DanBL's FJ60 Repair Journey.

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@DanBL

Welcome to the madness. Looks like you're digging in and doing the right troubleshooting so far. What's your goal with the truck? Sunday driver? Hardcore wheeler? Something in between?

Regarding the fusible link: I make a plug & play kit to replace that entirely if you'd rather just swap fuses with ones you can get at any local parts store, like on a modern vehicle. You can see the kit here.
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CruiserTrash said:
@DanBL

Welcome to the madness. Looks like you're digging in and doing the right troubleshooting so far. What's your goal with the truck? Sunday driver? Hardcore wheeler? Something in between?

Regarding the fusible link: I make a plug & play kit to replace that entirely if you'd rather just swap fuses with ones you can get at any local parts store, like on a modern vehicle. You can see the kit here.
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I like your kit. It's a good idea and I may go that route eventually. It's hard to say right now whether I'll go the way of modernized modifications or try to duplicate OEM. I can see where one could get a significant voltage drop under load using the OEM fusible link. I'll have to see how it works in my rig.

As with our other Toyota (87 Pickup), we plan to drive the piss out of it. We go on gravel roads quite a bit but usually with the goal of getting somewhere. Occasionally, this puts us on some rough trails. This will be my Wife's rig when its road worthy. She will decide on a full restoration if she likes it.

In this case, I've ordered parts for the FL but haven't seen any yet. We'll just have to see how she runs when she goes together.

I'm an electronics nerd to some extent and have taught myself very simple PCB design and home production using a laser printer and clothes iron. The interest came from repairing and modifying old audio gear.
 
DanBL said:
I like your kit. It's a good idea and I may go that route eventually. It's hard to say right now whether I'll go the way of modernized modifications or try to duplicate OEM. I can see where one could get a significant voltage drop under load using the OEM fusible link. I'll have to see how it works in my rig.

As with our other Toyota (87 Pickup), we plan to drive the piss out of it. We go on gravel roads quite a bit but usually with the goal of getting somewhere. Occasionally, this puts us on some rough trails. This will be my Wife's rig when its road worthy. She will decide on a full restoration if she likes it.

In this case, I've ordered parts for the FL but haven't seen any yet. We'll just have to see how she runs when she goes together.

I'm an electronics nerd to some extent and have taught myself very simple PCB design and home production using a laser printer and clothes iron. The interest came from repairing and modifying old audio gear.
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The 60 will be fun no matter what your wife decides to do with it. Paired with an 87 pickup, it sounds like you have some good choices too.

With my fusible link kit folks usually see an increase of system idle voltage of 0.5-1.0VDC. It really helps when you've got a bunch of stuff going, like the wipers, heater, and blinkers on a cold rainy night. Speaking for myself, I measure from the gauge cluster so that includes voltage drop through the wiring and fuse panel. I also have the original voltage gauge on the dash, plus another voltmeter that measures from the positive terminal connection point of my dual battery system. I like seeing data haha.

Also, welcome fellow electronics nerd. I cut my teeth repairing tube guitar amps and then moved on to PCB design and smaller circuits.
 
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CruiserTrash said:
The 60 will be fun no matter what your wife decides to do with it. Paired with an 87 pickup, it sounds like you have some good choices too.

With my fusible link kit folks usually see an increase of system idle voltage of 0.5-1.0VDC. It really helps when you've got a bunch of stuff going, like the wipers, heater, and blinkers on a cold rainy night. Speaking for myself, I measure from the gauge cluster so that includes voltage drop through the wiring and fuse panel. I also have the original voltage gauge on the dash, plus another voltmeter that measures from the positive terminal connection point of my dual battery system. I like seeing data haha.

Also, welcome fellow electronics nerd. I cut my teeth repairing tube guitar amps and then moved on to PCB design and smaller circuits.
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I've flirted with tube gear but haven't really repaired any. That's a fascinating area of specialization. The last project I was working on was an opamp VU meter driver for old Simpsons. Works pretty good.
 
DanBL said:
I've flirted with tube gear but haven't really repaired any. That's a fascinating area of specialization. The last project I was working on was an opamp VU meter driver for old Simpsons. Works pretty good.
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I like to think I'm pretty well known around here -as in, people roll their eyes - for derailing threads talking about old tube amps. I'll try to keep that in check.

...but I've had some Simpson test equipment over the years. Great aesthetic pieces. I'd love to do a VU meter for an amp or guitar pedal some time, but haven't ever messed with the required driver circuits. Sounds like a fun winter project.
 
CruiserTrash said:
I like to think I'm pretty well known around here -as in, people roll their eyes - for derailing threads talking about old tube amps. I'll try to keep that in check.

...but I've had some Simpson test equipment over the years. Great aesthetic pieces. I'd love to do a VU meter for an amp or guitar pedal some time, but haven't ever messed with the required driver circuits. Sounds like a fun winter project.
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Not at all. I'm all over the place with my interests too. If you want to start playing with Very Uninformative meters, I catalogued this web site a long time ago and its still active:

Practical VU Meter Circuits

michaelfidler.com michaelfidler.com

I made a board with a circuit he designed and it worked well with an old scabby Simpson I had in a box.
 
@CruiserTrash's fusible link kit is the way to go if you want ultimate reliability. My positive battery terminal loosened up and blew the main fuse when I was out in the middle of nowhere. Since I always carry spares, I was able to fix it in 5 minutes and be on my way. I would've been screwed had I been using the OG fusible link setup.

I'll recommend it to anyone with a 60 who plans on using it for anything more than a Sunday driver.
 
yotadude520 said:
@CruiserTrash's fusible link kit is the way to go if you want ultimate reliability. My positive battery terminal loosened up and blew the main fuse when I was out in the middle of nowhere. Since I always carry spares, I was able to fix it in 5 minutes and be on my way. I would've been screwed had I been using the OG fusible link setup.

I'll recommend it to anyone with a 60 who plans on using it for anything more than a Sunday driver.
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Now that is something to think about. Thanks!
 
yotadude520 said:
@CruiserTrash's fusible link kit is the way to go if you want ultimate reliability. My positive battery terminal loosened up and blew the main fuse when I was out in the middle of nowhere. Since I always carry spares, I was able to fix it in 5 minutes and be on my way. I would've been screwed had I been using the OG fusible link setup.

I'll recommend it to anyone with a 60 who plans on using it for anything more than a Sunday driver.
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Thanks Will! I could tell from the photos you sent that you at least broke down in a really pretty area haha.
 
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