78 FJ40 Frame Off (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Threads
20
Messages
107
Location
Chesapeake, VA
]I want to start off by saying that this site is awesome and all the cruiser freaks part of it are even better. About two years ago I purchased a 78 FJ40 from a guy in Palmer AK, and had it shipped to Kodiak, AK where i was stationed. It was my daily driver for that time. I am now in Key West, FL where it was shipped to and I am FINALLY able to begin working on it. I have a general knowledge of mechanics but will without question need help and all of your advice along the way. So far i have the wire harness out of the vehicle and the with the exception of all the body mounts, the body is ready to come off. My Plans

Red=Purchased
White=Still To Do
Blue=Progress

Rolling Chassi:
Sand Blast frame/POR 15
Rear Frame Section
Bilstein 5125 14" travel
OME 2.5" Dakar Spring Pack
Pro Comp 15x8 2.5"bs Rock Crawlers
Irok Radial 37 or 35x12.5
Shackle reversal
6 Shooter Knuckles
High Steer Kit

Proffitts SOA
Saginaw P/S

Drive Train:
- Engine
Carburator rebuild
Paint


-Transmission
Paint

-Transfer Case
Paint

Body:
Tub
Cowl
Tube Fenders
All New Lines
New Hardware
CCOT REPRO Gas Tank
Distrubutor Cap
Rotor

If Funds Allow
ARB Front and Rear
Roll Cage,Rock Sliders,Tube Fenders,Bumper

I hope everyone enjoys this as much as I am and please give all advice and comments along the way as i know you will! :popcorn:
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Nice cruiser and a good start man. But.... i have seen way better beer commercials, a lot less leg hair involved. :p
 
Took the body off and found the trusses were pretty well rotted thru. I will take some pics of the frame to see what you guys think.
 
looks like your on your way with this build...

anything savagable on Tub for somebody else? of is it very far gone? you could probably post up free and somebody may take it for pieces and patches

ohhh by the way...in case you didnt know

beer+paint = bad paint job :)
 
Beer plus paint indeed will result in a bad paint job i agree, but its way more fun! I do have body parts that are still good. both floor pans from the angle up on both pass and driver. The cowl is good with minus pitting on the drivers side outside (windshield frame has rot on bottom side). The rear sill is excellent but im thinking it is aluminum or a great bondo job. I will take pics and post but i still have to cut out the sections and the body is in my trailer.
 
Degreased the skeleton today and found the frame to be in better shape than i thought, the trusses to the rear bumper are still crap tho.
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I also took off the drive shafts so i can remove the tranny and engine tomorrow. When i was taking off the steering linkage I ran into a problem with the ball joints attaching to the steering shaft to the drag linkage I think? Anyway apparently you need a SST puller tool per the FSM so i used a steering wheel puller and a muffler clamp and that worked. Any other good tricks for stuff like that?
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Alright now that the transmission and engine are out next is to order the SOA axle cut and turn from Proffitts. I also will get the six shooter knuckle, and hi steer kit as well. I have read a lot of posts on the knuckles and am confused about what to get. I want 6 studs and the larger knuckle, but don't know if i should just get the block with studs to weld onto the smaller OEM knuckles? any suggestions? Last i am going to order a saginaw ps set up, and f-250 shock towers. Can all of that stuff be put in without the rest of the vehicle there? I just ordered the bolt kit fromhttp://www.jishardware.com/HOME.html, thanks to the FAQ thread and Coolermans help along with many others. I have ordered POR 15 but I am waiting for some advice from you guys if i should remove the axles and such to put on the other goodies.
 
:popcorn:
 
Well for anyone who has been following so far, my parents have been in town so a lot more drinking and fishing has been done then cruiser wrenching. next in line is to sandblast and paint the smaller parts while i wait for parts. My father and I did manage to remove the shocks, trailer hitch and tail lights when we were waiting on the girls. Here are some pics in the meantime, stay tuned.
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well i cleaned up part of the air cleaner today and painted it, i had pics of the before but accidentally deleted them :bang:. I will post the painted pics tomorrow. Is there anyone in the south florida area?
 
been wicked busy the last week or so. i bought a spray gun and wanted to see if i could get the air cleaner looking better. So i hung it in my trailer/now paint booth and went to it. well the rotted bungy cord i used to hang it with broke not to mention it looked like a marry go round as i was spraying it....long story short it all fell and looks like crap haha. i knew this was going to be a learning process so lessoned learned. Today i sanded the jacked up parts and will sray it again when i get a better set up in the trailer. in the meantime i cleaned up the back half of the wire harness from the two big terminals on the passenger side of the cowl.
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Man, you dont mess around as far as speed is concerned.
 
Well its been a while since i have even been on mud let alone posted anything. I decided after many months of sitting i needed to do a little work. With funds building i wanted to get ahead on some preperations for the future to speed up assembly and getting on the road. So i decided i would tackle the carburator :eek:. Does anyone know where i can get a carb heat insulator, secondary diaphragm, pump plunger and dust guard, one peen screw, and the part between the air horn and the body. Also it looks like i don't have an AAP at least compared to the FSM (Maybe not CA). I will take some pics to show you what i am working with.
 

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