Old, ugly, and stubborn. (1 Viewer)

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JayDoc

boop/bop/beep
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Apr 12, 2012
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33
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586
Location
Somewhere between Manhattan and Lawrence.
I've decided to start resurrecting my 1973 FJ40 as my kids are getting closer to driving age and I'm going to have some questions for you experts so I thought I'd start a thread and post up pics and such but first a little back story:

I've had my 1983 FJ60 for roughly 10 years. It's in the process of a sbc transplant currently - don't ask for how long, I'm embarrassed to answer.
So I love the style and shape and history of the old landcruisers so when an FJ40 came available roughly 7 years ago I had to try to haggle for it. It was owned by a young kid that received it from his dad thinking they'd restore it but divorced dad, teenage kid; not much got done and they put it up for sale.

After some haggling I bought it for a few hundred dollars, an old AR, and a few hundred rounds of ammunition. The AR went to the adult who was a legal possessor so it's cool.

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This is how she sat when I bought her. She came with replacement rear sill, and both rear quarter panels so that's a bonus.
She ran fairly rough. A mechanic buddy of mine replaced the carb they put on with an edelbrock carb and it ran better for a couple years until it gave up the ghost ~4 years ago and it has sat since.

More pics and questions to come.
 
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So, first question for you experts: do I need a new distributor?

We're having trouble getting the old girl to start.
We confirmed that the fuel pump still works.
I've poured ~2oz of gas into the carb and still no start.
I replaced the spark plugs and no start.
I did the thing where you pull a plug, put it in the spark plug wire, ground it and turn the ignition looking for spark - NO spark.

Does that mean that it's the distributor? Or should I rule something else out? The points look clean. Would you replace the whole distributor? Would you upgrade to an HEI?

This is a 1F engine btw.

Any help for this novice would be appreciated.
 
Probably my favorite cruiser pic:
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This is how she sat after a rattle can refresh. Blasphemous I know.
 
Replace the points and condenser, and check the coil before buying a new distributor. Maybe new spark plug wires and a new distributor cap too.
 
If you have no spark, that's the place to start!

The early distributors do wear out, but they usually cause rough running, but usually don't prevent running. Points and condenser is the place to start. Always start with the easy cheap stuff. Cap, rotor, points, condenser, wires, new plugs, set timing.

And if you decide you want a new distributor, Install an FJ60 distributor and coil/ignitor. You'll need a new side cover too, but you'll have a super durable, long lasting, and fully electronic ignition.

And install a real Land Cruiser carburetor. All versions of the Aisin carb work better than any other substitute. Have it rebuilt by a pro like Jim C or Mark A.

Good luck!
 
check for 12V at the coil. I had to rebuild my ignition switch as the contacts inside the switch had arc burns so bad there was no connection. jump 12 V to the ignition wire to the coil and then check for spark. just a thought.
 
Did you check the engine/ign fuse?

Um....no. Why would I look at a replacing a 75 cent fuse when I can spent $400 dollars on a new HEI distributor....and then replace the fuse.

Seriously though, thanks. I'm sure it seems silly to you experts but that's the kind of thing I need to be reminded of. A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. I'll check the fuse when I get home.
 
If the fuse is good ... move onto the next step and diagnose what’s going on...

see @OR tojo ’s comments above


‘Temporarily’ put 12v to coil and see if it starts

Then put + on the ballast side and see if it starts ... could be a ballast resistor bad

If it does you may have a switch issue or issue with wiring to it
 
I removed the switch and installed the "toggle/button" assembly.
tojo ignition temporary.jpg


The back side of the switch seems to be rolled in, so I will be cutting the metal to remove the contact module.
tojo ignition lip removal.jpg


I would caution anyone attempting this to be in an area where it won't be difficult to recover the little springs and detent balls that will be falling out as it comes apart.
tojo ignition parts.jpg


I found the bad spot on the IG contact plate shown here on the bottom. The "on" position of the rotating connecting plate is shown as well. The incoming power (AM) is the longer plate on the top right. The third point of contact on the upper left appears on the other side of the module as a small post. The starter contact (ST) is the top one and the accessory (ACC) is to the left

tojo ignition worn IG contact.jpg
tojo ignition on.jpg


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Double check you vin and ID plates as I don't believe you have a '73. Your FJ40 has a two piece hood, split front bench seat and my guess is there is no fuel cap door.
 
Double check you vin and ID plates as I don't believe you have a '73. Your FJ40 has a two piece hood, split front bench seat and my guess is there is no fuel cap door.
You sound like you know what you're talking about. I will double check. Thanks.
 
If the fuse is good ... move onto the next step and diagnose what’s going on...

see @OR tojo ’s comments above


‘Temporarily’ put 12v to coil and see if it starts

Then put + on the ballast side and see if it starts ... could be a ballast resistor bad

If it does you may have a switch issue or issue with wiring to it

So it's not the fuse. I'll start working down the list before I spring for the distributor. Thanks.
 
Double check you vin and ID plates as I don't believe you have a '73. Your FJ40 has a two piece hood, split front bench seat and my guess is there is no fuel cap door.
The ID plate says manufactured in December 1972. Wouldn't that make it a 1973 model or did they do things differently back then?
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Check the center (coil) contact that rides on the rotor inside the distributor. One time, on the road, i had to stretch the spring that pushes it down to make contact and distribute the spark to the plug wires. i diagnose it because i grounded a spark plug in a plug wire from the coil and saw spark when i cranked it, but no spark on a wire from the distributor.
 
i grounded a spark plug in a plug wire from the coil and saw spark when i cranked it, but no spark on a wire from the distributor.

Would this be the way to test the coil? Just take the distributor end of the plug wire and attach to coil, free plug in the other end of the wire, ground and turn ignition?
Thanks.
 
that is what i did as a troubleshoot. I am not declaring this as a definitive test for coil performance. There may be problems with the points (gap and dwell) which would cause a "no spark" or "weak spark" situation and the coil could be fine. I put a coil in that doesn't require a resistor.
 
I testing the coil as outlined above and no spark.
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So I ran over to O'Reillys and picked up a new one and plugged everything back up.
Still no spark.
 

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