RevISK’s ‘80 FJ40 - A Girl Named Norman (2 Viewers)

[RevISK]

Hey all,

Just joined. I’m sitting next to my new to me 1980 FJ40. This is the second I’ve owned, the first was back in 1991 and was a ‘75. Man, I loved that thing, it was completely stock and pulled all the rich kids fancy pants jeeps out of some mess or another. Sold it and used the proceeds to travel Europe for 4 months.
This new one was just north of free and probably worth little more. It’s got rust in all the right places and isn’t getting power to the ignition. It does have 5 brand new BF Goodrich 32” tires on 5 pretty nice aluminum wheels, all the glass is intact and I can only partially see through the floorboards.
I belong to a couple other forums for Airstream and Avion travel trailers so I know there is a bit of a learning curve regarding forum decorum and general navigation.
I’ve searched this site but haven’t located anything about tracing the wire harness or any hack just to see if I can get this beast to turn over.

I appreciate the time you took to read this.

Ian

 

[dogfishlake]

Hey all,

Just joined. I’m sitting next to my new to me 1980 FJ40. This is the second I’ve owned, the first was back in 1991 and was a ‘75. Man, I loved that thing, it was completely stock and pulled all the rich kids fancy pants jeeps out of some mess or another. Sold it and used the proceeds to travel Europe for 4 months.
This new one was just north of free and probably worth little more. It’s got rust in all the right places and isn’t getting power to the ignition. It does have 5 brand new BF Goodrich 32” tires on 5 pretty nice aluminum wheels, all the glass is intact and I can only partially see through the floorboards.
I belong to a couple other forums for Airstream and Avion travel trailers so I know there is a bit of a learning curve regarding forum decorum and general navigation.
I’ve searched this site but haven’t located anything about tracing the wire harness or any hack just to see if I can get this beast to turn over.

I appreciate the time you took to read this.

Ian

View attachment 2319954

Nice looking 40! It looks downright solid for a 1980. Save that sweet original Rustic Green paint too!

It will look cool cleaned up with the patina'd hood.

 

[Slapshot]

Let me be the first to say welcome to Mud.

I too am a newly acquired 40 owner. Looks like you have quite a project. Post more pictures!

 

[dogfishlake]

Preserving Patina - How To Tips and Tricks

I keep retyping my “formula” for old Patina preservation so I decided to make a thread so I can just link my response to how I preserve my old Land Cruisers the way I do. For the last 3 years I have been learning how to preserve Land Cruisers in their original state. Protecting their original...

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[John McVicker]

^^^
This is a great idea. Try to resist painting your 40.

 

[RevISK]

Thanks for the replies and welcomes so far. I’ll post more pics at the bottom.
I’ve checked all fusable links that I can find under the hood, they all look fine. I’ve disconnected each link, cleaned and applied dielectric grease. All the fuses under the dash look good. I’m getting power to the starter but that’s about it.

I plan to abate any rust but hang on to the patina.
I just want to hear the engine.
Also, need to figure out this bs power steering add on that didn’t seem to fair too well in the long run(last pic).

ian

 

[RevISK]

Just gave the passenger side a partial sponge bath to get some of the chalk off. You can definitely tell where I stopped...

ian

 

[dogfishlake]

That's a solid truck. The power steering is a Saginaw conversion and will be really nice once squared away. That Holley carb is unfortunate. I hate those things. Maybe work toward a new oem style carb or even better a Holley Sniper kit from @FJ60Cam at Mosley Motors

 

[RevISK]

That's a solid truck. The power steering is a Saginaw conversion and will be really nice once squared away. That Holley carb is unfortunate. I hate those things. Maybe work toward a new oem style carb or even better a Holley Sniper kit from @FJ60Cam at Mosley Motors

awesome, appreciate any and all tips.
I’m just chasing wires right now. Having a bear finding anything that looks like the ignition cluster that comes from the steering wheel.

I can trace a wire in a vintage aluminum travel trailer in minutes, this is throwing me. I guess I’ll get it figured out eventually.

Ian

 

[fjc-man]

Will it crank if you jump power to the starter solenoid? For starters....

 

[RevISK]

Will it crank if you jump power to the starter solenoid? For starters....

well, I’m not getting any power at the dash/steering column so I haven’t tried jumping to the solenoid yet. I appreciate the reply.

the last vehicle I did any real work on was back in 1990 so I’m starting from scratch here. Can you elaborate? I’ll take responsibility for any of my actions of course...

 

[Curtice]

Man I love the old school pin striping. Definitely don't paint and keep that pin striping. Patina look will be nice on this one. Just north of free is awesome.

 

[Ocho77]

Killer looking truck! Love the stripes. Good luck! Look forward to watching her resurrection!

 

[fjc-man]

Ok, so this is assuming the battery is charged. Follow the positive battery cable down to the starter, it’s attached to the solenoid. There will be one small gauge wire plugged into a spade style connector on the solenoid also. Unplug it and attach your jumper wire to the solenoid here. With the trans in neutral, tap the other end of your jumper on the positive battery terminal. The solenoid should kick out the drive gear and if held briefly to the battery terminal, should crank the engine over. If it does, at least you know the starter works.

 

[RevISK]

Ok, so this is assuming the battery is charged. Follow the positive battery cable down to the starter, it’s attached to the solenoid. There will be one small gauge wire plugged into a spade style connector on the solenoid also. Unplug it and attach your jumper wire to the solenoid here. With the trans in neutral, tap the other end of your jumper on the positive battery terminal. The solenoid should kick out the drive gear and if held briefly to the battery terminal, should crank the engine over. If it does, at least you know the starter works.

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This is great advice, thank you.
It’s making a CHUNK sound, not quite turning the engine over. Battery is brand new. How much does the gauge of the wire matter? The one I was using was pretty light.

thanks again, this is the kind of info I was hoping for.

ian

 

[fjc-man]

Have you tried rotating the motor by the crankshaft pulley nut?

 

[TheHardWay]

Take some pics of the battery cable to the starter - helps us to diagnose.

 

[RevISK]

Have you tried rotating the motor by the crankshaft pulley nut?

The middle school me just had a good laugh at that.

No, I haven’t. I’m down to try. Again, please excuse my ignorance but which one is the crankshaft pulley nut? The one that operates the radiator fan?

Ian

 

[RevISK]

Take some pics of the battery cable to the starter - helps us to diagnose.

I need better lighting, but here’s a first stab...

 

[TheHardWay]

Welllll - it's a start. Try again!