Builds My '78 FJ40 "44" (1 Viewer)

[Solace in Solitude]

Its always a good time watching your progress on this Danny. I try to store many of your ideas for mine when I get ready for it. Very Well prepared and thought out build. Hope you like that M&P 40C, That is my every day carry (yes its possible even in CA). I especially like it after upgrading to the Apex Tactical Duty/Carry action enhancement kit. 5lbs trigger pull weight and a shorter reset really helped.
Thanks for sharing & Keep up the great work!

Thanks for the kind words!! Some of my ideas are mine, some were stolen from others. Use what you like!!

I've had that compact for about 4 years... it was my everyday carry until my back started bothering me so much. I started carrying my .40 Shield... with extra mags, its a fairly significant drop in weight. I'm very fond of M&P - I also have a couple of other M&P's. I really like the action and performance of the M&P guns.. but, would like a shorter reset.

Is the Apex upgrade as easy/seamless as Apex indicates?

For carry, I'm especially fond of the CrossBreed MiniTuck IWB holster (EDIT: 40c requires their SuperTuck)... but, have had to try a couple of other carry methods, for the past year, to mitigate the weight on my lower lumbar. I'm hoping to be able to return to my CrossBreeds soon...

I have to attend a family reunion, in San Diego County in June... I know I have zero reciprocity in CA, but need to research vehicle carry laws in CA... I'll have my Tundra, pulling a travel trailer... maybe I can legally carry in my 'domain" in CA... otherwise...

Thanks for your "God Bless America! Great thanks to all the men and women of our military!"!!

 

[65swb45]

I won't say I don't... Won't say I do...

In the immortal words of Oliver North: it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

 

[Solace in Solitude]

In the immortal words of Oliver North: it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.

Tru Dat!!

How was your Death Valley outing?

 

[65swb45]

Tru Dat!!

How was your Death Valley outing?

I've joked for years that all those really cool postcards you see from all over the world...

You never see the bugs!

Well....

The super-bloom?

150+bites in the first four days. Warm, calm, swarming!

Then two days of wind, peaking Tuesday night with gusts above 50. No fun in a tent.

Then two days of bug-free perfect springtime weather.

It turned out quite a few of my desert friends were out there over the course of the 8 days.

There's a pic of my campsite in the Trail Crew forum.

 

[Solace in Solitude]

I've joked for years that all those really cool postcards you see from all over the world...

You never see the bugs!

Well....

The super-bloom?

150+bites in the first four days. Warm, calm, swarming!

Then two days of wind, peaking Tuesday night with gusts above 50. No fun in a tent.

Then two days of bug-free perfect springtime weather.

It turned out quite a few of my desert friends were out there over the course of the 8 days.

There's a pic of my campsite in the Trail Crew forum.

Well... glad you had a good variety to choose from Sounds like you wouldn't trade it for anything... except, maybe, "bug-free perfect springtime weather" the entire time...

We had colder than expected temps (low 20s at night, mid-40s daytime) up at Echo Canyon and a LOT of wind, with nice hiking opportunities about 3-4 hours each midday. It all culminated with a 50-60 mph squall of snow and sleet. We never ventured further than Echo.... the forecast was for snow everywhere else... so, we came home and will try again in about 3 weeks.

But, the only bugs were huge flies after the wind died down... but, they faded with the temps.

All-in-all, a great time... but, we had a trailer, not a tent.

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

horseflies... ick, those beggers hurt too when they bite.

 

[Solace in Solitude]

horseflies... ick, those beggers hurt too when they bite.

Nope... Big ole green flies... At least they didn't bite.

 

[TwelveGravity]

Thanks for the kind words!! Some of my ideas are mine, some were stolen from others. Use what you like!!

I've had that compact for about 4 years... it was my everyday carry until my back started bothering me so much. I started carrying my .40 Shield... with extra mags, its a fairly significant drop in weight. I'm very fond of M&P - I also have a couple of other M&P's. I really like the action and performance of the M&P guns.. but, would like a shorter reset.

Is the Apex upgrade as easy/seamless as Apex indicates?

For carry, I'm especially fond of the CrossBreed MiniTuck IWB holster (EDIT: 40c requires their SuperTuck)... but, have had to try a couple of other carry methods, for the past year, to mitigate the weight on my lower lumbar. I'm hoping to be able to return to my CrossBreeds soon...

I have to attend a family reunion, in San Diego County in June... I know I have zero reciprocity in CA, but need to research vehicle carry laws in CA... I'll have my Tundra, pulling a travel trailer... maybe I can legally carry in my 'domain" in CA... otherwise...

Thanks for your "God Bless America! Great thanks to all the men and women of our military!"!!

The Apex upgrade was fairly simple to install. They recommend having a trained gunsmith do it for you but I had no trouble with mine. As long as you have the proper tools (by the look of your builds I'm sure you have them) it should be a breeze. I really like the M&P Shield as well, I don't have one myself (YET). CrossBreed has some nice holsters. I carry with a very similar IWB holster "Cloak Tuck 3.0" made by Alien Gear. I would have opted for CrossBreed if I knew of them at the time. I would prefer their leather backing over Aliens Gears Neoprene. All in all it is a comfortable carry.

 

[TwelveGravity]

Danny, also unfortunately I don't believe the State of California has Reciprocity with any other state permits. There are about a half dozen other states that recognize CA CCW but CA does not recognize it on the other hand (so I guess it would not be considered Reciprocity). I don't know a whole lot on the subject but recall some from previous conversations. Wouldn't hurt to call say San Diego County Sheriffs Department just for clarification. All in all, I wish you the best and safe travels.

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Danny, also unfortunately I don't believe the State of California has Reciprocity with any other state permits. There are about a half dozen other states that recognize CA CCW but CA does not recognize it on the other hand (so I guess it would not be considered Reciprocity). I don't know a whole lot on the subject but recall some from previous conversations. Wouldn't hurt to call say San Diego County Sheriffs Department just for clarification. All in all, I wish you the best and safe travels.

Kevin,

I was born and raised in CA... a long time ago... and we were allowed to protect ourselves.

But, now I can "temporarily" legally carry a concealable (on person) type weapon into CA.. but, it has to be unloaded and locked in the back of my truck or trailer.

But, I can carry an unloaded shotgun or rifle (non-assault) and load it while sleeping in my trailer... I have a 12ga Remington 870 Express... I'll legally take it into CA and figure out a private method of travel protection.

handgunlaw.us is an excellent resource... if you haven't seen it - here's CA (the relevant section is "RV/Car Carry Without a Permit/License") http://handgunlaw.us/states/california.pdf .

CrossBreed is still going strong... even though the founder (I can't recall his name) died suddenly about 2 or 3 years ago.

Thanks for the Apex info!!

p.s. Don (@handcannon) is spot on... it's a real shame that the concealed carry laws are left to the whims of each state... it makes it very difficult to be sure you remain within the bounds of each state's laws.

 

[78fj40mg]

Hey Danny, is area 51 on your list of upcoming planned trips?

Any and all Intel is appreciated, as always, Thank you brother!

 

[handcannon]

Thanks Don!!

What ever happened to that F1.5 that SBG gave you?

Well, it's still sitting in storage (my Dad built it for a shop, but it has become mostly storage). By the way, I wish it was the F1.5, but it's an F. The project that comes first is a Nissan SD-22 (diesel) out of a 1981 Nissan pickup to go into the 1973 Datsun pickup that Dad bought new. It's been sitting there for probably in the neighborhood of 2 years, and I've actually had it running while sitting on the floor. But, too many other projects seem to be more important at the time, or the weather is horrible for working outside (the only place I have the space to work on it). It seems like I'm usually waiting for the money to mysteriously show up, or the weather to warm up.

Right now the weather has been so good that I've been spending a bunch of my time getting things ready for gardening. The rest of the time has been spent letting my back recuperate so I can go outside again. My daughter and I finally got the first flats of seeds into the greenhouse yesterday, only close to a month later than we should have. Today we spent starting to weed and spread rotted manure in the garden area, until I finally got to the point of saying I needed what was left of the day to recuperate. That's how I'm finally getting to your question.

Don

ps- hopefully by early summer I'll be installing the SD-22, then I'll be able to put the motor I got from SBG on the engine stand and start doing something with it.

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Well, it's still sitting in storage (my Dad built it for a shop, but it has become mostly storage). By the way, I wish it was the F1.5, but it's an F. The project that comes first is a Nissan SD-22 (diesel) out of a 1981 Nissan pickup to go into the 1973 Datsun pickup that Dad bought new. It's been sitting there for probably in the neighborhood of 2 years, and I've actually had it running while sitting on the floor. But, too many other projects seem to be more important at the time, or the weather is horrible for working outside (the only place I have the space to work on it). It seems like I'm usually waiting for the money to mysteriously show up, or the weather to warm up.

Right now the weather has been so good that I've been spending a bunch of my time getting things ready for gardening. The rest of the time has been spent letting my back recuperate so I can go outside again. My daughter and I finally got the first flats of seeds into the greenhouse yesterday, only close to a month later than we should have. Today we spent starting to weed and spread rotted manure in the garden area, until I finally got to the point of saying I needed what was left of the day to recuperate. That's how I'm finally getting to your question.

Don

ps- hopefully by early summer I'll be installing the SD-22, then I'll be able to put the motor I got from SBG on the engine stand and start doing something with it.

Hang in there, Don... feel better!!

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Hey Danny, is area 51 on your list of upcoming planned trips?

Any and all Intel is appreciated, as always, Thank you brother!

Yeah, nah, Bro!! I've seen Area 51 security and want no part of it!!

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Since I can't go far afield right right now, Chester and I visited the Desert National Wildlife Refuge, driving Morman Well Road and a few offshoot roads again. The roads were in very poor condition... they've obviously had some pretty good flooding, since I was last up there around Christmas. The 10 mile Pine Nut Road round trip took just under 3 hours... there was one especially bad washout, with no tracks on the other side. We went on up to the end because I wanted to hike the mountain and ridge sans snow... but, it wasn't worth the effort... that mountain is covered in cactus, flaked shale and a lot of deadfall... even though it was about 50 degress, it was a sunny day and we were hiking the south face... by the time we were 300' up and 1/2 mile up (to 6556'), I became too concerned about waking a sunning snake, so we went back down and moved on back to Morman Well Road.

We worked our way through Peek-a-boo Canyon and up to the Desert Pass Campground (6600')... its a decent campground (with no one there), but it's obviously used a lot... I didn't want to stay there and Chester agreed. So, we drove on and stopped at the old Morman Camp area and pulled up into a high spot in the trees. The sky was clear, with no rain in the forecast, so I wasn't real concerned with camping in an area with "flash flood area" signs... but, I made sure we were not camped in an obvious drainage and were as high as I could get.

I made Tortilla Soup and I gave Chester a couple of tbsps of the canned chicken, to flavor his food. It was getting cold out, so the soup was especially great!! We also shared some popcorn and sacked out, in 44, around 7pm. I listened to a great audiobook and woke to hear rain on the roof. I debated moving back up to the campground, but only momentarily, before going back to sleep.

When I woke in the morning, it was 27 degrees and the ground was practically dry... it had been a while since it rained and apparently the rain wasn't as bad as it sounded at 2 am.

We geared up and hiked up the mountain behind our camp and took a few pictures of the awesome view, across the valley... Hayford Peak (~9700') was directly across from us. My pictures don't do justice to the actual view...

I scrambled some eggs and cooked some bacon and it was so delicious, I did it again... Chester really likes his bacon and eggs!!

Then we climbed back into 44 and continued driving, exploring and taking pictures... a great trip!!

Chester geared up at Pine Nut

Chester at Morman Camp

Hayford Peak, across the valley, from the mountain behind our Morman Camp site

Chester and 44... waiting above the wash

44 and Chester ... profiling...

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Technical Question:

I recently replaced the shackles, spring pins and bushings ... but, when crawling very slowly, over very rough terrain, I hear and feel a "pop" from the left front... seems to be suspension related... I've checked shocks, springs, motor mounts and everything I can think of... and everything is tight.

Could the spring pack be 'popping"?

Is there something I should do to the pack itself?

Ideas??

Thanks!!

 

[Solace in Solitude]

A few more pics - BTW: Chester's training has really paid off!! He was PERFECT the entire trip!!

Chester eating a tree and posing

A dinosaur on the cliff

"Spilt Milk"

 

[Jdc1]

Great pictures. I have a 3yo GSD, it's amazing how puppies just figure it out one day.

 

[Solace in Solitude]

Flowers:

 

[Solace in Solitude]