Help! 1964 FJ40 Southern Cal (1 Viewer)

[Zachery818]

Couple more pics...

 

[Dusty 66]

Looks Awesome

 

[splib]

Any handling issues with those long shackles?

 

[Zachery818]

I haven't noticed any handling issues...but then again it is my first FJ and first vehicle without power steering

 

[splib]

Does it feel like it wants to follow every rut in the road once you get it over 30-40 mph?

You may already have caster correction shims b/w the springs and perch.

 

[akeyzoo]

Very cool, I am restoring a 64 FST (Factory Softop) myself. Looks like a great find. For being nearly half a century old the rig appears mostly stock! Things that jump out to me as added items are the hood and bumper. A 64 should have a split hood, yours appears to be off a later rig. Obviously the engine as well.

I am going as stock as I can afford, so I second My Wife Said no FJ and say have Mark hook you up with an original powerplant

 

[Zachery818]

Splib- I have driven it on the highway once and only on a few dirt roads at 40+ MPH. I haven't noticed any pulling to where I would have to correct its direction. The handling seems pretty smooth.

Akeyzoo- Thanks for the info on the hood. I was under the impression that the vehicle was all stock (except for the engine), which is why this website is so great! I figured that the bumper wasn't stock, I think it was fabricated by the previous owner. If its cheaper to drop in the stock engine, I will probably go with it...otherwise I will just have the current one rebuilt.

 

[Zachery818]

Does anyone know if Mark does any of the repairs/restorations on site at his shop? For instance repairing the aforementioned gas tank on site... I have the inspection scheduled, but I would like to cut the towing of the rig down to as little as possible. Towing from Santa Barbara to LA is quite $$$

Thanks again!

 

[71AZFJ]

Looks like you've gotten a lot of great info. You're off to a good start. Nice Rig And Welcome

 

[Fast Eddy]

Does anyone know if Mark does any of the repairs/restorations on site at his shop? For instance repairing the aforementioned gas tank on site... I have the inspection scheduled, but I would like to cut the towing of the rig down to as little as possible. Towing from Santa Barbara to LA is quite $$$

I'm 99% sure Mark does not repair gas tanks. If it was just hoses or clamps, no problem.

You should be able to deal with the tank in two easy weekends. First, get a fire extinguisher, just in case. Pull the seats and set them in the back. Take off the tank cover. Drain the tank with the plug in the bottom. There's a hole in the tub. Take it out. Look at the fuel that came out and make sure there's no rusty scale in it. Check the hoses for cracks. Clean, maybe paint some. Done for the first weekend.

Take it to the local radiator shop and get it tested and boiled. Should cost about $100-$150 depending on if they need to solder on it.

Put it all back together. It should only take a day.

This is a job. Then you can drive it to Mark's, enjoy the trip and the satisfaction of working on it yourself and save a ton of money.

 

[My71FJ40]

Akeyzoo -
He has the right hood, it is split, just missing the crome piece and the windshield bumpers and hooks.
Fast Eddy -
There shouldn't be a tank cover, just the tank straps for that year.

Zachery818 -
That may be a bit of work to get her road worthy, so just give up and sell it to me No teasing, very nice, mostly stock rig! Enjoy and don't EVER let a woman talk you into selling it, unless YOU want to....and then, sell it to ME

 

[Zachery818]

Thanks My71FJ40- since receiving the FJ as an inheritance a couple years back, I have set a spending limit on it....but i'm sure it will increase in the near future. Selling it has crossed my mind but its easily dismissed every time I walk out to the garage and look at her. I am a self-proclaimed proud member of Al Bundy's No Ma'am club so no worries about the woman (it's okay, she doesn't know about this site)!

Side note: Someone should create No Ma'am FJ40 decals!

 

[65swb45]

Update. Zack's truck is now in que at the shop, with a laundry list of repairs, starting with the steering and the brakes, along with remedying a 'few' of the PO's hack jobs.

There will be pics..especially of the hacks!

Stay tuned.

 

[Zachery818]

Thanks for the post, Mark! Looking forward to the pics once its my turn in line! Will be interesting to see other member's remarks on how thankful I should be for being alive after driving it like that for so long!

 

[65swb45]

So I got some time to start on Zack's truck yesterday, starting with the steering. All the tie rod ends looked pretty old, but it wasn't until I actually pulled off the castle nuts that I realized.......they were ORIGINAL 1964 vintage!

Here's a pic showing how much smaller the shank is on the early tie rod ends:

 

[65swb45]

Both the relay and main steering rods were bent as well. Pic of the relay rod:

 

[65swb45]

I have started a rebuild for the steering box, as it currently has about 4" of freeplay in it. Plan is to move from there to a front axle overhaul, as disconnecting the steering rods only confirmed my suspicion the the knuckle bearings are just as old.

Then the real fun starts...the brakes.

This 90 degree twist/crimp in the single circuit line is just the beginning:

 

[65swb45]

On the passenger side, someone felt the need to unbolt the brake line junction from the frame and leave it.......ON TOP OF THE EXHAUST PIPE!

 

[Zachery818]

Thanks for the update, Mark! Good to know I was playing with fire driving the 40 before bringing it in...looking forward to seeing more pictures if you get anymore of them posted!

-Zach

 

[FishNinJay]

I recently (2 years ago) inherited a 1964 FJ40 that is a Chevy 283 conversion. My knowledge on cars is very limited and am hoping this site can provide me with some feedback as to what is the most important to be maintained so that I may use it as a weekend vehicle. This vehicle has been a dream truck for me since I was very young, so even though I know squat about maintaining cars, selling it is out of the question.

The good: this truck has no rust from what I can see and is garaged kept. It has a cheap Maaco paint job but it serves its purpose for protecting the body from rust. It starts up on first key turn every time and has very minimal oil leakage. I have driven the truck for long periods of time without it overheating (add temp gauge has been installed).

The bad: the engine compartment itself doesn't smoke, but the fumes and exhaust that emanate from the tailpipes indicate that there is something wrong. The clutch seems like its going to need to be replaced, the electronic wiring is a mess and gas tubing (from the tank to the gas cap) has a small leak.

If anyone has any information on what I should have done first to get this truck into a safe, working order...I would love feedback. And if anyone needs more information on what I described above, please ask me questions! I live in the Southern California area and am currently looking for possible machine shops able to do a quality rebuild on the chevy engine (1960's also, I presume). And for one final question, how much does it usually cost to have an engine of this era completely (and correctly) rebuilt? I have included a pic of the truck below.....thanks!

Nice looking rig.. nothing sounds all that bad. I was scared $h*tless with mine, but realized that these are pretty basic, and if not, there's plenty of help. The chevy is the most commonly worked upon engine in the universe. If it runs, but smokes, then I wouldn't be overly concerned about that just yet. Luckily, it's pre-1973, so it's SMOG-EXEMPT (even in green clean Santa Barbara!)
If/when you decide the engine needs to be addressed, you there's Marks Offroad, and Jim Dickey. You can find MO here on Mud (use SEARCH), and Jim Dickey I believe is in Gardena? He is at socalandcruisers.com, which is a group that meets monthly I believe. Eventhough they meet right near my house, I've yet to meet them yet

How does it idle and run? Smooth, rough? What color smoke? You might want to change all the plugs, wires, rotor, cap, points, oil, and start "fresh" and see how she runs. Probably the same. Next, I'd check compression. That's about my limit with the engine, but it'll give you an idea of rebuild vs run-it-into-the-ground vs new crate now. You can get a brand new 350 crate engine from Jegs.com for $1500.

Electrical mess.. that comes standard
I'd check this first, and familiarize yourself with a multitester. Figure out which random cut wires might be hot and cap them off safely for now. It runs now, so you can presume that it's something somewhat unnecessary or redundant. You can sort it out later, as your knowledge and patience grows. I just recently discovered that the PO has wired my wipers into my ignition coil circuit. When I turn on the wipers, my engine lurches, knocks and dies. There's always something new...

If the inlet gas tubing is your only leak, that's easy-peasy to replace. Get under it, and follow the gas line. You might (probably) have more issues. Luckily, the fuel system is pretty basic. Here's a map: Tank to hose to fuel pump to hose to carb.

How are the brakes? As to new mods, I'd get brakes addressed. Make sure they are safe, and consider front disc upgrade. Power steering might be nice also. Otherwise, with the chevy under the hood, power shouldn't be a problem! It should handle trails or highway nicely.

I know next to nothing about clutch, transmission, and suspension.

Ok, welcome, good luck, and enjoy the ride!




ps.. I might be up in Santa Barbara area for a few days mini-vacay in early Aug. Give me a holler if you want a to admire your truck and give you bad advice in person!