My first 40: Building up Barney the purple '77

[RodrigzCrzr]

Always jealous when I see you Texas guys getting together for a cruiser wrenching day. I'm in the middle of nowhere now surrounded by jeepers....
Anyway, your cruiser is looking better with the change in suspension and tires/wheels. When do you plan to repaint.... or is it such a figure now that a repaint is off the table...?

I feel the same way out here in Cali.
No one gets together like you guys out there in Texas. You guys all share a great crusier bond.

 

[bottombracket]

Dave, you should go ahead and tell that story because it’s pretty great.

Preview: it involves @davegonz ‘s badass 1HZT 60.

And @77mustard40’s driveway (and excellent beer).

 

[davegonz]

I'll copy and paste your description:

Best thing is, we’re standing in Kelly’s driveway drinking excellent beer (thanks!), and a guy pulls up in a Suburban with a flatbed trailer. Says he’s on his way to the other side of the neighborhood to pick up an old FJ60 that hasn’t run in years. He asks if we are ‘cruiser guys’ and if wanna check it out. Of course we do. So we pile into Dave’s 60 and low and behold, it’s an ‘84 60, badly sun damaged Freeborn Red. OME lift, no rust, but interior fabric and exterior paint are pretty thrashed. Dude’s going to take it out of town to a property he owns and get it running, put some new tires on it, and then look to sell it for around $3000.

 

[77mustard40]

The best part was Dave’s key opened the mystery 60 so we could get a better look at her!

 

[davegonz]

LOL! I forgot that part.

 

[bottombracket]

We had a a 1 in 16 shot, right?

Between us we had 4 cruiser keys, maybe 5? So a 5/64 chance of opening it and Dave’s key worked the first time.

Anyway, I’ve been driving Barney in the cooler weather we have here lately and I’ll be damned - the truck is driving so much better. I caught myself going 62 in a 65 zone today on the highway!

 

[bottombracket]

So my heater valve has been leaking since I bought the truck. I bought a replacement valve three years ago. Yes, that’s right, three freaking years. Every time I went to do it, there was something else that was more important and I just kept filling up my radiator overflow and topping off the radiator as needed. Somebody’s got to keep Prestone in business.

This week I finally replaced it. I now have heat and no leaks.

You can see hints of Barney’s original Freeborn Red way back on the firewall.

That thing led a hard life.

 

[bottombracket]

I have hated the stock ‘77 mirrors. I’ve been through two sets of them, one used, one new, and I just can’t keep the plastic heads in place.

I have been looking for a set of euro mirrors for a while, and they’ve been out of stock everywhere I looked. @Sirrattles had a set here on MUD and I picked them up.

I had a great seven-year-old helper getting the old ones removed and the new ones in place.

For once I can see everything behind me and I don’t have to adjust them every 10 minutes as I drive. The price is high, but they are by far and away the best mirrors I’ve had on my 40.

I just need to peel the stickers off of them. Those suckers are almost impossible to get off.

 

[beneharris]

I know you posted about it quite a while ago, but would you post up some pictures of how you mounted your rear seat? I'm getting ready to throw mine in, and I'd love some ideas.

 

[beneharris]

Great looking build, by the way.

 

[bottombracket]

Funny you mention it, I’m taking out the Bestop fold and tumble and installing the Little Passengers seat this weekend. Stay posted.

 

[vpatsears]

Digging the Purple!

 

[bottombracket]

Pulled the Bestop fold n’ tumble out and got the Little Passengers seat in place today with @davegonz ’s help. There is a decent mount of storage space behind the seat. Enough for a tool bag to fit easily, but about 3 inches short to squeeze a Yeti 45 in behind. We only had to make one trip to the local hardware store for a stepped drill bit as I just couldn’t locate any bit larger than 1/8” in my garage.

Two of my three kids (and both dogs) all fit during a test ride around the neighborhood. Success.

 

[G-Cat]

I have the same seat and have had all 3 of my kids (boys 18 and 14, girl 16) buckled into it for short rides.

Not comfortably and the boys are skinny...

 

[bottombracket]

I’m hoping to get about 5 years out of this seat. The kids are 9/7/5 now, so soon, the 9 year old will be in the passenger seat. The younger two can fight it out back there.

Hopefully soon after that the kids will be looking for their own cruisers or fighting over this 40.

 

[bottombracket]

On a side note my custom radiator overflow cap broke. For like 2 years I thought this was factory until I got a replacement bottle. Pretty sure it’s an antifreeze lid.

Gotta dig out the replacement bottle and cap now, I suppose.

 

[davegonz]

Keep that round bottle. Those things are cool and well made.

 

[bottombracket]

The top lip on this jug is partially melted, which is probably why it got a nonstandard cap.

I have a nice used one with a functioning overflow cap and a second spare that’s s little rougher. Don’t see why I can’t just keep on using this melty one with a new Prestone cap.

Having a purple truck is really liberating from a ‘needs to be OEM’/OCD/CDO standpoint.

 

[davegonz]

Ha. I'm glad I'm not OCD

 

[bottombracket]

At work I have to be CDO - it's like OCD but the letters are in the proper order just the way they should be...

...but as you can tell i have some lapses into severe disorder in the rest of my life.

I should have taken the opportunity to organize my parts horde shelving before throwing the HJ61 into the garage today. Too late.