FJ60 #2....Rust Bucket Restoration (1 Viewer)

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I didn’t do a 4” lift kit just went SOA. Moved my rear springs to the front and added a longer OME leaf from Kurt @cruiseroutfit. Bought a set of Chevy 63 springs with overload for the rear, Bilstein 7100 shocks with reservoirs. The 4BT is actually amazing. Sounds like a tractor, no difference from the UPS man pulling into the driveway, except I now have that sound in my 60. The motor mounts I bought really take away any annoying shaking. I think where the 4BT gets a bad wrap is when guys just find one and throw it in whatever and are disappointed. These motors are put in anything from generators, construction equipment and so on. Find one from that was in a vehicle. I bought mine out of a stepvan with the VE pump and turbo. Since tuning the VE pump I’ve changed to a 3200 governor spring and bought the Hungry Diesel fuel pin. Also made adjustments to the pump itself. Small adjustments to the pump can drastically change how the 4BT responds. Trying to balance smoke, fuel, power and mileage. The build was really a long mechanic shop class. I’m not sure I’d do it again as my wife and kids had a few stretches during the “thick” of the build where all I did was work on Snowball❄. It took a lot of time. Once the motor and transmission are in I could drive the 60 but with out the front driveshaft and not on very bumpy roads as the oil pan would dribble the front diff. The SOA took about as long as the motor swap. I wanted mine a daily driver and a wheeler so paid the piper for the best parts I could get. Since disassembling the front axle, I installed a front Harrop E-locker and Chromoly axle shaft. Knuckle Rebuild kit and ARP studs. High steer kit and hydro assist ram, rebuilt the gearbox and tapped for hydro assist. At certain points it’s crazy how much has happened to the 60. My fame is clean and rust free. During the build I cleaned and painted a lot, a bit OCD, but as you can see it paid off. I really enjoy Snowball❄. I fill up at the diesel pump in my 60 and boy do guys come over and see why my Toyota is getting diesel. My advice, talk to your family before doing it. It’s time consuming and costs add up. Have money and don’t do this type of build with a credit card and no money in the bank. Look how many 1/2 done projects end up for sale on Craigslist. Just my $0.02
 
I didn’t do a 4” lift kit just went SOA.....

Wow...thanks for the detailed rundown. Sounds like a project that may be a bit beyond my current skills and capabilities. Sounds like maybe I should go back to looking at the 1HZ’s!
 
Wow...thanks for the detailed rundown. Sounds like a project that may be a bit beyond my current skills and capability. Sounds like maybe I should go back to looking at the 1HZ’s!
I don’t think any of this is beyond anyone’s capability if your willing to do it and have help along the way. The support here on MuD is awesome. I love the fact that I can pull into any podunk town in America and somebody should have parts for a 4/6BT Cummins available.
 
Just curious any thoughts on the Cummins 2.8? I have seen profitts garage in. o seems to be doing a lot of 2.8 swaps this past year. (I know nothing about Diesel engines, I just remember it looked like a pretty well thought out kit.
 
stats i’ve heard are the cummins 2.8 have similar power to a mildly tuned 1hdt. i have a mildly tuned 1hdt in my fj62 and love it. 2.8 engine is new parts are available and adapters are ready to go so might be a good option. otherwise if you want to stick with toyota i love my 1hdt. i haven’t had any troubles finding parts but also haven’t needed a piston or crank. 1hz is good but a turbo is a nice feature and i’ve read the 1hdt head can handle more boost (no expert here though). might be able to tune it for more power.

if i hadn’t already paid a bunch to have my mercedes OM617 rebuild i’d for sure have put a 2.8 in my 40 instead!! they are a nice engine
 
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If you want to go 1hz, come up to Canada and buy a complete truck with one in it. HZJ79’s come up every so often - running, but severely rusted.

If you buy it complete there’s less parts chasing and goofing around
 
Had class again last night and started with the hands-on portion. Made some progress on the rear door I brought in the practice my bodywork skills on.

Stripped it down and prepped it for welding up some holes left by somebody else trying to fix the dents....
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Welded up the couple of holes and pulled the dents. Not terrible for my first try if I say so myself. Access to professional level tools sure makes part this easier!!!
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Had enough time to get the first "tight wipe" on, blocked, made some adjustments, and got a second coat of body filler on. I'll have to wait till the next class to finish it up and get it ready for primer.
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Nice job....your making me what to go enroll!

I would recommend anybody that has a community college that offers night or weekend classes for something like this, DO IT! For 5 weeks I have two 4 hour sessions where I have access to instructors and a teaching shop's worth of professional grade tools. We can do whatever we need to for the car we're working on all the way to priming. Can't do final paint, but the instructors are trying to get the administration to change their mind on that one. All I'd have to do is go buy the paint...BTW, student discount at the shop in town if you're taking the class. Plus, you get to meet and network with some like minded people. Worth every penny so far.
 
Definitely nothing quite like hands on experience and having a professional there to help critique what is going on. Luckily I have a buddy that did fabrication and restoration for a number of years (currently a contract welder) and he came to my house and helped me a lot with different things, learning how to tune the equipment, etc. Then there are the guys on the forum here that have helped out immensely! Can't thank everyone enough and thing is that I really enjoyed welding once I got the hang of things. Been a bit now since I did anything so probably should go out and get some more practice in!
 
Dents are gone and it's smooth and even. Next session will be a quick rub down with some 320 grit, spray the primer and done until I'm ready for final paint. After I get through the whole process on this one, I'll try my best to knock out the others before class ends.

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Finally got to stop sanding and put my hands on a spray gun. Got 2 good coats of primer on the door. Next class I'll smooth it out with some 320 grit and hit it with a final primer coat. I've been learning a lot and having a great time. Looks I might be making some connections in the class that could get me access to enough shop space to actually tackle the rest of the truck. Fingers crossed, because I think this one has a lot of potential!!

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Finally got to stop sanding and put my hands on a spray gun. Got 2 good coats of primer on the door. Next class I'll smooth it out with some 320 grit and hit it with a final primer coat. I've been learning a lot and having a great time. Looks I might be making some connections in the class that could get me access to enough shop space to actually tackle the rest of the truck. Fingers crossed, because I think this one has a lot of potential!!

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Man I wish we were closer, I’d help you put in a 4BT and you help me paint Snowball❄ 😁
 
Totally skipped this part. Before primer I used this gnarly tool to strip off the sealer and look for rust.
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Found some along the bottom edge under the sealer and at the corner.
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Media blasted it out, hit it with some acid, and welded it up.
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After that, plugged the drain holes and poured a rust removal solution in the bottom of the door and let it sit for 2 days. THEN the priming.

It was a lot of work for such a little piece, but hopefully it’ll make it last another 35 years.
 
I had to step away and take a mental break from chasing carb issues on Chloe today, so I went over to #2 and pulled some parts. The entire driver's side looks pretty good so I removed the PS front door and fender. Going to try and get as much accomplished on them as I can in the last 3 class sessions I have.

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Still couldn't get her to fire up, but I think I'm done trying. Pulled the carb to while I was in there. I'm just going to start taking of parts here and there as I can until I'm ready to pull the engine.
 
Well...the fender doesn’t look like it going to be worth the time to try and fix it. Not a problem, got a line on a new one close by. Started stripping down the door though. Hopefully I’ll make it to primer by Thursday.

Added seam sealer to the first door. Fingers crossed I don’t have to do this again for another 35 years!
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A rebuild for what engine?
 
A rebuild for what engine?

The 2F in this truck. Since I don’t really know any of it’s actual history, I’m going to just completely overhaul the whole thing and learn as much as I can. I’d love to do a diesel swap, but realistically it won’t happen until I’m out of the Army, stopped moving around and have my own place to work on my own timeline.
 
The 2F in this truck. Since I don’t really know any of it’s actual history, I’m going to just completely overhaul the whole thing and learn as much as I can. I’d love to do a diesel swap, but realistically it won’t happen until I’m out of the Army, stopped moving around and have my own place to work on my own timeline.

You should just make it run as-is first. It's complete and already in the truck. It looks like it was running fairly recently to me based on the semi-fresh oil seepage. That's a good sign.
I read you are having some ignition switch/key/electrical issues. That's a known issue that you have to deal with, so fix it now. You're going to need to get fuel to the carb on any motor you have in there, so get that sorted now as well. You need a carb (or EFI, whatever) that you know works, so do that now too. That way if you do need to actually tear this motor apart (which I doubt) you don't have three major projects on top of that. One step at a time. Start small and work your way up. Since it seems you are new at projects like this avoid a completely dissembled rig that can become overwhelming and usually ends up taking two years or parted out. I've seen it happen so many times, not only with Land Cruisers
 

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