Builds Eureka - a 1974 Factory Soft Top FJ40 preservation

[DailyDrive_FJ45]

Trans/TC are back in!

a combination of engine hoist, floor jack, some creative rigging and just some brute force on my part to get it seated in the pilot bearing (grabbed front axle and back of the tc and pulled as hard as I could together)

Not a fun job, took me about 2.5 hours, but it got done, and didn't need to pull the engine or loosen motor mounts or any of that.

Can't do driveshafts yet because I'm waiting on some new parking brake shoes, but once those come in on Monday I should be able to finish up the drivetrain

 

[DailyDrive_FJ45]

Spent the day designing and tig welding my exhaust. Tried to go as close to factory routing as I could, 2.25" pipe all the way, v band clamps at the header and after the muffler.

Also, reattached the transfer case shift linkage and front drive shaft.

Overall a very productive day. Getting close to being able to drive.

 

[DailyDrive_FJ45]

Put the timing light and vac gauge on and set out to tune the carb today. This engine runs great!

Good oil pressure, cooling system doing cooling system things as well.

I haven't checked what my compression numbers are now that it's running again but I suspect my numbers have come back up to a normal range, because it sounds great and doesn't seem to be burning oil. Really excited to get this out for a test drive soon.

 

[DailyDrive_FJ45]

Alright, trigger warning for the restorers and purists....


You may remember when I started this thread I told you I wanted to get this up and running, and preserve as much of the original truck as makes sense. At least for a while.

We're basically a pair of seats and something semi-solid to mount them to away from having this truck up and driving around.

Well, I patched the floor.

Is it right? No.

Will it work for a while and let me drive this thing around? You betcha.

Eventually I'll cut this out and weld in a proper new floorboard. But today is not that day, and for now the floor will support enough weight.

 

[DailyDrive_FJ45]

Anyone knowledgeable on tuning a 0-7448 350 CFM Holley? Paging @Downey or anyone?

Got this thing starting and idling like a champ, however, unless I'm very slow and methodical about getting on the throttle it seems to lean out and pop through the carb.

Original Vac-retard dizzy, but the retard port is capped and relying on mechanical advance. Timing seems fine at 7° btdc

watched some videos about adjusting accelerator pump arm and that seems to have helped, but not eliminated my issue.

Have checked seemingly everywhere for vacuum leaks and have come up empty.

Vac on Idle is about +18 in/Hg

Any ideas what would be going on?

Wrong jets? Wrong power valve?

 

[RevISK]

Anyone knowledgeable on tuning a 0-7448 350 CFM Holley? Paging @Downey or anyone?

Got this thing starting and idling like a champ, however, unless I'm very slow and methodical about getting on the throttle it seems to lean out and pop through the carb.

Original Vac-retard dizzy, but the retard port is capped and relying on mechanical advance. Timing seems fine at 7° btdc

watched some videos about adjusting accelerator pump arm and that seems to have helped, but not eliminated my issue.

Have checked seemingly everywhere for vacuum leaks and have come up empty.

Vac on Idle is about +18 in/Hg

Any ideas what would be going on?

Wrong jets? Wrong power valve?

Dirty jets is my guess.

I have a Holley 350 and a rebuild kit that came with my truck if you want another to fiddle with. I’ll let it go for a mega reasonable price.

 

[Downey]

I can help with the Holley set up, lemme know if you need more info. BTW, nice score.

 

[DailyDrive_FJ45]

I can help with the Holley set up, lemme know if you need more info. BTW, nice score.

Thanks, this thing is kinda driving me nuts with this throttle problem. If I pull off the bowl, what jets should I be looking for for a good setup with one of these? Which power valve?

I'll take all the setup info you can give lol.

Dirty jets is my guess.

I have a Holley 350 and a rebuild kit that came with my truck if you want another to fiddle with. I’ll let it go for a mega reasonable price.

View attachment 3756519

View attachment 3756520

That's the thing, I JUST rebuilt this carb. Jets should be clean, and all the fuel lines/pump are brand new and I'm pulling from a clean jug. So I doubt it's dirty jets.

 

[DailyDrive_FJ45]

I can help with the Holley set up, lemme know if you need more info. BTW, nice score.

Could my problem be fuel pressure? My pump only does 3.5psi, and now I'm reading that Holleys like somewhere in the neighborhood of 7psi.

I wouldn't think the bowl would get that empty just stabbing the throttle a bit but maybe I'm wrong?

 

[DailyDrive_FJ45]

Went down to MetalTech 4x4 in Newberg today and picked up one of their upgraded factory style roll bars. Cool to have a shop like that local.

Nice quality, and good fit. Still need to weld it up.

 

[Downey]

DailyDrive, If you rebuild the Holley 350, make sure it has #61 jets (proper size for Landcruiser c.i.), also look at ebay #265210899173 (especially look at drawings and read copy). Also might consider ebay #265757251913. Also, I have a righteous die stamped bracket for mounting cable linkage to the Holley. Yes, you need 5-7 psi for the Holley 350.

 

[DailyDrive_FJ45]

DailyDrive, If you rebuild the Holley 350, make sure it has #61 jets (proper size for Landcruiser c.i.), also look at ebay #265210899173 (especially look at drawings and read copy). Also might consider ebay #265757251913. Also, I have a righteous die stamped bracket for mounting cable linkage to the Holley. Yes, you need 5-7 psi for the Holley 350.

Right on thanks. I already rebuilt it, but at this point wouldn't hurt to pull the bowl back off and check the jets that's a quick fix if they aren't the right ones. The baffle looks nice, not sure if this rig will be seeing many crazy inclines at this point, but it's cheap enough so couldn't hurt. I do already have a throttle cable setup, but if I decide to revise that looks like a nice option.

Looks like I'm in the market for a slightly stouter fuel pump setup.

 

[DailyDrive_FJ45]

Lots of progress over the last few days, fuel tank back in. Put a little gas in to check for leaks and so far, so good.

Also, some progress on seating. Realized my Volvo seats just would not work with the stock fuel tank setup, just sat too high, so I found these neat looking seats on Amazon. They're pretty comfortable, and adjustable. Driver side has a slider, passenger will go in fixed just for ease of installation.

 

[DailyDrive_FJ45]

Alright, seats mounted.

Not a whole lot left to do before I try a test drive. Just need to bleed the brakes and I should be able to at least take it for a trip around the cul-de-sac.

 

[DailyDrive_FJ45]

Bodywork prep today. Formed the rear bottom section to cover the rear sill. Definitely not a body guy but I think it will turn out good.

Then promptly pulled everything apart to prep, prime and prepare to weld

As I would like the mating surfaces to have some sort of primer, anywhere there will be a plug weld surface got a coat of U-Pol zinc primer.

Once the primer dries I'll get everything fitted back up again and start welding.

 

[DailyDrive_FJ45]

Starting to weld, just getting things tacked into place.

 

[DailyDrive_FJ45]

And the other fun thing from today ... Had to bury the lead a bit because I wanted to show my wife first before plastering it all over social media.

It's a driver! Still got some tuning to do, but it can gingerly move under its own power.

 

[DailyDrive_FJ45]

Welds are getting there. It's slow going to keep the heat down, but I'm not seeing much if any warping so I'll keep plugging away a little at a time.

 

[DailyDrive_FJ45]

More or less done welding in the sill and corner patches.

 

[derail]

It's a driver! Still got some tuning to do, but it can gingerly move under its own power.

Awesome!