Builds An HJ61 followed me home to Texas (1 Viewer)

[bottombracket]

If I had it, I would.

@Onur can you help me?

 

[bottombracket]

Got a few odds and ends done today. We helped @Mr Cimarron swap transmissions in his beast mode 80.

I found the left rear chrome rim from the dealer (smallest piece in largest box EVER) new at the dealer for cheap.

I replaced the rear hood moulding (NLA) with @Racer65 ’s awesome reproduction. Purple power scrub and voila: new hood seal. We adjusted the hood for perfect alignment too.

All in all it was a great day to see friends (masked and socially distanced) and wrench together. Here’s to hoping we can do this more and more as we vaccinate and open up the world again.

 

[bottombracket]

Today my kids put down the front passenger power window...and it stayed down. Switch went clicky clicky and was all wobbly. Swapped it out with a new OEM switch I had stockpiled for just such an emergency. Fun fact: 12V and 24V switch is the same part number.

 

[mattressking]

Mine is originally from Valledolid, Spain. Someone there took decent care of the old girl. I bought it off of a guy in North Carolina through MUD classifieds about 4 years ago.

You bought it from the dude that works at Prism?!

 

[bottombracket]

Prism? I have no idea what that is, he was a dude who worked at a motorcycle shop?

 

[mattressking]

Prism? I have no idea what that is, he was a dude who worked at a motorcycle shop?

Haha yea - Prism is a shop in Charlotte. They build some good chops. That's cool - had no idea that's where the truck went.

 

[bottombracket]

Derek something? I can’t remember

 

[mattressking]

Derek something? I can’t remember

Yep that’s him, small world yet again. Truck looks great

 

[bottombracket]

He took good care of the truck in the couple of years he had it, cool dude.

 

[bottombracket]

Anyone have advice on how to get the outer shift boot on?

It is way too hard to sandwich the outer shift plate, carpet, inner boot and still find the threaded holes. Aggravating.

 

[davegonz]

That's exactly what I do. Screwdrivers for alignment.

 

[Dilspec]

Try a little bit of grease on the edges too.

 

[bottombracket]

This is tangentially related to my 61 because they have the same mirrors. I don’t have a build thread started on my gray 62, but I just put some euro mirrors on to replace the factory powered mirrors which were peeling, wobbly, and no longer moved under electrical stimulation.

The mirrors are available for damn cheap on Partsouq right now, like $110 each. The gaskets are NLA, but of course @Racer65 reproduces them.

Putting them on is a less than five minute job, unless a previous owner put the screws in with blue Loctite. It took an EZ-out to get the last one, but I got it. Rear view stability, here I come.

 

[bottombracket]

The 62 certainly looks cooler this way. The original mirrors on the 61 look pretty tired. Maybe they’ll get some touch up paint soon.

 

[bottombracket]

I was texting with @Dilspec about 5 speed shift knob variations. Here’s what I have from left to right:

On the left is the original shift knob from my 1989 HJ61. Next to it is the current 79 series knob that the 61 knob supersedes to. It is roughly the same size and shape, just unpainted numbers. Third is the much smaller shift knob that you commonly see for sale in the US, except it’s usually gray here in the states. Who knows why mine is black? Finally on the right is the five-speed HDJ80 knob. It’s the same size as the 61 and 79, but weighs at least as much as the other three knobs combined.

Somewhere, I do have one of the old school five-speed knobs that is the same shape as the shifter on the four-speed FJ60s, I just don’t know where it is. It’s too small for my personal liking.

I personally prefer the 61/79 style knob. Part number listed for posterity.

 

[OGBeno]

The blue thread sealant on the screws is OEM. The screws come that way.

 

[Mr Cimarron]

This is tangentially related to my 61 because they have the same mirrors. I don’t have a build thread started on my gray 62, but I just put some euro mirrors on to replace the factory powered mirrors which were peeling, wobbly, and no longer moved under electrical stimulation.

The mirrors are available for damn cheap on Partsouq right now, like $110 each. The gaskets are NLA, but of course @Racer65 reproduces them.

Putting them on is a less than five minute job, unless a previous owner put the screws in with blue Loctite. It took an EZ-out to get the last one, but I got it. Rear view stability, here I come.
View attachment 2615256View attachment 2615257View attachment 2615258

That’s where the impact driver I was telling you about comes in handy. Works great on those stupid Phillips head bolts.
Amazon product ASIN B000NPUJYE

 

[bottombracket]

Shoulda listened, Cim. Would have saved me two hours.

Onur, interesting. The screws for the Euro mirrors aren’t loctited from the factory.

 

[OGBeno]

Europeans are weird that way.

 

[bottombracket]

Of course, it’s 36 hours to Roundup and the 61 still didn’t have a front driveshaft. At the end of a hectic day yesterday, I was able to take half an hour and get it back together. If I could just find the skid plates…