New to FJ55s. . .

[Tom FJ55]

Some more decent progress today. By rigging up different jumpers and test lights, I think I've traced the headlight problem to the light switch itself. Unfortunately I broke the switch removing it from the dash . BTW, for future readers, to remove the knob, you must first loosen the set screw from the underside of the knob itself, then the knob UNSCREWS from the switch. Don't just try to pull it off as you will break the switch. Once I had the (now broken) switch out and opened up, the contacts look really dirty. I bet if I cleaned them up, the headlights would be good to go. Unfortunately, I need a new switch now! I think I will try to get by w/a cheapie from my FLAPS for now. . .

I also fixed the right rear tail light (turn signal and brake) issue by tracing and finally finding a break in the wire. It was located under the rear bumper by the right frame rail - after the trailer light junctions in the middle. It was hidden by the frame rail and was a bugger to track down as I started from the front and worked my way back - so it was almost the last thing I checked along the current path. After splicing in a new section, both rear brake lights and blinker lights come on now.

One side benefit of fixing the right rear light is that the right side blinkers now flash on/off. I don't know if this is related or not? I also cleaned the grounds at the front side marker lights, but I don't think this is related to the blinkers either as I jumpered the left one directly to a good ground and the left blinkers still didn't work.

Check the bulbs. The flasher is resistance-based, so if it has too much or too little resistance it will illuminate a bulb, but won't blink. Glad to see it was easy progress to clean up the fuse block and get a bunch of stuff working.

Matt - that's good info on how the flashers work. Given the update above, where else do you think I might focus my energy to get the left side blinkers flashing? Could there be too much resistance inside the bulb sockets?

Thanks,
Tom

 

[Zjsheller]

I have been considering a 73 fj55 that has been sitting in a yard near a friend of mine.

Reading through this post I'm encouraged that this could be a great project that me and my family will enjoy driving for years.

I am also very, very encouraged by the HUGE amount of support offered by the members of this forum.

Good luck with your continued build and I hope to begin a post of my own build soon!!

 

[subzali]

...Matt - that's good info on how the flashers work. Given the update above, where else do you think I might focus my energy to get the left side blinkers flashing? Could there be too much resistance inside the bulb sockets?

Thanks,
Tom

Tom, on the left side, do both the front and rear bulbs light up and then stay lit (not blink) when you use the turn signal? If so, I would start with the easy things and clean up the light sockets and bulb connections, and grounds, and see what happens. If could be additional resistance elsewhere in the system, from the hazard switch, to the turn signal switch, to the fuse block. BTW - does your left turn indicator on the dash light up?

If any of your bulbs are burnt out then that would be the obvious thing to fix first.

 

[Tom FJ55]

Tom, on the left side, do both the front and rear bulbs light up and then stay lit (not blink) when you use the turn signal? If so, I would start with the easy things and clean up the light sockets and bulb connections, and grounds, and see what happens. If could be additional resistance elsewhere in the system, from the hazard switch, to the turn signal switch, to the fuse block. BTW - does your left turn indicator on the dash light up?

If any of your bulbs are burnt out then that would be the obvious thing to fix first.

Hi Matt -

Yes, on the left side only, the front, rear and dash indicator bulbs for the left side blinkers light up and stay lit. I hear the relay click, then it stops w/all the bulbs lit up. I did some bulb swapping and hotwired some grounds and there was no change. The bulbs and sockets all look pretty good, but I will clean them up further. Do the front & rear signal lights ground through their mounts? I did not see any ground specific wires. . . I will also check the hazard switch and fuse block again along w/the blinker relay. The hazards work fine. This is just about the last major electrical thing I'm trying to solve. I installed a new cheapie headlight switch and I now have headlights!

I actually drove it around town a bit today. The brakes take a few pumps and need some adjustment, but they do work. I have a new booster on its way too. It's definitely a tin can w/no floor mats and no headliner, just one step above driving a tractor. The list is still pretty long, but it does seem to be running fairly well. I got it up to about 50 and it felt like it could go faster, but it was getting loud! It'd be nice to be able to get to 65. . . What's the typical comfortable cruising speed of these w/a 3 speed? Without a tach., I have no idea where the rpms are or where they should be.

I think reassembling the tailgate, some weatherstripping and some interior work are next. I need it to be just a tad more livable. Right now, there are rusty bits raining down on my new upholstery when it gets bumpy.

 

[Tom FJ55]

I have been considering a 73 fj55 that has been sitting in a yard near a friend of mine.

Reading through this post I'm encouraged that this could be a great project that me and my family will enjoy driving for years.

I am also very, very encouraged by the HUGE amount of support offered by the members of this forum.

Good luck with your continued build and I hope to begin a post of my own build soon!!

Hi Zjsheller - thanks for the comments. One thing that's nice about these things is that they are fairly simple to work on. You can pretty much take something apart, see how it works, replace pieces if necessary and put it back together. No computers required (except to access IH8MUD!). A perfect example is the door opening mechanisms - My driver's side door would not close and stay latched. I pulled off the door panel and started fiddling w/the mechanism. After some minor disassembly, lube and cleaning, and reassembly, the latch now works great!

The ONLY caveat I would mention is that I am finding that some of the bits and pieces I need are either extremely hard to find at best and NLA at worst. This also means that some of the bits and pieces are EXPENSIVE! Some of it depends on how original you want your cruiser to remain, but often times that's just the way it is. Because my other project car is a Porsche, I'm used to having to buy expensive little parts, but it still. . . this is still an old car that's not really worth much . . .

The support and archived info here are a fantastic resource indeed.
Good luck w/your project!
Tom

 

[subzali]

Tom, a 3 speed has the same 1:1 high gear ratio that a 4 spd has. So you should be able to easily go about 65 mph, where you'll be turning about 3000 rpm, give or take a few. Old FJ40 ads claimed that they could be run all day long at 85 mph, which with stock size tires would be 4000 rpm, so I would generally take that as redline rpm.

Long and short - stay between 55 and 65 and your Cruiser should be happy for a while.

Sorry to hear your turn signals still aren't working properly. You've done about all there is to do before the head scratching becomes more intense, so hopefully someone else could post up with some more info. If you search/post in the 40-55-series-tech section someone like Pin_Head might chime in and have some ideas.

 

[Traveling62]

Old FJ40 ads claimed that they could be run all day long at 85 mph

I'm pretty sure that assertion was a mistake on the part of the marketing company who neglected to convert kph to mph. My Dad traded his '66 VW beetle for a brand new '74 FJ 40 and he'll tell you they weren't made to go 85mph even brand spanking new off the lot.

Besides, why would they tout being able to go 30mph over the legal highway speed limit 'all day long'? At least since '73 when nationwide 55 went into effect. I believe the ad to which you refer is post '73.

Just my thoughts......

 

[PabloCruise]

I'm pretty sure that assertion was a mistake on the part of the marketing company who neglected to convert kph to mph. My Dad traded his '66 VW beetle for a brand new '74 FJ 40 and he'll tell you they weren't made to go 85mph even brand spanking new off the lot.

Besides, why would they tout being able to go 30mph over the legal highway speed limit 'all day long'? At least since '73 when nationwide 55 went into effect. I believe the ad to which you refer is post '73.

Just my thoughts......

The marketing department was up to something, because they also claimed that you could do 85 MPH all day long while fitting 8 "husky" men in an FJ40!

 

[Tom FJ55]

Found these in my mailbox this afternoon. . . kinda dorky I know, but I had to share anyway. After registering it w/my insurance yesterday and getting the plates today, I guess it's official now.

 

[bobm]

Tom, Awesome, a lot of states wont let you do that! {PIG} different meaning.

Thanks Bob.

 

[PabloCruise]

Found these in my mailbox this afternoon. . . kinda dorky I know, but I had to share anyway. After registering it w/my insurance yesterday and getting the plates today, I guess it's official now.

Awesome Tom! You are psyched!!!

 

[subzali]

I'm pretty sure that assertion was a mistake on the part of the marketing company who neglected to convert kph to mph. My Dad traded his '66 VW beetle for a brand new '74 FJ 40 and he'll tell you they weren't made to go 85mph even brand spanking new off the lot.

Besides, why would they tout being able to go 30mph over the legal highway speed limit 'all day long'? At least since '73 when nationwide 55 went into effect. I believe the ad to which you refer is post '73.

Just my thoughts......

Probably you're right. I guess the idea I had is that 85 mph on stock tires would have been about 4000 rpm, so I would assume it's "safe" to take an F/2F up to that rpm. The fact that FJ60s came with a tach that redlined at 4000 rpm seems to support that theory. I know the later 2Fs are better balanced than F engines though...

The marketing department was up to something, because they also claimed that you could do 85 MPH all day long while fitting 8 "husky" men in an FJ40!

7.



In '73 and earlier cruisers, you could fit 2 in each jump sead (wide jump seats), and 3 in the front bench seat. They'd have to be good friends though, and not going very far

 

[PabloCruise]

Probably you're right. I guess the idea I had is that 85 mph on stock tires would have been about 4000 rpm, so I would assume it's "safe" to take an F/2F up to that rpm. The fact that FJ60s came with a tach that redlined at 4000 rpm seems to support that theory. I know the later 2Fs are better balanced than F engines though...

7.



In '73 and earlier cruisers, you could fit 2 in each jump sead (wide jump seats), and 3 in the front bench seat. They'd have to be good friends though, and not going very far

Honestly, I cannot imagine being crammed into a 40 with 6 of my good friends (unless they were my female friends from HS!)
I am guessing a "husky" Japanese male in 1973 was quite a bit smaller than a husky American male of today!

 

[Traveling62]

I am guessing a "husky" Japanese male in 1973 was quite a bit smaller than a husky American male of today!

Funny. No doubt true......with the exception of sumo wrestlers!

 

[Tom FJ55]

Back on track w/an update on progress. I'm getting closer to solving the last of the electrical issues - mainly the left turn indicators. I've been posting in this thread: https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/555621-turn-signals-wont-blink.html in the 40/55 section doing some troubleshooting etc... (feels like cheating on this thread posting over there!) Also need to get the rear heater working still but that's mostly it for the big electrical stuff.

Yesterday was a big day because I was able to get the tailgate fully functioning! I had installed a new (big $$) outer window seal, only breaking 2 of the plastic buttons in the process. I basically disassembled the entire electric motor assembly trying to get it working and hotwiring it directly to the battery at different times to get the motor spinning in both directions - it finally did. So it's all put back together, the window's in, my fabbed replacement handle is in, it's all hooked up and it all works! I was excited that after some fiddling, the electric door safety switch works and I managed to re-hook up the mechanical safety latch that doesn't allow the door to be opened unless the glass is fully down. The window lowers w/either the key in the tailgate or the switch on the dash - it's a miracle! We'll see how long it lasts, but for now, I'm a happy guy as the tailgate was my first BATTLE ROYAL when I first started this project, so it's nice to have conquered it finally. It did trip the circuit breaker a few times when testing the raising/lowering function, so that is working too and I didn't add an extra fuse to replace the door safety switch.

A few other things: Installed a rebuilt brake booster, did a proper "bench bleed" of the master cylinder and spent some time measuring and drawing the tailgate handle parts in case I ever get motivated to create some more finished looking replacements. It's a bummer you have to basically disassemble the entire window mechanism to get at those parts. Major PITA to replace/fix etc...

Next big thing is the roof. I've been starting to think about it, but haven't actually DONE anything yet - except buy some carpet to glue up there, which I think will look good. I need to decide what to do w/the roof support bars - both of mine are sagging quite a bit, bent in the middle. If I can find some good replacements, I will cut them out and weld in some good ones - maybe w/a 3rd one for extra support. Cutting them out would really let me clean up the inside easier - but of course it's potentially more work too! Alternatively, I could try to shore up the ones I have by welding reinforcement pieces to them. . . I need to really investigate them further to see if they're worth saving.

I've found some replacement supports at cruiserparts.net in NH but they're not cheap. Anyone have some laying around? Are these considered hard-to-find parts like tailgate handles or are they a dime a dozen?

Thanks for reading & have a nice day!

few pics:
new brake booster & "bench bleeding" MC set up.
big $$ strip of rubber!
tailgate handle drawings

 

[Tom FJ55]

One more post for some good humor. . . I'm lucky that I have a great wife who understands my garage-related frustrations! I have this on my computer though and still laugh even after reading it 100 times! I modified it at the bottom for relevance.

 

[PabloCruise]

One more post for some good humor. . . I'm lucky that I have a great wife who understands my garage-related frustrations! I have this on my computer though and still laugh even after reading it 100 times! I modified it at the bottom for relevance.

Brilliant! I love it!

I really like the drawing you did for the handle. If I PM you my email address, do you mind sending me a copy?

 

[onemanarmy]

did you get the front turn signals working? mine were acting weird, and doing things simiar to yours, sometimes not blinking and sometimes blink once and then quit.....well if you didn't, do this...this solved my issues and they are brighter too....

https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/554568-fixed-turn-signal-issue.html#post7315700

just add a grond wire to each metal part of the light, and run the ground wire to a good ground source under the hood..

 

[Tom FJ55]

If any of your bulbs are burnt out then that would be the obvious thing to fix first.

did you get the front turn signals working?

subzali tried to help me with my turn signal issue multiple times. He posted about it at least twice in this thread and one or more times in the other thread in the 40/55 section. . . "did you check your bulbs? did you check your bulbs?" Finally, I heard him and swapped the rear bulbs from the working side to the non-working side and guess what? PROBLEM SOLVED! As is often the case, I made a simple issue FAR more complicated than it needed to be. Thank you subzali for being persistent with your suggestion. More often than not, the simplest solution is usually the one that works!

I really like the drawing you did for the handle. If I PM you my email address, do you mind sending me a copy?

Pablo - I will return your PM. . .

 

[PabloCruise]

Pablo - I will return your PM. . .

Thank you! I got your PM