1986 FJ60 Frame Off Restoration (1 Viewer)

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Thx for the tip. Will definitely check that. I did replace the o ring to res but i have not checked the o rings on the bolt. I definitely have a leak in the seal on the shaft that attaches to the pulley. Will try both first before I get the new pump.

Wanted to add a few more pics and update a few things. The door cards were in amazing shape and I could not believe how durable they are and responded to a good cleaning. The speaker grilles were too great to modify imo so left them alone. Heres a pic of the pass side door panel. I have to say how well engineered they are . restoring other cars , i've found door panels to be a pita sometimes but these things fit in very nicely with not much effort.

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With all the vacuum lines replaced and theoretically routed correctly based on FSM emissions section, I was ready to go. I felt confident there would be no vacuum leaks or manifold leaks. So I got to cranking (thanks to the high torque starter) and of course I forgot to hook up the fuel sending unit . Kind of excited I guess. So once that was hooked up, It amazingly fired right up. Adjusted the idle with lean drop method and it ran smoother than I have ever experienced. So far so good. Got the brakes bled and the clutch slave bled, and everything worked. Got it out for a good drive and felt underpowered and was hard starting. Asked a friend about it and of course I did not set timing with the vacuum lines to dizzy plugged. That fixed my problem and she ran like a champ. Pulled much harder in all gears but most importantly had power across the rev range. Prior to that it was good power to 2k rpm but nothing after that. Long story short, don't forget to plug your vacuum lines. once it was all set again and vacuum was good and timing looked good, I was ready. Got it up to 65 without any trouble on interstate and it ran really straight and felt solid. Unfortunately the steering shaft was misaligned and required a couple spines of adjustment when i got home. Pro tip: Don't try to do this after running for a bit. You will end up placing your arm on the exhaust pipe at some point which will lead to saying things that don't help the steering shaft get aligned. But once it cooled down it was easier. Here's the pic of the successful maiden voyage. I attribute the new fuel cut solenoid and correct vacuum routing with the major improvement in idling. Had some dieseling before the restoration which is also gone now. The previous owner had put an electric fuel pump and I went back with OEM mechanical pump. So this likely helped a lot too. I guess the electric pump runs the pressure too high for the aisin carb? Not sure but seems reasonable.

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CLeaned up the emblems and its amazing how much they improved with just some elbow grease. The blue 4wd emblem is awesome . Cant wait to put it on once the wet sanding is complete.

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I put a new parking brake cable on. This is the original before I cleaned it up. If anyone wants it for cost of shipping, its theirs. Just message me. Its in good shape and no damage. I just had to get a new one since everything else underneath was looking so good.

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Finally finished with exterior of the 60. Cut and polished, emblems restored and installed and trim installed. Loving this original color when it looks new. Just sent my carb off to burbank (marks offroad) and can't wait to get her running. Going to put in a new PS pump and tidy up a few things while I'm waiting. Will post some pics in the sunlight once she's ready to run.

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You considering a saginaw PS swap, or OEM? Guessing with the originality theme you're going to run and OEM pump
 
Got my cocomats in today! As always, they're top notch quality and super durable. I've had these in a 100 series and a 200 series and many classic cars, and they hold up better than anything else i've tried. They're surprisingly heavy and can hold a lot of dirt within the fibers. you just beat them upside down to get the dirt out. Heel pad makes anything else seem useless by comparison. Binding is high quality as well. I had them send me a template kit to have them made to match my interior needs. It turned out very well. Nothing wrong with a little extra brown on brown (on brown). Really gives the interior the finishing touch i was looking for. Only problem is the cost. But you wont have to replace them and they're made in america (South Carolina).

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Awesome results! You made the right decisions to restore to OEM IMO. You might be surprised how much it’s valued at in a few years. Nice time lapse thread that inspires me to bite the bullet and commit to finishing mine. Curious how long it took you from start to finish?
 
Took about 7-8 months. Was planning on 12 mos. but with covid19 my medical practice slowed down a lot in march/april and i had a lot of unexpected time on my hands.
 
Got the new bluetooth radio with AM/FM/sirius/weatherband/USB installed thanks to littlebilly for the rec. installed easy with the harness adapter. just needed an always hot battery wire, ignition hot wire, ground wire, and grounded speakers individually (different from original wiring). I used new pioneer 2 way speakers that fit under orig door grilles. For installation I was able to dremel the original faceplate to fit and center the new head unit. Then, created a metal bracket that attached to the bolts under the dash. This kept head unit at the correct angle and secure. Looks pretty clean imo and the green lit display has a definite old school and simple look to it. reception is good. bluetooth works well. I expect i will be very happy with this upgrade. Has a clock too, which I like.

FYI my ignition hot wire was gray with orange-ish (possibly red in a previous decade) bands around it. This question came up in my searches. Mine is 4/86 production date for reference.

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Got my carb back from Mark's offroad last night. Could not resist putting it on right away. I was pretty nervous because I wanted it to start and run smoothly, and was hoping there were no other issues to handle. I was not disappointed. This baby idles nice a smooth like never before, and starts on the first crank now. Got the timing adjusted and it is running well. I will probably dial it in a bit more but want to get to know this setup first. another success is that my A/C is working great. It saps a lot of the power, but hey its south MS we need the A/C. Bottom line is that i am very satisfied with Mark's work and his communication was great. Always called me back same day, and turnaround was quick. Now to put some miles on her! 117k isn't enough.

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incredible!
 
Heres a shot of interior cleaned up. Also started messing with interior trim and small jobs before i got the nerve to take the body off. The gauge cluster is a fun project. comes out easy and good opportunity to replace speedo cable. Also got all new bulbs and took the clear plastic lenses off of gauges for polishing with plastic cleaning compounds. Also took the colored plastic off the "4wd" and "choke" and turn signals etc. Required using a soldering iron tip to melt the plastic that holds it on and same to reinstall. But man the result is really satisfying. I found a GM color match paint that approximated the color and finish of OEM gauge cluster. Turned out really nice. big improvement.

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Do you happen to remember the color you used for the
Heres a shot of interior cleaned up. Also started messing with interior trim and small jobs before i got the nerve to take the body off. The gauge cluster is a fun project. comes out easy and good opportunity to replace speedo cable. Also got all new bulbs and took the clear plastic lenses off of gauges for polishing with plastic cleaning compounds. Also took the colored plastic off the "4wd" and "choke" and turn signals etc. Required using a soldering iron tip to melt the plastic that holds it on and same to reinstall. But man the result is really satisfying. I found a GM color match paint that approximated the color and finish of OEM gauge cluster. Turned out really nice. big improvement.

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do you recall what GM paint color you used on the gauge cluster?
 
Do you happen to remember the color you used for the

do you recall what GM paint color you used on the gauge cluster?
I looked for it today and couldn’t find it in my garage. The cap on the rattle can was a perfect match . Just take your gauge surround into a store and match it up . Was a GM color though .
 
Beautiful work. Noticed your exhaust hangs low. I say that because I had mine done at dealership with OEM parts (I would have done it myself but truck was in shop for fuel tank recall) and the tech hung it just like yours, which is incorrect according to the FSM. In my case, the rubber mounts were installed on the underside of the frame hangers, but the rubbers (17430T) are supposed to sit on top. Diagrams here. Otherwise, looks perfect.
 
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