Builds Helga: 1966 FJ40 FST (3 Viewers)

[samc2447]

Any idea who might have them off hand?

Belmetric has a ton of odd metric size bolts and studs. I didn't see a thread pitch listed for the studs you're looking for, but they have studs both in regular and hardened in sizes down to M6 from a quick look.

BelMetric.com - Metric Fasteners & Hardware - https://belmetric.com/

 

[KennyBob]

Look what finally came in!

Discovered my first challenge pretty quickly… Apparently while the mounting flange is really close it’s not quite perfect. Unfortunately, that means I’ll need to clearance the holes a tiny bit on the sniper.

 

[Chuckha62]

Look what finally came in!
View attachment 3047318
Discovered my first challenge pretty quickly… Apparently while the mounting flange is really close it’s not quite perfect. Unfortunately, that means I’ll need to clearance the holes a tiny bit on the sniper.
View attachment 3047323View attachment 3047324View attachment 3047325

Okay, NOW you got my attention. How long ago did you order? I need to get mine coming.

 

[KennyBob]

Okay, NOW you got my attention. How long ago did you order? I need to get mine coming.

I ordered it at the end of May but I noticed that they had an August availability on their website. Actually thought I wouldn’t see mine until then.

 

[KennyBob]

Finally, a little progress to report… I’ve been trying to get back in the garage for a while and life’s been just too crazy lately. Plus it’s hotter than hades (105 yesterday). I somehow managed to get a few hours in and decided to knock out the mounting of the Fitech surge tank and get the Sniper test fit by opening up the holes a bit.

I decided I didn’t want to put anymore holes in the 40 than absolutely necessary. So I decided a bracket bolted to the battery tray was the best option. The space is just about perfect for the surge tank. Mostly because it’s the only open space in the engine bay but also because it’s super close to the mechanical fuel pump and the battery.

It’s not the prettiest thing but it ain’t bad for using what I had laying around and my minimal fabrication skills. Like my buddy said once “grinding and paint make you the welder you ain’t”. Should be beefy enough I think.

A little opening of the holes and the Sniper sits down perfectly on the intake manifold. It looks to be clearing everything around it and the throttle moves without interference. One of the larger challenges will be coming up with something to span the gap between the top of it and the air box. Hopefully something as simple as some pipe will do the trick.

 

[KennyBob]

More pictures of the bracket and surge tank mounted:

 

[KennyBob]

A bit more progress this morning! Was able to get the return line bung installed and started to try to figure out the o2 sensor bung location. Didn’t get very far as I’ll likely need to pull the pipe off the manifold to install it where I want it.

Instead I decided to remove the aftermarket (Ramsey?) PTO drive from the T-case. This is where I’m at a bit of a loss. I’m not sure what the inside of this thing is supposed to look without the PTO. Is there supposed to be a nut keeping the bearing in place?

 

[Goforth]

A bit more progress this morning! Was able to get the return line bung installed and started to try to figure out the o2 sensor bung location. Didn’t get very far as I’ll likely need to pull the pipe off the manifold to install it where I want it.
View attachment 3060643View attachment 3060644View attachment 3060645
Instead I decided to remove the aftermarket (Ramsey?) PTO drive from the T-case. This is where I’m at a bit of a loss. I’m not sure what the inside of this thing is supposed to look without the PTO. Is there supposed to be a nut keeping the bearing in place?View attachment 3060647

Is that O2 sensor for the fuel injection kit?

 

[Krondor]

I believe that is the fuel return bung installed in the fuel neck.

 

[KennyBob]

Is that O2 sensor for the fuel injection kit?

Yes it is. I haven’t installed it yet though. The bung pictured in the filler neck is the fuel return line.

 

[KennyBob]

Tiny update: I got a bit more fuel line and the little 180 degree AN fitting for fuel pump installed. Fuel lines are pretty much run. All that’s left is to connect the return line to the tank after I drop it back in and to connect to the sniper.

I also picked up a bit of larger diameter fuel line to put on the return line bung. I’m thinking it’ll be better to direct the return fuel downward into the tank than not. Not happy with the kink in it but it seems to not be closing shut.

 

[KennyBob]

Was able to sneak a little more time in with the 40 this afternoon and was able to get the o2 sensor bung installed in the exhaust. The location was more of a compromise than I’d like but I think it should work fine. The instructions indicate that it needs to be right after the cylinders merge but also at least 10 degrees above horizontal to let it drain. Well on these cruisers those too conditions don’t happen until several inches down stream when the exhaust takes its first turn. Time will tell if it’ll be a problem or not.

 

[daner]

Nice work!

 

[KennyBob]

Miraculously I was able to hit the 40 punch list again this morning. I think the wife might be thanking me for her new Bronco…

I was able to get both the temp sensor and o2 sensor installed. Had to get a little creative to get the temp sensor to fit and I had to weld up the factory exhaust bracket to get the exhaust back up. But it sure feels good to have some good forward progress. All that’s left on the Sniper is the throttle linkage, vacuum, wiring and connection to air box.

 

[jamaicawwe2]

So I’m guessing the wife unit wasn’t around as you and your engineer-in-training were performing real-time training in the kitchen on the granite countertops.

That pic is priceless and will need to be in her wedding pics for the bridal shower in 20yrs or so .

As far as the carb, who the hell knows? Maybe Mark @65swb45 .

what this?

 

[KennyBob]

what this?

Carburetor rebuild.

 

[KennyBob]

I’m just going to leave this right here…

 

[KennyBob]

Little update: Attached the throttle linkage using the original rods threaded down to the end of the thread on the top rod. Knocked out the stud in the lever on the sniper and opened the hole up just a little bit to fit the pin.

Also got my quick and dirty coupling solution for the air box installed. It should work just fine but I may do something different long term. We’ll see.

 

[tucker74]

Updates!

 

[KennyBob]

Updates!

Right you are! Thanks again @tucker74!

After fiddling with this sniper for a few weeks I think I have finally worked all of the major bugs out. Since the install I still had some stumbling and underwhelming power in general similar to when the carb was on it. This had me pulling out my hair as you can imagine.

Well today I had a big breakthrough and a lot of little things learned along the way. I believe one of the main issues was a clogged oem fuel filter before the mechanical pump. Even though it was brand new it had a lot of crap in it from the tank. The other possible contributor was resetting the timing and disconnecting the vacuum advance. The sniper seems to pull a lot of vacuum at idle which I don’t remember the carb doing.

Anyway, it has never driven as well as it did today. I mean it actually pulled really hard and felt strong. So amazing.

Still tons to do though. Sniper wiring and plumbing cleanup, front axle grease and oil, coolant flush and fill, exhaust, etc, etc.

Just for fun, here’s the obligatory video of it starting up and doing its thing. Sorry for the noisy neighbor kids and shaky video. Only thing I’d like to change is how quick it starts up.