'71 Chili-Pepper FJ40.. finally!

[FishNinJay]

So I finally got my FJ40, purchased from an awesome MUD'er
here. He did a lot of work, and was great.. even sending me a
picture of the rig getting loaded for the trip to the O.C.

It's a May '71 rig that has been converted to SBC350, and automatic transmission.
Upgrades include power-steering, and disc front brakes. PO also put in a rear
fold/tumble bench and fab'd some cool storage armrest speaker housings.
On to the photos..

(yeah, I know, the wipers are messed up.. driver-side out)

yup.. mandatory FJ40 dripping.. but this is a bit more serious.. plus it
stinks up my garage and pisses off my

where's that carb "window" that I've seen mentioned here?

Hardtop dome had some repairs, and rusted raingutter was replaced with
new fiberglass gutter. Needs primer, paint, clearcoat. I'm thinking of
eventually doing this myself with rattlecan paint?

As expected, there are some issues. Most pressing is this gas leak, which
seems a bit worse today. I have another post coming on my dripping issues...

Once I get the fuel leak taken care of, I think I'm going to do maintenance stuff,
oil/filter, plugs, wires, distr/rotor, timing, coolant, etc. Then, tackle some quirky
electronic issues. (There are a bunch of unconnected terminals everywhere).
Down the road some, I may replace the rear bumper with a custom fab bumper,
similar to the MAF 4Plus spare carrier+cooler, but will have to rework the rear lights,
license plate, etc.

By the way, finally found some stamping on the block, and thanks to the wonders of
Google, it appears I have a SBC 350 engine CID 327, from around '65, possibly from
either a Vette or Chevelle?

For this engine, how do I find timing specs? and fluid capacities, etc...

Anything I'm overlooking that I should have taken care of sooner? Ok.. that's it for now!
Hope I didn't go overboard with too many pics!

 

[mtj555]

That is a nice 40. I know the purist won't like that color but I really do. I would love the MAF bumper but $$$$. I would get rid of the rear taillights but that is just me. You have a nice rig

 

[Trollhole]

Down the road some, I may replace the rear bumper with a custom fab bumper,
similar to the MAF 4Plus spare carrier+cooler, but will have to rework the rear lights,
license plate, etc.

Hope I didn't go overboard with too many pics!

I'd make that rear bumper priorty #1. Somebody smacks you in the ass and your gonna have a major issue with gas. Might want to fabricate something to guard that tank. And yes those rear lights are terrible. ANything but those.

 

[FishNinJay]

if I change out the bumper to something like the MAF 4+, I need to somehow get the tail-lights back to oem. I'll stop by SOR and scout out my options. Here's a close-up of the rear bolted-on area:

mtj, thanks! yeah, the purists prob won't like the sbc350 or the auto trans either!
originally, I was looking for a stock rig for awhile.. ran into some concerns about out-of-state rigs passing CA smog. I came across this one, which doesn't need smog, and had these upgrades which makes it a much more feasible 3-4 times a week commute rig for me, and better for little kids in the back. Once I let that purist in me go.. it was kind of liberating! And, I like the color.

Trollhole, good point.. someone here is going to fab me up something similar to the MAF 4+ that swings open entirely from a driver-side hinge. But, would that plus the spare be enough to protect it? this is the aux tank and is usually empty.

Trollhole, as the resident MUD carb expert.. any idea about a sticky throttle? My gas pedal sticks, and I usually have to do a mini-pump or press it hard to get it started down, then it's usually smooth. It seems to move ok at the carb. Is this just a sticky cable line? or some kind of carb adjustment? If it's just the cable, how do I get it moving easier? WD40 down the line? lube somewhere? (sorry for the OT jack of my own post..)

 

[Trollhole]

Take the cable off the carb and cycle the carb linkage. If it binds it's in the carb. Have seen that before. Then get inside and push the pedal back and forth. If it binds look for kinks or sharp turns in the cable. If it's free of that. I use spray lithium grease to do my cables. If non of that works get a new cable. Nothing worse than a crappy throttle cable.


And I'm no carb expert. That is JimC and Mark W.

 

[inkpot]

Howdy! I like that color. The site glass is only on stock Toyota carbs, the Edelbrock is aftermarket. I'm running one, and I like it. Also, a CID 327 means you only have a 327 cubic inch displacement engine, not a 350 CID. Should still be plenty of engine for you. John

 

[SFROMAN]

Very nice cruiser. Congrats on the new pruchase.
That color looks very nice. I like the pic of the 40 on the trialer with the sun hitting the color, it really brings out the color.

DEL

 

[Ron B]

IM running the same carb on my SBC. mine is the choke staying on forever. When it warms up (about 5miles) its fine. you might check it. Very nice rig BTW.

 

[numby]

Like the color a lot especially for a non-stock vehicle. Congrats!

But...there's more to the rear end than bumpers, spare tire racks, or jeep tail lights that bothers me. Maybe I just don't recognize an '71 rear axle.

 

[fj40forlife]

Looks really good Jay

 

[fj40forlife]

Like the color a lot especially for a non-stock vehicle. Congrats!

But...there's more to the rear end than bumpers, spare tire racks, or jeep tail lights that bothers me. Maybe I just don't recognize an '71 rear axle.

Stock mini truck axle. v8 with auto. maybe running a center t case

 

[inkpot]

Stock mini truck axle. v8 with auto. maybe running a center t case

Also looks a lot like Chevy brake master. John

 

[FishNinJay]

Thanks guys.. I'm learning a lot! I assumed it was a 350, until I finally found the stampings and looked it up online. You're right.. 327. According to the website I found, it's a '65 CID327, built in Flint, for a Vette!?

I don't know much about the transmission, or the mini-truck rear axle, or if these are good, bad, or neither. Or the chevy brake masters.. (I know they're drum). Fronts were upgraded to disc.

Today, I fixed a bad fuel line leak with an inline filter, temporarily. Rig is on injured reserve on my driveway until I can get a better fix and replace the whole fuel line. Next, oil changes and full tune-up. I think 5qt of 10W30.. but I don't know the timing for this engine. Any ideas or resources?

Ok.. thanks again, and please keep the tips and comments coming!

 

[Volcano cruiser]

I saw this thread a couple of days ago and was really struck by the color of the red. The PO painted my rig a dark red and as I am nearing to paint in a few months I was thinking of going an entirely different color until I saw yours. I thought, maybe I missed it, that you had posted the color name and formula number previously, Chrysler Chili Pepper red...or something like that. Did I miss it in here somewhere? I would really like the paint code and name, I am re-doing my list of Toyota reds and if I go red at all the final color better be close to or identical to yours or red is out again. Can you post it up or pm me with it .
Thanks,
John

 

[MattyP]

That looks awesome!! I hope I can get mine to look that good! I love that red/white combo...

 

[FishNinJay]

Hi Volcano,
Not sure what the exact "code" is, but the PO told me it is "Chrysler Chili-Pepper Red"
Here's a link I found on google:

Chrysler Chili Pepper Red Pearlcoat - Chrysler-Dodge-Eagle-Jeep-Plymouth - ExpressPaint

Thanks for the comments..

 

[cmiller114]

Nice cruiser.....welcome to the madness!
Some lessons I learned the hard way.....don't assume anything. Check the mark on your dipstick and measure the amount of oil you drain from the pan and add one for the filter.....should be 5 "IF" it's a stock pan. Don't worry about the stock timing numbers, you can bet the motor has been rebuilt, and the stock numbers were for 105 gas back in the day. Check your timing as it sits.....if it runs good, don't change it. I run as much initial timing as I can and then modify the curve for 36-38 total. Don't go over 38* total. You have a HEI distributor so no worrys about points etc. Same with the plugs....replace with the same thing unless they are white or melted then go colder.
You have a GM brake booster and master cylinder (on your firewall) with a balancing valve....good set up that should work well.
You need to get as much info as possible from PO. You are going to need to know what tranny, transfer, axles etc. you have, so determine your baselines now.

 

[Volcano cruiser]

Hi Volcano,
Not sure what the exact "code" is, but the PO told me it is "Chrysler Chili-Pepper Red"
Here's a link I found on google:

Chrysler Chili Pepper Red Pearlcoat - Chrysler-Dodge-Eagle-Jeep-Plymouth - ExpressPaint

Thanks for the comments..

That was what I was looking for.
Thanks,
John

 

[FishNinJay]

Nice cruiser.....welcome to the madness!
Some lessons I learned the hard way.....don't assume anything. Check the mark on your dipstick and measure the amount of oil you drain from the pan and add one for the filter.....should be 5 "IF" it's a stock pan. Don't worry about the stock timing numbers, you can bet the motor has been rebuilt, and the stock numbers were for 105 gas back in the day. Check your timing as it sits.....if it runs good, don't change it. I run as much initial timing as I can and then modify the curve for 36-38 total. Don't go over 38* total. You have a HEI distributor so no worrys about points etc. Same with the plugs....replace with the same thing unless they are white or melted then go colder.
You have a GM brake booster and master cylinder (on your firewall) with a balancing valve....good set up that should work well.
You need to get as much info as possible from PO. You are going to need to know what tranny, transfer, axles etc. you have, so determine your baselines now.

Thanks again.. that's all great info!

I didn't know it was HEI, but was wondering about the distributor.. I was trying to read up and figure out what dwell and points were!? Well, I'm not sure what the timing will be now. It was running awesome off the transport carrier, until I booger'd up the fuel system and carb. I think I ran the AUX tank to try and bypass a small MAIN fuel line leak, but didn't realize the PO never used the AUX tank (so who knows how much junk/rust was in there). I need to clear the main lines, replace filters, and probably clean/rebuild the carb. There's a clear inline filter, that now has this black looking debris swirling (yuck! ). I hope the fuel pump is still ok. Supposedly, it was fairly new. Once I get this all cleaned out, I'll replace spark plugs and see how she runs.
Right now, I can only start with manual choke pulled out. Push choke in.. dies. Leave choke out, it runs rough, and then dies. Give it a little gas, and it runs rough. Give a little more gas, it dies. I think the 4b edelbrock carb needs service, right? (at least the primary are prob gunked up?)

The old oil was about 3.5qt, incl what I emptied out of the old filter. I put in a full 5qt and new filter, and it still a bit low, like 1/2qt.. interesting.

Makes sense about the timing, rebuild/gas comment. Good to know.. and kind of a relief that I may not have to deal with that too much.

The engine/trans conversion was done before the PO, and he does not know anything about the auto transmission. I think it's 3-spd, and someone here mentioned a mini-truck axle? Not sure what to even ask or know about this.. (cuz.. i'm a )

 

[romegadave]

I like the late 60's Type 2 transporter/split window too! Nice rig ya got there