- Thread starter
- #181
Thinking back on it now, if I wasn't in a rush at that time and especially after checking the price... that would have made the most sense.
Thanks for the kind words and reminder to check OE more often than not.
First FZJ80, 97 40th Anniversary
- Thread starter rdcnj
- Start date
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Thanks for the kind words and reminder to check OE more often than not.
Your truck looks fantastic! I just finishing up a cosmetic restoration of a 40th and have enjoyed your thread. I assume you will be starting the cosmetic / body restoration next. I had good luck conserving my paint work by using a Dr. Color Kit. I was sceptical at first but have really come to appreciate it for minor repairs. They don't offer the 1B2 Sage color code so you have to email the company. Seems like they back east close to you in NJ.
Good luck on your project. Love the 40th! I will keep your "donor" car in mind if I need a part
Good luck on your project. Love the 40th! I will keep your "donor" car in mind if I need a part
- Thread starter
- #183
Thanks for the kind words.Your truck looks fantastic! I just finishing up a cosmetic restoration of a 40th and have enjoyed your thread. I assume you will be starting the cosmetic / body restoration next. I had good luck conserving my paint work by using a Dr. Color Kit. I was sceptical at first but have really come to appreciate it for minor repairs. They don't offer the 1B2 Sage color code so you have to email the company. Seems like they back east close to you in NJ.
Good luck on your project. Love the 40th! I will keep your "donor" car in mind if I need a part
Short of some small areas that should be checked, the hood is really the only panel that has clear rust and will be addressed. Especially since the parts one has a clean and unscathed hood that just requires a respray.
I’m working out on how I want to proceed, because replacing the door and window seals are a pretty large priority in the next year.
rest of the body, short of a couple rear hatch spots, is in good condition and our body shop guy brought up a great point.... make it too pretty and you’ll never want to drive it.
Since he’s probably right.... I’m going to make it look better and do everything I can to keep things protected for decades.... but I don’t know how much “prettier” I’ll make her.
nice build!!
are you taking 100 series now for repair/maintenance?
are you taking 100 series now for repair/maintenance?
- Thread starter
- #185
Thanks for the kind words.
We are taking appointments for 100’s, we have just been really crazy lately.
Feel free to stop in and say hello.
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The truck looks great, I'm sure you we enjoy it immensely.
- Thread starter
- #187
Thanks brother. Have been driving it regularly and making some small changes that I haven’t had time to post about. But we love our truck and it has been a very enjoyable experience thus far.
Typing as we make a pit stop on our way to the beach with it.
FMC80
SILVER Star
How’s the truck performing? Curious what you painted the engine with and why? I’m asking because I’m genuinely curious. This LC is amazing, congrats to you and your crew for making this happen.
- Thread starter
- #190
Truck has been pretty great overall but of course, no build exists without ironing out details. Learned a TON more this year through the process.
We painted the engine so that it would: look nice and so that if you get leaks, they are easy to spot. When it was all torn down, it just looked very sad. We used VHT High Heat engine paint IIRC.
Here are the pitfalls I have encountered that I have not had time to post about:
- Changed the P/S Pump twice - Pretty sure I posted about those two instances.
- Had to change the steering gear box twice - Reputable rebuilder just bad luck first time around
- EGR valve started whistling hard and this sent me on a mission that lead me to find out I can no longer trust my starter and alternator rebuilder. At first, I thought it was the belts, so I ordered genuine belts as the screeching was that of the belts being uneven in size. While I had the belts out, the (rebuilt) alternator spinning felt excessively course and I ordered a new one to replace it with. Replaced them and the whine out of this thing was that of a supercharger. After about another hour racking my brain, we found the EGR valve was the culprit.
- Starter died two weeks ago, same rebuilder. Ordered a new Denso cold weather unit to replace it.
I've driven about 7,000 miles since completing the truck and really love the hell out of it with some minor things that I need to get time to address.
- First being, I need to install the seat extensions because I need just a smidge more leg room. I have the seats out of my parts truck that I am going to install the new seat cushions and leather onto, and when I do that I will naturally add the seat extensions to those frames.
- Second being the radio, but it's fine for now with new speakers.
We've thoroughly enjoyed using it as a family vehicle and it has served its purpose well over the last year.
Now.... if we can only get these gas prices under control, I'd be inclined to drive it twice as much as I do now.
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FMC80
SILVER Star
Right on. Good to read of you working out the gremlins but more importantly, going out and enjoying it with your family. Regular gas is over $4 here. What’s it there?
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- Thread starter
- #192
Thanks. Premium is presently just under $4 a gallon. But with regular creeping to $3.50, I'm surprised we're still under $4 for premium.
We all love the truck. It feels strong and safe, although I get my chops busted about how slow "Ol' Nelly" is... but slow and steady gets us and whatever we're carrying, everywhere we gotta go. Look forward to hopefully planning some extended road trips with it next year.
- Thread starter
- #194
So, it's always an adventure with "old lady Nelly". First, she is reliable... regardless of any mishap(s).
So my first attempt at driving on the beach, we blew the steering gear box. Still drove off the island, so she didn't leave us stranded.
The second time we planned for the beach trip, I triple checked it all in an effort to make this trip smooth.
Turn out the one thing I forgot to bring extra of (coolant)... was all loaded up with "Murphys Law". Getting on the beach was much smoother this time around, but I noticed my coolant temp fluctuating. "Oh no..." Is all I could think of.
A short while later, the smoke from the engine bay told me it was time to pull over. Opened the hood and weirdly enough, it all looked normal, except coolant in very strange places. Waited a while and opened radiator, she was empty. Tried to put some water in, came right out the bottom.
Determined not to let this ruin the trip, we ran her for about 60-90 seconds in-between 15 minute (cool down) intervals. Got to our fishing spot and decided to worry about trying to catch fish as we would deal with the truck, soon enough.
Had an awesome night fishing, at about 1am we decided to pack things up and prepare to attempt to make the journey off the sand and hopefully off the Park grounds. Thankfully, she allowed us to do just that. First she got us off the sand and back onto the roads. We pulled over to air up the tires and allow her to cool off again for about 30 minutes.
Ready to try again, we got ready and made it 5 miles down on a single shot. 45 degree weather seriously helped that. With only 1.5 miles to get off Park property, we rested for another 30 and by about 2:15 am, we were off Park grounds and at a friends house for the night.
After getting the vehicle back to the house, I ordered a new Radiator and decided I wanted to change my cooling fan to an electric setup as opposed to the clutch style.
After receiving the parts and tearing the truck down... we determined that the cooling fan clutch failed and that lead to the rise in temperature... from the stress of beach driving. The radiator (CSF unit IIRC), did not like this temperature change and it inevitably gave way at the lower radiator hose and ovaled the lower hose mount.
This was unfortunate.
So upon installing the new OEM radiator and the cooling fan assembly, we knew I had to order an independent power distribution block to do the job correctly. Drove it 40 minutes from house to shop with no cooling fan operation and the temperature did not even budge. Ordered the Misc items needed and proceeded with dual electric fan install and setup. Monitored temps and dialed in the fans to start at around 178 degrees.
One week later I meet a friend in Vermont who takes us on some trails. What an amazing adventure that was.
Old lady Nelly definitely loves the trails. She left with a couple battle scars on the OE side steps, but it was an amazing adventure that has truly given us the experience(s) we were looking for.
I don't want to lift this truck and I'm not going to lift this truck, mostly because I don't want to change the ride I enjoy so much.
I am thinking about getting some very "lean" side steps to help with trails like the ones in Vermont.
The reality is... I/We love this truck more and more every day.
Services or Maintenance performed this year:
2/9/22 - The starter for the third time. Denso Cold Weather starters, this is the second "New" replacement.
3/8/22 - Vapor canister
8/18/22 - Oil change
10/31/22 - Radiator
12/21/22 - Check chirping blower motor
I will share some more technical details about operating temperature when restoration was complete with cooling fan clutch vs electric radiator in the near future. Have to find my recorded data file from when I first started driving her around Thanksgiving of 2020.
So my first attempt at driving on the beach, we blew the steering gear box. Still drove off the island, so she didn't leave us stranded.
The second time we planned for the beach trip, I triple checked it all in an effort to make this trip smooth.
Turn out the one thing I forgot to bring extra of (coolant)... was all loaded up with "Murphys Law". Getting on the beach was much smoother this time around, but I noticed my coolant temp fluctuating. "Oh no..." Is all I could think of.
A short while later, the smoke from the engine bay told me it was time to pull over. Opened the hood and weirdly enough, it all looked normal, except coolant in very strange places. Waited a while and opened radiator, she was empty. Tried to put some water in, came right out the bottom.
Determined not to let this ruin the trip, we ran her for about 60-90 seconds in-between 15 minute (cool down) intervals. Got to our fishing spot and decided to worry about trying to catch fish as we would deal with the truck, soon enough.
Had an awesome night fishing, at about 1am we decided to pack things up and prepare to attempt to make the journey off the sand and hopefully off the Park grounds. Thankfully, she allowed us to do just that. First she got us off the sand and back onto the roads. We pulled over to air up the tires and allow her to cool off again for about 30 minutes.
Ready to try again, we got ready and made it 5 miles down on a single shot. 45 degree weather seriously helped that. With only 1.5 miles to get off Park property, we rested for another 30 and by about 2:15 am, we were off Park grounds and at a friends house for the night.
After getting the vehicle back to the house, I ordered a new Radiator and decided I wanted to change my cooling fan to an electric setup as opposed to the clutch style.
After receiving the parts and tearing the truck down... we determined that the cooling fan clutch failed and that lead to the rise in temperature... from the stress of beach driving. The radiator (CSF unit IIRC), did not like this temperature change and it inevitably gave way at the lower radiator hose and ovaled the lower hose mount.
This was unfortunate.
So upon installing the new OEM radiator and the cooling fan assembly, we knew I had to order an independent power distribution block to do the job correctly. Drove it 40 minutes from house to shop with no cooling fan operation and the temperature did not even budge. Ordered the Misc items needed and proceeded with dual electric fan install and setup. Monitored temps and dialed in the fans to start at around 178 degrees.
One week later I meet a friend in Vermont who takes us on some trails. What an amazing adventure that was.
Old lady Nelly definitely loves the trails. She left with a couple battle scars on the OE side steps, but it was an amazing adventure that has truly given us the experience(s) we were looking for.
I don't want to lift this truck and I'm not going to lift this truck, mostly because I don't want to change the ride I enjoy so much.
I am thinking about getting some very "lean" side steps to help with trails like the ones in Vermont.
The reality is... I/We love this truck more and more every day.
Services or Maintenance performed this year:
2/9/22 - The starter for the third time. Denso Cold Weather starters, this is the second "New" replacement.
3/8/22 - Vapor canister
8/18/22 - Oil change
10/31/22 - Radiator
12/21/22 - Check chirping blower motor
I will share some more technical details about operating temperature when restoration was complete with cooling fan clutch vs electric radiator in the near future. Have to find my recorded data file from when I first started driving her around Thanksgiving of 2020.
Crush 4
SILVER Star
Fantastic update. Curious what you used as a new vapor canister? I’m due but know you can’t get OEm .
- Thread starter
- #196
This is the replacement unit that I used.
It does not have the "return vapor" to the fuel tank on the bottom. So we capped off the return vapor line.
I saved the old one to open it up and see if it can be reconditioned, as some research indicated it should be possible.
Crush 4
SILVER Star
Thank you! Of course it is OOS!
- Thread starter
- #198
I recently got a notice the Vapor canister is back in stock.
truthdetector
GOLD Star
Wait, what?
