Older than dirt - refreshing a ‘64 FJ40 FST

[oregon fj]

You should share the vin. Ours are both FST models in the same factory color in Oregon. Wonder how close they are.

I posted VIN on the registry page, but for the record here it is 3-FJ40-19054. Pretty early ‘64 I’m thinking, originally registered in OR in November 1963. Still has the original Pacific Wonderland plates, not the recent ones.

The joy stick coming through the trans tunnel cover for the PTO?

Yes. There is a little trap door to keep it from being bumped into PTO engage accidentally.

 

[Tojo64]

That is early. Maybe would explain why we have different air cleaners. Large window carb SD40?

I’m so jealous!

 

[DOM335]

Nice find ...I wish mine still had the original engine like yours. The early engines and parts are getting hard to find....especially yours . Mine is a 1967 , so not as rare as yours, but still hard to locate parts and exspensive when you do....mine lived it’s life on a farm in Idaho, original owner rig...our rigs shared a very smililar life it sounds like.

I’m not restoring mine either...just the drivetrain and gaskets etc. love the patina (rust) to much .

 

[oregon fj]

Yes, large window carb. As best I can tell, the original owner never took anything off or went un-original replacements, just added (and often later partially removed) aftermarket gee-gaws.

Looked inside the gas tank today, stunned because it is pristine. Pulled the valve cover, beautiful. I'm really pleased so far.

 

[oregon fj]

After removing all the add-ons from the dash, I count 12 holes so far that will need to be welded up. Ugh!

I noted previously that I suspected that bandaid-colored FJs might be tan rigs that had aged badly. I no longer believe that after starting to remove and disassemble the spare carrier. I uncovered original paint that has never seen the light of day, definitely still bandaid colored. I can’t see myself painting that color again, originality be damned! Will need to select a different color appropriate for 1964. Maybe Judson Green or River Blue. Lot of time ahead before I need to pin down that decision...

 

[oregon fj]

Put in a battery today, cranked it no load (without the plugs) to check for oil pressure and such. All good there, the idiot light goes out almost immediately. Also checked for spark while cranking, not so good there. Looks like a bad distributor cap for sure, plugs wires are very questionable, plugs look so-so. Time for a bit of ignition love.

Fuel delivery system looks pretty good. Hoses not too old, tank is very clean, filter looks ok, etc. Looks to be good enough as is for the initial stage of the project. Will plan to put a couple gallons in after the ignition work and see what I get. I’m pretty optimistic about the general engine condition at this point.

Wiring, however, is cr@p. It boggles my mind that someone could hock up the wiring in an early FJ this badly. These rigs are so simple. The changes, additions and repairs to the wiring look like they were done by Cro-Magnon man. Added to the “work” done in the past, the wires are old, brittle and the connectors are pretty shabby. And then add in that many were not covered or masked when the rig was painted in the past, so trying to figure out what color they are under the paint is a job.

All of which means I might want/need to replace all of it. Past experience is that new wiring is a huge step toward reliability in the end. We’ve all heard the normal jokes about English electrical systems, but when I restored a ‘67 MGB years back with a new harness, I daily drove the car for 4 years with zero failures. Good wiring is a key bit.

So I sent an email to @Coolerman....

 

[middlecalf]

Awesome find and rig!

Looked inside the gas tank today, stunned because it is pristine.

Is there an obvious (or easy) way of doing this? I’d like to get a look inside mine (‘63 FJ45) to see if it’s servicable. Thanks. Paul

 

[oregon fj]

Awesome find and rig!

Is there an obvious (or easy) way of doing this? I’d like to get a look inside mine (‘63 FJ45) to see if it’s servicable. Thanks. Paul

I pulled the fuel sender and looked in. There is still a lot that you can’t see in all the corners and such, but you can see enough to give a decent idea.

 

[middlecalf]

Hey thanks. That is easy, and probably good enough to make a determination if the tank is usable. Plus I need to do that to check the ohms of the sender anyhow.

 

[Coolerman]

Wow! That early 64 is in really great shape! You may change your mind about keeping it once you are done. They are truly addicting!

I received your email and would be proud to contribute to this project!

 

[oregon fj]

Wow! That early 64 is in really great shape! You may change your mind about keeping it once you are done. They are truly addicting!

Yeah, I can’t rule that out. While I’m a noob with FJs, I’ve done enough old car restorations in the past that I can recognize just how good this rig really is. My wife and I have already noted that we’ll need to keep it for a bit to play with once it is finished. Hard to say how long that ‘bit’ might be.

As for recent progress, after a thorough ignition tuneup, I now have good spark in all 6 cylinders while cranking. I will begin tracing through the fuel delivery later today, but I suspect I will need a new fuel pump and filter at least, and perhaps a rebuild kit for the old carb. Most of the carb gaskets look pretty nasty.

 

[oregon fj]

Will be ordering a pump, filter and carb rebuild kit shortly. Looking for a source for the carb base insulator now. See this thread - Carb insulator

 

[Coolerman]

Good job on the tune up. These things are dirt simple to get and keep running. For odd ball parts the best source is Marks Off Road. He can also rebuild your carb, as can FJ40Jim here on MUD. They both know these carbs inside and out, meaning if anyone has installed incorrect parts, they will catch it and fix it.

 

[thecrazygreek]

Wow, another 64 in Oregon!
Welcome to the club!

Where are you in Oregon? Im in Salem and in the middle of my 64 resto. My chassis is done, working on body now. Mines a hard top.

Congrats on the great find.

Subscribed!

 

[oregon fj]

Good job on the tune up. These things are dirt simple to get and keep running. For odd ball parts the best source is Marks Off Road. He can also rebuild your carb, as can FJ40Jim here on MUD. They both know these carbs inside and out, meaning if anyone has installed incorrect parts, they will catch it and fix it.

Mark (@65swb45 ) replied in the other thread, he has a single NOS insulator for the ‘64, but it’s not for sale. He said he will measure the thickness so I (and others, perhaps) can see about building a replacement.

Wow, another 64 in Oregon!
Welcome to the club!

Where are you in Oregon? Im in Salem and in the middle of my 64 resto. My chassis is done, working on body now. Mines a hard top.

Congrats on the great find.

Subscribed!

Just down the road an hour or so in Eugene. You’re welcome to come see it some time, we could compare notes.

Trying to get some basics done prior to pulling the body off for more extensive work. We’ll see how long it takes me to get there.

 

[65swb45]

Will be ordering a pump, filter and carb rebuild kit shortly. Looking for a source for the carb base insulator now. See this thread - Carb insulator

I sell those too.

 

[oregon fj]

I sell those too.

Mark, I will give you a call (leave a message) later today or tomorrow.

 

[oregon fj]

Nothing picture-worthy recently. I’ve been in touch with Mark ( @65swb45 ) and am planning to ship my carb to him soon. So no further attempts at making it run until the carb comes back.

Still spending some time trying to undo all the electrical rape inflicted by the original owner. I’ve got some lights working now, more yet to come.

Have determined that the original owner also welded up some “custom” seat brackets from heavy angle iron. Those have gotta go, so I’m going to have to hunt down the original type. Before I start digging about, can anyone tell me how late model I can use with seats that will look essentially stock?

 

[oregon fj]

Disassembly and assessment still in progress. Shipped the carb to @65swb45 yesterday for rebuild. Pulled the old Con-Ferr roll bar today. (An hour and a half cutting nasty, rusty bolts to get it off.) Tracing through the wiring, removing the add on stuff to return to a stock baseline.

Going to be a long road to follow to get back to stock and functional. But I’ve got time...

 

[oregon fj]

Ok, maybe the wiring in this truck isn’t as bad as I thought.

Since the original 5 circuit fuse box was a rusty, corroded mess I bought a new 6 circuit replacement. As I started going through the changeover, I found that for the most part the original wiring is intact and not all that bad. The rat’s nest of wires was pretty much all add-ons from the original owner. A whole lot of it was for accessories that no longer exist. When he removed some gadget, he generally just snipped off wires at either end and left the wires hanging. As I keep going forward with removing the unused stuff, what’s left seems mostly ok.

After some time this afternoon, I now have most of the lights working, as well as the wipers. And it is a lot cleaner looking under the dash.