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charliemeyer007 said:
My ash tray has parking meter and pay phone change. It also still has the pipe plug in case the tubing fails on my direct read oil pressure line - so I can easily cap it off. For many years I had the replacement freeze plug I took out to install the block heater. Well one hot as hell day in July in between McCall and New Meadows I'm cruising along 55 or so and I get a whiff of antifreeze - look in the mirror and I'm like crop duster with a green mist spraying down the road. With in a couple hundred yards there is a wide spot to pull off. Open the hood, look around, there is the block heater laying there. I'm sure at that point it had been there over 10 years. It turns out the little wing strut that holds it in with the screw failed at the screw hole. I get my freeze plug from the tray, and a with a close fitting socket and a 6" extension. Use my 3# lead hammer and seat the plug.

I have 2 gallons of water with me - the cooling system hold 4 gallons. I'm looking way down the hill and there might be some water in the creek - I'd likely drink 2 gallons of water trying to hike back up. So I'm thinking I might be able to go back to New Meadows - its closer and more down hill. Then some long haired friend of Jesus stops. He ask me if I'm saved. I say yes and he has 2 gallons of water too. I make the rest of the trip no issue. Dad brazes up the wing on the block heater with a stiffener and I put it back in - still there. That would have been around 1990. I need to buy another freeze plug to put back in the ash tray.

New tires will be here next week, then plates and insurance and a few electrical light issues and Elsie will be on the road again.
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That's a great story! You may have talked me out of putting it in the ash tray spot.

How long has Elsie been off the road? We've been trying to come up with a good name for my FJ40. My wife named my motorcycle Jolene after the song, "don't take my man..." because she was afraid I'd get killed on it. LOL. I've got a smart speaker in the garage so I can listen to music out there and I put a 99 cent smart plug in the ceiling where the outlet is for the garage door opener, hung an LED light that looks like one of those long florescent lights, plugged it into the smart plug and named it "Jolene's Light, so I can walk in the garage and say "Alexa, turn on Jolene's light" and it lights the garage up great. But I sold Jolene (and my Gen 3 4Runner) to help find the FJ40. So... All that to say, unless the FJ40 speaks to me and tells me another name, I could name it Jolene too so I don't have to rename the light. LOL!

Someone on here mentioned using their phone and a smart speaker. But I want really great sound with at least 4 speakers + my subwoofer & amplifier I pulled out of the 4Runner.

If I delete the heater I could put it there. If there's 1 thing I will not need in Central Florida it's a heater. Put the heater in the storage shed in case it ever needs to go back in.

Someone else posted a pic of theirs installed in the glove box. That could work too, especially if it has voice control so you don't have to reach over while driving.

Someone put a rack / mount for a CB radio hanging from the hard top, but I'm going to remove it and repair the holes. I don't want leaks, and I want to be able to take the top off.
 
As kid Bordon Milk was the brand. Elsie was the brown cow in their ads. I had the land cruiser painted flat tan because the girl friend would not ride in it if I cammoed it. Elsie, LC, land cruiser. I guessing it sat for 15 years. I got sick and nearly died, I was down to 135# skin and bones for a 6'2". Any way the clutch slave was out and several wheel cylinder were bad. She fired right up with fresh gas and a points file - I put her to sleep with Marvel's in the bores. Got new brake and clutch parts from vendors here. There are few electrical issues to sort out but I think by the end of next week I'll be driving her to town.

Someone put a moon window in the 76 top, that the PO installed. So during one of the winters 9' of snow busted the roof. I did a steel plate over that big torn hole. Has held up fairly well. Lots of body work to fix the usual rusted out zones. A welder in on my list.
 
charliemeyer007 said:
As kid Bordon Milk was the brand. Elsie was the brown cow in their ads. I had the land cruiser painted flat tan because the girl friend would not ride in it if I cammoed it. Elsie, LC, land cruiser. I guessing it sat for 15 years. I got sick and nearly died, I was down to 135# skin and bones for a 6'2". Any way the clutch slave was out and several wheel cylinder were bad. She fired right up with fresh gas and a points file - I put her to sleep with Marvel's in the bores. Got new brake and clutch parts from vendors here. There are few electrical issues to sort out but I think by the end of next week I'll be driving her to town.

Someone put a moon window in the 76 top, that the PO installed. So during one of the winters 9' of snow busted the roof. I did a steel plate over that big torn hole. Has held up fairly well. Lots of body work to fix the usual rusted out zones. A welder in on my list.
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I remember Elsie on the commercials and the milk cartons very well. What ever happened to Elsie?!?!
 
charliemeyer007 said:
I'm sure McDonalds is still making burgers out of her. Billions and Billions sold, still on the same cow.

en.wikipedia.org

Elsie the Cow - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
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The other half of Bordens, was their adhesive division.

Screenshot_20240922_093453_Samsung Internet.jpg
 
Steering Column Bottom Bracket?
If I feel up to it this weekend I am going to try to convert my FJ40 to EPS (Electric Power Steering). Shark56 has done 3 of them and he highly recommends I weld the bottom steering column bracket (that holds the column in place at the dash) to the column tube, which I plan to do. I have also been trying to decide where to put the adjustment knob so it will be easy to reach but not stick out like a sore thumb. I saw these top and bottom brackets online, and the bottom column bracket has an EGR warning light on it (see photo below). If I were to remove that light, it would be the perfect place to mount the EPS adjustment knob. Does anyone have one of these that they don't need or want?

1727118216533.png
 
Dash Knobs & Pulls
Shark56 shared with me this is old thread "Dash Configuration Reference", but I didn't see one like mine. Mine is a 1971 FJ40 with a build date of December 1970. If anyone could tell me the proper order / dash configuration for that year, I would greatly appreciate it. I am especially curious about the small empty hole to the left of the cig lighter? Shark56 thinks maybe it is supposed to be the hazard light. Can anyone confirm? And if so, is it a push button, or a pull knob? And some of the dash lights are not labeled so any info on that would be appreciated. Looks like there is one to the left of the steering wheel not labeled, and 2 to the right, closest to the wheel, 1 on the top row and 1 under it on the bottom row.. Wish I had a better straight ahead pic of both sides, but this is what I've got for now:

Thank you.

forum.ih8mud.com

Dash Configuration Reference

forum.ih8mud.com forum.ih8mud.com

1971 FJ40 9.jpg


1971 FJ40 11.jpg
 
Dash Layout
I don't know how I missed it earlier when looking at the Dash Configuration Reference thread, dang shaky hands must have clicked something wrong, but looking back through I see where someone posted a pic of their owner's manual on the instrument panel page and that dash is laid out like mine. That tells me everything I need to know. 👍
 
charliemeyer007 said:
That's exactly why I'm not a purest - I can't afford to be! On the other hand its nice that those who are/can have something to buy vs. NLA
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I'm not a purest either, because I can't afford to be either. "Maybe" if I win the lottery someday I might get a "correct" one, or one of those fancy FJ Company ones, but until then, it's budget beater for me!
 
charliemeyer007 said:
That's exactly why I'm not a purest - I can't afford to be! On the other hand its nice that those who are/can have something to buy vs. NLA
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And, I wish mine had the factory spot for the radio and the 2 piece lower dash pad. Hmmm... maybe since I'm not a purest I should make the radio opening and find the 2 piece lower dash pads and make it look like it came that way.
 
Your entire hazard switch is missing? Do your turn signals work? IIRC, everything seems to run off the hazard switch on my 1974. Maybe it was different on the earlier models.
 
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FloridaLife said:
And, I wish mine had the factory spot for the radio and the 2 piece lower dash pad. Hmmm... maybe since I'm not a purest I should make the radio opening and find the 2 piece lower dash pads and make it look like it came that way.
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It can be done. This my 9/67 FJ40 (first month of the 68 model).
IMG_20201020_163546337.jpg

Opening isn't stock. Neither is the radio. The radio is an old Radio Shack with a cassette player. The factory radio opening is narrower than a standard single DIN opening.
 
Living in the Past said:
It can be done. This my 9/67 FJ40 (first month of the 68 model).
View attachment 3740773
Opening isn't stock. Neither is the radio. The radio is an old Radio Shack with a cassette player. The factory radio opening is narrower than a standard single DIN opening.
Click to expand...

Looks good to me. Several people said "don't cut the dash" but I'm not building a 100% stock rig for some concourse car show, why not build it to enjoy and still make it look fairly factory. I love jamming out to classic rock while I'm driving. Boston, ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and others. 👍
 
FloridaLife said:
Looks good to me. Several people said "don't cut the dash" but I'm not building a 100% stock rig for some concourse car show, why not build it to enjoy and still make it look fairly factory. I love jamming out to classic rock while I'm driving. Boston, ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and others. 👍
Click to expand...


I debated on cutting the dash for years. I had done many other mods over the years. H42 four speed, 79 one piece doors, 74 buckets with center console. 79 roll bar with three point seats, 76 jump seats. Top is off a 73 that because of an accident. I did install vents window off a 78 top. Just had a hard top cutting the dash. I did save the full length pad and piece I cut out. One thing to consider is once you cut that area out the dash mounted high low shifter for the transfer case will no longer work. Besides the shift rod running thru that area they is a bracket spot welded to the dash for rod in that area. I have zero down loaded music. I have hundred of CDs and quite a few cassettes. Turn of the century Toyota used two single DIN audio held together with a brackets on the sides. The ones I've collected are all premium audio with a remote amplifier. That allows an upgraded amplifier. Turn of the century amplifiers were pretty lame.
 
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