Build My new '79 FJ40 build thread

[RevISK]

View attachment 3864414

the pinnacle of cinema

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

New shoes ordered...
BFG KM3 33x10.5x15

Should go on Saturday on my freshly painted stock wheels.

I love the look and performance of the KM2 sadly they are no longer available new.
While I'm not sold on the look of the KM3 on my 40, there are reviews as to the improvements in performance over the KM2. So hedging my bet I made the right call.

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

the pinnacle of cinema

No doubt.

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

More shots of the lift...
Rear spring packs, I still need to trim and taper the u-bolt ends.
I torqued to 45 ft. Lbs and saw stretching. Wish they made stock style u-bolts with the correct threaded length

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

Cleaned off the wheels with rust remover in preparation for paint then new tires

 

[CondeCruiser]

Cleaned off the wheels with rust remover in preparation for paint then new tiresView attachment 3864776
View attachment 3864777

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I can smell it from here.

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

So the driver seat seemed to be leaning a bit and was loose at the back. So I pulled it to check it out.

The inner seat bottom arm for the hinge was bent and almost sheered all the way through

Looks like an old stress crack due to the rust. I guess it just kept expanding.

Good thing I found this in the driveway and not once it gave way while driving

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

I can smell it from here.

Yeah the stuff stinks. Got it on my hands. It's worse than stink palm.

The smell just won't come off

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

I looked at my spare 60 passenger seat frame and it appears the same mirror image of my 40 driver seat base frame.

Coincidently I found a 60 driver seat, in NC thanks @84Landie

The plan is to swap over the good 60 base frame .

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

Looks like this isn't an isolated instance
Here's a pic from a part out 40 from @FJ40 MATT
This one sheered completely off

 

[FJ40 MATT]

Looks like this isn't an isolated instance
Here's a pic from a part out 40 from @FJ40 MATT
This one sheered completely offView attachment 3865386View attachment 3865387

Yea I have noticed it was a common weak point on the 79 front seats over the years

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

Wonder if the metallurgy is different on the '79 seats.

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

A special thanks to @84Landie who gave me a 60 series seat. Nice meeting you. See you at Relic Run
The bottom will be repurposed on old red

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

Got the Rustoleum Massey Ferguson gray paint and started in on repainting the wheels.

Spent more time scraping 45 years of grease and grime off two rims. Prepped and painted one.

It's a bit darker.

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

While waiting for the wheel paint to dry I removed the rear step and repainted the bumperettes.

Now they match the front.

I think these are CCOT bumpers as they are thicker than stock and were a dark grey before.
*Edit- I think these are actually stock bumpers. The CCOT bumpers lack the s-curve towards the taillights. These had been on backwards since I got it, doh.

Before:

After:

It's looking more like the 1979 brochure...

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

Also repurposed a trunk liner from an old car I had.
Fits pretty good.

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

For anyone who's interested in the cargo mat, it's from a B6 Audi A4 (2002-2007). It's the Audi brand but WeatherTech makes a black one too, unfortunately not in gray though.

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

I found these u-bolt skids in the garage that I had bought years ago from @matzell

I painted them and I'm going replace the stock spring plates with them as soon as some new steel 2 degree caster shims, spring pins and spacers show up.

Thanks for the tip on these @Mark Jennings

The spring pin hole in the slider plates are 3/4" so going to use these spacers on the bottom of the new spring pins to center it up.

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

Waiting for parts so decided to look into the door rattle...

First off, some P.O. decided to use some sort of runny adhesive on the moisture barrier, ugh.

After an hour or so of clean up with Goo-Gone it looked like this.

It turns out that the lower aft felt runner came out and was wedged in the bottom of the door.

Ordered some newer style window runs from CityRacer and inner & outer window felts from Toyota along with new door lock assemblies.

I have had some new moisture barriers for years, I think from @GA Architect.

These will go in with proper butyl rope.

Soon the doors will be rattle free so I can hear all the other rattles, lol

 

[fjc-man]

That runny adhesive you cleaned off is what was originally used to stick the plastic sheet in place.
Edit: I also have a FJ Cruiser and they still use that crappy adhesive!