Dave's 1978 FJ40 long restoration project

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Spike Strip said:
Wow - Just came across this build thread, read through everything!

Fantastic work, Dave/Mark. I feeeeel OCD kicking in. Must. Stop. :D My '74. Good enough...
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Resistance is futile!:lol::lol::lol:

You were hooked when you bought that NOS carburetor!

The first step is admitting you have a problem.

Dave and I left room in the rabbit hole!
 
Forgot this pimp shot of the steering box with the backets on it:
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OE replacement hardware on the side cover, re-plated stock hardware on the top cover.
 
Dave

I went into the hermetically sealed vault today to see if my memory was correct. Bingo! One genuine NOS 1978 Air Cleaner decal. It will be my pleasure to gift this to you and personally install it at the first car show you take your rig to.
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Back in the early years of Mark's Off Road I made the prescient move of buying at least one of every decal Mr Toyota still offered for the FJ40. The parts people at the dealership looked at my funny back then. I bet they wouldn't now.

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I thought I would surprise Mark by cleaning a few bolts that he asked for and decided to do a few more to have plated. How hard could this be I told myself. So I had a plan :idea: that I would use automation to accomplish my goal while I would get some other chores done around my house. I don't like using harsh chemicals so I decided to try HD Simple Green and my little oscillating machine I bought from Harbor Freight.

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It worked pretty good getting all the heavy grime off but not as I had hoped.

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So next I tried my good ole' tumbler method. It's always worked before and cleans up bolts pretty nice. I bought some crushed walnut shells from Petco for reptile bedding (much cheaper than buying media anywhere else). I put the bolts in and waited a couple of hours. Surley this would do the trick, right?

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I got the Dremel tool out and spent a couple of hours trying to clean up the bolts and said to myself, this is way too much work. Eventually, I looked around in my garage cabinets for all different kinds of solutions. Starting Fluid, Purple Power, ETC. I tried them all but just couldn't get anything to work. Then I came across "Oil Eater"

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I put a couple of bolts in a canning jar and turned up the heat.

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My wife came into the kitchen and said "what the hell are you doing?" I said cleaning bolts. Lets just say she's not to happy with me. :crybaby: I just kept on doing my thing and she came running in again and said "it smells in here" :meh:

But at the end of it all, I was pleased with the result.

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DSB345 said:
The chemical along with the heat my be a little too harsh on the bolts. I might just try it without the heat or it looks like I'm still going to be back using the Dremel. Damn it :crybaby:
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I have had great luck with the green pyramids in my tumbler. They are kind of speedy even at HF but do a nice job.
 
I like Dave's lab experiments. Great job Dave those bolts are looking new-ish again!

Take your :princess: out for dinner and she'll forgive the messmell. New word!
 
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