Builds Project Pikachu: 1977 FJ40

[cbmontgo]

My daughter has a Polariod camera. Snapped this pic this morning after running errands in town.

Pikachu circa late 70s.

 

[cbmontgo]

Ran into town to run to grab chainsaw blades and corn. Came home with a daughter who got to leave school early.

Chloe did not like losing her normal seat for the ride home.

 

[cbmontgo]

A small group of us decided to hit the trails over the weekend. Had too much gear and people to take Pikachu, so we took an FJ Cruiser and a 4Runner. Heck of a weekend though.

We saw several 40s, including one bone stock and totally original one cruising outside of Marble, CO on Hwy 133. Wish I had a pic.

 

[Ackcruisers]

Seeing a 40 in the wild (especially a stock one) for me is like seeing a wolf, owl or black bear.

 

[cbmontgo]

Onto some tech here.

We all know our rigs and exactly how they like to be coaxed to life. Every 2F is just slightly different.

Drove the 40 on Sunday and it took longer than usual to start. Drove it again yesterday and it was even harder to start. Finally fired, but clearly was close to being flooded before it fired over. Now it won't start at all, at least not without spending too much time trying. Clearly something is up.

I pulled the top off of the carburetor and gave everything a quick inspection. Accelerator pump looks good and squirts fuel into the primary, fuel level is correct in the sight glass. It's getting fuel.

Now to spark. I installed and gapped new distributor points today, and no improvement. Checked timing yesterday before engine shutdown and made sure it was set normally.

I'm going to need to check the coil next, I guess. Ih8electrical.

 

[mattressking]

Seeing a 40 in the wild (especially a stock one) for me is like seeing a wolf, owl or black bear.

Time to move west, lol.

 

[cbmontgo]

Well, I set gap on the points wrong. Woke up this morning and it hit me out of nowhere. Went out and made an adjustment and Pikachu fired right up with a touch of the ignition key. One of those moments where I didn't feel too sharp.

In checking the carburetor, I noticed that my accelerator pump boot was dry rotted, so I ordered two of them from City Racer. Gonna put a new one on my '76 as well.

I don't have any cruiser photos to share today, but I did get some fun mountain flying in this week. Love this little bird.

 

[cbmontgo]

Heads up...I was at Tractor Supply on Sunday and they have these mats for $ 15. I snagged one and made a little bed mat with it. Easy to cut and will serve my purpose just fine. The pup doesn't really like to sit on the metal floor, so she'll get a little more luxury now between this and the flannel sleeping bag.

 

[RevISK]

Dang.
Deal for the size.

I use the hades out of various rubber mats. May have to wander on by.

Thanks

 

[cbmontgo]

I was in Chicago this weekend and I'm always trolling the local ads when I travel. Came across this very sad 1978 mustard 40. Caught my eye because it was really original and not quite as destroyed by salt as some of the specimens up there.

Check out the winch setup on the front. Almost looks like a modified Ramsey PTO with a backup electric motor on top.

Always cool to see how every 40 tells a different story. Would love to know the legends that this hulk could tell. Wonder if it took part in some epic hunting trips and times of great camaraderie among buddies in the U.P. of Michigan or Northern Minnesota back in the day. Or maybe just cruising the local farms outside of town. Who knows.

Couple more pics.

 

[Chilkoot]

So when are you coming back with a trailer to get it and start another build? You can save it!

 

[aging fleet]

I don't have any cruiser photos to share today, but I did get some fun mountain flying in this week. Love this little bird.

Bonanza? I took my PPL in an A36 based out of Farmington NM, good times.

 

[cbmontgo]

So when are you coming back with a trailer to get it and start another build? You can save it!

If it was closer, I probably would. Has the original 2F, too.

 

[cbmontgo]

Bonanza? I took my PPL in an A36 based out of Farmington NM, good times.

PA-28-181/Archer II. I've come close to a Bonanza a time or two. The A36 is particularly nice. Sold my Archer I last year and moved to an Archer II. Found this one locally with super low time on the airframe and an impeccable maintenance history and couldn't pass it up.

Sadly, my old Archer crashed at the UT/AZ border three weeks after I sold it in 2023. Luckily the 4 people onboard survived. Was tough to see the photos on the news. Had a lot of good times in this bird...everything from the Rockies to Ole Miss football games.

 

[cbmontgo]

Errands today. Chainsaw parts, gas, rebar, corn. Bring in trash can. 2F running smooth as silk.

 

[Ocho77]

I’ve looked at that ad many times. So tempting.

And have flown a handful of PA’s. Fun little planes.

 

[cbmontgo]

We've had a ton of snow the last couple of months (around 30"), so this 40 has been totally dormant. Decided to fire up the 2F today and spin some gears with the mut.

Dreaming of summer days...

 

[cbmontgo]

Decided to do some car stuff with my son this afternoon and figured we would learn about engine compression testing together. I've never checked it before on this rig.

What do you guys think of these cold test results (adjusted for 9,000 elevation, engine block temperature at 35 degrees)?

Cylinder 1: 141
Cylinder 2: 133
Cylinder 3: 144
Cylinder 4: 130
Cylinder 5: 137
Cylinder 6: 129

Gonna do a hot test later this week.

 

[mattressking]

10% variance between highest and lowest is the ‘wear limit’. You’re good unless you have cooling issues.

 

[charliemeyer007]

Do a wet one with Marvel's Mystery Oil while you are at it.