FJ40 project build...from Tasmania!!!

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Cleaned it all out tonight,finished off the underbonnet stuff,and started fitting some of my "period accesories"
got the old school pierce simpson leopard 3 CB radio mounted,ive just regreased the gearbox in my old ramsey pro 9000 winch and wire wheeled the outside contacts..ill pull the motor out of it tomorrow to clean and check everything,and bolt it on :)...im trying to keep everything "old school" well used stuff,but I might have to bite the bullet with the audio system :( ...The cassette player isnt gunna cut it..my clubsport has an aftermarket USB head unit,and thats up there with the greatest inventions ever!! :)...might "stealth mount" one under the dash,and leave the cassette player in the dash :)
 
Well,done the timing,hooked up vac advance,played around with the weber to get it running smooth..took it for a run around the block....and bam...coppers with pretty lights filled my mirrors just as i pulled into my street...sooo...I kept driving to my place and launched her up on the lawn :P .
$400 fine...ahh well,thats the risk we take doin mechanical work on jalopies at home :)..a run around the block is needed to check if the carb is set properly,or if the dizzy advance is right..
 
Well,got into the winch yesterday...stripped it down,cleaned all the corrosion off the solenoid contacts,fixed the sticking brush,put it all back together...and it works like a new one :).
got it all bolted on,but i missed the nuts n bolts place before it closed :( ,so ill have to wait till tomorrow to put my bullbar and fairlead on :(

Ohhh,and when my wife was removing the recovery hook from the front rail,she pushed the winch plate into the radiator by accident,holing my radiator :(.
Easy fix,im about to put my spare in now...just another example of this jinxed build...1 step forward,2 steps back..

 
In SA you would lose your drivers licence for 6 months for driving unregistered; just be glad your in Tassie. Of course, here in New Mexico about half the cars don't even have plates on them, so this is the opposite extreme.
 
Bullbar modified to suit fairlead,and bolted back on :)
Cruiser radiator has replaced the falcon radiator I had in it,but the inlet/outlet were on oppisite sides...sooo,I got inventive with some copper pipe and different hoses :P...not pretty,but effective and increases coolant capacity :)

Well,im not going to jinx myself again by saying the end is near...but im seeing light at the end of this tunnel..
This shorty has fought me tooth and nail from the time I handed over $150 for its rat and spider infested carcass..
When putting it on the stock car trailer the broken diff locked solid..we had to leave the trailer overnight at the previous owners place overnight,and "snatch" it onto the trailer the next day with another vehicle...
That was an omen...I shoulda listened...9 months after starting this "easy project" im still not on the road...

Stay tuned :)

 
Well,unbolted my springs,tailshafts etc,rolled the diffs out,and bolted in my "temporary stock setup" (SOA is a bugger to get engineered in aus)
Suprise suprise,nothing went wrong :D.
Then drove it to the mechanic..and again,nothing broke,fell off,exploded,imploded,or generally stuffed up :).Hopefully the jinx has passed..
Temp and oil pressure gauge not working though..oil is i got the wrong oil pressure switch on the motor i reckon...knew i shoulda changed it.. :P,not sure about temp..ill investigate when it gets back from its roadworthy..
It might take a coupla days for them to do the inspection,they very busy..but fingers crossed,it will be registered and on the road this week :)
 
Well,phase 1 of project 40 is over...its regoed and running,and being daily driven :)
Phase 2 starts when I find a rusty 12HT 60 series cruiser :P...diesel power









 
Just read your build from go to whoa. Great read man, so funny! I feel for ya, but gotta hand it to ya, you stuck in there. Congrats on the regoing etc.
 
great thread, and great 40 ... all kinds of character and a testament to, they're meant to be used ... my Dad would say the "jinx" is the colour ... he will not own a green vehicle ... he's a mechanic and did mannnny a project in the driveway ... wouldn't have gotten away with it on the street with the anal retentive neighbours ... good luck and looking forward to the diesel conversion ... I'm hoping someday to put a 1HZ in my gasser ...
 
Thanks everyone :)...only some of the problems I had made it into the thread..plenty of broken bolts,stripped threads,skinned knuckles and tears of defeat havnt been mentioned :)

A couple more pics up behind home,in its more natural environment :)





 
Well,the honeymoon period is over :)
Ive enjoyed it off road,its been used to recover a dirty datsun,35" MTZs bolted back on,the ford 250 crossflow engine is reasonably light,powerful and fuel efficient..

Buuut,now its time to start work again to fix its on road manners. :)
At first glance i thought the front had a "cut and turn" done,due to the pinion angle,but later found out it didnt.
I have flat springs,and decided to leave it,and see how it goes..adjusted steering box,set toe in,no play in centre arm,new rod ends etc etc.
But,on an off camber bit of road,it sniffs the white line like robert downey jnr sniffing a line of cocaine.
And when it hits a bump it wanders worse than an aboriginie...I half expect it to take off to the pub when my backs turned...

Sooo,castor issue...im having a few cups of coffee and ciggys to motivate me,then will head out to my bit of street,and start stripping my knuckles down...

 
Been a while since my last update :)
All is going well :).
The cruiser gods looked favourably at me about my castor issue.
there ended up being 2 castorshims welded to the spring mounts on the diff..
After removing them with my "magic tool"...a 4 inch grinder :P,it drives 100 times better..castor still isnt "perfect",i need to cut and turn for that,but its close,and drives good.

heresa coupla pics of a few of us playing in the scrub :)













 
I see from the pics you posted--all your trials have not been in vain. You have a truck that is IN FRONT of all those other (things) You gotta be proud!
 
sggoat said:
I see from the pics you posted--all your trials have not been in vain. You have a truck that is IN FRONT of all those other (things) You gotta be proud!
Click to expand...

Yea,it has been a hard slog,but everytime i get behind the wheel,it makes it worth it...im no 4x4 novice,ive owned about 5 60s,2 80s,numerous hiluxes (mini truck in yank talk),coupla mitsubishis and even have an old lada niva tucked away :P,but this is the first one ive formed a "bond" with :)

still need to rig up my endless air and dual batterys,and get a couple of "aussie lockers" :)...aaand been keeping my eye out for a rusty HJ60 "donor rig"...I wont be truley happy till a 2H turbo or 12HT is between the rails :)
 
Pics of the lada? :/..for real?...you actually want to see one of these russian horrible little things?...well,you asked for it :/...







 
Lol - I'm suppose to go tune a Weber on one sometime in Chicago - the guy is an old Suzuki buddy from Uhwarrie board that actually wheels one pretty hard , and it takes it with a smile .
Butt ugly , totally utilitarian but they actually had some good ideas there . I hear the headlight wipers usually run for the first day after purchase , then die a horrible death .
Odd part is the Fiat engine - tough as nails .
Sarge
 
Yea,mechanically they are pretty solid...but the gearbox is a top loader style bolted to the actual floorpan :/...they are very harsh and the vibrations at revs are terrible...I only drove it once...cost me $60 years ago...only got it coz it had a nearly new battery worth $120 in it :P...so,i got a half price battery,with a free lada :).

Talking about freebies :P ....
Got another score the other day..swapped an old set of "33 mud tyres that came on an old parts rig i picked up for a 1957 international harvesters 4x4 pickup truck :)...went to pick it up,but I had misplaced the keys to the F100...so,had to hook up the trailer to the sporty shorty,with the standard towbar...luckily I only had to tow it 300 metres...aaand got a puncture on my trailer...is mostly complete,came with all glasswork,missing chrome headlight surrounds but :(..and,I found the F100 keys again :),no more sporty shorty trailer hauler until I sort out a good drop down towbar :)



 
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