Project Patina 1964 FJ45 (Australia)

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and so i tinkered along and the drum of crushed beer cans slowly filled up. i sourced a swivel bearing kit and rebuilt the front axle. the mounting blocks on the front housing (where the diff housing bolts above the springs) were badly distorted with swelling rust so i pulled the housing and with heat, hammers, dollys grinder and anvil got them pretty straight and clean. i replaced the housing with a liberal dose of tar between the mating surfaces, something i do on all spring replacements and the like on all my work utes now. one swivel block had a number of snapped studs and one spindle (or stub axle we sometimes call it) was missing the axle bushing but parts wreck number one came up with the goods. with the cleanest set of used wheel bearings she was rolling again. another shopping bag of goodies and i turned my attention to the hydraulics.
 
The next time my wife and I make it to AU I would love to see your Cruisers. This is the reason I love Cruisers and what that are all about.
 
the brakes were a seized up shambles and took a bit of tidying up but with careful use of a little heat i managed to get everything apart without damage. i also went over the whole vehicle with heat and undid every brakeline fitting, then reconnected with a little anti seize for ease of future work. i sacrificed an old union bolt, this is the bolt with the hollow core that attaches the brake line to the wheel cylinder. i cut this down then carefully welded a grease nipple to the back of it. after soaking the wheel cylinders in diesel or penetrant for a couple days then using this tool with a pneumatic grease gun i was able to easily get the old seized wheel cylinders apart. i have mentioned this elsewhere i know but it works really well. there is a left and right wheel cylinder from memory, some were on the wrong side and many were unserviceable but after a lot of cleaning, honing and raiding of my parts wrecks i had it all sorted. a friend had a new set of shoes and clean drums that the previous owner of his station had left behind and he gave me these. original master cylinders with the tin cups were honed and kitted and we had brakes. did something with the clutch slave but i forget. all this activity was evidenced by a distinct rising tide in the beer can drum. i will also mention that about the ime of the horse scaring first test drives we found the clutch plate stuck on its spline but this was sorted with some crc a long drift and hammer.
 
anybody visitors, international or otherwise, that wish to drink a few beers and natter about old cruisers are welcome here. i am near a little goldmining town called mount magnet on the west side about 6 hour drive north of perth. not as remote as things get but certainly a little out of the way.
 
about this time i turned my attention to the gearbox. the 4wd lever was absolutely stuck fast on its shaft and the lever was bent right back on itself from people trying to engage 4wd, presumably before the axles were removed. i pulled the gearbox and was surprised at the amount of heat and effort it took to remove the offending piece. replaced it with later model that has a grease nipple. here the original

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the lid of the box was also badly flogged out around the 2 pins that locate the gearstick. replaced the top of the box from another old donor i had. gave the box a rough visual inspection and rudimentary clean and replaced the trio of input and output seals. the clutch plate was on its last legs but i found a nos plate among the accumalated treasure in the shed from years past. so it sat for a year or so until one day my mate moose got sick of the lack of progress and slapped the box back in when i wasn't home. at some point i must have been feeling extremely rich and took the seats to the city to be retrimmed at great expense to the management! this cost about $750-800 from memory but i am very happy with the work. now i was financially committed to the project! here's a before and after of the seats

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so i still have plenty to learn about photo orientation haha. anyways you get the idea it absolutely makes all the difference. enter parts wreck number two

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this old toyota i discovered over near the coast again (3 or 4 hours away) about 5 miles from my sisters small farm where it had been sitting for many years. it is in a lot worse condition than it looks in this photo and was parked with a newer and even rougher specimen. we haggled and settled on $300; the deal being that i had to remove both wrecks from the owners property. with some tyres, a battery and a little tinkering to rig a gravity syphon fuel tank of sorts it started and i drove it without clutch or brakes the 5 miles to my sisters where it sat to her well disguised pleasure for at least 6 months until i found the time to retrieve it. in the meantime i loaded the ugly one on my trailer and dragged it home. here is a pic of sample chassis rust on this parts wreck number two and a pic of the other wreck which doesn't feature again in this particular story.

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meanwhile back to project patina. i replaced the rear axle seals and gave the rear diff a quick look; all seems fine. i pulled the pinions on both diffs and replaced the seals. both pinions were badly grooved and both were missing the stone guard/ seal protector. i find these are mostly smashed off old toyotas from my area. parts wreck number two donated the pinions. i purchased new handbrake shoes and fitted the handbrake cable salvaged from parts wreck two followed by the speedo cable. both handbrake and speedo cables were long since torn from project patina. the beercan bin was really starting to fill up! but things were slowly coming together. my father kept reminding me that if i didn't hurry up it would be time to start with all the brake hydraulics again haha. i wish i had more pictures from these times. here a look at one of the pinion seals i replaced.
 
it was about this time that i discovered mud and the wealth of information enfolded there. up until now i had just been pottering along alone in the desert. i had been wondering for some time what to do about the red fiber terminal blocks on the fender behind each headlight. mine were all pretty much rotted away to nothing it seems they cant cope with 50 years of constant head. i asked a question or two on mud about replacement options and was amazed to learn they were still available oem from toyota. the idea that such old parts may still be available genuine simply hadn't occurred to me! at about $40 each my toyota shop ordered some special order from japan. i bought 2 sets. then checked the can bin for room. with the seats as well i was now over my head with financial commitment to this project. i stumbled into the wiring side of things.

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the one surviving original koito headlight i put away for safekeeping and found something more generic among my junk. i had never heard of koito before mud. there seems to be an earlier and later script i think mine the earlier variety though i not sure. the original engine bay wiring was remarkably intact. wiring is never my strong point but i installed my new terminal blocks and got all the appropriate power to both of them. i am yet to bother with the final leg out to the indicators and parklights though the parts wrecks provided some old faded lenses that filled the holes and made things look presentable. the front indicator setup seems very poorly designed with the original wires running through the wheel arch; mine all long torn away of course. i spent a lot of time under the dash cleaning connections and wondered why i did not do this before i reinstalled the gearbox and trans hump! the original taillight harness is torn to threads as soon as it leaves the engine bay; i pulled this and haven't dealt with it yet. here a pic of the haystring (baletwine) that holds the left indicator tight. i have no plans to change it
 
gradually i got the dashlights, cablight, horn and wipers working. i had to dissassemble the TNK wiper units, clean and lubricate them. one had a bent wiper shaft where it had been solidly swiped with a branch. as normal here the original wiper arms have long since been smashed off and i yet to find replacements. bent wiper arm

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anyway mud punters i better close for today. hope this of some amusement to you; its been great computer and camera practice for me. i mentioned at the top of the thread i swapped an old yamaha motorbike for project patina and a hr holden ute. here is a picture of the holden as it sits today. we have had this driving and stopping but haven't started it in a couple of years. its main outing was beery backroads to an australia day party where we were instructed to 'bring something australian' so we turned up in this. a solid if bit dented old survivor, seen here from her worst angle

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Cool, the HR is the only Holden I'd own.
 
This is a fantastic story. I have enjoyed it immensely. I will be following this one.
 
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