Builds Project Beach Cruiser | The 1971 FJ40 Patina RestoMod (1 Viewer)

[GRM]

I think its about time to update this thread again. Life got in the way of this project, so it sat from 2010-2013. Then in 2013 I dragged it from a storage yard home.

I thought I could get it together quickly- but that never happens. The 2F I bought ended up having a few minor problems...

 

[GRM]

Then the truck sat again for 2 years before FordFascist bought an FJ60. The recently rebuilt 2f found a new home in my Fj40.

 

[GRM]

I got the engine home to find out that it had the cheapest rebuild possible. It was bored 1mm over, with new rod bearings, but everything else was original, down to the RTV covered gaskets.

With some help from the machine shop at Santa Cruz Auto Parts, Ron from San Francisco Toyota, and my buddy Doug, I installed new cam bearings, rebuilt the 3fe head, and got all new factory Toyota gaskets.

 

[JohnnyC]

That should purrrr much better than that 2F

Don't tell me the 2F you had bought before the owner told you it was running when parked... Or was it an unknown?

 

[GRM]

The owner told me running when parked- but it had some kind of engine issue which caused his wife to stop driving it. Lesson learned- I should have seen the hole in the side of the oil pan and taken the engine to the scrap yard with the rest of the truck, rather than taking it with me through 2 moves.

 

[GRM]

They say the devil is in the details, and in this case, its true. My plan is to get the truck running and driving, then save up again for the paint and body work. But by doing it this way, it means that I have to spend a lot of time on some parts to get them detailed the way I want them. So I have spent the past few days painting the engine, sand blasting rusted parts, and pressure washing off grease. Hopefully I can get through this quickly, as my garage is overrun with parts from 4 engines in my attempt to build this one.

 

[GRM]

I have the worst luck with F engines. I was stripping my 3FE today, hoping to sell the short block, only to find the block is cracked at the motor mount. This means 3 out of the 4 F motors were bad. What gives?

 

[GRM]

In the last few weeks, I've been working on small projects, like sandblasting the thermostat housing and searching the garage for missing engine parts. The 2fe is starting to come back together, with the 2f water pump and 3fe thermostat housing installed.

Based on what I read on here, gates water pumps can leak, so I used indian head sealant on my 2f water pump. Hopefully that keeps it sealed.

Now to get it installed before the neighborhood turkeys move into the 'cruiser.

 

[GRM]

I want to share two of my favorite cleaning tricks I use when working on my '40. The first is cleaning nuts and bolts. I take a bit of wax and grease remover and put it in an old water bottle. Then I let the old bolts soak in the substance overnight. By the morning, grease and dirt is cleaned away, leaving a great surface to add locktite.

The second trick I use on parts that may have moving parts. I simply soak them in biodiesel overnight. These fuel injectors were caked from 30 years of use. After an overnight soak & wipe down, they look (practically) brand new.

 

[DSB345]

Looking good!

I want to share two of my favorite cleaning tricks I use when working on my '40. The first is cleaning nuts and bolts. I take a bit of wax and grease remover and put it in an old water bottle. Then I let the old bolts soak in the substance overnight. By the morning, grease and dirt is cleaned away, leaving a great surface to add locktite.

View attachment 1154666 View attachment 1154665

The second trick I use on parts that may have moving parts. I simply soak them in biodiesel overnight. These fuel injectors were caked from 30 years of use. After an overnight soak & wipe down, they look (practically) brand new.

View attachment 1154664

 

[GRM]

Something I tend to do is hoard gaskets. I'm notorious for buying incomplete gasket sets and putting them into 'inventory'. What that means is I always have 95% of the gaskets for project.

When I can't find the gasket I need, I end up having to make my own gasket. Today I did that for the cold start injector and the idle air control valve. To make a gasket, buy a sheet of gasket material, and rough cut the gasket to size. Then I use my grandfathers old mini ball-peen hammer to 'cut' the gasket. The cut happens from tapping the gasket against the sharp edge of the metal. I've made hundreds of gaskets with this method, and while it takes a little bit of time, its still faster than running to the parts store for one gasket.

 

[Weber Sarge]

Hammering out gaskets was one of the first tricks I was taught as a kid from the old gents I worked with - priceless .
Sarge

 

[Redgrrr]

I want to share two of my favorite cleaning tricks I use when working on my '40. The first is cleaning nuts and bolts. I take a bit of wax and grease remover and put it in an old water bottle. Then I let the old bolts soak in the substance overnight. By the morning, grease and dirt is cleaned away, leaving a great surface to add locktite.

View attachment 1154666 View attachment 1154665

The second trick I use on parts that may have moving parts. I simply soak them in biodiesel overnight. These fuel injectors were caked from 30 years of use. After an overnight soak & wipe down, they look (practically) brand new.

View attachment 1154664

Nice bottle you have there, what year did you attend the Cruiser Classic?

 

[GRM]

Nice bottle you have there, what year did you attend the Cruiser Classic?

I was there in 2008. Man that was a fun time- except for the thunderstorms. They seem to take on a life of their own in the Black Hills. That was one of the most eerie experiences of my life.

 

[Redgrrr]

Haha. Yes the weather here is unique.

Did you enjoy wheelin the hills?
It can be a little hard on stuff.

We had the most 40s I've seen at the classic in years this last summer, come join us again!

 

[GRM]

I really enjoyed wheeling there. I want to go back! The only issue I had was the lack of ground clearance. The FJ Cruiser was too low to the ground for that terrain. Its a spot where my mini truck would really shine.

Hopefully one of these years I can make it back up there.

 

[GRM]

After a lot of hunting, I found the right parts to block off the EGR on the 3fe intake and header. While it was easy to read the instructions on the 21mm plug, finding one was another challenge. Then because I'm running shorty headers, the EGR port is welded into place. So rather than being able to pull the fitting, I had to match the thread of the EGR hose. What I found worked was on the intake I used a Melling MPC-238 expansion plug, then on the header I used a Parker M26-1.5 cap.

 

[steffan]

What headers are those?

 

[GRM]

What headers are those?

I believe they are Man-A-Fre headers. I grabbed them out of a scrap pile 4 years ago, so that's only my best guess.

 

[GRM]

Rather than get the engine done, I made a junk yard run. I now have IFS hubs (which are getting traded to FordFascist for his FJ60 hubs), a steering shaft for my FJ60 steering box swap, a 2wd V6 dual diaphragm brake booster (with factory spacer to get it off of the firewall!) and FZJ80 master cylinder.
That poor old Toyota will breathe life into another.