Introduction - New (to me) '78 FJ in Colorado (1 Viewer)

[rlong]

I think the cat idea is a good one and will provide a measure of control. If theyreally wanna see a visual….grab a bunch of plastic-T fitting and Y fittings…connect them all within a foot of each other with 5/16 black hose and terminate the hose ends in a spot that’s hard to visually access. Lay the T’s and Y’s all over the top of the engine in obviously ugly places…

Corny plan but while you're explaining the catalytic converter they can see, you distract their visual scan towards another conversation… I have seen dumber ideas work

Corny but the plan worked for us in Colorado. I believe as others noted immediately above you will need a cat, that is most of their visual inspection, as well as unleaded fuel reducer in the gas tank filler! FYI for the other suggestions to grease palms etc. In CO it’s (now) a state run system “Air Care Colorado”; it is less likely to “grease a palm” (and fairly crazy to try to bribe a state employee or agent).
But as stated if they see a cat and a bunch of vacuum line they are likely to say “whatever” if it passes tailpipe (again a low bar in CO for 1970’s cars). It worked for us on (now grown) son’s CJ7! I just made sure the vacuum lines and wire terminated someplace, heck maybe some even terminated in the correct places but there was no vacuum. The classic plate last for 5 years and we need to go through that again ; most of that crap bounced and flew off climbing rocks in Moab! (I ran behind and picked up the valuable pieces)

 

[sogncab]

You might ask around with local muscle car clubs, old pickup owners, etc for who they recommend for emissions testing. Somebody local knows who "the place" is that makes the process easiest.

This is awesome thinking. Good call

 

[procomsignathid]

Oh, what a saga today has been... Took it into emissions for the test + a VIN check, and passed, so I was super happy about that... That said, it was close (its idling pretty high). Get home, take a closer look at the paperwork, and they put in a K instead of a J on the VIN for the form. So I go back, and apparently the only way they can correct the form is to re-run the test. 2nd time around, fails. Its midday now and car is idling about 200 RPM higher than it was in the cooler temps this AM.

So I got a digital tach and vacuum gauge, and will be following this vid to tune up the carb, maybe head back again tomorrow AM. So I know it can pass, just needs some tuning. Visual check didn't even come into play apparently

 

[swixtt]

Pretty epic short 5 page odyssey you’re on. I’m following just to see the outcome now.

 

[charliemeyer007]

No good deed goes unpunished.

 

[Aloha Jen]

Going to take it in to emissions test tomorrow or tues AM. In the mean time, chasing down some weirdness…

View attachment 3867962

Unfortunately, you are finding all the “weirdness” that seems to accompany these South American imports that are passed off as full restorations. And, it’s probably why the seller conveniently left that out of the vehicles history, I’ve heard there are many unscrupulous sellers out there that try and pass them off as European or US models to try and command higher selling price.
But since you are already all in and experiencing these electrical gremlins…It might be a big undertaking, but you can get decent or even rebuilt wiring harnesses for your year. You may find you have a lot more electrical issues (in addition to the ones you mentioned earlier), so if you plan to keep a long time, you could restore that whole electrical system. I assisted with restoring mine on our ‘75 fj40, it’s a big job, but mostly tedious with cleaning every electrical connection and inspecting the whole harness for damaged wires. Would be worth it in the long run to avoid electrical issues down the road.
Plus, you have a huge fj40 salvage yard not to far from you. Classic Cruisers down in Salida has a bunch of used wire harnesses and nearly all the electrical switches you would need to clean up your hacked up harness. They (the owner Brandon) was a huge help in getting all the missing connectors and switches we needed to restore ours. Plus he may even have the smog equipment you may still need. Just some advice from my limited experience working on these old Land Cruisers.

 

[procomsignathid]

So many updates...

The Shop / Carb Rebuild
Took the car up to the shop a few weeks back to have it checked out tip-to-tail. Some friends recommended a shop local to me (about 30m away) that really knows land cruisers. Ended up chatting w/ the owner for about an hour, he's been driving 40s and 60s since he was in his teens. Anyways, while I had it up there, I decided to let them have a go at the carb. Sure enough, I had a vacuum leak and the idle circuit was clogged. Some other notes from the carb rebuild:

• Apparently the jets were too small for high-altitude, they put in the correct ones
• The spring on the accelerator pump ball-bearing/BB was just not there
• They said it was one of the dirtiest carbs they've ever seen. Upon further inspection, I have some crud/rust floating around in the gas tank and the inline glass filter I had wasn't fine enough to stop it all from getting to the carb

Added more to the "to fix list" after the time in the shop, they recommend radiator/hoses, new suspension bushings and leaf springs (you can see the old bushings pushing their way out, they are beyond gone), and of course a replacement gas tank. A few other odds and ends but overall the truck is in good shape.

I also had them look at the brakes, as the parking brake doesn't, and they seem a bit anemic to me overall. I have the rear drums with two pistons per side, and the owner says those are a PITA. He recommends swapping them out for drums from the later 40's or a 60 with a single piston, as those are easier to adjust / keep their adjustment. That or swap to discs.

Emissions Round Three
Truck is running super smooth since the carb rebuild, although I have been religious about cleaning out that glass filter. I don't need the choke to keep her idling and idle RPM is around 690ish. Was feeling confident about emissions, but failed again (high HC/CO) . From what I'm seeing, I should try leaning it out and retarding the timing... That will be this afternoon to play around with. A few notes for those in Colorado (at least up in Boulder county where I am), there is no visual inspection of equipment at this point. Have passed "visual" all three times. The shop owner told me they really just focus on what's coming out of the tailpipe. So I'm going to keep at it and not worry about a cat/re-smogging it.

Tinkering / Misc Fixes
Boy, can I say how awesome the wealth of knowledge is here? I feel like half my searches are on this forum now. Been busy since I got the truck back from the shop, ticked a lot off my list:

• Replaced headlight switch with the proper part # (previous one was from an older '40 that had headlights/corner lights on same circuit, and the knob was broken as well). Lights / corner lights all work, no blown fuses.
• Adjusted headlight aim (was a bit catywompus)
• Fixed the oil pressure gauge: Found a loose wire in the engine bay, traced it out, and sure enough that was it.
• Fixed the odometer. I was intimidated by this one, but ih8mud to the rescue. Spent a good amount of time reading through this thread and it worked a charm. The number dials were so stuck on there it was a bear to get em loose, but persistence paid off. Works great now that they are cleaned / re-greased.
• Cleaned all electrical contacts in the gauge cluster (the round plug) and added dielectric grease. No longer getting flickering / inconsistent gauge issues. All the foam inside the cluster had also disintegrated with age, so I replaced that with thick felt attached with 3M super 90. We'll see how it holds up.
• Swapped the bulbs in the cluster w/ the high-output ones from CCOT. I can see in the neighborhood now, although I think stock bulbs might be fine as long as you deleted the light baffles inside the cluster. Time will tell on those.
• Got rid of the mystery circuit board/wiring. The only thing it was actually connected to was a small pressure switch screwed into the dashboard framing and the power cable that would normally be used for the dome light (which is missing). I think it was likely a radio or something, but who knows.
• Added a few bits and bobs from CityRacer (door hole plugs, spare tire latch bumper)

Next up I'm going to address the dome light, air intake (going to try to fabricobble a replacement for the air intake horn, which is apparently made of unobtanium), and see about replacing the Ingition Coil with something stock (it is some aftermarket thing, and Id rather this truck be as stock as possible). Im presently trying to figure out internal resistor vs no, whether I need an igniter (some people seem to bypass them?), etc etc.

 

[procomsignathid]

Some pics…

 

[procomsignathid]

Some more wrenching today. Purists, avert your gaze... I bought a 3"-4" steel HVAC adapter from Home Depot, a rivet gun / rivets. Total in for around $50 and I get a new tool out of the deal.

Spent some time with hammers, pliers, tin snips, an angle grinder and some spray paint. The steel bar / hardware I found from scrap laying around the garage. It ain't pretty, but until I can justify the real deal, it'll do for now.

 

[procomsignathid]

Passed emissions!

Retarded the timing a bit and leaned it out, and I tossed about 5gallons of e85 in there when I was about 1/4 tank. She's runnin' rough, idling high, and needs the choke partially out, but passed. Now I can register the truck proper...

Next up, add a dome light back in, replace radiator (and add in a heater), and I may swap out the aftermarket coil for something stock.

 

[procomsignathid]

Lot of updates!...

I replaced the cooling system and added a stock heater back in (scrounged multiple parts from ebay + restoration kits from SOR). While replacing the radiator I decided to swap out the top of the thermostat housing with one that was appropriate for a '78 (which does not have an oil cooler). Took the opportunity while I was in there to put in a new thermostat and temperature sender, but was surprised to see that there was no thermostat in the truck! Columbia special indeed...

Putting the heater in required a restore of the ebay blower and heater box I sourced, pretty happy w/ how it came out!

 

[procomsignathid]

More pics of the heater / blower / radiator install:

 

[procomsignathid]

Heater + vent + blower all work great. The resistor on the motor was still working correctly, and I was able to restore all the rubber parts using the wintergreen oil method the motorcycle guys use on their intakes (does smell a bit minty when using the blower motor though).

Another big change was swapping out the gas tank. On Mothers day we took the truck for a drive, and halfway through the idle circuit clogged again . That was the last straw for me, so I pulled the trigger. As part of that job, I also put in a proper evap system (ordered the kit from redline) and that has fixed the gas smell. One of the ports on the evap manifold was busted, and was "repaired" with gorilla glue, ha. I bodged it with a section of plastic pipe I found and copious JB weld, hopefully that will buy me enough time until I can source a replacement.

For the gas tank, I was able to find an OEM replacement, and painted it with some 3M undercoating spray. I also took care of the rust in the cabin and put down some neoprene pads. Plugged the holes with some rubber plugs I got from Ace, I was on the fence on this one... Let me know if I did a stupid (on the one hand, I don't want water from the road getting in, on the other hand, I want water in the cabin to get out).

 

[procomsignathid]

And some minor things done too. Put in a low-profile hitch receiver (thank you @Barn find !), fixed the wiper spray motor / switch, and put a rack on it for camping (went w/ a Gamiviti rack as they are local, and would recommend anyone buy from Tim, he was super helpful!). The rack just clears the garage door, again huge thanks to Tim as he was able to give me solid confidence in the exact height of the rack. Last pics is from a recent camping trip!

 

[knuckle47]

The truck is looking fine! Beautiful work on the heater and allied parts. Looks new !

 

[procomsignathid]

The truck is looking fine! Beautiful work on the heater and allied parts. Looks new !

Thank you! Really happy w how it all turned out, and now I have a working defrost! Next I have to fix up the wipers… Super sluggish and the low speed position doesnt work at all.

 

[procomsignathid]

Took care of a few nagging issues over the last few days. These items were on the menu:

“De-jankify” the fuel filter / return setup… Now that I have a new fuel tank and have a few miles on the truck after the fact I want to ditch the old filters. Truck came with a glass filter with a coarse screen that kinda leaks and so I had added a cheapo NAPA filter after the fact and ehhhh, I hate it. The return line is too short/taught, and all of it is just floppin’ around in there.

Here’s the “setup”:

I picked up a few OEM filters and an OEM filter bracket. After scratching my head a bit I came to the conclusion that the bracket I got wasnt for this year, so I decided to use the clip from it and fabricate something.

I tool a bit of scrap angle stock, removed the filter clip from the bracket, and spent some time with the angle grinder, bench vice and hand drill to come up with a nice little bracket that ties into the battery tray support. At the last minute I also added a clip for the return line. I really love this little rivet gun:

Happy with how it came out! I painted it black to go with the battery support / tray, which was the next project…

Replace the battery (and get rid of rust): the battery tray and support were in need of some TLC, lot of rust and half-done coverups, and tray bolts were pretty-well mangled/rounded. I pulled the tray and support, and pretty much went through an entire wire wheel removing the paint. I tried brake cleaner to soften things up (which worked), but it was such a nasty mess I went back to the wire wheel. Sorry, forgot to take pics of the “before”, but here’s whats left of the wheel:

 

[procomsignathid]

After removing rust, things painted up nice. I used self-etching primer, rustoleum black, and on the top / bottom of the battery tray and the top of the support bracket I hit it with some leftover undercoating spray from the gas tank job.

Putting it all together, I made sure to hit the frame and all the mounting surfaces with fluid film before bolting everything back down.

Im much happier with the furl filter / return line now, and they are firmly in-place with enough slack in the lines:

And finally, the tray is back in with some new stainless steel hardware:

 

[wimberosa]

Excellent job. That was originally a clip from the 1979+ I think its kinda funny how many times they changed
that thing...even doing it once mid-year on the 1979. Such an innocuous part but they were still fiddling with it.

Battery trays and battery stay downs are still available from mr toyota if anyone is so inclined to go an alternate route.
Yours cleaned up nicely.

 

[wimberosa]

BTW.. You do realize this is supposed to go back to the top of the head right?