardest part is getting the wife and kids to ride with me when its cold!

I'm scared to find out what cold is there.....

 

[OPMACHINE]

Anything below 50

 

[OPMACHINE]

I still have a lingering issue with the rear brake squeak.

Starts when the pad comes in contact with the inside of the drum. I cannot get it to squeak squeak when breaking in reverse and goes away if a slam on the breaks hard enough. I have been telling myself the pads just needs to ''seat'' to the drum, I now suspect an alignment issue with the two brake cylinders.

 

[OPMACHINE]

Last month I found one of @brian posts with a very similar brake issue. I swapped rear brake pads and my brakes are working perfectly.

Literally the same day. I noticed a rear cylinder leak on my 45. So the shop truck axles and suspension are going to get some love.

 

[wngrog]

Damn drums

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

The MUD consensus seems to be that the driveline causes the hot riveted frames to twist.

This is the 3rd suspension i have had under this LC.

- The HFS sat level without issues but was very stiff.
- The OME was corrected with a 3/8” spacer. Improved ride but still stiff.
- The Dobinson leaned 2” to driver without a spacer and 1” with a spacer. Ride was much better before I added the add-a-leaf.

Which add-a-leaf did you use?

I have the same issue with Dobinson 1.75" lift. Have 3/8" spacers on both right spring packs but still about 1" lower +/- 1/8" on left side.

 

[OPMACHINE]

I ended up doing a few thing to get the frame more square and the body level on the frame. Honestly I am living with a slight lean < 3/16'' to driver. I think a 4Plus passenger tire carrier will be the final ticket. Big tire and 16'' steelies on driver are not doing my cruiser lean any favors.

1. I used a floor anchor, a bottle jack and some wood to try and untwist the frame. I don't think I was not willing to pull hard enough to make much of a difference. I know that FJ Company did this with every frame they built.
2. My driver finder was sitting lower on the frame than my passenger. I leveled out the front fenders and bib. This made the biggest difference visually.
3. I replaced the frame/body bushing. This also helped.

The old girl still gets the job done.

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

I ended up doing a few thing to get the frame more square and the body level on the frame. Honestly I am living with a slight lean < 3/16'' to driver. I think a 4Plus passenger tire carrier will be the final ticket. Big tire and 16'' steelies on driver are not doing my cruiser lean any favors.

1. I used a floor anchor, a bottle jack and some wood to try and untwist the frame. I don't think I was not willing to pull hard enough to make much of a difference. I know that FJ Company did this with every frame they built.
2. My driver finder was sitting lower on the frame than my passenger. I leveled out the front fenders and bib. This made the biggest difference visually.
3. I replaced the frame/body bushing. This also helped.

The old girl still gets the job done.

Thanks for the reply. Appreciate the detailed reply.
So did the add-leaf you mentioned in a previous post help at all?

 

[OPMACHINE]

Yes, the extra leaf on the driver side helped a little. I would guess the drive side weights a few hundred pounds more than the passenger side. Spare Tire, exhaust manifold and all the driver controls.

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

Awesome. Thanks for the info.

I have 3rd leafs I pulled from the Dobi 60 series springs that I installed on my '87.
I may repurpose 2 of those for my 40 packs.

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

sorry wrong thread

 

[EWheeler]

While waiting for parts to arrive and wheel paint to dry.

I dove into another project...

I'm tired of always hunching over while driving to see under the sun visors and rearview mirror so I got a rear camera mirror and flipped the visor around.

Made a bracket for itView attachment 3871905

Then modified and shortened the arm.
Nailed it to a block of wood then used an adjustable wrench for leverage to pop the arm off of the mount ball.

View attachment 3871907View attachment 3871908

End result
View attachment 3871909

I still need to paint the mount.

I would have made the camera mount higher high but there's a forward facing camera on it. Figured I might need that view in the event of an accident on something.

Maybe tomorrow.

I think you posted this into the wrong thread....?