Builds It was the Prospector's Idea (2 Viewers)

[90WT]

By the power of Grayskull...

Was needing another fuse block for lots of reasons. Firstly, need a socket to charge my phone. Eventually future stuff like lights, HAM radio, party lights. I probably spent way too much time on this. But it turned out kinda cool. And hey, winter is great for garage time, right?

Blue Sea stuff from Amazon. Orvis flybox from the shed. Aluminum bits and wire leftover from the trailer build.

 

[90WT]

Enough with the rattles already.

Got some new door seals a long time ago. Finally got around to putting them on during our big Spring snow storm a few weeks ago. Sure does help alleviate the door rattles. I don't mind the massive snow storms if I get time in the garage. Crank some tunes, glue up some seals and shovel snow. Then shovel more snow. Then some more.

I was able to clean a lot of the blue paint off the door under the seals with just mild detergent and a green scotch pad. Slowly getting to that Coronado Beige underneath.

 

[REZARF]

Ahhh, spring in Montana.

 

[90WT]

New shoes.

Found some welded steelies locally from @bagochips76
Althought the 60 series wheels were pretty fly, gray steelies might be a level up.
Prospector approved.

Before and after.

 

[pigmony]

Did you lift it too? It looks taller than I remember, or is that just the tires?

Nevermind. I found it in post #118!

 

[90WT]

While the cat's away...

Joined the Club run over in Whitehall this weekend. The Prospector was out camping with his buddies, so we thanked him for letting us borrow his 40 and hit the hills. All the maintenance and mods are paying off on the trails. Special thanks to @ttFJC for the photos.

 

[cbmontgo]

Steelies look great.

 

[RevISK]

Good thread.

entertaining.

inspiring.

 

[90WT]

Good thread.

entertaining.

inspiring.

Thanks. It's a no pressure, wrench-when-you-can sort of project.
I'm a big fan of David Freiburger's moto about "don't get it right, just get it running".

 

[RevISK]

Thanks. It's a no pressure, wrench-when-you-can sort of project.
I'm a big fan of David Freiburger's moto about "don't get it right, just get it running".

I’m in a similar boat, as it were, in that once I got it started/running/steering/stopping I want to do right by it but leap off any big cliffs.

Just went on a beer run and cruise around the neighborhood thinking about the forthcoming knuckle job, inevitable clutch job and the myriad of leaks all while being serenaded by a cacophony rattles. Strangely, very therapeutic. It’ll all get done eventually or it won’t, but at least I am literally and figuratively moving forward.

Ian

 

[90WT]

Logging miles.

The Propsector and I headed out camping this weekend and joined up with some other friends with 40s for a little fun. We were pretty close to home in areas we've never explored. Proof that some of life's best adventures are in your own back yard.

Leading up to this trip, I've been trying to elimate vibrations now that most of the rattles and noises are under control. I know the rear wheel bearings have some play in them. It's on the list to get done this summer. I've been seeing MUD threads on drive shaft alignment and wondered why I've never checked that. Sure enough, rear driveline was out of phase. Let me tell you, lining that up made a huge improvement!

Also learned the hub caps can peel logs. Who would've thought.

 

[ijonesinsp]

Luxurious seating for 4.

GX470 seats in a FJ40?! Oh heck yeah!

Our 40 came with only front seats which limited our fun potential. Faced with sourcing original side facing seats and re-upholstering, or fab-ing up some aftermarket seat, we decided forward facing was better for us and the cost would probably wash out.

GX470 third row seats and seat belts were easily sourced on Craigslist. We used the OEM quick release mounting brackets, so the seats can be removed. Fold forward and tip sideways just like intended in the GX. Plenty of room under the seats for storage bins or future drawers. So excited this came together! Huge thanks to Sailor at Heliarc Designs here in Bozeman for the fab work. He's always up for a fun challenge, and our family is stoked to enjoy this mod.


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I love those seats! I was considering going this route awhile back. How do you like them now that you have some experience?

 

[90WT]

I love those seats! I was considering going this route awhile back. How do you like them now that you have some experience?

Super happy with the GX seats. The are very light, easy to remove, and fairly comfy. They also recline which is nice. There's even enough room/height for adults to ride back there. The tricky part is fabricating the mounting brackets on the floor, and positioning the shoulder strap. For the floor brackets, they're designed to fit within the ribs of the floor pan and through bolted into the cross member underneath the pan. The idea was to be able to remove them if I ever wanted to go back to a stock route with a full on restoration. (Doubtful that'll ever happen). The shoulder belts needed an extra tube welded to my roll bar to accept the shoulder belt. You'll need to sit back there and mock it up so the belt is in a comfortable position. It's a balancing act to get it correct for adults vs kids geometry. Again, super happy. I'm glad we went this route as opposed to refurbishing some original side facing seats.

 

[ijonesinsp]

Super happy with the GX seats. The are very light, easy to remove, and fairly comfy. They also recline which is nice. There's even enough room/height for adults to ride back there. The tricky part is fabricating the mounting brackets on the floor, and positioning the shoulder strap. For the floor brackets, they're designed to fit within the ribs of the floor pan and through bolted into the cross member underneath the pan. The idea was to be able to remove them if I ever wanted to go back to a stock route with a full on restoration. (Doubtful that'll ever happen). The shoulder belts needed an extra tube welded to my roll bar to accept the shoulder belt. You'll need to sit back there and mock it up so the belt is in a comfortable position. It's a balancing act to get it correct for adults vs kids geometry. Again, super happy. I'm glad we went this route as opposed to refurbishing some original side facing seats.

That’s great. How do you think they would do with car seats?

 

[90WT]

Should work ok with car seats, although I've never tried. My kiddos are out of car seats. Two would be do-able for sure.
The GX third row has seat belts for three wide, but I didn't install the middle seat belt.

 

[ijonesinsp]

Should work ok with car seats, although I've never tried. My kiddos are out of car seats. Two would be do-able for sure.
The GX third row has seat belts for three wide, but I didn't install the middle seat belt.

The heep seat is everywhere and affordable, but this is so much cooler. Thanks for the info.

 

[90WT]

Hit the Lights.

Snagged the H4 conversion kit from @cruiseroutfit. Price was good and shipping was quick. This kit is supposed to be plug and play, but doesn't quite apply for the '71. The original headlight wires go through the steel headlight backing mount and I wanted to keep that original. No worries. I just clipped the original three headlight wires at the fenders and spliced in the new wires from the kit. Power for lights and switch relay go through my homemade fuse block shown in an earlier post. Each has it's own fuse. The fogs lights are independent of the headlights, not conditional on headlights working. And the switch for the fogs, running through the fuse block, requires keyed power.

No real scientific experimental data here, but I can tell you they are much brighter than the Sylvania lights that were in there before. I love keeping the somewhat ol' skool looking halogens and having the heat in the light to melt the impending snow. (Snow coming next week says the weatherman).

Also picked up some 55w Hella halogen fogs for some added coverage. I don't do much high speed driving at night. But the winters are long and having more side coverage is definitely nice, and way more safe.

Mounting bracket was leftover 1-1/2 inch steel angle and some spare tie down anchors off the LX.

 

[pigmony]

Looks like a pretty clean installation. Is that a block heater plug in the grill?

 

[90WT]

Is that a block heater plug in the grill?

Yep, in-line coolant heater. Was on the rig when we bought it. There's some added hoses to route coolant around. It still works too, although I've only used it a few times. Our old F engine fires up in the winter without needing it.

 

[90WT]

And now it's winter I guess.