Newbie Intro and a question for the OGs

[TXCoyote]

Hi Everyone,

Just bought an 84 FJ60. This rig has been sitting for almost 18 years. I befriended the PO and made him an offer. Surprisingly, he parted with this beauty and it's now sitting on my driveway.

The truck has around 84k original miles. The PO is a retired Army vet (35 years of service) and this truck travelled the world! It spent over half a decade in Africa and then a few years in Haiti. It has only had one owner.

The truck came with two original service manuals, a set of extra rims, a new radiator (and the original in the back of the rig) and a few other goodies. The bumpers are welded on, as well as the side nerf bars. You can see the difference it made to give it it's first bath. I'll be working on cleaning up the paint job and seeing if I will repaint it at some point. There doesn't seem to be any serious rust, other than a few pinholes on the rain channels. I'll know more about that over the next couple of days. I'll start on the mechanical stuff this weekend.

Now for your advice:

I plan on having the carb and dizzy rebuilt and tuned. Where or who should I send it to? Where would you direct me to for sourcing glass parts?

I've been lurking on this forums for a few years (previous Jeep guy), but never registered. I can see there's a solid community here and a lot of support and information. Thanks in advance for all your help.

--Drio

 

[Louis Ciccoli]

Congratulations on your purchase! I too am a new owner, and have had some tribulations with my rig. I've been working with Jim Chenoweth @FJ40Jim on getting a distributor recurved, as he came highly recommended by several people. I think, bit I'm not for sure, that he also does carbs.

 

[FJACS]

Jim, mentioned above, rebuilds carbs and distributors. I believe he also runs a shop and you can take your entire vehicle to him - but that’s a hike from Texas.

if you’re going to start paying for someone to overhaul every system in a truck that sat dormant, get ready to spend $$.

Assuming nothing is too out of the ordinary wear wise, 84,000 is pretty low mileage. You should be able to do most of the servicing yourself. There’s several vendors who sell carb rebuild kits, and a few good YouTube videos that walk you through the process.

You should probably find a video for the front knuckle rebuild as well...

 

[FJACS]

Also, glass is probably best sources used. Here in the classifieds or through some of the vendors

I have a full set of side glass, doors and cargo, but no rear hatch. I’m sure someone will
chime in with a rear window.

 

[TXCoyote]

Thanks for the replies so far. I'm planning on doing most of the work myself, at least, that's the plan. I'm selling a couple of my toys to fund this project.

Is there an agreed upon recommended order of operations to get a rig to a safe road-ready status? I don't know much about old toyotas, but I've worked with old VWs and other vintage cars. I know this is going to be a process, but I plan on wrenching on this pretty much full time. I'd love to hear any recommendations for how to get started and how I should prioritize the workflow.

Thanks again for the replies!

 

[SteveH]

Rear window are NLA, so used is the only way to go, there.

 

[onemanarmy]

With a little work, that thing will clean up real nice

As you mentioned, talk to JimC about the carb and dizzy rebuild, then brake checks, probably needs a front axle knuckle rebuild (not a safety thing per se, but might as well if fully going through the brakes), then all fluids changed, remove those un needed fender flares, some new tires, some FJ62 side door mirrors, and new rear glass.....I'd take off those side steps and overkill light bar.

then roll out

hows the interior?

 

[Seth S]

Thanks for the replies so far. I'm planning on doing most of the work myself, at least, that's the plan. I'm selling a couple of my toys to fund this project.

Is there an agreed upon recommended order of operations to get a rig to a safe road-ready status? I don't know much about old toyotas, but I've worked with old VWs and other vintage cars. I know this is going to be a process, but I plan on wrenching on this pretty much full time. I'd love to hear any recommendations for how to get started and how I should prioritize the workflow.

Thanks again for the replies!

Just apply common sense. You want to be able to turn and stop and ideally you don't want the wheels or other parts to fall off. Probably going to need new brake rotors and pads, drums and shoes, ebrake pieces etc. Luckily those components are reasonable price wise and there are lots of options. You should get the front end up on jack stands and grab the wheels at the 12 and 6 position and see how much play there is when you rock the wheel back and forth. Also see how smoothly the front wheels spin. you likely need to adjust the bearing preload. If there is lot of grease around the steering knuckles then its time to do a knuckle service as well. Not a hard job just takes a rebuild kit and some time...lots of write ups on the topic.

Also a good idea remove all of the filler bolts on the differentials, transmission, and transfer case. Do the fillers first to be sure they come out ok. Then once the fill plugs are succesfuly out then pull the drain plugs and drain out all the old oil. Get a 5 gallon bucket of new gear oil and a sit on top mechanical pump and replace all the diff/trans oils.

Grease all the fittings all over the truck

replace the cap, rotor, plugs, wires, air filter, fuel filter, vacuum lines etc etc.

Looks like you need new tires

......

 

[John Staton]

I am in The Woodlands and have had mine a few years. Spent as much getting to where it is today as I spent on the truck, but I dont really do any heavy wrenching myself. I did most of the cosmetics like the interior etc... Mechanically I decided to remove all the smog stuff, add headers, replace the carb with a weber and deleted the cats and upgrade to a 5 speed (H55). Mine has 160K miles on it and runs great. Join the Bayou City Cruiser group on FB. The have meet ups at a shop here locally on occasion. A lot of my mechanical work was done at Spags up here across from The Woodlands. Anyway, lots of 60s in the Houston...best of luck.

 

[vipergrhd]

I hope it's not too late, DO NOT START OR CRANK VEHICLE. I know it's tempting but like someone suggested drain all the fluids including gas flush the fuel lines
and cooling system. pull all the spark plugs and get a bottle of MMO put a few drops and hand crank the engine.

 

[sogafarm]

It's easier to replace the entire upper back hatch than to replace the glass by itself.

 

[TXCoyote]

With a little work, that thing will clean up real nice

As you mentioned, talk to JimC about the carb and dizzy rebuild, then brake checks, probably needs a front axle knuckle rebuild (not a safety thing per se, but might as well if fully going through the brakes), then all fluids changed, remove those un needed fender flares, some new tires, some FJ62 side door mirrors, and new rear glass.....I'd take off those side steps and overkill light bar.

then roll out

hows the interior?

Thanks for the reply.

The light bar is definitely coming off. Even though for my purposes it is very much overkill, when this thing lived in Africa it was very much essential. I am waiting for the PO to share some photos (I'll share them with everyone once he does). The sides steps and bumpers are welded on, so I may leave them for the time being. Planning on a 2" OME lift and new rubbers all around for sure. The interior is dirty, but in decent shape. I will need to replace the front passenger seat. I may consider installing more modern seats in the front anyway. I plan on taking long road trips, possibly several weeks at a time. I'm still trying to decide on which way to go with it.

I'll reach out to JimC as recommended for the carb and dizzy.

 

[TXCoyote]

I am in The Woodlands and have had mine a few years. Spent as much getting to where it is today as I spent on the truck, but I dont really do any heavy wrenching myself. I did most of the cosmetics like the interior etc... Mechanically I decided to remove all the smog stuff, add headers, replace the carb with a weber and deleted the cats and upgrade to a 5 speed (H55). Mine has 160K miles on it and runs great. Join the Bayou City Cruiser group on FB. The have meet ups at a shop here locally on occasion. A lot of my mechanical work was done at Spags up here across from The Woodlands. Anyway, lots of 60s in the Houston...best of luck.
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Thanks for the reply; It's great to hear from someone local. Your rig looks awesome.

I think I got a pretty good deal on mine, and plan on doing most of the work myself. I hope to not run into really big issues, but you never know. I will definitely look up the suggested group and reach out to them. Thanks again for your reply and suggestions.

 

[TXCoyote]

I hope it's not too late, DO NOT START OR CRANK VEHICLE. I know it's tempting but like someone suggested drain all the fluids including gas flush the fuel lines
and cooling system. pull all the spark plugs and get a bottle of MMO put a few drops and hand crank the engine.

Don't worry, I haven't started on anything mechanical yet. I've messed around with old cars for a while and definitely have made some silly mistakes in the past. Do you prefer MMO over Kano Kroil?

I plan on getting started this weekend. I still have to get one of my other projects out of the driveway.

 

[TXCoyote]

It's easier to replace the entire upper back hatch than to replace the glass by itself.

Is it easier to replace because it is easier to find, or is it a labor thing?

 

[SteveH]

It's easier to replace the entire upper back hatch than to replace the glass by itself.

I just used 5 flat-blade screwdrivers on the inside, and pried out the glass and seal together, and used soap-and-a-rope to reinstall. I had to do rust repair on the hatch lid, like most. Re-installation requires 2 people to hold and maneuver the glass, but is not particularly difficult.

If you choose to remove the stainless trim on the outside of the seal, you're likely in for a lot of work. The trim will be damaged upon removal.

 

[sogafarm]

Is it easier to replace because it is easier to find, or is it a labor thing?

It was easier for me when my back glass was smashed on my old '86. I found a junkyard that had one and I installed it while I was there, then left them my old one. I think it was just a few bolts involved.

 

[TXCoyote]

It's easier to replace the entire upper back hatch than to replace the glass by itself.

I just used 5 flat-blade screwdrivers on the inside, and pried out the glass and seal together, and used soap-and-a-rope to reinstall. I had to do rust repair on the hatch lid, like most. Re-installation requires 2 people to hold and maneuver the glass, but is not particularly difficult.

If you choose to remove the stainless trim on the outside of the seal, you're likely in for a lot of work. The trim will be damaged upon removal.

Is there a way to replace the window without removing the stainless trim?

 

[Michael Hanson]

Hi, The trim on front and back glass is easily removed with the tool used to install and remove it.Lisle 47000. Mike

 

[4Cruisers]

If you still have all the emissions and don't plan on de-smogging the FJ60 I can do a complete refurbishment. I've done several recently for other MUD members. Plus I can do a quick turnaround. PM me if interested.

For recurves and testing, FJ40Jim is where to go.