Build Keeping another on the road- My Blue 1986 FJ60 Build

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Maybe they will be less,
Anyone who anything about these guys, only found a few reviews and like all are mixed

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Hmmm

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So couple of things
1. I am removing my rear swingout in favor of an oem bumper.
I picked up a SOR interior spare tire mount and will mount the spare in the Cargo area.

2. I dropped the LS swap due to cost and field reparability. The most complex thing in the 60 is the Kenwood radio. Why add more complexity. I have other plans for the LS and a C10 truck.

3. I also dropped the oem carb. I know run away screaming. I installed a Holley carb with an older Downey adapter.
I connected mine using the stock pedal and using a universial bell crank for the linkage attached using a home made adapter to the 2 bolts on the manifold (pic to come). This will also work for a Sniper for the WFI conversion guys)
Easy to adjust, keeps it more or less stock looking and nothing that cannot be reversed.
I also reduced 80% of the vacuum lines.
For the AC I used a Holley solenoid that bolts to the side of the carb (minor filing of the mounting plate was needed)
All in all it work and well I can adjust this by ear and still works fine.
Am I emission compliant....no...but in VA it will be registered as an antique so who cares.

4. This spring the carpet is gone. I managed to convince Jason (trail trailer) to sell one of his last or last personal stock of vinyl floor kits.
This is to bring back the utilitarian part of the 60 and make it less plush plush. It is a off road vehicle designed to get dirty, yet easy to clean.
I will though keep the seats for now as I like the fabric over the vinyl. It is cooler on the body.

5. Nothing LOL I think that will be it.
The rest of the 60 is working well.

6. I have a big Diesel engine sitting on a stand as well looking for a new home in an project....but for now the 2F is working just fine.

Pics inbound as it is currently on the driveway while I reorganize the garage and winterize the lawn gear.


So why a Holley carb and not go OEM? I have tuned Holley carbs for years and know them well. They are dead simple in the 2 barrel version and I can rebuild it blindfolded.
I have the off-road kit (so many call it) installed and I am sure it will be fine. Jets can be changed out in seconds and Holley has a complete kit with all jets in a nice little box.
The metering block can be modified if you want although you should not have to.
All in all it is as simple as they come for carbs. They are cheap to buy and you can pick up parts just about anywhere.
So while I wanted to stay OEM because that is the norm for the 40/60 series.....I do not do the norm and for me it is easy to repair modify vs vacuum nightmare.

Oh and the auto choke is nice (if you know how to adjust it.....now to wire that in the the choke light. I have a manual kit as well.
 
So I installed the Holley carb. After some tweaking all is working as expected. Then the 60 sat for about 3 weeks.
Now with the OEM carb it would be a crank session to get it started. The Holley has a electronic choke (hooked up temporally). Today I moved it back into the Garage for the winter and 2 cranks and she fired right up.
Say what you want about these carbs, once tuned (if you take your time) they are just great.
While I do not have any vacuum leaks I still have a few things to hook up, like the charcoal canister.
How I connected the throttle.

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I pulled it off as after looking at everything , I just did not want a computer on my non computer 60.
Simply put driving in the areas I take this, while EFI is nice, the reliability of a carb is just there. Everything else on my 60 is solid why change what works.
I picked a holley as the jets are dead simple to change and the parts are everywhere for it. They are very simple carbs.

One day maybe a non computer controlled diesel but for now the 2f stays.
 
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The 2f may be slow, but it is reliable Simple and now much more so.

The LS is still in the shelf to but that will go into another project.

In fairness to the FItech and Snipers. They are great options, however until Holley and FITech start to use better components I will stay away. OEM EFI is fine IMO as most are tired and true. That said retrofitting on something that needs to be 100% reliable for days in the back country where a tow is $$$ is just not an options. I put the Holley carb on and utilized a very simple setup. While I am still dialing it in, it is minor compared to adjusting the EFI setting and dealing with any of the required sensors.

I guess I am just more old school for my off road rig. My LR3 has enough computers and complexity to keep any one busy.
 
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So I swear when it comes to the fuel system on my FJ60 I am the most indecisive bastard you have ever met.


Stupidly I sold my Jim C carb as I was convinced that I was going EFI. I bought the Sniper and the FItech kits and after looking at everything on them and hunting down spares. Simply put I was completely turned off as I was not a fan of all of the electronics on vehicle where the most advanced thing is my LED lights.

Then I moved to a Holley 2300 (I had one and picked up another for parts). Figured out how to install this so I did not have to drill holes in my firewall and using off the shelf parts.
Ran great with 2 problems.

1. The automatic choke is a joke. I switched to a manual choke, however it is a rather clunky lever that is not anywhere as smooth as the OEM carb.
2. The AC idle up is well, a crappy solenoid that mounts to stop the throttle assembly from fully returning to idle bumping up the RPM's. If the AC kicks on you have to tap the throttle to prevent from stalling. This is also a problem as it mounts on top of the spring return.

Neither of those are show stoppers (especially in the winter) and the Carb ran rather well. My throttle rod (no cable) setup worked very well and was adjustable allowing full movement of the plates. I drove it the 110 miles I drive to work and back without issue.
First thing in the morning needed the choke (it was 32* out) and leaving to home just fired right up.

Earlier this year I had picked up a basket case of an OEM carb cheap and sent that off to Jim C again for rebuild. I did this as I decided if I was running a carb, I will stick to the OEM one. Even though the Holley ran damn well. Happy to say it is on the way back. Fortunately nothing I did during the change was difficult to reverse and would take less than 10 minutes to do so.
I will reinstall once done.

I also picked up a TBI unit just to screw around with the programming on the ECU (I work in IT so I have a knack for wanting to try new things)
Again after looking at it, I still cannot convert to fuel injection. I do not know why. My Land Rover LR3 is fuel injection and works very well. But it is OEM and I expect that it should. Plus if it fails I have two Indy repair shops and 2 dealers around me that specialize in these things.

For my old manual everything Land Cruiser I just cannot make the change.

There was a time I could tune dual Stromburg carbs by ear and I think it is the simplicity of carburetors that keeps me interested in them. Even the OEM carb is relatively simple once you get past the nightmare of the many vacuum ports and hoses.

So with that I will be installing the carb once it arrives in a few days and run it until the 60 cannot run any more or I sell it and someone else changes it.

While everyone will tell you that Fuel Injection is the way to go, go with how you feel and what you want. Fuel Injection is amazing, do not get me wrong, I just think it has a number of unique things to go wrong that could leave you stranded.
Now mechanical diesel fuel injection......way different topic.

Carbs are more picky at higher altitude but you can rejet easy enough. One thing for sure, if you have fuel and spark the vehicle will run. There is no sensor that will shut down your carb and while the OEM one has the fuel cut-off solenoid and it will idle like crap if it is failed, it will run.


Alright my indecisive rant is over.
 
Love your 60, I have had the same one for many years and have faithfully kept it up, lots of add ons for off roading as well. 200,000 miles, pretty much rebuilt everything, perfect condition and I love it!
Added Holley Sniper FI two years ago, it has NEVER run right. It is now at a fourth shop that has tons of FI experience as it is mainly a Porsche shop, so the owner has fooled with all types of FI. I am hopeful, but very wary. One shop said they've never gotten their Sniper installs to work properly.
I've been back to Holly customer help many times via phone, wait times are VERY long!!!
When first installed the injectors ran 100% of the time, filling the crankcase with fuel, had to sent it right back to Holly, they replaced ALL the components. There are ~10 more bad stories after that.
I do get better mileage, I think. Its now been at this Porsche shop for a week and a half, so $$$$$ are accumulating even more. I guess I have over $4000 in it and counting.
And I DO see and now recommend the wisdom of embracing SIMPLE for reliability. But the siren song of better mileage, power and slip angle
with a carb, got me.
And I had to add a new distributor which I think has "computer-ish" components as well, so if an EMP comes, I am screwed :-)

Enjoy the feedback!
 
So my JIM C carb arrived last week. This past weekend I installed it. No picture but I will fire something off in the coming days.
I decided this was also a good time to put the choke cable @Onur sold me 2 years ago.

Turned the key and...........................nothing , WTH? check the battery and it was dead as dead gets. This is an Odyssey AGM battery and less than a year old. I was not overly happy. Put it on the charger and nothing. Fortunately Odyssey has a great write-up on how to get their dead battery to charge. While that was charging I threw in what will be the 2nd battery and after about 20 cranks (carb was rebuilt after all) it fired up and was running smooth as silk.

Now the question is why the battery drained. I have a suspicion and it has to do with my dead radio from a coupe of weeks ago. Looks like I have some troubleshooting to do. This will also give me a change to swap my dash pad to one that is a little better and install my OEM radio.

5 electronic things are not stock on my 60 right now.
1. Mean Green alt (checked it is working fine) with mega fuse bypass. I am thinking of reinstalling the OEM alt this weekend but the MG is working..
2. Toyota compass and inclinometer with clock (not oem to my FJ60)
3. Kenwood radio (being removed)
4. Kenwood power subwoffer (being removed)
5. Koito headlights.

So one of those things drained the battery in a about 1.5 weeks.

Frustrating for sure but nothing that cannot be solved.
 
So being less and impressed with the crappy plastic dash cover cap that I had on FJ60, I decided with the time on my hands to replace it with the dash cap I had stored. The cap is in over all great shape and the speaker holes are all intact.
Initially I was planning on fixing and resprying this dash cap, but after looking at it, I figured I could live with the crack as it is on the left had side of the instrument panel. Plus it adds character.

My initial cap cover started to bubble from the heat of the sun on the very top of the instrument cover and it pissed me off. Plus it just looked plasticity compared to the OEM cover.
At the same time I decided to update a few things like the center vents to open and close (using the stock vents). And I added back my OEM radio I had on the shelf. It worked as now is my only radio with a FM modulator behind the glovebox that allows me to use an AUX port for my XM radio and phone.
I installed the AUX port into a spare dash blank so if ever needed it could be removed and the blank replaced (I have a spare). I am over all happy with the result.

Just so some of you are aware. The center bezel is not cracked and my glovebox insert is still in one piece, truly rare (not unheard of) these days.
I need to respray the center bezel one day as it is worn.
And there the Gauges are installed, there were two holes from the PO, I am guessing a CB or something that I utilized. So I at least did not have to drill any more. Hated that they were there at all, but I can live with it.
Next is a set of retro gauges to get rid of the silver faced Autometer ones there now.

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With the Rover in the shop getting new catalytic coverters. I got to drive the 60 to work today.

Ran great with the new carb. Radio worked perfectly and all in all a good drive. Work is 55 mile from home so it got a great run.
I have a little popping on deceleration, but that is a bad down pipe I will replace soon.

Here it is in it's still unpainted state (mechanical and electrical is more important right now) sitting lonely at work.

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