Builds 76 FJ40 in South Texas

[South Texas 97]

First decent drive about 70 miles round trip along a very boring country road. Kept an eye on all the gauges. Water temp never went crazy although a fairly cool 70F. Seems to stick around 160-170 F with an auto meter gauge. Speed was a consistent 55 per the GPS Speedometer with the gauge reading 50. This is due to my 33 inch tires.
oil pressure was sitting around 65 lb at 55mph.
volt meter started to climb to 18 volts, so stopped to see what was happening and the voltage sense wire had come loose. 12 volts with key on. Put that back and volts back to normal.



will experiment tomorrow and see if I can true it up. Perhaps loosen and retighten?
suggestions welcome

 

[OlYellr]

A decent drive of 70 miles on a boring back road sounds perfect. Lot of great work you did to get here.

 

[South Texas 97]

today I pulled the alternator to figure out why it was wobbly. Turns out the pulley is about 1mm greater in diameter than the alternator shaft. Ok , perhaps 2mm.
the solution was to shim the pulley with some shim stock, cut up a beverage can and wrapped turns around the inside of the pulley until it was a good fit on the alternator shaft. After tightening the bolt with a bit of loctite just in case, the pulley now runs true on the shaft.

you can see the difference between the short video above, and this one below.


now, why does my instrument cluster lights not turn on, and the fuel level gauge be intermittent. On to the next issue.

 

[South Texas 97]

Thought it time to do something about the paint, heavily oxidized, and quite a bit of patina. Scratched and small nicks everywhere, consistent with it being used on a ranch in Washington State and Idaho.

used some distilled white vinegar and dish soap, and a melamine sponge to wet down and clean up the hood and cowl area. Rinsed off with water and more scrubbing, followed by drying off and some light polishing compound applied with a cloth.
You can see the difference with the hood and cowl and the door. Now I have to do the rest of the truck!

 

[RevISK]

Thought it time to do something about the paint, heavily oxidized, and quite a bit of patina. Scratched and small nicks everywhere, consistent with it being used on a ranch in Washington State and Idaho. View attachment 3522657used some distilled white vinegar and dish soap, and a melamine sponge to wet down and clean up the hood and cowl area. Rinsed off with water and more scrubbing, followed by drying off and some light polishing compound applied with a cloth.
You can see the difference with the hood and cowl and the door. Now I have to do the rest of the truck!
View attachment 3522656

Looks great!
Did you neutralize the vinegar?
Just curious because I’ve had it continue to work after I thought water was enough.

 

[South Texas 97]

@RevISK that is very interesting - I figured the wash down with water would dilute the vinegar on the surface enough.
are you suggesting a baking soda solution to neutralize it before polishing?

 

[RevISK]

@RevISK that is very interesting - I figured the wash down with water would dilute the vinegar on the surface enough.
are you suggesting a baking soda solution to neutralize it before polishing?

I’m certainly no chemist, but I’ve always learned that vinegar can keep corroding unless neutralized.

I’ve soaked bolts in vinegar recently and was too lazy to mix up a Baking soda solution and the vinegar went to town on them. Ate through the plating after a time even after I rinsed with water.

As a plus, the combo helps to lift any leftover contaminates.

 

[South Texas 97]

The 76 has a bestop top, and it was looking a bit tired. Spent a few hours cleaning and sealing the top, using the Bestop restoration kit. It came out pretty nice And well worth the effort.

there is a bit of a gap between the soft top and the door. At some point need to replace the door weatherstripping.
for now some pipe foam seems to seal the gap and make the cabin quieter.

 

[South Texas 97]

Thought I would try some DIY ceramic sealant on the patina paint. Where there is original paint it has come out amazing

 

[RevISK]

Thought I would try some DIY ceramic sealant on the patina paint. Where there is original paint it has come out amazing View attachment 3547398
View attachment 3547399

Please elaborate on this “diy ceramic sealant”.

 

[South Texas 97]

cerakote rapid ceramic paint sealant.

 

[South Texas 97]

Just picked up a new Toyota 15 inch rim for a spare. The spare mount has pulled at the body so will be doing a patch. There is a sort of backing plate, it looks home made, will reuse it but was thinking to tie it back to the roll bar mount. That should make it stronger. Thoughts and suggestions welcome.

 

[pb4ugo]

It should be doubled up with a reinforcement panel on the inside.

 

[ToyotaMatt]

Just picked up a new Toyota 15 inch rim for a spare. The spare mount has pulled at the body so will be doing a patch. There is a sort of backing plate, it looks home made, will reuse it but was thinking to tie it back to the roll bar mount. That should make it stronger. Thoughts and suggestions welcome.View attachment 3578294

View attachment 3578295

 

[ToyotaMatt]

Please elaborate on this “diy ceramic sealant”.

A decent drive of 70 miles on a boring back road sounds perfect. Lot of great work you did to get here.

It should be doubled up with a reinforcement panel on the inside.

Just picked up a new Toyota 15 inch rim for a spare. The spare mount has pulled at the body so will be doing a patch. There is a sort of backing plate, it looks home made, will reuse it but was thinking to tie it back to the roll bar mount. That should make it stronger. Thoughts and suggestions welcome.View attachment 3578294

View attachment 3578295

@Spike Strip
@Voodoocruisers
@Engineer8000
@cruisermatt
.
Hello there my friend


.
i have had to address and deal with this topic both the top one here above and the lower one under the wheel well too a hand full of times . At that time back in the late 1990's into the later 200's and beyond a bit , there was no out of a box , mig-weld in place and play solution out there i could ever find ? that still seams to be the case ....
-

below is a Tech video , i spent a few minutes googling this topic , because i was curious if the 2 Reinforcements were finally made here in the USA by the one of the SOLID Sheet vendors i know and have dealt with as well ...........?

i came with the " NO " on this

below is the clues i did find , also i tagged a few folks above , all are MUD Supporting Vendors , and also specialize in arena we are dissuading ,

_ @Voodoocruisers global world headquarters is in close proximity to the sheet meatal vendor below , his shop puts out some awe-inspiring work , let me tell you what !

- @cruisermatt , is not only my personal and professional Powertrain & Chassis anything 1 stop shop , but he specializes in making this type part happen in time frame and end product un-matched in our community , maybe he has these already perhaps ?


- the @Engineer8000 ..... i always consult with him on anything , that is what a Engineer8000 does for a living ....right ./...?



below is tech video , and links


these 2 upper and lower 4 captured nuts gussets m are so so very important to have and get right


kindly
matt
]


,

 

[ToyotaMatt]

gusset - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

en.wiktionary.org

.

1. A gousset, a piece of mail providing protection where armor plates meet.
2. (machinery) A kind of bracket, or angular piece of iron, fastened in the angles of a structure to give strength or stiffness; especially, the part joining the barrel and the fire box of a locomotive boiler.

.

 

[ToyotaMatt]

Wheel wells & Supports

Real Steel Cruiser Parts

www.realsteelcruiserparts.net

.

.

 

[South Texas 97]

Thanks to all for replies.
I do have the gusset although it looks like I did the welding

We will clean this up and use it.
I believe the issue is the weight of the spare tire, some physics would point to the mount being pivoted at the bottom mount, so the top mount is being pulled outwards.
My thought is to reinforce the gusset and then tie it back to the roll bar mounting bolts. Something like this.

The alternative would be a curved plate with holes to match the mounting bolts and run longer bolts through the plate with heavy washers and nyloc nuts pulling it tight.
The holes on the plate mount to the roll bar will be slotted to allow some adjustment.

 

[South Texas 97]

My welding sucks, but seems strong enough. The wheel and tire weighs 90lbs, and the center of mass is about a foot out from the body. That is quite a lever so I can see why the sheet metal has pulled out and cracked.

And in place

Will sandblast, grind and paint this tomorrow.
If I was going to industrialize this a small jig, and perhaps some captured nuts on a plate would be the way to go, rather than welding to the gusset itself.

 

[Chungas Revenge]

That my friend “oughta’ hold er”.