Older than dirt - refreshing a ‘64 FJ40 FST (2 Viewers)

[oregon fj]

I’m going to need seat belts soon (I hope). While I know what is correct, is anyone really going to care if I got gray belts instead of red? The thought of red belts with coral seats, tan top and possibly horizon blue paint seems garish to me. Gray webbing would coordinate with pewter seat frames pretty well. Since they aren’t going to be original Toyota anyway...

 

[63cruiser]

I went with seatbelt planet olive green belts with coral seats, drab olive soft top and the Lily white similar to yours. Looks great.

 

[oregon fj]

That does sound like a good look. Olive belts with an olive top makes sense.

But since I haven’t pinned down a color yet, gray belts to match the pewter seat frames seems safe to me.

I keep going round and round on color. I still don’t think I could paint it “bandaid” again, but beyond that I’m not sure. Was thinking about horizon (horizontal?) blue, but leaning toward volcanic beige with tan top at this point.

 

[oregon fj]

Taking my cue from the results I got stripping the PO applied paint from the glove box door, I stripped the cheap rattle-can silver off the bezel today. As with the pewter paint on the glove box door, the citrus stripper removed the silver but left the original off-white intact.

And yesterday I removed the grill mesh and painted it. A much nicer look, IMO. I cleaned the chrome letters in the grill, now they don’t show well in pictures, too reflective!

Before

After

 

[oregon fj]

As I wait for my next box o’parts, I’m starting look look ahead to the next phase. Once the rig is reasonably roadworthy, I will want to begin prep for body and paint. Body work will consist of some minor work on the hood and fenders, rust repair in the outer rockers and floors, and a whole lot of holes to weld up. (The original owner needed an intervention - someone should have taken away his drill and stick welder.)

As I anticipate welding the holes up, I need to know which holes around the edge of the tub I can/should keep for attaching a new top to. Which means I’m probably going to need to buy and fit a top prior to paint. Seems a bit of cart-before-horse, but it will be the best way to identify the factory holes.

A new top means one of the next big purchases will need to be top frame parts, then the top itself. So I have been researching more closely what I have and what I will need. Even test fitted the passenger door this morning, as best I could.

What I have is:

• a good B pillar
• 2 good doors
• 2 door top rails
• right upper body side door hinge
• all 4 rear bow brackets in the tub

What I am missing is:

• 2 windshield-to-door rail brackets
• 3 of the 4 bodyside door hinges (have the right upper)
• all bows aft of the B pillar
• the top itself

Plenty of sources for most of these parts, although I haven’t located the hinges yet. Would be nice to find a used set of bows that are semi-local to save on shipping costs. Haven’t started digging into that too hard yet.

 

[nuclearlemon]

you'll need all the twist fasteners that go in the holes in the little lip around the cargo area. i think there are six per side, but i don't remember

 

[oregon fj]

you'll need all the twist fasteners that go in the holes in the little lip around the cargo area. i think there are six per side, but i don't remember

That sounds about right. My problem is that I currently have 13 holes in the lip on each side of the rig. No sure way to figure out which ones are correct until I get a top for it. That first owner should never have been allowed to own a drill.

 

[63cruiser]

I don't think getting the new top is going to help if you get a Trollhole top. You have to cut in the grommet holes once the twist locks are in place. Not sure about the SOR or south American tops

 

[oregon fj]

I don't think getting the new top is going to help if you get a Trollhole top. You have to cut in the grommet holes once the twist locks are in place. Not sure about the SOR or south American tops

Ahhh! That’s good to know, and does make some sense. So I could just pick whichever holes that are nicely spaced and roll with that, then. Food for thought.

 

[oregon fj]

Yesterday the last of the cooling system parts arrived, so today I’ve been working to get it all reassembled. And I ran into a snag.

The nice rubber gasket that goes between the two halves of the thermostat housing isn’t big enough to seal. The holes for the mounting studs are correct, as is the hole for the thermostat itself. But the sealing area isn’t wide enough to seal the 2 halves. It barely covers the edge of the thermostat where it sits in the relief in the top half. Hard to describe, so I’m attaching a couple pictures.

I’ve got a call in to check for other pre-fab options, or I might just get some material and cut a new one myself.

 

[nuclearlemon]

looks like it should still pinch some and it looks rubber so it should squish out some too, but hold me to that . i cut my own for annie.

 

[oregon fj]

It pinches, but not enough to seal. I tried several times, no go. Leaks just from filling the system, not even under pressure. I looked at the gasket material I have on the shelf, don’t have any that I like for this application. I plan to drop by the FLAPS tomorrow and get a sheet to cut one from.

 

[oregon fj]

So here’s the rest of the story. The rubber gasket is barely wide enough to cover the t-stat flange, but doesn’t extend beyond it to seal the 2 halves of the housing.

I picked up a sheet of Fel-Pro gasket material and traced the inner hole from the rubber gasket, but the outer edge from the upper housing half. The new gasket is a lot wider, and seals fine. Got a couple of other things to do today, will plan to start it and bring it up to temp tomorrow. If all goes well, maybe a little test drive

 

[oregon fj]

Got back home earlier than expected, so I was able to do a bit on it this afternoon. Installed the housing with the new gasket. Filled the radiator, no leaks from the t-stat on fill this time. Started it up, ran it until the t-stat opened, re-checked the coolant level and capped it up. Ran it until the temp gauge showed operating temp, had pressure in the system (new correct style cap with tether chain), still no leaks. All seems good.

Tomorrow - first real road test!

 

[oregon fj]

Today was the day. First time really on the road in 15 years or so. Huge milestone in the refresh of this rig.

And you can learn a lot in a short drive, things you can’t learn checking it out in the garage. Today’s new items:

• Need a new fan belt. (I knew that, but it was reinforced on me today.)
• Transmission and transfer case works fine.
• Clutch engagement is rather high, I suspect it may be due for replacement. (Will probably wait until I pull the tub later.)
• Tires are terminally flat spotted after years of sitting. (Expected.)
• Brakes stop well enough, but the cylinders are sticky and slow to release. Wheel cylinders need some love.
• Steering is better than expected, not as much play as I feared there might have been.
• The engine is running a bit lean, it would stumble off idle with the choke off. Just a touch of choke cleaned it up nicely.

The most fun part? In a 8-10 minute drive, I got three waves and two thumbs up from strangers as I drove by. People love seeing these rigs on the road!

 

[65swb45]

You forgot these:

 

[daner]

Congrats on the first real ride!

 

[oregon fj]

The other thing I determined this weekend is that there is a *LOT* of lash in the front diff. About 30-40 degrees lash. That 3rd member will either need a rebuild or replacement. Will need to lay plans for that prior to other front axle work.

 

[oregon fj]

Got a decision coming up before long. Do I put in the original jump seats, or the vintage Con-Ferr sand bar? I have the seats and the bar, but they are exclusive, can’t have both in the rig. Would like to decide this before I start welding up all the holes in the tub.

Thoughts?

 

[oregon fj]

The more I dig in, the more confused I get. Why is my tub missing so many holes?

Don’t get me wrong, the original owner was a madman with the drill, there are extra holes all over. But there are holes that should have come from the factory that are missing. Not welded up, they show no signs of ever existing. Things like the holes for the safety strap eyes, or the holes in the inside upper lip of the tub where the jump seats attach. Why would my tub not have any of these holes?

Again, any ideas?