New to FJ55s. . .

[Pighead]

Looks like an extension has been added to your speeo cable...
I got a longer parking brake cable from CDan...he can tell you how long the cables are before you buy.
If you can find enough brake rebuild kits, just put it back together. Drum brakes work fine.
I think you can buy the guts for your parking brake from spector...

 

[Tom FJ55]

Fuel tank. . . what a PITA

I just finished pulling the fuel tank - what a major PITA. I'm already regretting that I did it because it's been on the ground less than 30 minutes and I am DREADING having to put it back in - I have no idea how I'm going to hook up all those hoses. . . while lying on my back. . . while supporting the tank and trying to wiggle it around back up there. . . while trying to hook those little wire loop retainers where they go around the hoses. I never would have thought there'd be so many dang hoses hooked up to it. That venting/vapor recovery system is quite something.

One positive is that the tank, except being dirty on the outside and smelling like nasty 15yr. old gas on the inside, looks fantastically sound.

So it looks like you have an overdrive sitting on the back of the t-case!
Did we talk about that already?
The PO may have yanked the park brake b/c the cable would no longer reach with the o/d unit.
You can source parts for your park brake and rebuild. Then you can get a custom e-brake cable made.

Yes, I did mention the OD unit close to the beginning of the thread - most of the responses were negative towards it if I remember correctly! I will look into sourcing ebrake parts and a longer cable to put it back if possible.

Looks like an extension has been added to your speeo cable...
I got a longer parking brake cable from CDan...he can tell you how long the cables are before you buy.
If you can find enough brake rebuild kits, just put it back together. Drum brakes work fine.
I think you can buy the guts for your parking brake from spector...

Thanks for the good info. I just placed my first big parts order yesterday, mostly focused on the brake and clutch system, but along w/a few engine gaskets, and little bits and pieces etc... I'm planning to stay w/the drum brakes for now (budget).

 

[crackedup]

I should have posted a reply earlier on this thread but time has been a bit short. My 55 is also an April 72 and I am getting very close to getting it finished so I know exactly what you are going through. Been there and done it. Everything you take apart leads to something else coming off. It actually starts to feed on itself but keep the faith, you'll get there.

Your fuel tank might not be as big a problem as you think. It depends. When I dropped mine, I ripped all the lines out and plugged all of the tubes on top except for one that I used to hook the drivers side emissions gear to. Took all of the gear from the passenger side and threw it in a box. Since I put that all together, I have learned a few things. First chance I get to get back under there, I plan on ripping out the rest of the emissions stuff and plugging the one remaining vent on the tank. I'll take care of the venting with a venting gas cap I should be able to get from Toyota. But there is a catch to being able to do it. Originally I was trying to keep some of the emissions gear because I intended to keep the stock carburetor. Well, unless you are a true carb guru, you are not going to save the thing. Ask me how I know. Junk it and the distributor. The distributor on the 72 is vac retard and it also has bushings in it that are worn out and Toyota doesn't service them.. Find Trollhole in the classifieds and buy the carb and distributor that he has. It will be some of the best money you spend, you'll save a bunch of time AND you can plug the emissions lines on the fuel tank since the carb Trollhole sells is completely emissions free. Only line on it is for the vac advance for his distributor. I put his carb and distributor on mine and it solved a lot of problems. It also lets me plug the last line on the tank and dump the rest of the emissions stuff. What worked for me might not be what you want but I thought I would throw it out there for you to think about.

I also kept my drum brakes like you are doing. Everything was completely worn out so it ALL had to be replaced. OEM cylinders are getting tougher to get but the pads and other items are still available. My front is all OEM but the back ended up with aftermarket cylinders. It stops just fine and is getting better with time. I can see the advantage of having disc brakes out on the trail but this 55 is never going out on the trail. I think a lot of the problem people have with working on the drum brakes is figuring out how to work on the system. It's really different from anything I had seen up til now. Don't try bleeding it by having somebody press the pedal. Get a cheap vacuum bleeding tool and put some thread tape on all of the bleed nipples. That way you can get a good flow through the nipple without any air leaking in. Even on the OEM cylinders the thread tolerance isn't good enough to keep air from seeping when you bleed. The thread tape really helped me a bunch to get a good air free flow going. The other piece of advice is that you have to adjust all 8 cylinders individually. Some people think you can get one cylinder "close enough" and then fine tune the other one to make up for it. Doesn't work. There are 8 brake shoes and 8 cylinders with each cylinder controlling 1 shoe only. If you don't take the time to "fine tune" all 8 cylinders, you won't be happy with the drums. I think it's one of the reasons drums get such a bad rap because it takes time and patience to get it right.

Almost all of the parking brake parts are still available from Toyota. At least everything I needed was available and there isn't much original left in there. Personally I stayed away from SOR. In my opinion, the prices they are charging should also include somebody coming and installing it. There are a lot of good sources out there with good helpful folks who are charging less.

Hope you can find something useful in the above and sorry if it is a bit too long winded.

 

[PabloCruise]

I would highly recommend keeping your vapor recovery lines from the tank intact.

I am more familiar with the tank in my '74 55 and '78 40, but after going through evap hell after an engine swap in a different platform, I can tell you it is no fun sitting in a vehicle that fills with gas fumes due to a evap system that does not properly contain and then aspirate said vapors into the engine, thereby making the vapors un-noticable to you.

You can go with an emissions free carb and dizzy from Troll, but you want to pull a vacuum on your charcoal canister, which is in turn receiving the fuel vapors from the gas tank. The gas tank needs to be able to vent constantly due to change in temp, change in volume (due to consumption). I think people do not understand that with a fuel return line, the fuel coming back to the tank is much warmer after having gone for a ride up to the engine compartment and back.

You can do whatever you want to do, but I would want my tanking venting to the charcoal cannister.

I had a fuel cap go bad and start venting to the atmosphere. Everywhere I parked, people thought my car was going to blow up. Real sexy on dates...

Get a helper to help hold the tank up. Replace dry brittle hoses with new, supple hoses that you warm up so they are nice and pliable.

Get the fuel tank hot-tanked at a radiator repair place while it is down!

Good luck!

 

[PabloCruise]

PS: I feel strongly about this, only because of the hell I want through with my engine swap. If you do not know how an evap system works, do a little studying. I was miserable after doing what I thought would be a really cool engine swap. The car stunk so bad that I did not want to drive it. I thought I ruined my vehicle. It was only because I was forced to study on this that I understand how the fuel tank vents to a charcoal cannister that contains the raw fuel vapors until such time as the engine can aspirate these vapors and consume them along with the normal air/fuel mix. When this system works, the tank can vent itself safely, and you do not have the smell of raw gas permeating your vehicle cabin making you and your kids sick.

Good luck!

 

[Tom FJ55]

I should have posted a reply earlier on this thread but time has been a bit short. My 55 is also an April 72 and I am getting very close to getting it finished so I know exactly what you are going through. Been there and done it. Everything you take apart leads to something else coming off. It actually starts to feed on itself but keep the faith, you'll get there.

Hope you can find something useful in the above and sorry if it is a bit too long winded.

crackedup - Thanks for you post & info from your experience - that's what makes boards like this so fantastic. You are absolutely correct in that everything I take off/disassemble (ie: touch), leads to another, which leads to another and another. . . While I have had visions of completely disassembling the entire thing, dipping the body and really going whole hog on it, I need to remind myself (often!) why I decided to take on the project in the first place - for a running, fairly reliable around town beater that I can let my kids work on w/me w/out cringing, take into the hills and not worry about denting or scratching, teach my kids how to drive stick on etc.... I have to try not to make it too nice or else I will be afraid to USE IT! Mechanically sound, cosmetically challenged is my goal. But still, deciding where to stop is a constant battle as it pains me to work near dirty rusty surfaces, worn out bushings, tired looking components etc.... Maybe when my boys get older one of them will fall in love w/it and want to do a more complete restoration and make it really nice - we'll see.

I appreciate your insight on the drum brakes - I never thought of it as each cylinder operating pads individually. That will help me tremendously when getting it dialed in. See below in my response to PabloCruise for what I'm doing w/my carb. & vapor recovery system etc...

Thanks for taking the time to post. I appreciate it.

I would highly recommend keeping your vapor recovery lines from the tank intact.

PabloCruise - I am planning to keep everything as is. My other project car ('74 Porsche 911) came to me w/the charcoal canister system removed. Since the day I drove it home, I have had a fuel smell in the cabin and it's not nice. In the beginning, I tried to chase it thinking it was a leaking fuel line, but I'm now convinced that it is the result of removing the vapor recovery system. One of the things on my list for that car is to replace it this winter. . .



One of the things I decided to "splurge" on w/the FJ55 is having Mark A. (Mark's Off Road) rebuild the carb. for me. While not the cheapest route, I'm hoping it will be "right" when I get it back and will be one less thing I have to chase when I get it running. It was in pretty rough shape and I wasn't confident in my ability to bring it back to life. We'll see what he says when he gets it. In the one phone conversation I've had w/him, I learned that he doesn't mince words much. . .

Since work is slow for me, I've got a few hours a day in between school Christmas plays and performances to keep moving things forward. Still mostly in disassembly and discovery mode, although I think I might work on the broken bolt in the thermostat housing this AM in order to add something to it instead of subtract!

 

[Tom FJ55]

Ditching the AC?

I'm thinking of pulling the AC system out. For this type of vehicle, I don't think it's necessary. Before I yank it, can anyone offer any compelling reasons to leave it in?

 

[subzali]

Sounds like you're going the right route Tom, don't make anything more complicated than it needs to be, stick with what you have rather than introduce a lot of other unknown components...

Where do you live? Utah? A/C is your call - you've got 4 doors and a tailgate to help keep the air moving. You can always take it off for now, put it in a box, and decide later if you want to keep it or get rid of it after you've had a chance to drive it in the summertime.

 

[onemanarmy]

so what needs to be done when adding a trollhole carb and distributor and removing the associated under hood smog components to keep the gas tank venting working properly?

 

[crackedup]

Pablo - I appreciate your insight as it's always good to hear both sides but for me there are no issues. No fuel smell. tomfj55 and I both have early 72 models so there is no fuel return line. I believe the return line came in late 72. Maybe that has something to do with me having no vapors. Don't smell anything outside the vehicle either. Could be I just got lucky and it's going to get even somewhere down the road. It may also have something to do with the fact that I got under the vehicle and plugged every single hole with a patch or plug of some sort. Empty screw holes got a squirt of silicon.

onemanarmy - I think you simply plug the unused vacuum ports on the little emissions computer. That would leave the vacuum line coming from the manifold and the line going to the canister.

tomfj55 - If I may suggest it, make sure your distributor is still usable before sending that carb off to Mark. Early 72 still had the vacuum "retard" and there are not many options available for that distributor if the bushings are shot. It would have to be rebuilt at whatever cost necessary or Toyota does still stock it for $450. Simply switching over to a vacuum "advance" distributor will not work either. At least from what I have read here on Mud it won't work. Seems the carbs that were set up for vacuum "retard" do not have a port in the right place to pull enough vacuum to operate the vacuum "advance" properly. Early 72 is a real pain in the butt with stuff like this.

I had the a/c just like in your pictures and I pulled it. Didn't want to waste the gas running it and it was just something else that would need fixed. Plus it is great working under the hood without it. Lots of open space now.

Take everything above with a grain of salt. Don't really think there are two 55's out there that are even close to being the same.

 

[Tom FJ55]

tomfj55 - If I may suggest it, make sure your distributor is still usable before sending that carb off to Mark. Early 72 still had the vacuum "retard" and there are not many options available for that distributor if the bushings are shot.

Early 72 is a real pain in the butt with stuff like this.

Take everything above with a grain of salt. Don't really think there are two 55's out there that are even close to being the same.

Hmmm. . . too late for that! Sent the carb to CA on tuesday. Is there an easy way to test the condition of the distributor I have - is there something other than pulling it out and seeing if it feels loose by hand?

The details of the various differences in parts between years are the little nuances that I have no idea about - so thanks for the info..

I do try to filter through what I read and hear. . . you kind of have to these days. I am very happy to have found MUD however. It seems to be mostly populated by DIY, knowledgable enthusiasts who are open to share/help etc.... It seems like a great community.

A few questions for the morning:

Tire Sizes - I found a bunch of threads on this but just wanted to state my intended direction in case I'm headed down the wrong path. Can I use 30x9.5 or 31x10.5 w/out fit issues? I like the look of taller, narrower tires vs short & fat. I plan to keep the suspension stock for now.

EBrake - will any year FJ55 fit? Aside from the cable length issue, might I run into any other issues w/the overdrive unit I have?

Thanks,
Tom

 

[Pighead]

Lots of good info coming out here.
I kept my stock vapor recovery to the charcoal canister, which vents to atmosphere.
Lose the A/C...
Mark can drill your carb for the vac advance port while it's there. Mark can also sell you a rebuilt vac advance dizzy with the Pertronix already in it (what I did).
31" or 32" tires will fit without a problem. I ran 33s with only a shackle lift.
I "think" any year 55 parking brake drum will fit yours...though I've not owned a very early Pig ('68/69) they had some weird parts. Remember that the 55 parking brake cable comes into the parking brake from the opposite side as a 40...I'm running a 40 cable to my parking brake (behind the doubler)

 

[riderjgs]

FJ55 w/31s

Here's what a pig with stock suspension and 31x1050x15s looks like w/FJ60 OEM wheels. Also plenty of room with stock steelies, I've done that also on a previous 55. The 60 wheels are a half inch wider so accomodate the tire width better and add a bit of width to the track and the wheels are easy to come by. I've since lifted about 3" with shackles and add-a-leafs but the same tire/wheel combination. I ran 30x950s initially but think they looked a little small in the wheel wells.

 

[Tom FJ55]

Pighead - thanks for all the info. When I talk to Mark again, I will ask about the dizzy and carb porting etc. . . Pertronix was on my list already.

riderjgs - thanks for the visual. That's a nice size. . .

The AC is out. . . boy there is a lot more room in there now to work. Very nice. There were some collateral issues that cropped up w/the AC removal - all solvable, but another example of the snowball effect. I need a water pump gasket because I ended up taking off the water pump (I can't remember exactly why, but it seemed like the thing to do at the time). I need 2 head bolts (the ones that hold the air cleaner assembly to the block at the front left of the block) as one of the brackets mounted there and they were replaced w/super long studs that are now too long. Now have a few holes to plug in the firewall etc... Had to buy a few new bolts to replace ones that were too long. . .

Nice pile of AC stuff & nice new found space in the engine bay:

 

[Pighead]

A lot of us have old headstuds lying about...
Don't worry about the waterpump gasket, it's just thin paper and a smear of RTV works better.

 

[PabloCruise]

I have heard that 33x9.5 or 10.5 tires will fit a Pig w/ stock suspension.
If this is true, you could go w/ 33's and ditch the o/d, as the 33" tire will prob give just as much "rubber overdrive" as the Fairy unit did.
When I put 33's on my 40, it felt like the perfect match for the 4.11 gears and 4 spd.
Search a little on this, or maybe people will chime in here about putting 33's under your Pig w/ stock springs!

 

[PabloCruise]

What are your plans for AC items?
I may be able to use some/all of it...

 

[v8slrtorana]

I believe I have stock suspension.
All the spring hangers are in original location and it hasn't got a SOA conversion.
I have 33x12.5x15 on mine and it only rubs on full L/H lock. R/H is fine. Go figure !

 

[Tom FJ55]

riderjgs's pic w/31x10.5x15 looks like nice proportions to me w/stock suspension. I don't want to go too big. I also wonder if 10.5 wide is starting to push the envelope of drivability w/out power steering - something I may add at a later date, but is not on my immediate list (ie: in the budget).

PabloCruise - I have no immediate plans for the AC stuff - other than tripping over it 1000 times in my garage. I'm sure we could work something out - the compressor is a heavy bugger though, so shipping will be some $$. Maybe we can work out some trades?

I'm starting to compile a list of stuff I'm in need of, but not sure what the easiest way to get it out there might be. I don't want it to get buried in this thread - maybe I'll start a separate post in the classifieds in the near future, once the rapidly growing list is long enough to be worthy.

Since it's supposed to be a little warmer, today's to do list includes more cleaning w/the hose - wheels, flush the radiator, floor mats (again) etc.... Also (not w/the hose) flushing the fuel and brake hard lines of 15 yrs. of crud. I need to find a hose shop to redo some fuel lines for me reusing the metric hose ends. They seem to be NLA in the parts catalogs I've looked through - plus a hose shop is probably way cheaper. . .

 

[Pighead]

Talk to your hose shop about the flexible brake lines too...my local speed shop made up a set of stainless hoses for cheaper than I could get from a vendor (SOR)