Need some mentoring while rebuilding .... (2 Viewers)

[kopper]

Hi all ...

This is my 1972 FJ40 .... I bought her and a chevy 350 short block for $2000 about 8 years ago ..... it has been sitting in my garage ever since ....

Background as I know it is that it was owned by a lady from the area who utilized the local Toyota dealership for scheduled and regular service ..... a bit over 8 years ago a piston rod gave way in the original F engine .... rather than have it repaired, she purchased another vehicle and traded this in for whatever she may have gotten for it .... a friend of a friend bought it from the dealer and kept it for a few months intending to replace the F with the 350 chevy .... as seems to be the case more often that not, he found he didn't have the time to invest, and ultimately sold it and the 350 to me ....

We trailered it home, pushed it into the garage, and here we are today ....

I don't have the desire to do a major restore right now .... what I would like to do is whatever is necessary to get this back on the road and enjoy driving it while continuing to improve upon it ....

If you have the time, I would appreciate having you looking over my shoulder as I work on her .... I have a specific plan in mind and would appreciate your comments and/or lessons learned real-time as we go ....

Also note that I'm a noob with this forum, so I'm going to screw-the-pooch with a post/picture or two .... but I learn quick ....

Thanks much in advance ... and again, if you see me heading somewhere or doing something that you have experienced before "I don't want to reinvent the wheel", so throw a comment out there ...

Thanks much again .....

 

[kopper]

I'm quite happy with the condition of her .... there is surface rust in both rear corners as you can see in the picture .... a small spot each under each door .... and thats about it ..... I understand the back sill is rust prone, and as you can see it is very clean .....at some time, one of the previous owners had it sprayed underneath with a rubbery protective coating .... It obviously helped .....

 

[kopper]

I was pretty hyped the first few months after getting it .... so I did manage to remove the F and sell the 350 to recoup a quarter of my purchase price ...... thinking I would keep/rebuild the F, I disassembled and stored everything I thought salvageable in the rear .....

 

[kopper]

I've since decided not to bother with an F ..... and concentrate on a 2F .... the parts that I so carefully stored will get tossed ......

 

[ColoradoFJ40]

Dude. You are so lucky to have one in that kind of condition. I would find a used 2f and tranny and you could be driving it in 3 days.

 

[kopper]

Rsr that coloradofj40 .... I'm looking at a complete drive train out of a FJ55 ... I'm figuring no fuss, no mess .... It's a 4 speed, so we'll see what happens ....

 

[Josie'sLandCruiser]

Hi All:

You should be able to swap in that FJ55 drive train no problems, but be aware that you will need to switch to another water pump.

The water pump used on the 2F in the FJ55 is longer than the water pump used on 2Fs in FJ40s.

Good luck!

Alan

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Rsr that coloradofj40 .... I'm looking at a complete drive train out of a FJ55 ... I'm figuring no fuss, no mess .... It's a 4 speed, so we'll see what happens ....

 

[kopper]

Thanks Alan .... When the drive train shows up, I'll get the pics posted soonest .... So that you can see what I see real-time ...

 

[kopper]

My boy and I pulled the original 3 speed and transfer case out .... wasn't an easy task as we were half way through the process when we realized we hadn't removed the shift lever .... and I couldn't figure out how to remove it while it was balancing on the transmission jack .... even after it was out, the shift lever took some figuring out to remove .....

 

[bikersmurf]

You'll need driveshafts... See if you can find some from a 4speed 40.

I'd also convert to discs before spending money on rebuilding stock drums... That said many are happy with their drums (just don't get them wet )

I've got 4wheel disc brakes and I'd never go back.

 

[kopper]

You'll need driveshafts... See if you can find some from a 4speed 40.

I'd also convert to discs before spending money on rebuilding stock drums... That said many are happy with their drums (just don't get them wet )

I've got 4wheel disc brakes and I'd never go back.

Rgr that bikersmurf .... Been reading the forums about that .... have a front and rear coming down from Denver this Wednesday ... Thanks for throwing that out there though ... Cuz that's the mentoring we need ... Those are the details that are going to trip me up ....

I hear you on the brakes ... But that's a nice-to-have AFTER I'm actually drivin' this thing ..... ....

 

[kopper]

Inspected, cleaned, and adjusted brakes .......

 

[kopper]

I did find two broken springs in the RF drum .... I didn't have any luck finding these in any local parts store ..... are we having to depend on SOR and the such for the majority of our parts? .....

 

[Fast Eddy]

Some parts you can still get new from Toyota. Figure out how to get in touch with Cruiser Dan at American Toyota in Albuquerque.

My 2nd choice would be used parts from the "Parts Wanted" forum. SOR has almost everything at somewhat inflated prices, but they have almost everything...

Check out Cruiser Corps. CruiserParts.net has a somewhat dubious reputation, but they seem to have lots of parts.

 

[Tancruiser]

Rising Sun has a swap meet in Denver next month you can find alot of parts and some great knowledge see you there

 

[kopper]

I was lucky enough to find this for sale in Denver ..... the story is that it was just pulled from a series 55 that the owner did not want to repair after a rear-end collation .... 2F with 4 speed .... engine, transmission and transfer case have never been separated .....

 

[RicardoJM]

Nice engine and drive train. As you consider dropping this in - did you get the shift cane, distributor, air cleaner bell housing engine mounts with the engine and drive train? Is there a carb under the plastic wrap on the intake manifold?

I ask because, the shift cane from your three speed will not work on the four speed. The other accessories (distributor, air cleaner, carb, engine) can be moved over from your old F engine if you have them.

 

[kopper]

Nice engine and drive train. As you consider dropping this in - did you get the shift cane, distributor, air cleaner bell housing engine mounts with the engine and drive train? Is there a carb under the plastic wrap on the intake manifold?

I ask because, the shift cane from your three speed will not work on the four speed. The other accessories (distributor, air cleaner, carb, engine) can be moved over from your old F engine if you have them.

Ricardo ...

yes, I was planning to drop in as is ....

yes on the shift cane, distributor, air cleaner, and carb ..... all are stored separate to prevent damage ..... i actually have 2ea 2F carbs and 1ea F carb .... the same with the distributors .....

not sure about bell housing engine mounts .... saw some engine mounts in the accompanying box .... will have to verify .....

what are the chances that the transmission and transfer case shift levers are going to match up with my existing 3sp tunnel holes? ..... should I remove the access panel prior to installation and prepare to modify it? ......

 

[kopper]

To all the forum members that have swapped an engine/drivetrain .....

What should I look for and/or replace while I have the complete drivetrain out of the vehicle? .... i.e. what preventive maintenance is best to do now while I have such good access? ....

 

[ElHefe]

Have you considered an electronic ignition swap or gear reduction starter?