Builds Doc's 1978 FJ40 Rebuild

[TractorDoc]

Looks like I'll be drilling new holes in the frame!

Make sure to use your radiator support as a guide when making the new holes -- what I mean by this is you can only move the support so far forward before it will be up against the front cross member. If you go by measurement alone you can easily drill holes too far forward and then the radiator support will not sit down in place/fit correctly.

Glad you found the information useful!

I did manage to paint a little black on Saturday. Thought I had all black pieces accounted for until I saw the smaller front air cleaner inlet still sitting on the shelf in primer. . .

I test fit the roll cage in the tub and the two look good together. I dont want to get too far into assembly though before I get the tub bolted down to the frame/cowl -- I need a dedicated time period to make sure I get that done correctly with the sealant. Still need to spray the gas tank and fuel door covers. . . perhaps that will be a good way to celebrate the 4th. Happy Independence Day everyone!

 

[llukej]

Hey Tractor Doc. I have to say "Hands Down" you have the best Restoration thread on this website!
Well Done, Keep up the good work!

 

[TractorDoc]

Hey Tractor Doc. I have to say "Hands Down" you have the best Restoration thread on this website!
Well Done, Keep up the good work!

I thank you for the compliment, but I dont think I can take credit for best restoration. Ive tried to read and keep up with a couple other builds on the forum (slow internet makes that fun with all the pictures) and the real heros are the guys that do all the metal work/rust repair. I would probably have to double the time invested to get to the point I am at now if I had not "cheated" with the Aqualu tub.
Id like to travel back to your part of the world again at some point. . . I spent six months in Australia years ago and really enjoyed it. Had a short layover in Auckland but did not really get to experience any Kiwi hospitality. Beautiful country you have. . . if someday I can bring myself to take on the 24hr plane ride I will be sure to look you up!

Today's little project focused on the running boards. Aqualu sends along a set of aluminum diamond plate running boards with their tub. They are nice and all, but diamond plate on a 40 is like me in a sweater vest. They may go on and fit correctly but something about the combination does not look right. Luckily OEM running boards are readily available (Thanks yet again, @Racer65 ) so I acquired a set. Luckily I held them up side by side with the aluminum versions that were previously installed before painting them because I found a discrepancy in bolt hole position.

At first I thought Aqualu chose to use different bolt hole positions than OEM but Ive since decided Aqualu probably provided no holes and these are a PO addition due to their random placement, differing positions between driver/passenger side, and the fact that the driver side has an extra hole in it. Luckily the forward most hole is the same on both versions due to the fact it lines up in an OEM location on the cowl. I bolted each side together with that hole and marked the PO holes on the OEM running board so I could drill new holes there. I reasoned that it made more sense to drill holes in a $60 unpainted part vs. a thousands of dollars part that had already been painted and made of aluminum.

After seeing how much rust had formed on the OEM NOS fenders I decided the Toyota primer was not a very good barrier to corrosion so the running boards received a quick sand and spray of epoxy primer. The gas tank received a coat of POR-15 Topcoat as well for good measure.

And that was all the 40 progress for today. I spent the rest of the afternoon on one of the other toys prepping an area along side the barn where an addition will be added. Mrs. TractorDoc was out to document the activity but I was feeling camera shy.

After that fun I celebrated the day off with fresh picked blueberries and a bottle of Dragon's Milk.

Normally I have unsophisticated taste buds and I prefer the generic light beers after a long or hot day. They got me on the marketing with this one though. . . who wouldn't want to know what Dragon's Milk tasted like, right? Ive tried my hand at making wine in the past; I seem to remember reading that the charred oak barrels not only add flavor to spirits but also act as a sponge for the fusel oils in alcohol (charcoal = good filter, like on the 40's vapor cannister). Fusel oils are the bad parts that cause hangovers the next day if consumed in too large a quantity. Hopefully this bourbon barrel aged stout did not extract too much of the bad stuff. . . guess we will find out in the morning!

 

[TractorDoc]

Well,
With my office associate on vacation this week I have not had much extra time to spend in the shop. One day during the week (Wednesday?) I did get a few more pieces painted blue:

But it was not until today that I officially bolted the tub to the frame. . . hopefully for the last time.

This took a lot longer than I wanted it too because of working with the sealant at the cowl/tub junction (what a mess) and one of the "captive nuts" in a very inaccessible location at the very back of the aqualu tub must have jarred loose when flipping the tub upside down for paint. . . probably took 20 minutes to finesse it back in place and just catch it with the bolt. Still a little fine tuning to do with the running boards but they look like they will work.
My next step is to source up an another old tractor tire tube to cut and use as weatherstrip between the transmission cover and tub. Once I have all the necessary materials everything should bolt in quickly. . . I was temped to install the jump seats but the dinner bell was ringing.

 

[TheHardWay]

Do not ignore the dinner bell - there's always tomorrow... or the next day... or...

 

[powthief19]

That's a great idea...

 

[TractorDoc]

Do not ignore the dinner bell - there's always tomorrow... or the next day... or...

You've got that right. Earlier on in wedlock I would sometimes lose track of time while engaging in outdoor activities. I learned quickly that Mama Bear does not take kindly to watching her culinary masterpieces get cold. I like food but do not have the patience or ability to prepare it by doing much more than punching buttons on the microwave (or the phone to order a pizza), so it is in my best interest to be punctual.

Intermittent rain showers yesterday and today gave me an excuse to stay inside and those jump seats were quickly bolted into place.

I also found my tractor tire inner tube. An 11.2X24 tube was just large enough to fit across the transmission cover and allow me to make the gasket in one piece. I would punch holes/hold the gasket in place with bolts as I worked my way around the cover.

The white residue on the inside of the cover is old baby powder from the tube. When installing a tube I always gave it a good baby powder coating to help it slide around on the inside of the tire and not bind/pinch. Smells nice too!

Getting the gasket installed between the cover and tub was much more challenging than making it. I also ran out of longer stainless M6 bolts but a quick order from overlandmetric.com should have me covered by the weekend and I can get the transmission cover completely snugged down.
I also cut a couple strips of tube to sit under/around the gas tank and hopefully prevent any sort of metal on metal rattle or vibration.

Gas tank and gas tank cover in place. I remembered the gas tank was tricky to remove on the '72 truck. I preinstalled the filler neck and hose on the tank and fit that into position while dropping the tank into place. I think its a very tight fit to do any other way. . . but I am reusing my original/good condition filler hose and it is less bendy than a new one might be.

That was all for today (actually the last three or so days). I need to do a little wire checking/testing before installing the heater unit. Seems my hazard lights only want to work when the left turn signal is on. . . and the turn signals do not want to flash on their own. Coolerman has given me a couple areas to check out and I will be sure to report back with what I find.

 

[Michael B]

Doc you may need to run a seperate ground to each front trun signal unit. I had to do this after the bed liner product in my inner front fenders interfered with the normal grounging methodology of Mr. Toyota.

Your rig looks fantstic by the way! I really like the reflection of your running boards on the side of the truck!!

 

[davework]

Hardware coming your way, love following this along!

 

[TractorDoc]

Doc you may need to run a seperate ground to each front trun signal unit.

You are probably right on. Grounds are usually 90% of the problem 90% of the time. . . in my experience anyway. I have not had a chance to focus my eyeball on the situation just yet but Id bet lunch (and I like lunch) its a ground issue.

Hardware coming your way, love following this along!

Looking forward to it Dave! Don't want things to get weird between us but I gotta say I love your nuts. . . bolts. . . and other offerings found on your website. Anyone looking for hardware needs to visit OverlandMetric.com !

A few steps closer to the finish line today.
Plumbed in all the vapor lines to the gas tank today. Even found the little filter that goes between the collection housing and charcoal cannister (buried behind the other lines).

Then hid everything behind the factory cover that I've had ready for weeks and couldn't wait to install.

Getting closer to putting the front seats in. . .

 

[TractorDoc]

A couple weeks after pulling the siding off the barn the Amish crew showed up Friday and I helped them a good part of the day with barn reconstruction. We replaced a large beam that was the victim of chronic water exposure and rot, also cleaned out the rafters and found a good sized pile of wormy chestnut rough cut lumber.
Rather than post a picture of the barn I thought a picture of Amish Dan's drill would be interesting. . . anyone else use a setup like this?

Speaking of tools, the back of the 40 is quickly turning into another work bench. The assortment of wrenches, screwdrivers, hardware, etc. should be a good test for the Defender bedliner material.

As that last picture shows I was able to fit the passenger seat in today. Forwarded this picture over to the Mrs. to let her know her seat was installed and all I received back was "Where's my seat belt?" The seat belts are in a box and will be installed but need a little cleaning up. I am back and forth between just lap belts or the full shoulder belt. The lap belts are functioning and may get installed first but the shoulder belts are not retracting at the moment and look a little crustier (but are probably a lot safer).

A lot of time was wasted today on three different things. First was finding an appropriate sized screw to secure the head bump pads to the roll bar. I know I removed the screws and thought I put them in the bag with the roll bar bolts, but alas they were not there. Finally found some that did the job in a hardware assortment tray in the other barn. Second challenge I had was locking the transmission shift lever into position. I do not have the special tool to push the spring down and twist the keeper into the locked position. . . after a lot of trial and error I used a tie rod fork to pry against the transmission cover and push down on a washer that was slid over/down the shift lever. This gave me just enough room to twist the lock into place. Third waste of time was just looking for my JIS Screwdriver. I bought one from City Racer just for this project and have kept good track of it so far but today it is missing in action. I wonder if it went to the place all my tape measures go whenever I need one of those. . .

Anyway, even with those challenges I was able to push on and get the driver seat installed. I did rotate the rear mounts 180 degrees to give me an extra inch or so of leg room. The bolts do not exactly line up on the front brackets but I want to do a little more adjustment with "my" seat anyway to give it a slight boost. Right now as I look forward the top arc of the steering wheel is right in my line of sight. I suppose I could just use a phone book or seat cushion. . .

I worked a bit more on the turn signal wiring as well. After a good cleaning of the switch the hazard lights work as they should. When I hit one of the turn signals though Id get one click from the flasher and then the lights of the chosen side would just stay on. I piggybacked an extra bulb on the tail lights to pull a little more juice and potentially trip the flasher but had the same result. When I piggybacked a bulb on the front turn signal though the flasher kicked in and started working. The only thought I have is because I kept the 1972 tail lights with a special harness the main 1978 harness does not receive feedback from the rear bulbs. I may have to wire in a second bulb somewhere in the front harness but at least I will have working turn signals.

Thinking that I have the the turn signal issue resolved and confident my hazard switch is in good working order I installed the interior heater box.

If tomorrow allows I can fill the radiator and associated plumbing up with antifreeze and work on getting the air cleaner installed. That might enable a quick road trip. . . even though goggles and earplugs could be required due to the lack of windshield and muffler.

 

[White Stripe]

I find it interesting that u had to space out your strikers as well as I did. It's odd that in the aqualu pic gallery nobody has them spaced out. I don't understand what's up with that.

 

[Michael B]

Hey Doc everthing is coming together nicely! I really like the blue and black. That's my favorite color combination.

Try giving the flasher relay a little wiggle to ensure you're getting good ground there as well.

I find that drill very interesting. I would not want to be holding on to it though when the drill bit hangs. It would be easy for that rig to break a wrist.

 

[gator25]

Like always, looking great Doc!

 

[DSB345]

WOW! That drill looks like a workout. Looking great!

 

[mrboatman]

Looking really good I'll bet you are really anxious to take that short drive looks like you are just about ready
JP

 

[TractorDoc]

I find it interesting that u had to space out your strikers as well as I did. It's odd that in the aqualu pic gallery nobody has them spaced out. I don't understand what's up with that.

You, me, and my Previous Owner as well. Didnt I read in your build that they told you to space them forward when you called Aqualu?

I really like the blue and black. That's my favorite color combination.

My favourite combination as well. . . unless its a bruise from self trauma.

I find that drill very interesting. I would not want to be holding on to it though when the drill bit hangs. It would be easy for that rig to break a wrist.

I had asked him about that. . . they use it only to drill thru wood (but would think it could still catch) and the belt is not fully tightened to allow some slippage. Whatever it takes to avoid the dreaded electricity.

Big thanks Nolan, Dave, and JP. Appreciate that you keep reading this far into the journey.

After some shop cleanup I was able to reassemble the air cleaner unit and get it installed. From there it was just a matter of adding some fluids and turning the key -- took a quick drive around the farm for the first time without sitting on a bucket. Dare I say the OEM seat was actually quite comfortable and once I was in/driving I believe the placement is good -- just need to secure the front brackets. Before a quick photo session I went all in and installed the hubcaps.

In a moment of dread I thought I was going to need my back passenger (the fire extinquisher) when smoke started rising from the engine compartment after a couple minutes of driving. . . closer inspection suggested it was just the paint on the exhaust manifold "breaking in." Luckily no flames or smoldering material was found.

Next order of business is to get after these two buggers:

If I can get the windshield frame, hood, and spare tire carrier done I should have a vehicle worth being seen by the public. Front doors would be a nice bonus to get after later this year but right now there are only three major items on the 40 to do list. There is a number of other little projects like the heater blower that I need to tackle but that is not keeping me off the road.

On a side note, Mrs. TractorDoc called me on her way home to say she had been stopped in the road by a turkey. I told her to honk her horn or at worst get out and it would likely run away. . . she responded by saying it walked up to her door and followed her around when she got out. With no houses anywhere near the scene I was nominated to come out in the pickup truck to retrieve the tame turkey. It is a white/domestic bird and would let me walk right up to it but was not too sure about being picked up. . . I was not too sure about picking it up as Im used to my chickens and ducks (much smaller). After a bit of a wrestling match the turkey made it home and is now in with the chickens. . . if anyone in North Central Ohio is short one turkey be sure to PM me!

 

[Helipilot]

Glad my dentist doesn't have a drill like that.

 

[tls3601]

Doc is that gorgeous blue single stage? I assume it is the OEM Sky Blue as well? Looks great and thanks for the info on the splash guards, appreciated Because of my headers I cannot mount the driver side guard and may have the wrong year passenger side guard, although seller claimed they were off a '78

 

[TractorDoc]

Doc is that gorgeous blue single stage? I assume it is the OEM Sky Blue as well?

Single Stage Yes, sanded down with 1000, 2000, then 3000 grit and cut/polished with Meguiar's compounding and finishing products.

A lot more work than I am used to when it comes to paint but I am pleased with how it has turned out considering I'm painting outside.

OEM Sky Blue? No, although that was what I was going for. I had my paint shop mix up several samples from the Toyota paint code but it always came back with a darker blue/gray tone than I liked. I picked this color from a sample chip at the paint shop -- owner of the shop thought I was crazy at the time not knowing how it would look beyond the little piece of card stock. . . it turned out exactly how I wanted on the truck so for once risk vs. reward resulted in my favor. I thank you and all the others that like this color -- makes it look like I know what Im doing!

You may still be able to work with the earlier style splash guard -- not sure if it will interfere with the dual brake line tee that mounts to the frame though.