Builds Bucket List FJ40 Build (2 Viewers)

[dkcrew]

Just glad wiring is not a issue on my 73
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haha - yeah. I was hoping I could go with the 'if it aint broke don't fix' but that's not the case. The bulb for the high beams works the bench but I'm not getting a light when plugged in. I haven't checked the wiring yet ... on the list. Hopefully it's a simple issue. The fuse for the horn (and brakes) blew so I hope when I get a 2nd pair of eyes I'll see the brake lights working.

 

[61twpw]

Could be a grounding issue. These old rigs enjoy challenging us.

 

[dkcrew]

Could be a grounding issue. These old rigs enjoy challenging us.

That’s my guess. I had a grounding issue with the license plate light - I hope it’s similar. And the brake lights flicker when pressed then go dark. Probably the switch?I’m out for a week so will crack into it when I return.

 

[dkcrew]

replaced the brake light plug from the aftermarket cruiser corps had in stock. In the original one of the 2 green wires was disconnected. Brake lights work. I put a 15a fuse in my horn hack so that's good to go. New wiper blades from cool cruisers.

The high beam light actually works but you can't see the light through the gauge cluster. I have an LED coming today and hope that gets me going. Once that is done I am ready for inspection #2.

On a side note, I put the spare of a 35 from my Tacoma on the front ... just to see ... and I think I know what goal I'm moving towards. The rim is a 4.5 BS and it doesn't fit around the drum (I guess) so it's not sitting on its weight, but damn it looks good.

 

[dkcrew]

OK -- inspection #2 failed:

1. FIXED: left rear brake light was out --> found a disconnected wire in the rear and re-connected
2. when pressing brakes, the right turn signal lights up as well as the front right turn orange lamp up front --> no idea. Looks like everything routes through the hazard switch -- is the brake signal wire crossing over into the front right turn signal?
3. when pressing the brakes, the first inch lights the warning light. This is before the brakes actually start to work ... once any pressure is sensed, the light is off and it works as expected --> my guess is that the brake pressure switch should be pushed back further to connect at the same time the warning light switch is pressed so they're closer in sync.

I really hope I can pass w/o addressing 2 and 3. Functionally the truck is great. I just have these 2 issues.

 

[Engineer8000]

#3, Do you have a good solid brake pedal? I agree the pressure switches should actuate to bypass the warning light before the brake pedal switch closes, as long as you don't have a real pressure issue.

 

[graham5david]

Inspection failed. Immediate TODO:

• new wiper blades (generic 11"?)
• high beam indicator light not working -- more electrical madness? I wasn't even aware there was an indicator so assume I'll dive into the gauge cluster
• brake lights don't work (they did yesterday -- fuse?)
• horn stopped working as they were testing -- maybe this blew the fuse and from what I can tell the horn and brake lights share the same fuse.

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I leave town for a week I'll order / grab parts and hopefully get this cleared next week.

Register it as an antique. Then you can get everything working and still drive it. I Register all my 40s as an antique in Texas. I daily drive them this way. I have never been cited for not driving "to and from a car show" .

 

[Engineer8000]

#2, One possible way I see the brake signal getting to the turn signal is a bad turn signal switch (ruling out faulty wiring). The following is from the @Coolerman web site.

 

[graham5david]

replaced the brake light plug from the aftermarket cruiser corps had in stock. In the original one of the 2 green wires was disconnected. Brake lights work. I put a 15a fuse in my horn hack so that's good to go. New wiper blades from cool cruisers.

The high beam light actually works but you can't see the light through the gauge cluster. I have an LED coming today and hope that gets me going. Once that is done I am ready for inspection #2.

On a side note, I put the spare of a 35 from my Tacoma on the front ... just to see ... and I think I know what goal I'm moving towards. The rim is a 4.5 BS and it doesn't fit around the drum (I guess) so it's not sitting on its weight, but damn it looks good.

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35s are cool but require trimming the rear quarters. I wouldn't cut anything on your truck. 33s are a good size that don't require trimming.

 

[dkcrew]

#3, Do you have a good solid brake pedal? I agree the pressure switches should actuate to bypass the warning light before the brake pedal switch closes, as long as you don't have a real pressure issue.

yes I have good brake pressure and the brakes work great. The warning flashes as I press the brakes until I feel pressure. 3/4 - 1". I just replaced a faulty brake switch and didn't realize the relationship between that and the warning light pressure switch. So I think I need to shorten the brake switch so it's not activated until I press the brake a tad further.

Register it as an antique. Then you can get everything working and still drive it. I Register all my 40s as an antique in Texas. I daily drive them this way. I have never been cited for not driving "to and from a car show" .

Interesting. I'll look into this, but I do plan on driving it all over and I assume I'd violate all sorts of restrictions. Although it appears that isn't enforced. I think these are 2 minor issues that I'd like to get knocked out so hopefully I do that in the next few days. I do look forward to catching a LC meetup somewhere in Austin soon.

#2, One possible way I see the brake signal getting to the turn signal is a bad turn signal switch (ruling out faulty wiring). The following is from the @Coolerman web site.

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haha -- this definitely makes my head spin. I need a few hour sit down with an electrical expert to untie the knots in my head. Faulty wiring could definitely be the issue as I've fixed several wires the last few days. I'm going to read this a dozen times, let it simmer, and sort out a plan for tonight

35s are cool but require trimming the rear quarters. I wouldn't cut anything on your truck. 33s are a good size that don't require trimming.

Yeah -- I'm probably looking way ahead. At this point I just want to drive the truck for a bit and figure out what I want to do. My current thought is skinny 33s (maybe BFG 33x9.5) with a rear locker. That will allow me to keep up with my tacoma when we're on the trails w/o too much change. But I also don't mind cutting the fenders. As you can see from the pics, I already don't have doors, the roll bar is custom, etc. I doubt I'll be bringing this closer to stock over time. But who knows. I would love a pair of doors and a hard top but the prices are outrageous and I'd rather put that money towards off-road capabilities.

 

[dkcrew]

It's officially now a TX truck. Passed inspection March 25 and got the title transferred with new plates in my hand! I still have a weird ground issue with the brakes but I'll work through that over time. My goal for the weekend is to keep this out of the garage and on the road

 

[dkcrew]

The doors that came with the truck don't have the window or the overall frame around the window. It was just cut square at some point. It looks terrible so I'm about to cut them down in the next few weeks. I will mimic the soft doors / short jeep doors and weld some 16gauge over the top and plug fill any holes ... at least that is plan anyways. The jigsaw blade isn't long enough to go all the way through so I'll probably move to the cutoff wheel and hopefuolly be close on measuring both sides and flap disk them to match ...

 

[B y r o n]

If you remove that top plate you may just find that the top half of the door frame was removed and simply needs to be replaced. That would give you full hardtop doors.

 

[dkcrew]

If you remove that top plate you may just find that the top half of the door frame was removed and simply needs to be replaced. That would give you full hardtop doors.

probably a little late for that now

mocked up ... I am picking up some 2" 16 gauge flat bar Monday and will weld a proper cover on ... get some paint on there ... and will then have some doors.

 

[dkcrew]

notes mostly for me. I FINALLY got the truck running great. The exhaust leak was the primary culprit. The carb was rebuilt but tuned with the leaking gasket.

I ran air from my wet-dry vac through the exhaust and easily see the leak at the gasket. I reseated the new donut and got it tight. There is still the slightest leak but it is miles better than before. Started it up. So much more quiet. Incredible. Drove around the block and it now drove worse than before. Stalled a few times as I gave it throttle. I figure the carb adjustment was don't with the leak. Now that's fixed so re-adjust.

I then replaced the plugs with some OEMs.

Carb adjustment. One strange bit is that after I fixed the leak it idled at around 800 now instead of the 650. So maybe this is dumb not to know or unrelated and I still don't know, but I think fixing the exhaust leak raised the idle RPMs. I need to loosen the throttle cable to relax it but I paused on that for now and will tackle that with the distributor replacement soon. Vacuum pressure was around 15-16 where it's always been. The throttle screw wasn't even close to the plate so I moved to the mixture screw. After some adjustment I had vacuum pressure up around 20. I've never been close to that. This is as high as I could get so I stopped.

Drove around the block. PERFECT.
Drove up 2 steep hills I could only use 4lo prior. PERFECT.
Ran an errand and drive 1 mile down the freeway. 60mph. PERFECT.

Overall I'm thrilled. Next on the list:

1. drive like this for a few weeks and see it remains good
2. replace the distributor
3. fix the electrical issues
4. suspension and tires -- probably going with redline and 33s

 

[dkcrew]

New shoes for the 40. My u-bolt plates are bent in to the point where I can't turn a bolt on 3 / 4 of them. The ruff stuff plates are a great fit. I've only done the rear at this point and saving the front for another day.

... magnetic koozies are genius ...

when I compressed the old struts they stayed down. I had to pull them back to extend them.

small to 33s ...

 

[dkcrew]

... continuing the game of whack-a-mole ...

The fuel filter was plugged. I went with this one so I could get a quick visual check. This was after about 30 miles. Rust in the fuel tank? I put a new filter in and drover another 30 miles. It is much cleaner. I am hoping I can replace this filter a few more times and see the clean come through clean. Otherwise I'll likely be looking at a new tank.

New filter ...

I replaced the accelerator linkage b/c the end was frayed on the existing. B/c of this I couldn't get the accelerator to pull the carb throttle enough. So after the new accelerator and a carb adjustment the truck is running how I'd expect. The only problem now is the pedal occasionally sticks so I need to get that spring re-aligned properly.

 

[dkcrew]

the 33x12.5 tire wouldn't fit on the tailgate without some type of spacer. I added a 2x2 piece of metal between the carrier and the gate, ensured a good latch fit, and we're good to go with the spare ...

 

[B y r o n]

If you're going to keep the 33's then seriously consider an aftermarket tire carrier that mounts to the rear crossmember. If not you're going to be looking at replacing or repairing your rear quarter panel because it is going to rip. Trust me on this.

 

[dkcrew]

If you're going to keep the 33's then seriously consider an aftermarket tire carrier that mounts to the rear crossmember. If not you're going to be looking at replacing or repairing your rear quarter panel because it is going to rip. Trust me on this.

I'll definitely keep an eye on it -- I am planning on building a rear bumper with a tire carrier over the winter. I'll keep an eye on it until then.