Builds Hi, My name is..……………….(yellow 76 FJ40)

[firefighterjed]

Small things: the cable had come loose from the glove box lid. I got some proper metric fasteners to reattach it.

And replaced the cigarette lighter w/socket. The previous one had a logo that was very yellowed and didn’t match the other knobs we’ll.

 

[firefighterjed]

Santa brought me a floor mat for Christmas. I enjoyed removing the old mats and seats for a deep clean. I wish I had the time to paint seat frames and brackets. It was hard to limit this project to strictly floor mats, but it could’ve easily spun out of control. There are so many little things that need done!!!!! For example, there are a couple extra holes drilled in the floor. I want to weld and paint those spots…. And as long as the welder is out I should add a support to the center console so it doesn’t bend again….. and I should pull the fuel filler covers because a coat of pewter….. and since we’re spraying pewter, the rear heater was painted grey and needs reshot too…. And on and on and on.

I air the mat across some boiler pipes to get it warm and supple for the install. The front seats removed and cleaned the front floors prior to draping in the mat. The cityracer mat is molded perfectly to the transmission hump and floors. I did have to cut holes for the cowel vent drain hoses, and I’m considering a relief cut near the heater hoses. I do wish that the mat extended all the way to the door sills. Notice in the last pic that they’re about an inch short of the left sill. The wrinkle under the heater was resolved by cutting in the cowel vent , but that didn’t improve the reveal on the left. I’ll probably add some strips so there’s full coverage.

 

[firefighterjed]

New badge!

 

[firefighterjed]

Cleaned up and painted my Harbor Freight knock off Hi-Lift Jack. Matches the other roof rack mounted accessories.

 

[firefighterjed]

Drove it to work. On the way my instrument cluster gauges stopped working. While chasing that problem (intermittently bad fuse) I found that my brake lights weren’t working. Found the cause for that problem in the POs “repair” of the rear wiring harness.

I re-made all the connections and installed them in a new 6 pole plug. I had some large shrink tubing that I tried to use to weather proof the connector, but it mostly shrunk off the shoulders of the plug. Still adds some protection though.

 

[EmanC]

Any more info on your relay/fuse box you installed?

 

[firefighterjed]

Any more info on your relay/fuse box you

Any more info on your relay/fuse box you installed?

 

[firefighterjed]

Tore into my knuckles. It is a thankless, dirty job which never seems to end, due to the immense amount of cleaning necessary. I think I’m about to make the transition to paining parts so assembly is just around the corner.

 

[firefighterjed]

I’ve made so many time wasting mistakes during this knuckle rebuild. Did you know that a knuckle can be successfully installed upside down? Yep. And if you get too focused on resolving previous damage to the hub where the inside seal seats, you might just hammer that seal into place without the bearing in behind it….. so cruiser outfitters gets a few more dollars from me and the project gets a few days delayed because I’m an idiot

One side is done. New seal arrived today. Should finish the knuckle job tomorrow. Fingers crossed.

 

[firefighterjed]

catching up:
Knuckle job completed…. A few days after the above post.
Kevin (dog) was over it as much as I was.

The drivers side birf was not quite as smooth as the passenger, so I inspected things extra close and found scrape marks on the birf and the housing. This was alarming to me but after seeking the guidance of everyone here, and a couple local pros in came to understand that this is an aftermarket birf and the housing was ground out a little so it would fit. This is a common thing. The birf was still well within ‘spec’ as far as smooothness of operation according to the 4x4 shop guys who handled it. So, after being satisfied that the birf was okay to run, I greased it all up and put it back together.

It was a great feeling to be done with that job and back on the road. Kevin thought so too.

 

[firefighterjed]

The local cruiser group had an outing. This trip had a couple other FJ40s attend, which was pretty cool.

We enjoyed some scenic southern idaho desert and canyon lands:

 

[firefighterjed]

Our route took us into an area that still has snow on the lee side of hills where the drifts had been deep this winter.

Which led to getting stuck and everyone chipping in to help everyone get unstuck. It was great to see a bunch of basically strangers working together to overcome the challenges we needed to cross.

All in all it was a great day. Hours longer than expected, but no one had a mechanical failure, save one broken synthetic winch rope. I learned a bit about wheeling in snow and what recovery gear is nice to have in hand. I’ll refine my kit soon.

 

[Brian/99uzj100]

Our route took us into an area that still has snow on the lee side of hills where the drifts had been deep this winter.
View attachment 2969229
View attachment 2969230
Which led to getting stuck and everyone chipping in to help everyone get unstuck. It was great to see a bunch of basically strangers working together to overcome the challenges we needed to cross. View attachment 2969231
View attachment 2969232
View attachment 2969233

All in all it was a great day. Hours longer than expected, but no mechanical failures, save one broken synthetic winch rope. I learned a bit about wheeling in snow and what recovery gear is nice to have in hand. I’ll refine my kit soon.

Great pics! Nice variety of Cruisers.

 

[Brew40]

Great story, build and pictures! Impressive work. Thanks for your service as a firefighter!

 

[mtn biker]

watching yours makes me really want mine done. Real quick question did you guys air down and if so how low did you go. i have found i need to go down to about 15-18psi. I never knew about airing down when I lived near you not until i got down to SoAz did i find out about that.

 

[firefighterjed]

We did air down. My gauge was not very precise below 20psi. I have since purchased a proper air down kit and intend to run at about 12psi.

 

[firefighterjed]

After the group drive I got to thinking….. My front axle has a skid plate that was probably doing more harm than good. The stock U bolt configuration protrudes as well, adding catch points and drag. Discussed the issue HERE.

Ordered the u bolt flip kit drum 4plus. It’s a beautiful kit. Everything lined up and fit perfect after trimming the Ubolts to length.

Here’s a before and after of the clearance under my front end.

Nice and smooth now.

I also really like that the rear kit moves the shock mount up and out of the way a little bit. Nice touch.

 

[firefighterjed]

Couple of action shots:
A little camp and hike into a hot spring.
On the way home my wipers quit. A screw driver and a crescent wrench was all it took to get access to the wiper linkage and re-fasten a nut that came off. I love the simple, field serviceable nature of these vehicles.

 

[knuckle47]

You have done a great job with this truck. I found it inspiring. Great stuff, thank you for all of the product mentions and links. Did not know that some of this equipment is even out there… you guys out west have some spectacular scenery. Of course, New Jersey has some great trails..most of them are paved !

 

[firefighterjed]

It’s been a minute. I got distracted by another project:

And I’ve been daily driving my ‘40 this winter so some of the fixes have been mundane, and I didn’t even take pics. My windshield wiper linkage came apart. There is a bushing that had worn down to nothing so I fabricated one out of a plastic sprinkler fitting. Wish I had a pic to share.

On of my wheels has a leak at my widening weld. Re-welded that seam and had the wheel re-powder coated but the leak persists. I’m going to try a thick layer of oil based paint on the inside of the rim next to see if that will seal it up. I’m suprised that the powder coat isn’t air tight.

I get some drips of rain behind the dash, leaking from the seam where the hood cowel meets the windscreen. Enough of those drips landed on the radio apparently, because it stopped making music. I never liked how modern that stereo appeared anyhow.

The PO cut the radio hole out to single DIN size, so going back to OEM look isn’t an option until I get to paint. I’ll weld in an OEM radio opening at that time. For now, I have some options.

A while back I purchased a BlueTooth Amp like the ones Crazy Greek builds knobs for.

I intended to use it on that LandRover, but this radio failure created an opportunity. I purchased a single DIN sized storage box with lid off eBay.

The storage box is built to fit inside a DIN bracket, so it’s slightly narrower than standard DIN width. It fits perfectly between rubber knee pads on either side of the radio opening. Trimming the rubber pads was not an option, so I was relieved to find that this would be a good fit. The box also left the DIN bracket visible on the top and bottom, so i cut up the stereo trim ring and used it above and below the box to give it a more finished look.

I cut apart and glued half the storage box so it would provide a surface to mount the BT Amp i mentioned earlier. Next time I have it apart I’ll take some pics. I’m very pleased with a plug I built for the speaker wires, and hot the box modifications worked out , but for now you only get to see the finished product. When the cubby door is flipped down a volume knob is revealed. Along with an AUX cord input and storage for an aux or USB cord. I’m thinking I’ll add a USB power plug in back of that area so the cord can stay discreetly plugged in and I don’t have to remove my cigarette lighter for USB receptacle.

Laslty, here are a couple pics from this last fall.