Dave's 1978 FJ40 long restoration project

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I have changed many persons career especially the guys in the ditch :hmm:


I think if my kid had sat in THAT seat when he was a kid, his life might have taken a different direction. Kinda like that Death Valley trip you took when YOU were young.
 
WOW! It still has the plastic wrapper on it.
Thank You Mark :D

Dave

I looked at that spot on top of the oil cooler before I rolled down the garage door, and I smiled. Had to double check before I could post. NLA, I thought I still had ONE left, waiting for that worthy project. Thick layer of dust on the box. Happy to see it go.

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Hey - I'm one of those guys in the ditch , pal - lol , or used to be ...

I always did like a good Operator that made nice , neat slopes and cut-backs - makes it a lot easier for us to spot potential soils that like to bury us , which is not a whole of fun if anyone's wondering...

Nice job on the engine Mark , love details like that - hope to have your project done tomorrow , shop has been in pieces , literally .

Sarge
 
Dave, I really like your attention to detail, both on the 40 and with your work. I'm glad to see that you are considerate of the guys in the ditch. My wife was eleven when her Dad died in a cave-in on a sewer project. It was winter time in Salem, very wet and unstable soil. The company did not have proper shoring available. Otis was actually planning to quit that job because the contractor was cutting too many safety corners when the cave-in happened.

By the way, I was awake and up at 5:15 this morning. If I'm still in bed at 6 I've slept in. I grew up with the premise that daylight hours were meant to be used, not wasted with sleeping, working from "can't see to can't see".

Don
 
Thank you Don! I never take chances with the guys in the ditch. I used to be in the trench back in the day. I have many lives that depend on me to create safe working conditions for them. I will turn off the machine and walk away until conditions are made safe for the men. It's only pipe. Not worth dying for. I care a lot about them. They are my friends. Hardest working men I ever worked with.

Dave, I really like your attention to detail, both on the 40 and with your work. I'm glad to see that you are considerate of the guys in the ditch. My wife was eleven when her Dad died in a cave-in on a sewer project. It was winter time in Salem, very wet and unstable soil. The company did not have proper shoring available. Otis was actually planning to quit that job because the contractor was cutting too many safety corners when the cave-in happened.

By the way, I was awake and up at 5:15 this morning. If I'm still in bed at 6 I've slept in. I grew up with the premise that daylight hours were meant to be used, not wasted with sleeping, working from "can't see to can't see".

Don
 
Now , that's the proper attitude ! I've made a lot of friends from the Operators - it's a win-win for everyone . They look out for us and don't "create" extra work and we take care of them in turn...we all cooperate . I've worked with some of the best Pipeline hoe operators in the biz , and in turn have worked around some real "company rammer clowns" as well - I walk away , just not worth it . I've been hurt twice , and pretty badly at that from the ignorance of others - not going to happen that majic 3rd time ...this last injury put me out of commission for nearly 4yrs and away from most of the work we do due to severe limitations . Now , I'm mostly just a target out on the Roads trying to look out for the crews and handle traffic . I'm fine with it , but it's cut my work hours by over half on average since 2010 and it's making the goal of retirement nearly impossible . You have to look out for yourself and the others you work with , no one else is going to do it for you with the competition/profit attitudes out there in the last 10yrs or so ...

I've really enjoyed this thread , and watching Mark build a very nice looking engine - bet it will run sweet as well .

Sarge
 
Thanks Sarge! Sorry to here about your injuries. I have worked with a lot of cowboy operators too. They just don't care about the men. I worked my way up from the bottom in the pipeline industry to the top and back to where I want to be now, pulling levers. It took me 30 years to figure out where God needs me to be. Now I'm the old guy teaching the young ones how to be safe and how not to work hard.



Now , that's the proper attitude ! I've made a lot of friends from the Operators - it's a win-win for everyone . They look out for us and don't "create" extra work and we take care of them in turn...we all cooperate . I've worked with some of the best Pipeline hoe operators in the biz , and in turn have worked around some real "company rammer clowns" as well - I walk away , just not worth it . I've been hurt twice , and pretty badly at that from the ignorance of others - not going to happen that majic 3rd time ...this last injury put me out of commission for nearly 4yrs and away from most of the work we do due to severe limitations . Now , I'm mostly just a target out on the Roads trying to look out for the crews and handle traffic . I'm fine with it , but it's cut my work hours by over half on average since 2010 and it's making the goal of retirement nearly impossible . You have to look out for yourself and the others you work with , no one else is going to do it for you with the competition/profit attitudes out there in the last 10yrs or so ...

I've really enjoyed this thread , and watching Mark build a very nice looking engine - bet it will run sweet as well .

Sarge
 
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If anyone needs a Safety tune-up on Trenches I can speak from the Rescue (Body Recovery) side. I'll save the details for Drunken Campfire Exorcisms of my Fireman PTS Baggage!
 
Back to the build. Installed water pump, upper thermostat housing and harmonic balancer this morning. Brought home clutch kit. Need starter and valve cover.
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Not sure about that yellow zinc locknut. Only seen OE replacement that color, not installed.
 
Oil filter looks right at home.
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Dave

Not sure if you still need these. reorganizing one of the shop shelves and found three sets of these:

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Fixed it.

All these heaters have been in dry storage for the last 20 years, waiting for me to look at them.
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Got a good harvest of OE hose clamps out of the deal as well.
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Dave

To answer your question about the clamps, here are two pics. The first is of your first two clamps on the bypass hose, full sun. The second is of my replated ones, in the shade. A picture's worth more than a few words here.

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Mark I did not know the full size oil filter was still available.................cool! Oustanding attention to detail BTW!!
 
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