Fj40 dos 78 blue Name tbd

[alabamatacomaguy]

It’s been a busy few weeks. Remodeling our next home and our first baby has arrived. Not much cruiser time so I get it when I can. That day the lawnmower broke not the cruiser.

 

[imyahucklbrry]

Beautiful girl...... Big Congratulations!

 

[Michael B]

Congratulations!!

 

[alabamatacomaguy]

Drove to the local Starbucks to meet @Purpleaction for a few min cruiser time.
He recently made contact with with and invited a 55 cruiser I saw around town last year but couldn’t catch up with... found out why today. Built supercharged v8. With some sweet upgrades. He’s on here also @bulwnkl
I was hoping to get out and drive more but the mrs. With a month old needed a hand. Hoping to get some drive time tomorrow. A palm tree in the front yard is looking dead. I may use the winch in a week or two if no sign of life returns.

 

[alabamatacomaguy]

I haven’t had much 40 time the last few months but starting to get the new garage organized and set up. The house needs paint work and delayed maintaince from the previous home owner which is taking precedent over the Toyota’s. Drove her for about an hour last night before it got to dark to find some non ethanol gas and get her moving. The battery still had some charge after not running for a few months but needed alittle more. I have neglected seat time in my Toyota’s

I’ve got a To do list that grows more than what gets done right now but in time will give her more attention. We had our first baby in the spring and have been on that adventure and learning about little baby disney things.

 

[Catching Neutral]

You have a beautiful princess there. Lets try to get together in a few weeks. Spoke with @bulwnkl the other day and he is up for it.

 

[alabamatacomaguy]

Got the 40 out today after a few months of being to busy. Ran great but something is making a new squeak in the engine bay I’ll have to investigate more. I’m not sure if it’s the alternator or water pump pulley. I’ll dig into more soon and get some progress going on it in other areas. I need to pull the battery tray to strip and paint it which is an easy win that should get me out in the garage soon. The years and spills have removed the paint and its rusting faster than everything else.
I felt like a speed demon today getting it up to 62 on the app to track speed. The speedometer in the dash is off and slower to reflect the speed.

I got my daughter a aus spec right hand drive 4wd toy from a show she enjoys called Bluey. She played alittle today in her car while I picked up sticks and limbs from the gulf weather event we had.

 

[alabamatacomaguy]

Settled on the name “Bluey” for the 40.
Had trouble starting last week. Using all the knowledge from the forum over the years, I spent a Saturday checking around (spark, fuel,…..) Carb, starter, fuel. instead of enjoying the perfect spring weather.
I don’t know why I didn’t think about the battery bought 10 years ago (10/2014) by the previous owner being dead until the end of the day. It held a full charge but cranking amps were low.
I googled the closest autozone to get another duralast since the last battery lasted as long as anyone could expect a battery to last in any vehicle, especially non daily driven like this one.
I spent about a week researching batteries on here with no clear answer on which is best.
I ended up getting a bigger group27 battery that fits perfect in the battery tray. The old one was a few inches small for the spot.
Cost for the group 27 batt in 2024 was 220.00
Cost for the group 34 batt in 2014 was 160.00
I could have saved about 100 bucks going to Sam’s club. When I tried finding help no one working was visible. The previous battery brand from auto zone lasted a long time so I went with that. The auto zone guy was a long time employee who spent 5 mins talking and helping me compare batt sizes since the group size can be confusing. When he upsold me the “install kit” with fabric rings and grease I didn’t mind. Maybe it will help.

I drove today letting the motor run for about 2 hours 20 mins total to stretch her legs. I got up to about 63 and felt like the motor had more in her to go faster… but traffic and people pulling out in front of me expecting me to react with a modern vehicle reaction kept me from pushing it more.
Ran great with no choke all day except doesn’t like moving forward from a complete stop like a stop sign or light. Sputters and wants me to baby it until i get going faster.

Going to try and enjoy “Bluey” more before the weather gets hotter.

 

[Catching Neutral]

This gulf coast weather goes from pleasant to hotter than almost overnight.

 

[alabamatacomaguy]

Getting alittle time here and there every few weeks to get the cruiser out for enjoyment during the cooler temp time for us in FL. The 40s running good. I need to do a 100 small things but free time is not easily found right now. Top of the list is a new brake light switch from city racer that has been sitting in a box with other small stuff for 6 months I just need to get out to the garage. I also need to get the jump seats in and hardtop installed correctly so I can get the rear doors on. All new weather stripping has been sitting in boxes for years now waiting on me. I hope to have a few days dedicated to projects soon.
This was my daughter’s first time riding in it. It was a great experience for us both. She’s played in it a few times. My fil is a big wrangler fan and funny enough she cries and won’t go near his 4door modern jeep, she finds it scary.

 

[Michael B]

She obviously has good taste.

 

[alabamatacomaguy]

Cruiser was running good today. Reached the highest speed I’ve driven it. Fun to play around. Found some uneven drainage type washouts behind a business and worked the 4wd system and low range a little to keep the oil circulating. We don’t get a ton of places on the coast to enjoy off-road. Under the clutch pedal is a few drops of fluid I didn't research further than checking the top of the master cylinder and brake areas on the firewall but didn’t see an active leak. I’ll add it to the project list that will get worked on in the future.

Getting up to that speed makes me feel more comfortable trying to get to the next Toyota/cruiser meet and ride that’s about 45 mins away but interstate driving.

 

[Catching Neutral]

Great photo