New guy with 1978 FJ40 (1 Viewer)

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Joined
Dec 17, 2020
Threads
2
Messages
13
Location
FL
Hey all... I have been lurking and learning for the past several months and thought It’s probably time to jump in with an introduction. I bought this 1978 fj40 a while back and it’s in mostly decent shape but certainly needs some fixing. I’ve already changed oil and fluids, adjusted timing, new tires, fuel pump, fuel filter, fixed horn relay, replaced taillights, new muffler and tailpipe, new speedometer cable installed, removed aftermarket CD player (didn’t work anyway), and some other minor things I’m sure I’m forgetting. I am probably a skill level 3 out of 10 but I figure it’s better to learn by doing right?
I’ve already bought some pieces and parts from Spector, Cruiser Corps, and City Racer.
I’m still trying to figure out where or how far I want to go with this thing. Right now I got it running fairly well, at first I couldn’t get it over 32 mph and had to drive with choke partially open. Now with all the previous mentioned tinkering we max out around 50 mph And then it starts to cough a little bit. Not expecting to go much faster but would like to get it cruising comfortably in the 50s. or Am I asking too much of a 43 year old tractor?
My next project has to address the gas tank. When I originally drained the gas tank it was pretty orange and lots of sediment. I replaced the mostly clogged fuel filter with a clear one and wow it’s bad. This past weekend I removed the passenger seat and opened up the gas tank and confirmed it’s more than just a little rust in there. That’s a project that seems pretty straight forward but is a little out of my comfort zone. It’s more about possibly replacing the lines than the tank that makes me nervous. I’m currently looking for and studying all the threads on that subject.
As far as I can tell the PO took decent care of it but it seems it just sat a lot over the past decade or so. Has some rust here and there that needs addressed (besides the aforementioned gas tank). Original color was mustard and was repainted this cream color about 20 years ago. it will need a repaint at some point but not right now. plus no idea if I want to go back to mustard or something else.
Well anyway, just wanted to say hello and thank everyone for all the incredible info on this forum.

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Your paint looks fine to me. If I were you, I would invest your time and energy into the mechanical aspect. F engines should be able to hit 60 mph, maybe 70 mph downhill I think. get it running smooth before starting a paint job or such.
 
Your paint looks fine to me. If I were you, I would invest your time and energy into the mechanical aspect. F engines should be able to hit 60 mph, maybe 70 mph downhill I think. get it running smooth before starting a paint job or such.
That’s what I was thinking or at least hoping. Maybe with clean gas running trough some clean lines?

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google says chemicals, lets wait to see what mud says........I'm sure its not an uncommon issue. these things rot worse than an old log



I found this thread with a similar issue
 
Welcome. That is a nice looking 78. Dont forget to prioritize your steering and brakes before you attack your runability issues. I'm seeing an aftermarket carb with a soft fuel line connection, which is about an inch away from that header! I would re-establish a proper hard line connection there. It sounds like you have vacuum leaks, necessitating use of the choke when driving. Look all around your headers and carb to mitigate those. Whatever that gasket is between the air cleaner and the carb needs to be addressed, looks like some sort of foam (?) which could be contributing to the vacuum leaks. On the coil, it looks like your ignitor has been removed, so I have to ask which dizzy are you running? The original 78 dizzy was fully electronic, screw down medium cap, with the ignitor on top of the coil. Have you gone through the distributor and made sure it's all squared away? Good luck 👍
 
You may want to check with a local radiator place. I think they can also boil the tank to refresh the inside. There are also companies out there that seal a liquid sealant that you dump in the clean empty tank and then rotate, shake, slosh it around to coat the inside to help prevent future rust, etc....One other thing I read about on MUD was someone who actually rented one of the Home Depot cement mixers that spin, and they strapped their tank to it, dumped in some gravel and sand then set it spinning for a couple hours. Apparently after dumping the contents out the inside looked like a brand new tank. I have not tried any of these I just know others have mentioned them in the past when working with old tanks.
 
Welcome. That is a nice looking 78. Dont forget to prioritize your steering and brakes before you attack your runability issues. I'm seeing an aftermarket carb with a soft fuel line connection, which is about an inch away from that header! I would re-establish a proper hard line connection there. It sounds like you have vacuum leaks, necessitating use of the choke when driving. Look all around your headers and carb to mitigate those. Whatever that gasket is between the air cleaner and the carb needs to be addressed, looks like some sort of foam (?) which could be contributing to the vacuum leaks. On the coil, it looks like your ignitor has been removed, so I have to ask which dizzy are you running? The original 78 dizzy was fully electronic, screw down medium cap, with the ignitor on top of the coil. Have you gone through the distributor and made sure it's all squared away? Good luck 👍
After timing adjust, carb cleaning as well as fuel pump and fuel filter change, I’m able to get the choke in fully now after a 5 minute warm up. I have checked for vacuum leaks and come up with nothing but I may need an actual mechanic to check. As far as the foam...there was about a 2 inch wide open space between bottom of air filter housing and top of carb so it is actually foam treated with some kind of hardening spray to seal it off. It’s temporary until I can find some kind of spacer to close the gap.
The fuel line heading into the carb is actually a hard line. Maybe what you are seeing is what appears to be a vacuum line going from top of exhaust header (under carb) around to the other side of air filter housing. It’s kind of odd and the PO desmogged it so I’m guessing this is part of the desmogging? I’ll post pic and also of distributor. Let me know if it looks wrong. Like I said I’m not nearly as knowledgeable as I thought I was before I bought this thing

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Welcome to Mud. Nice looking rig. What is the production date of your 78? Lots of 78s on the forum.
I have a 5/78 in the same color. There is an OEM
Toyota Matt sells an airhorn gasket and bolt set. Although the gasket isn’t 2 inches. Not sure why your gap is so big.
 
Welcome to Mud. Nice looking rig. What is the production date of your 78? Lots of 78s on the forum.
I have a 5/78 in the same color. There is an OEM
Toyota Matt sells an airhorn gasket and bolt set. Although the gasket isn’t 2 inches. Not sure why your gap is so big.
January 1978. Is yours the original mustard or the tan/cream color?
 
Seriously though, great looking rig, lot of the same issues many of us have gone through. Mine ran like absolute crap when I got it. PO said he thought it was a carb problem, “but it’s fine once it warms up” except it wasn’t. With a rebuilt carb from Jim C, timing adjustment and upgraded dizzy via Petronix mine now runs great and can do 70 easily as long as you don’t mind the wobbly steering, no air bags, etc etc.
 
I'd probably just buy a new tank and not even mess with that
Agreed. You can order a OEM fuel tank from Vescovo Toyota in NM. Great price and quick reasonable shipping, mine will be here tomorrow. I bought all new soft fuel lines from O’Reily auto by the foot for my 1/78 40. Gates Barricade throughout. Mostly 5/16” and some 1/4”. They also sell a fuel hose by the door that works well for rotten vacuum hose. Looks like a fun project. Good luck.
 
I suspect that your non-US replacement carb is sized height-wise for 8/80+ applications where the valve cover is shorter and therefore the air cleaner sits lower. That's why you have the gap. City Racer has a spacer specifically for this situation. Is it really two inches? That looks like the normal gap in your pictures, not “two inches”. Looks like a PO switched your dizzy over to the non-US points version, hence the lack of an ignitor. Not a problem if it runs well and you don’t mind dealing with points, and you have the neat octane adjuster.
 
Welcome and nice looking truck. I struggled with some of the same issues. I found the distributor was a major part of the problem in terms of rough running - vac advance was stuck and centrifugal advance was completely rusted.

@4Cruisers is a great resource for distributor parts and /or a rebuilt model.

Also x 2 on the OEM fuel tank. I'm sure they will not be available for long. Have one on order myself.
 
Agreed. You can order a OEM fuel tank from Vescovo Toyota in NM. Great price and quick reasonable shipping, mine will be here tomorrow. I bought all new soft fuel lines from O’Reily auto by the foot for my 1/78 40. Gates Barricade throughout. Mostly 5/16” and some 1/4”. They also sell a fuel hose by the door that works well for rotten vacuum hose. Looks like a fun project. Good luck.
just ordered oem fuel tank from dealership here near Tampa. Right now they have additional 10% and and if I pick it up (20 min away) no shipping. The problem is I couldn’t get anyone on the phone to verify if I need to order tank plug, gasket etc or if that’s part of the ”assembly”?
 
I suspect that your non-US replacement carb is sized height-wise for 8/80+ applications where the valve cover is shorter and therefore the air cleaner sits lower. That's why you have the gap. City Racer has a spacer specifically for this situation. Is it really two inches? That looks like the normal gap in your pictures, not “two inches”. Looks like a PO switched your dizzy over to the non-US points version, hence the lack of an ignitor. Not a problem if it runs well and you don’t mind dealing with points, and you have the neat octane adjuster.
Ok i may have exaggerated the size, wife says I certainly do that. It’s about a 5/8” gap.Does that sound about right? the PO just replaced carb within last couple years. He actually owned a Toyota dealership so I’m surprised he would change out carb and distributor to non OE.

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Welcome to Mud. Nice looking rig. What is the production date of your 78? Lots of 78s on the forum.
I have a 5/78 in the same color. There is an OEM
Toyota Matt sells an airhorn gasket and bolt set. Although the gasket isn’t 2 inches. Not sure why your gap is so big.
It’s not 2”. I’m an idiot. I just measured and it’s 5/8”. I’ll see if what Toyota Matt has will fit. Thanks!
 

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