Builds My Hawaiian 1975 Fj40 Resto-resurrection

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I didn’t have to drill, the windshield frame had 7 evenly distributed holes that had capture nuts behind them. They weren’t even nutcerts that a PO could have put in, but looked to be factory holes for 10mm bolts. Maybe I have a factory soft top windshield frame??

Most frames are like you describe. In my experience the bestop channel was drilled differently and some folks would use sheet screws to attach it.
 
I didn’t have to drill, the windshield frame had 7 evenly distributed holes that had capture nuts behind them. They weren’t even nutcerts that a PO could have put in, but looked to be factory holes for 10mm bolts. Maybe I have a factory soft top windshield frame??


So the two piece channel were already drilled to match the seven holes? That is usually. Years ago these channels were either drilled to match a jeep windshield frame or just evenly drilled with three holes on each. I have multiple channels, all have three holes each.

Mid sixties Toyota make the models so the hard top could run a soft top and vise versa. In the US or at least the main land as of 1/76 required three point seat belts. That was the end of the soft top models in the US. 2/78 three point seat belts moved to the roll bar. But the soft top was never imported again. At some point the fixed nuts were gone and only empty holes remained.
 
So the two piece channel were already drilled to match the seven holes? That is usually. Years ago these channels were either drilled to match a jeep windshield frame or just evenly drilled with three holes on each. I have multiple channels, all have three holes each.

Mid sixties Toyota make the models so the hard top could run a soft top and vise versa. In the US or at least the main land as of 1/76 required three point seat belts. That was the end of the soft top models in the US. 2/78 three point seat belts moved to the roll bar. But the soft top was never imported again. At some point the fixed nuts were gone and only empty holes remained.
Good bit of information. Sorry, I miss understood your original response. I did have to drill holes (4 of the 7) in the 2 piece channel part. I thought you meant drill into the windshield frame.
 
Had an annoying problem the last few months with overly long starts on my 40. I was told it may be from problems with the carburetor. So a full rebuild of the carburetor was decided on. It’s an intimidating process (at least for me) but the PinHead YouTube video series and the FSM chapter on carb disassembly and reassembly made it less daunting.
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Removal was pretty simple(on mine), four 12mm bolts at the base of the carb and one vacuum line, but a lot of photos were taken to remember exactly how the throttle linkage was attached. One thing to note is that the carb has a very strong gasoline odor, so a disassembly area with good ventilation is important.
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I can’t stress enough how helpful the PinHead YouTube videos were. Also used his recommended Berryman Cem-Dip. My carb wasn’t super dirty, but the carb dip really cleaned them up nice.
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To avoid flash rusting after the carb dip, the metal base, linkage parts and springs were sprayed down with CorrosianX. It’s a penetrating oil and rust inhibitor. Reassembly was done according to the FSM and the carb rebuild kit for my years carb. With it all back together and a new carb top gasket, it was ready to be installed back in the 40!
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Carb reinstall went back in fast and easy, but it was a bit unnerving when the first start was ready. There seams to be so many little parts and tolerances that are very easy to screw up during the rebuild.
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To my surprise, it started right away and now has a perfect slow idle (the idle used to be annoyingly high) with a little adjustment to the idle/air mixture screw (I think that is what it’s called at the base of the carb).
The 40 now starts right up every time whether cold or warmed up. Super happy with the rebuild, learning the process, and with the new way it starts and drives. Even seems like there is a bit more pep when accelerating now. Very happy owner!!
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Great job Jen! Where did you order your carb kit from? I’ve been having similar issues with my cityracer Fuji carb and would like to rebuild my original carb hopefully with the same results as yours. My carb code translates to 12/74 for my 1/75 fj40.
 
Great job Jen! Where did you order your carb kit from? I’ve been having similar issues with my cityracer Fuji carb and would like to rebuild my original carb hopefully with the same results as yours. My carb code translates to 12/74 for my 1/75 fj40.
I ended up ordering two different carb rebuild kits because I needed the secondary diaphragm that the Keystar kit didn’t come with. But I got the Keystar kit from Cruiser Teq ( @cruiseroutfit ) . They have different kits for different year carbs. Here is the link for yours I think:

 
GREAT JOB! However, if the steering wheel imperfections bother ya, just slap one of these on there.
Finally got the steering wheel cover installed over my lumpy old busted steering wheel. Very easy install, it just takes 2 hours of careful very repetitive sewing. Very happy with the results!
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Above is the cover I used. The back of the cover has the size to use for a standard OEM steering wheel for my ‘75.

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Has a nice tight fit that takes some work to fit on and line up the stitches at the very bottom of the wheel.
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A lot of work but well worth it. Used a false stitch around the cross bars, then a simple zig zag stitch all the way around. Has a nice comfy feel around it and the inside stitching has a good grip to it. Also, it looks so much prettier now!
 
Finally got the steering wheel cover installed over my lumpy old busted steering wheel. Very easy install, it just takes 2 hours of careful very repetitive sewing. Very happy with the results!
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Above is the cover I used. The back of the cover has the size to use for a standard OEM steering wheel for my ‘75.

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Has a nice tight fit that takes some work to fit on and line up the stitches at the very bottom of the wheel.
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A lot of work but well worth it. Used a false stitch around the cross bars, then a simple zig zag stitch all the way around. Has a nice comfy feel around it and the inside stitching has a good grip to it. Also, it looks so much prettier now!
That's a project I want to tackle once my rig gets out of the shop.
 
@Aloha Jen thanks for the tip about the air cleaner to carb gasket. Missed that part when I rebuilt mine. Everything looks great!
Thanks! Here’s the part number for the carb gasket for ‘75-78 Fj40’s.
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They're in the fine print.

Well articulated …… shows some new guys to “pull up” & be classy towards her.

Dig every bit of her projects & the 808’s background in all forms of pics is frosting on a cake. :cool:


Dig the 80, the 40 is getting serious love J - cool to see how far you’ve taken it !!!
 
I’m embarrassed that I’ve gone a year and not posted anything to this thread. Not a ton of mechanical or cosmetic work has been done in the last year, mostly just having a ton of fun driving the 40 as well as it getting a bunch of work in film productions and magazine photoshoots. It’s always nice when the 40 can make a little money to cover some of the massive amounts of time and money that goes in to restoring these old Land Cruisers.

Here’s a good example of how my fj40 spent most of last year. Doing double duty as a grocery getter/strip mall crawler….
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… and light off-roader for photo shoots in the same day.
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Those photos above were part of a magazine article for a Japanese 4x4 magazine that highlighted cool Toyota builds from all over the world. I answered a bunch of questions about my 40, the restoration and why I love the old Land Cruisers…but since it’s all in Japanese, not entirely sure what the actual article says. But it was pretty cool seeing it in there when they sent me a copy of the magazine.
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One thing I did end up replacing was the old vintage Jerry can from the 1970’s that I had mounted on the back. I liked it a lot on there, but it was pretty rusty and also had no nozzle to actually use it if I needed to.
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So, a replacement was found. Decided on a cool green color that I thought matched the body color quite nicely. Plus, has an easily attachable nozzle that stores under the front seat next to tool roll and makes it actually useful for emergency fuel if needed.
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Some front dash love ❤️. I think everything on the dash is how it came from the factory in 1975. It’s amazing how far it has come, quite a bit of work was involved in filling PO extra dash holes and fixing the radio opening the the PO cut larger. Here are some before and after shots:
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A little scenic intermission in case you forgot how beautiful Hawaii is 😁.
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