Builds My Mexican 1965 FJ40V Build Thread

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Electrical wiring has begun. Main harness is looking fine, courtesy of Sr. Raúl. What a guy.

This is the engine bay wiring:

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And this is the one that goes to the back lights:

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A few things, like the brake light switch below, are going to be old Datsun parts.


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I'm having two more problems: My hood is sticking out 1/4 inch form the bib.
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Distance between tub and hood is 3/4 inch on the sides and nearly 1/2" on the top. I don't understand, holes weren't worn out, installed it as it was and it fits perfectly at the hinges. Is this space too large between tub and hood?

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Second problem.

Sitting in front of the wheel feels "off" and I believe because my seats aren't perfectly perpendicular to the frame.

Passenger seat is 14" from the door frame at the front, driver's side is nearly 16". So it is definitely in diagonal. Again, I don't believe this is normal. Id did try to aligns the seats when measuring.



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A little confused on your seat “issue” as the passenger seat is fixed and the driver’s seat is adjustable. It can easily move forward 2 inches.

Body alignment is fun (tongue in cheek). You’ll probably going to have to loosen all the way to the body mounts and work from there. A guess given what you showed - the cab front needs to be higher and/or the bib needs to be lower to close that gap at the hood sides. Either or both will also pull the hood front back over the bib.
 
The seats were designed with an offset; no worries there.

as @middlecalf said, you’re going to have to loosen everything up and start over on the alignment.
 
A little confused on your seat “issue” as the passenger seat is fixed and the driver’s seat is adjustable. It can easily move forward 2 inches.

Body alignment is fun (tongue in cheek). You’ll probably going to have to loosen all the way to the body mounts and work from there. A guess given what you showed - the cab front needs to be higher and/or the bib needs to be lower to close that gap at the hood sides. Either or both will also pull the hood front back over the bib.

Thanks. Re the seat. If you're sitting straight on the driver's seat, you're not facing the steering wheel directly, more like pointing towards the front left corner of the hood.

I will follow yours and Mark's advise regarding the alignment. Thank you.
 
Headlights and parking lights were also restored:

They were sandblasted and then dropped in acid to protect them from rusting again.
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I decided to use the original rubbers.

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I also spent the day restoring the knobs with a process I learnt from Raul Jr.

You sand the knob with 600 grain, then 1200 grain, wet sandpaper.

This has to be very thorough, knob and stem. These I did on the dashboard as they have already been connected.

The other knobs for Switches were done mounted off.

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Then the part is polished first with simple polish and then car wax.

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You can see them polished here:
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Then you pass white out on them and then, after 30-40 seconds you rub your finger to remove the white out on the surface, you repeat this process until the cavity is filled and the letters complete.

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I also did the vent ones but they are chipped. I am thinking of options to restore them, if I decide to do so.

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The light switch too was first sanded, polished and then painted, smudged and then repainted...

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Then you cover in white out...

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Remove white out by rubbing it with your thumb, then nails around the letters...

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Almost four layers after....

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The polish and wax again and... voilá:
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On the electrical:
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Wiring harness is nearly done. I hit a couple of bumps. First was that the package were my regulator, horn relay and other parts were, was lost. Second was that the flasher relay I bought was a dud, Sr. Raúl is going to gut it and give it new insides, ie. stuff a modern relay inside. Third is the heaviest as it is somewhat my fault. The front fenders were sent to the bodyshop, I was busy getting other stuff loaded, like the doors, etc. that I didn't notice the horns were still mounted. Long story short: The elephant horns are missing.

So, what I've decided is that I will install non-OEM electricals (Horn Relay, Regulator, Flasher Relay and horns) where inevitable but leave the provisions to switch to OEM as son as the parts are procured.

I also have a few questions:

What do each of the three positions of the light switch do.

Do the parking lights also flash with the blinkers are engaged?

Are Parking Lights turned on whilst Head Lights are switched on as well?

Cheers friends!
 
What do each of the three positions of the light switch do.

Do the parking lights also flash with the blinkers are engaged?

Are Parking Lights turned on whilst Head Lights are switched on as well?


The 3 positions should be 'off', 'parking lights only', and 'headlights and rear lights only'. On my '65, the parking lights went out when the headlights were turned on. The correct owners manual will show you all the functions.
 
What do each of the three positions of the light switch do.

Do the parking lights also flash with the blinkers are engaged?

Are Parking Lights turned on whilst Head Lights are switched on as well?


The 3 positions should be 'off', 'parking lights only', and 'headlights and rear lights only'. On my '65, the parking lights went out when the headlights were turned on. The correct owners manual will show you all the functions.

Thank you! Just found precisely that. What does the manual mean by "Pilot Meter" light?

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