Builds Hard Ways - Rigger's 1969 FJ40

[Rigger]

 

[Rigger]

 

[Rigger]

Above are the two parts of the removed points.

 

[Rigger]

 

[Rigger]

The brownish thing broke. I think it is an insulator.

 

[Rigger]

I decided to change cap & rotor at same time.

 

[Rigger]

Ok. Changed points & condenser and cap & rotor. Truck started a bit easier. No reading from the dwell meter. I clipped to the distributor side of the coil. Sound right?

 

[65swb45]

I think the green is supposed to be connected to ground.

The other has to connect to the negative side of coil.

View attachment 1823542

The wire going from the coil to the dizzy is on the negative terminal.

If you haven’t already done so, go ahead and set the point gap at .012” . That should get you closer to dwell spec and give you a better idea of how much runout your distributor has.

 

[Rigger]

Thanks Mark. Really appreciate your input.

I went back out and set the points gap at 0.012" as you suggested. Improvement. The current status/summary is this: Having replaced points, condenser, rotor & cap, and setting the gap to 0.012", the truck now starts better and runs better. Not perfect, but better.

It still does not idle well. Or, maybe I'll say it does not idle. I have to choke it a bit to get it to idle, and then it's kind of a fast idle. Would I be correct in assuming that this condition is the fault of the carburetor?

My dwell gage seems to be bad. I clipped to negative side of coil, and tried various positions for a ground. If I switch the gage to tach setting, I get a bouncy reading on the tach gage. If I set it to read dwell, it goes to zero, and does nothing. The needle just doesn't move.

I am going to get another dwell gage, and try again at reading dwell angle.

Bottom line for today; I did less complaining and more wrenching, and I made some headway. Surprise surprise.

 

[65swb45]

Until you can check dwell, you won’t know. As I’ve said in a few dozen threads, carburetion is a PASSIVE fuel management system, as opposed to the ACTIVE fuel management system of EFI. Carburetion is 100% dependent on sufficient vacuum to work properly.

Weak and/or inconsistent spark will effect vacuum, as will the ability of the engine to make vacuum through the proper sealing of valves and piston rings.

Let’s focus on the ignition electrical first. If need be, we’ll talk about valve adjustments as well.

 

[Rigger]

Ok. Thanks for your advice. I’ll stay the course.

 

[Rigger]

 

[brew8]

Are those Metal Tech half doors

 

[Rigger]

Are those Metal Tech half doors

Yes.

 

[Rigger]

I don't exactly know what color my truck is. It's tan or beige. Dune beige? Desert tan? Not sure. Anyway, what color upholstery should I go with? Coral? Or grey? Photos are from SOR.

 

[cruiserdan]

Coral.

 

[bulldog77]

If I had a tan 40 I would have definitely gone with Coral.

 

[Rigger]

Thanks for these replies. I'm worried that the coral won't look right. The grey will work with anything, of course. I love the coral color. I'm just feeling nervous about it being the right choice. My wife also said coral. I'll chew my fingernails some more.

 

[65swb45]

I like black.

 

[Rigger]

I like black.

Aarrghhhhh!!!!