New FJ 55 owner. (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Apr 10, 2022
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Location
Las Cruces, NM
So, I just picked up a project FJ55. It runs, drives, and needs a new interior and headliner. One look under the hood and I almost passed out. There seems to be a TON of smog crap and about 100 ft of vacuum hoses, most look hooked up, but the engine runs poorly. No smoke, no miss, but won't idle or accelerate well. My gut instinct is to tear every bit of that crap out and install fuel injection. Any reason I should suffer through getting all the factory crap to work?
 
So, I just picked up a project FJ55. It runs, drives, and needs a new interior and headliner. One look under the hood and I almost passed out. There seems to be a TON of smog crap and about 100 ft of vacuum hoses, most look hooked up, but the engine runs poorly. No smoke, no miss, but won't idle or accelerate well. My gut instinct is to tear every bit of that crap out and install fuel injection. Any reason I should suffer through getting all the factory crap to work?


i would consider getting more then one view point on all your various ideas here ?

some of us prefer the Purist Based Mind-Set Approach .....


for example take the stand alone 55 forum's @tucker74 's " Block-Captain " BUILD thread link below :

@Blastservices has gone where few dare to go , and added some class at the same time to a time-less 1973 NON-USA FJ55LV..........






i would consider this one of the finest examples of how to approach a Vintage FJ55 Vehicle Platform using MODERN Materials yet focusing on the Factory Focus

Points as a end goal ....


but , hey that's just me and my personal opinion .....



i built this or simply was it's care taker for over 10+ years 1/79 FJ55LG-KA .........

remember , the phrase " WAGON WHEELS " :D







and remember this : some things you un-do are simply un-reversible , know that fact and think twice some times is best ....







coolfj40_2271_74846711.jpeg




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I don’t know how the fork in the road appears but there somehow becomes a mindset of change everything and reengineer the master plan of what the manufacture set forth. I started life coming from a mechanic background working on dealer level cars for a living. There were libraries of factory service manuals provided and it was up to the individual to learn how to read and discern the info. It really is a pretty easy principle to master but there is always the tech that throws parts at a problem and fails and either the customer pays the price the dealer does or the tech does. Throwing a fuel injection system on a car you are barely familiar with seams to be starting out on the wrong foot. To me at least. Sure, it’s easy and common to want to just lay out some fun cash and get instant satisfaction with new shiney parts but starting with some basics like fuel supply brakes and fluids is always the sure bet to success.

lots of info here in the FAQ and using the online FSM’s some really generous folks took the time to scan in is where you can start. Nothing about an old car is easy and these trucks like to break your balls. Dig in your way and have fun. Post pics and discuss what your doing and most will cheer you on and some will lend advice.
 
WAG you have a 78 or 79. Either way, the odds of all the smog equipment functioning properly after 40 years are almost zero. But neither the carburetor or the distributor are smog equipment, so it’s not really necessary to ’throw out the baby with the bath water’ as the saying goes. JimC sells a good desmog kit which shoulld help you get closer to the root of the ‘problem’ , provided that it doesn’t solve the problem all by itself.

You will need this even if you eventually decide to convert to fool infection, so I’d start there.
 
In essence I agree with the above two comments. It sounds like this is your first rodeo. Make a legitimate attempt to get a somewhat in tact system functioning again. There is plenty of info available and those systems are getting rare. Working correctly they don't run poorly at all. If you run into absolute dead ends you can then consider selling off and getting a vehicle that's already V8 swapped. Or LS swapped. Or diesel swapped. Or converted to FE. Or converted to BE. There are tons of those out there but not a lot of originals.

In my case my emissions control eqipment was a hodge-podge of parts from three different years (at least) when I first bought the rig. I spent a year tinkering with it and treasure hunting parts before I made the move to desmog. That was decades ago when there was almost no-one to consult with. I still run part of the system because it improves drivability. The rest of that original stuff is in a box and will go to next owner who may be a helluva lot smarter than me and be able to get it working. You have it easy by comparison.
 
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So, I just picked up a project FJ55. It runs, drives, and needs a new interior and headliner. One look under the hood and I almost passed out. There seems to be a TON of smog crap and about 100 ft of vacuum hoses, most look hooked up, but the engine runs poorly. No smoke, no miss, but won't idle or accelerate well. My gut instinct is to tear every bit of that crap out and install fuel injection. Any reason I should suffer through getting all the factory crap to work?




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Having gotten my ‘77 FJ40 to pass CA smog, I would say that the smog crap is really not that complicated once you get under the hood with it. There are only certain aspects of how the engine runs where the smog equipment has an impact, and the lack of acceleration could be up to a whole host of other items.

A good, solid carb rebuild by one of the gurus on Mud is never a bad idea. Plus a flush of your gas tank and lines, check your distributor, replace some plugs and plug wires, points, etc. Fun baselining stuff.

If you eventually decide to desmog or go EFI, certainly keep whatever you pull off as the parts are getting harder to find and tend to be model year-specific. If you decide to fix the smog stuff (and even maybe if you decide to yank it all out), start with your model year specific smog manual, either from $OR or @ToyotaMatt.

Cool rig, by the way. Good luck!
 

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