Operation Olive, My 1975 FJ40 Ground Up Restoration

[broth9640]

Ok one last picture to drool over.

 

[ElHefe]

Looking damn good

 

[Tanker120]

Now that looks good!

Great Job!

 

[cbmontgo]

I am loving it! I almost didn't paint the cover, but I am really glad I did.;p

What paint did you use for that valve cover? Looks great.

 

[antFJ]

What paint did you use for that valve cover? Looks great.

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looks good man.. i love that paint too!

 

[broth9640]

cbmontgo, I used Duplicolor engine enamels to paint the block and valve cover. I don't know the color grey off hand, but it was the only grey they had. The cap didn't say the color name like the black did. I will check it today and see if it has a code or a name. What I did was follow the instructions exactly. I laid down two light coats followed by one medium coat. Waiting ten minutes between coats. After the last coat of paint I waited ten minutes then sprayed 2 light coats of clear followed by a medium coat of clear. Its cold here so I had to heat up the garage with a propane heater. I also used the heater to get the parts up to room temp by blowing the heater directly on them at a close range. Otherwise the metal would have taken all day to heat up. I think shooting cold metal will ruin the paint with runs. Oh and I didn't use the clear on the block. It seemed like semi gloss is actually a high gloss. The can also referenced a duplicolor engine enamel primer. I couldn't find this at my auto parts store, but if you have the time I would see if you can order some. On another note.. It took me three days to clean this thing and I wish it was cleaner when I finally painted it. Pretty squeaky, but I am anal about painting. I used at least 8 cans of brake clean and I also used my metal prep/ paint prep solvent just before spraying. I would wipe it with towels until it wiped clean. Its amazing to me how clean it looked until I would soak it and wipe it again only to find a really dirty towel. If I had the time/Money and knowledge I would have disassembled the whole engine and had the block and parts hot tanked. reassembly is a bit over my head at this point. Probably not that hard, but having never done it I was not going to learn now since I am on a time schedule.

 

[antFJ]

fyi 2 years later and about 6,000 miles and my engine looks the same as it did when i finished painting it.. the paint has held up well (i used the same stuff just with the primer)

 

[broth9640]

That's great! i hope mine holds up as well as yours. I did read a few threads here where most guys doing this didn't use the primer and they didn't have any problems. I really wish I had used it for peace of mind, but..... I am feeling confident that this will hold up longer that the engine will last. It already has 130,000 miles on it and that's if it had a correct odo when I bought it. Can you post a picture of yours? I like to see other engines to get ideas about the other parts on it and what color I will paint them.

 

[antFJ]

here ya go!

 

[broth9640]

Hey ANTFJ, How do you like those headers?Who makes them? Any exhaust leak problems? What manifold gasket do you use with that? Any trouble with cold starts or idling while its cold since you don't have the heat/flap valve that the old manifold had?

 

[fireflyr]

OMG that is nice work. Beer to ya.

 

[antFJ]

Hey ANTFJ, How do you like those headers?Who makes them? Any exhaust leak problems? What manifold gasket do you use with that? Any trouble with cold starts or idling while its cold since you don't have the heat/flap valve that the old manifold had?

man-a-fre ceramic headers with custom exhaust

no cold starting or running issues.. dont even need the choke (i had my carb rebuilt by Jim C which is what I assume gives me such good starting/idling)

no leaks - i used two gaskets with copper sealant (or w/e its called)

the only thing i notice is that the carb fan comes on A LOT after I shut down.. and I imagine that has to do with the headers.

PS - i like them and will be getting them on my next truck.. (worth the $$ to not worry about rust or alightment issues)

 

[alberta mac]

You mention welding ! ''If the weld looks good then it is strong'' as for welding your cruiser, to avoid warping get a wet rag and weld one inch then cool, patience is what will get good results. You can also lay a piece of measuring tape down and mark with a marker where your welds should be , even spacing.
Tig welding is the ultimate but if you only have a mig then put 1/4 inch welds down in all places , grind and weld over top using wet cloth.
1/4 panels are factory 18 ga. so go heavier 18 ga.
Enjoy and have fun ! keep the pics coming !

 

[broth9640]

Alberta mac : body panel welding is already complete, but thanks for the tips. I will try the wet rag trick next time.

 

[broth9640]

no leaks - i used two gaskets with copper sealant (or w/e its called)

the only thing i notice is that the carb fan comes on A LOT after I shut down.. and I imagine that has to do with the headers.

ok two more questions
1. What is W/E
2. Carb Fan? I have heard of these, but I don't think I have one. What exactly does it do and will I need one with headers?

 

[ElHefe]

1. W/E = whatever
2. I run headers without a carb fan. But having one would be nice.

 

[broth9640]

I spent some time fixing the oil galley plug weak point on my Engine head. I drilled it out with a M7 bit and tapped it to M8 and put 2 plugs in the hole with red Thread lock. I stuffed an greased rag down the head bolt hole to stop the shavings from dropping in. Worked like a charm. I had a set of taps, but they are the cheap ones you buy at an auto parts store and they are not the tapered ones. I Went to my local metric bolt supply guy for the M8 plugs and he sells high grade taps too so I just picked one up from him. All in all it was a success!

 

[broth9640]

drilled out and tapped with a M8

 

[broth9640]

A little red lock tight with two plugs screwed in

 

[broth9640]

Better pic.