78' FJ55 Rebuild. What have we gotten ourselves into. (1 Viewer)

[ColinGreene]

So, I am new to the forum and to anything offroad. I currently work directly for the owner of this cruiser.
Ill be honest I dont know anything about the cruisers or the cruiser world.
That said this forum consistently comes up and offers helpful threads with great info.

I thought that it would be good to add a thread to document the work going on with this 78 FJ55 and have it as a venue to ask questions from the brain trust at large.
To anyone who has posted a thread that answered a question thank you. Im sure that it wont be the last time someone finds it helpful.

Anyway.
He paid 1800 for the cruiser and so far all we have managed to do is find out the following.

The gas tank looks like its packed full of crap.
The motor runs and it did drive.
and that the body has some natural weight savings on it.
Ill try to get pictures up soon.

So far id like to say thanks to Cruiser Corps. Preston has been a huge help getting us a new gas tank and hood and answering weird questions.
Seth at TLC has also been Rad.
And Specter Off-road has been a great help.

So far what we have done is remove the packed up gas tank, cleared the lines and completely rebuilt the brake system. That means
New Master Cyl
Reman front calipers
New soft lines everywhere.
new pads and rotors
Rebuilt our own rear wheel cyls with new shoes
re machined the rear drums.
Had the factory radiator re cored for around 675 dollars. OUCH
ordered a water pump and thermostat.
However I am looking for the right pulley and clutch fan.....

the floor has some rust as well as the windshield frame.
The actual vehicle frame is in good shape and so are the mechanical as far as i can tell.
At least it now will stop.

The TLDR version is, I work for someone crazy enough to buy a FJ55 because he likes how it looks without researching how hard it is to get parts.
Caution to the wind were going to rebuild this thing. Stay Tuned.

 

[Michael B]

Welcome to the maddness. We thrive on "throwing caution to the wind" around here, in case you hadn't noticed.

 

[thebigredrocker]

Sweet Pig. Mark's Offroad in Burbank, CA has had nearly every random vintage OEM FJ40 part I've ever called him for. He might be a good resource if you need another "honey hole".

 

[3_puppies]

wait until you buy, if you can find it some of the weatherstripping.

surpising how well the frames held up on the 55's, the bodies are falling off and the frame will be solid.

good luck,

there is a section further down the tech page for 55's only.
FJ55 Iron Pig Preservation Society

 

[peesalot]

Search fc187

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

Search fc187

but only look at his work if you just won the lotto, or plan on throwing all of your tools away in an act of self-loathing disgust. most of us TRUELY are not worthy...

...

good luck,

there is a section further down the tech page for 55's only.
FJ55 Iron Pig Preservation Society

you will want to sign in at this link and post an additional thread for it there, AS WELL...


78 is gunna be fun in Cali with the smog; I went with a 2F complete with CAT and ECU and all it's smog trappings just cause finding a FUNCTIONing set of full dress, correct vintage smog gear was near impossible- the 70s vintages had 2 different set ups for each year; fed and cali; all the fj60s were exactly the same for the duration of run smog wise...anyway, you guys prolly have all that handled by the looks of things. HTH and hope you like rabbit holes; cause you're neck deep and sinking fast!

 

[ColinGreene]

As far as the smog, the truck is registered in Oklahoma so that is one way to solve that problem.

Over the last few weeks I have been busy buying parts from Cruiser Corps, Preston has been a big help.
We bought a Fuel tank, A hood, a original steering wheel and some other odds and ends.

Put the new master cyl in and got the brakes fully functioning.
however I am unsure what this device is in the line beneath the cyl. Anyone have any idea?

And i need to see if anyone knows what the top of the rear mounted heater cover looks like. Some clever person decided to fashion this one out of a sewing tin.

I removed the drum for the parking brake only to find one of the bolts that hold it to the T case snapped off.
We also found the cable is totally shagged. Sourced a new one of those from Specter off-road.
While doing all this work i removed and sent out the drive shafts to be checked out and re balanced.
Unfortunately this is where tragedy struck.
Obviously I am so oblivious to whats going on it took me re installing the freshly re finished drive shaft to notice that the front output flange that it moved up down as well as left/right.

well thats a problem.
Removed the output flange to find the bearing is rusted and the cage is destroyed.
Guess thats a issue. Called around and found its about 800$ to have the case gone through.
Remove the t case and find this. Oil in the Trans has water in it.

Then the news gets really interesting.
Guess thats shagged. Not sure what the plan is at this point. Any input would be helpful.
Putting a 5 speed in it, I am told means that we would need a new trans/shifter/transfercase and parking brake solution.
The owner of the Cruiser would like to put a diesel in it at some point so it would be nice to find a solution that would work with the 2F and the diesel but im unsure how reasonable that is of a expectation. Like i said before I hardly know anything about these things.

 

[rrv333]

Another resource is Valley Hybrids out of Stockton. Ask for Georg (Correct spelling) he only works on cruisers. Great super knowledgeable guy.

 

[Rigger]

“ . . . . .the body has some natural weight savings on it.”

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

The diff shouldn’t cost 800; 4 maybe. A 5 speed trans and splitcase can be used with a diesel. And the splitcase with parking brake is getting easier to obtain. Find a good used third member and simply drain and refill gear boxes and see where you are at. That deal below the brake master is a proportional valve; leave it be. This is standard fair for bringing a 40 year old truck out of the ditch

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

Oh, and that is not the correct rear heater fan...hth

 

[ColinGreene]

The diffs we think are fine, its the transfer case thats damaged.
I do not know what you mean by third member however.
I figured the heater fan was in fact wrong all around. Thanks

 

[scrapdaddy]

correct heater fan...

before picture....

 

[3_puppies]

WOW, that's a lot of wear on the transmission output splines.

 

[tucker74]

Transfer case is the same one-piece as the FJ40, super easy to find whole or parts ... Cruiser Outfitters or Georg sells rebuild kits. Looks like you're gonna need to address that output shaft though

Tucker

 

[tucker74]

BTW - Bob recently did a run of floor pans, you should reach out and buy whatever he's got that you need. These aren't going to be made again ...

Floor pans,bodymounts floor supports rockers and rear corners.

Tucker

 

[wngrog]

I never rebuild transfer cases. I just find a good used one and rock on. Should be able to find on from a 75 + FJ40

I took me 3 different parts FJ55s to collect all the parts needed to make it whole.

If this guy is paying $100 an hour plus Specter prices he's already 2-3 times over the worth of that particular Pig.

Hate to be a downer but maybe he should find one a bit more complete

 

[ColinGreene]

wngrog, I would tend to agree with you there but its one of those we already are here sort of things.
Cruiser Corps offered me one used and in good shape shipped from OKC to LA for 650.
the local rebuild place TLC reccomended said its 5-800 so I guessed it would be 800.
My concern mostly is the output splines are worn past the point of reliable, the transfer case is worn past the point of reliable.
what kind of shape is the motor in? Guess i better do at a minimum a compression check/leak down to see what im working with.
because if the motor is garbage and so is the trans/trasfercase. it might be better to just buy a complete pull out to power the truck.
Also thanks for the floor pan link I will put that to good use.

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

you still haven't been to the sty? wise man once told me doing the same thing and expecting a different result is the definition of insane. get thee to thy pigfarm...more in the heavens and earths than you'll find in this sub-forum...

 

[LAMBCRUSHER]

and you really ought to call Georg...He is our Gearhead...