Build Abandoned 84 FJ60 gets some love, and a 4bt!

[Thechief86]

I’d rather be poor and have my cruiser and my knowledge than wealthy with an Escalade and no understanding of how the world works. Heck, I live in my cruiser right now and have for the past year. Bury my body in this truck when I die.

Have your family let me know and I'll rent a backhoe, sir.
I am still just sitting here giddy at the chance I have now to save the 2F. Something about bringing back a dead engine always makes me swell with happiness lol.
I hope you're living in your FJ by choice and through love of adventure more than hardship, but either way, I'm sure the old Yota serves you well!

 

[Thechief86]

So as I'm patiently waiting to go pick up my cruiser so I can truly dive into fixing it, I need to accrue a few parts, and a little knowledge.
Along those lines, I have a few questions for you seasoned Cruiser heads.

Starting off, I think I want to get this 2F running with the Weber that is on it, so I'll order a rebuild kit for it, and tank it in the ultrasonic cleaner before I try to run the engine.
Will the Weber work with a factory mechanical fuel pump? The PO had a Facet low pressure electric pump mounted on the passenger inner fender, that seems way too far from the tank for an electric pump. If I can run the mechanical unit reliably (with that carb), I'd prefer to.
I will probably use the electric pump to empty the tank before I clean it, and then maybe stick it on the shelf for some future s***box project.
I have no plans to try to get an Aisin carb for this car, because I 100% plan on EFI in the very near future, and it would be a waste of money.
The Weber should be sufficient to tell me if I have a healthy, viable engine for now, and maybe even drive that way until spring.
Once I think I've got the carb/tank/pump situation more or less sorted, I'll start trying to establish reliable sparky action with the parts I have, and decide if I need to chuck all that in the bin and start fresh with a new distributor, coil, and ignitor.
I'm halfway thinking the little module and resistor and stuff wired in on this thing may have actually worked in place of an ignitor at one time. We shall see...


Anybody got any more suggestions beyond that for things to do before I try starting the engine?

 

[cps432]

I think the mechanical pump will work with the Weber. I don’t believe the Weber requires an abnormal fuel pressure. Perhaps the PO installed the electric pump because the OEM mechanical pump failed? I’ve not run a Weber so I’m not 100% sure. The Toyota fuel pump is very good. The aftermarket chinesium crap… not so much. If you go back to a mechanical pump I would suggest splurging for a real Toyota pump. I’ve heard horror stories of the arm breaking off on the cam lobe and destroying engines or best case just failing rather quickly. If you do install the OEM pump make sure you have the spacer for it.

 

[Thechief86]

I think the mechanical pump will work with the Weber. I don’t believe the Weber requires an abnormal fuel pressure. Perhaps the PO installed the electric pump because the OEM mechanical pump failed? I’ve not run a Weber so I’m not 100% sure. The Toyota fuel pump is very good. The aftermarket chinesium crap… not so much. If you go back to a mechanical pump I would suggest splurging for a real Toyota pump. I’ve heard horror stories of the arm breaking off on the cam lobe and destroying engines or best case just failing rather quickly. If you do install the OEM pump make sure you have the spacer for it.

That spacer tidbit was the kind of info I was fishing for. There's a block off plate on the engine, so I'm sure I'll need to buy or make one of those bad boys if I can't find one for sale anywhere....
EDIT:
I also just realized that TPI Land Cruiser is like 10 minutes from my house. Lol. I'll probably end up annoying the crap out of that guy, but I'm sure he'll make a few bucks off of me so maybe it'll all be worth his time haha.

 

[SteveH]

@Thechief86 - If the current electric fuel pump works, maybe just run that for a bit with the Weber rather the buying a mechanical pump that will be shelved when you go to EFI. You can tee in a fuel pressure gauge to see if it puts out 3-5 psi.

I agree that the 'near the engine' pump location is hardly optimum, but if it's mounted low enough to easily get fuel from the tank, perhaps it will work fine.

 

[cps432]

@SteveH is right. If you plan to go EFI in the future you might as well try to get the current e pump to work. You might just run some soft lines along the frame rail and put it back near the tank. You can run an EFI with the original mechanical pump if you use a power surge pump after it. Lots of folks find that setup to be very good. I might go that route in the future.

In your case, see if you can get it running with what you’ve got already. You seem to be plenty capable of rigging it up to work.

 

[Thechief86]

The electric pump seems to work, at least made noise when powered up. I believe the pump and carb must have come from TPI since they sell the same pump and carb as a kit, and happen to be located nearby, and there are quite a few other TPI items with the car. I spoke to Bob at TPI yesterday and he said that particular pump will work just fine on the fender, and is what he recommends for the Weber 38/38.
Today I'll stop in and check on the title stuff, as well as maybe running a bore scope into the fuel tank to check the condition of that. I don't want to deal with a rusty tank, but a new one is very expensive, so I'll be cleaning this one if it isn't too bad.
I've had good results cleaning fuel tanks with Evaporust in the past. Most recent was a 62 VW beetle that had been sitting in a barn in Kentucky since 1981. I sold that beautiful car, as well as a few other really nice things in the wake of Covid and the subsequent 9 weeks I spent laid off and afraid I wouldn't be able to pay my bills.
Photo is my kid in the bug a couple of years ago.

 

[Thechief86]

BRIEF UPDATE!
I now have all the paperwork to get the title to my FJ60! The mechanic's lein process is finished, and I should be able to tow the beast home and start cleaning it up any day now.
Patience has paid off!
Soon the saga of the $1000 Cruiser will begin... stay tuned!

 

[Thechief86]

So I now have a key and title for the Cruiser, and the plan is to drag it home this weekend! This will be a long project, but my goal will be to drive the beast before summer, even if none of the aesthetic stuff gets done before then.

 

[Thechief86]

Today I started working on this old beast! I had to do a little electrical troubleshooting to get power to the starter, since the critters had chewed up some of the wiring in the dash, and I still need to patch up some of the wiring for the HVAC stuff, but the engine now spins when I turn the key, and I have SPARK! I also put fuel in the tank and got power to the inline electric fuel pump, and got nice clean gas to the carb!
So now I have fuel, and spark, and the engine isn't locked up, but compression seems to be a problem. The thing keeps coming frustratingly close to starting and running, but just won't take off and actually run on its own.
But I definitely feel like I've accomplished a lot today. Once I do get it to fire, I'll put the belts, fan, and shroud back on, and start working to get the clutch hydraulics to work. Right now, there is no hydraulic pressure, but I'm hoping a good flush and bleed will sort that out, and the car may move under its own power!
Right now I have $1138 in the car including new belts, hoses, fluids, and purchase price.
Sometimes the cheapest cars end up being the most expensive, but at least I finally have an FJ60, after dreaming of owning one since I was a kid.

A cool bonus was finding an unopened box of .22 LR bullets! 525 hollow points! And I just bought a sweet Ruger 10/22 a couple of weeks ago. Woo-hoo!

UPDATE: I just got through flushing and bleeding the clutch hydraulics, and now that works too! Now if I can just get that engine to run, I'll be golden!

 

[bhsdriller]

Nice, I bet that paint could clean up good.
I like the stripes on it too

 

[SteveH]

So now I have fuel, and spark, and the engine isn't locked up, but compression seems to be a problem. The thing keeps coming frustratingly close to starting and running, but just won't take off and actually run on its own.

You might give it a good shot of Ether starting fluid. If it won't run with that, you have a serious compression problem. I would shoot it down the carb throat for 3-5 seconds, immediately pull the choke try to start.

 

[Seth S]

Your timing might just be off. You could also do a compression test....borrow or buy a compression gage set. I can't remember if you've mentioned doing this yet....if not I'd just check the compression in all the cylinders to be sure its decent....its a fundamental piece of knowledge on an unknown engine. Also fresh denso or NGK plugs, cap, rotor, and wires will all help optimize spark.

You'll want to ditch that electric fuel pump and put a new OEM mechanical one in there. Someone put an inline electric pump on my truck before I bought it and wired it n very rinky dink. I removed it and the truck actually started and ran better. I suspect someone put it on there thinking it would solve some fuel issue but it made it worse.

 

[Seth S]

I see a blue Westy in the background. When I was looking for a 60 I was also looking at getting a Vanagon camper. There was one that came up for sale locally and in my price range. I saw the ad (back in 2017) about 10 minutes after it was posted and I contacted the seller but someone was already ahead of me. And I ended up finding the 60 shortly after.

 

[onemanarmy]

Isn't the 60 at a shop already? Can you use their compression tester? You might be feeling 20-30 psi when you hand turn it, but it needs alot more than that to run properly..

 

[Thechief86]

I GOT IT RUNNING!!!!
It finally started. And smoked like CRAZY for a little while, but I topped up the fluids and drove it 10 miles home! By the time I was home, it quit smoking, and runs very smooth and quiet! Woohoo!!!

Now for the bad news... the radiator is busted and the car overheated as I pulled in my driveway.
So now I've got to either fix this radiator or find another one, and it's looking like nearly $500 for a new one.
When I was a teenager, I busted a couple of radiators in crappy old vehicles, and had some success repairing them. The first one was a GMC Jimmy that broke a plastic tank, and I was able to fix it with JB Weld.
The second was a 1973 Jeep CJ that I hit a tree while wheeling, and the radiator got pushed back into the fan just enough to mess up the fins.
I fixed that one by soldering up the holes.
The 60's radiator is definitely damaged in the fins, so I'm going to attempt to seal it up with solder before I drop all that coin on a new one.
Who knows, I may get lucky!

All in all, it has been a very fruitful day for me! The thing runs, and sounds good, doesn't smoke, and pulled itself up a hill that my modern Subaru can only do at about 30 mph.
The only gauges that work are the coolant temp, voltmeter, and speedometer, and the aftermarket mechanical oil pressure gauge (60 psi going down the road!) I don't think the gas gauge works, but I only had about 3 gallons in the tank anyway, so more fuel may show up. Tach is dead, but maybe it can be fixed.
Anyway, Thanks for watching, the fun has just begun!

 

[cps432]

I GOT IT RUNNING!!!!
It finally started. And smoked like CRAZY for a little while, but I topped up the fluids and drove it 10 miles home! By the time I was home, it quit smoking, and runs very smooth and quiet! Woohoo!!!

Now for the bad news... the radiator is busted and the car overheated as I pulled in my driveway.
So now I've got to either fix this radiator or find another one, and it's looking like nearly $500 for a new one.
When I was a teenager, I busted a couple of radiators in crappy old vehicles, and had some success repairing them. The first one was a GMC Jimmy that broke a plastic tank, and I was able to fix it with JB Weld.
The second was a 1973 Jeep CJ that I hit a tree while wheeling, and the radiator got pushed back into the fan just enough to mess up the fins.
I fixed that one by soldering up the holes.
The 60's radiator is definitely damaged in the fins, so I'm going to attempt to seal it up with solder before I drop all that coin on a new one.
Who knows, I may get lucky!

All in all, it has been a very fruitful day for me! The thing runs, and sounds good, doesn't smoke, and pulled itself up a hill that my modern Subaru can only do at about 30 mph.
The only gauges that work are the coolant temp, voltmeter, and speedometer, and the aftermarket mechanical oil pressure gauge (60 psi going down the road!) I don't think the gas gauge works, but I only had about 3 gallons in the tank anyway, so more fuel may show up. Tach is dead, but maybe it can be fixed.
Anyway, Thanks for watching, the fun has just begun!

Hell yeah man!!! That sounds like it was an easy salvage! You could repair the original radiator yourself if you’ve got the tools and patience. It’s brass. Otherwise, it would be worth having someone else do it properly. It’s a really good radiator and matches the 2F perfectly.

So cool to see this one roar to life! She’s in good hands again!

 

[Thechief86]

Hell yeah man!!! That sounds like it was an easy salvage! You could repair the original radiator yourself if you’ve got the tools and patience. It’s brass. Otherwise, it would be worth having someone else do it properly. It’s a really good radiator and matches the 2F perfectly.

So cool to see this one roar to life! She’s in good hands again!

Yeah, I got fairly lucky to get it running without pulling the head to free the stuck engine, but I think I'll probably end up having to do a head gasket anyway. There was definitely water in the oil when I changed it.
3 of the exhaust valves were stuck open as well, which is why it wouldn't start before. I removed the valve cover and had my buddy turn the key while I tapped on the stuck ones when they didn't close. After a minute, they all moved freely and reliably, so I put the valve cover back on and it eventually started after several long tries that had me worried I'd ruin the starter.
I'll repair the radiator and try again, and then decide if I need to replace the head gasket once it's not spewing coolant.

 

[Thechief86]

Getting it home was a huge step, now I can work on it any time I want. Today I'm going to work on removing all the nasty old crap inside the thing and vacuuming out all the critter poop.

 

[Thechief86]

I just got the radiator out and got a good look at the damage, and it ain't good.
It looks like the damaged fin tubes have been pulled from the top plate that the tank crimps onto. I think I'm going to take it to a radiator shop next week and see if they can repair it.
If not, I may stick some random junkyard thing with close dimensions in it for now until I can afford a proper replacement. The current radiator is a replacement as well, and not a genuine Toyota part, but it is at least all brass instead of Aluminum with plastic tanks.
We are supposed to get some snow tonight, so I guess I'm done messing with this thing until Wednesday.

I need to find someone local with a 60 so I can scope out the rest of the cooling system and heater core plumbing to see how it is supposed to look. As of now, all of the heater system has been bypassed, and I'm wondering if it is due to a clogged core, or a leak. I'd love to hook all that back up, but I'll wait until I'm sure the engine doesn't need major work like a head gasket or something. I'd be willing to bet I'll be pulling the head by the time I'm able to drive this thing to work.