Rebuilding 73 Trail Rig (1 Viewer)

[NicksFJ40]

I have been tinkering with my "73" FJ40 since I purchased it around 2000. A prior owner replaced the three speed with a four speed. I Started with Man-A-Fre's, Willwood front disc brakes kit when I was jerked into the opposite lane while braking. Then came the 3" Hell Creek lift, swapped out the old Warn Belleview with an 8274. Then I got serious and installed sliders and front and rear ARB lockers. My goal was to try to keep the 40 OEM looking but trail worthy.

After wheeling a couple years with the So Cal Land Cruisers, I started to see bubbling under the paint, I figured Ill just repair those spots, n big deal.... Soon after, the crank on my F motor sheered. At that point, I decided to go all out (circa 2014). Four years later.....I'm still at it but I'm cooking with gas now. I'll be posting up pics as I went and continue with the rebuilding, hope they help others as the builds I have watched help me.

I would like to thank everyone from So Cal Land Cruisers, especially Jim Dickey (RIP 11/2018), of J. D. Land Cruisers. He was one of the mot generous people I have met in the Land Cruiser family and he taught me soooooo much. Here are a couple pics before I went crazy.

Sheered Crank.

 

[NicksFJ40]

I purchased a "rebuilt 2F", I figured I could just slide it right in and go. Nope, Jim suggested we remove the oil pan for a little inspection, the rust he saw under the cylinders didn't look good. After removing the head.

After time and $$...

 

[RustyRanger]

Ooof that rust. My F was sitting for 20 years with coolant water in the cylinder and it wasn't even quite that bad.

 

[NicksFJ40]

It was pretty disappointing. Couldn't believe how much water was in the cylinder.

 

[middlecalf]

Any thoughts on cause of crank shear?

 

[FJBen]

"rebuilt" yeah I've come to learn thats an interesting term. The head and con-rods were "rebuilt" by a shop on my rig before I bought it. I'm now having those parts rebuilt because they were even usable to install. The PO got taken by a crappy "rebuild"

 

[NicksFJ40]

The only thing I can think of was helping a club member move his trailer that was stuck in the sand. The odd thing is that I drove the 40 for another week or two with out any issue. I started to hear/feel clunking.

 

[cbmontgo]

Great looking 40. Looking forward to seeing it back on the road.

 

[B y r o n]

Adding AC too I see, I'm jealous.

 

[NicksFJ40]

No AC, Thats my York on board air. After installing the 2F, I tested it at Surf N Turf. The 40 really moved up the sand dunes.

Now that the 40 is running smooth, I figured I would cut out some rust, no big deal. Once I started wire brushing off the paint, I found bondo and then a big dent. next thing I know, Im replacing panels.

 

[NicksFJ40]

Removed the rear sill, it was pretty bad.

After cutting, I realized my cut was too short. Ooops, luckily for me, Jim D had a couple donor 40's, so I removed the top porshion.

You can see in the bottom pic, I used an off-set tool on the top portion of the new panel. The top piece was cut a tad longer to make up for the difference. I also used weldable POR 15 in the areas that will be sealed up. All my panels came from COT.

 

[65swb45]

Sorry to hear about Jim Dickey.

 

[NicksFJ40]

He will be missed.

 

[NicksFJ40]

Driverside tacked in.

 

[JohnnyC]

Not a single “my FJ” you DID learn for a great cruiserhead in Jim Dickey

As much work as it seems you look like your very competent to finish it up really well

Wish I had 1/2 the skills most of you guys have in rebuilding lol

My brain is filled with useless stuff that I’ll never use on jeopardy

Look forward to seeing more !!

Btw love the old kayline fst replacement top... miss that company... not too many were that color ... special order was anything other then black or white

 

[NicksFJ40]

I agree, there are some really skilled guys here on Mud. Unfortunatley my top will need to be replaced, It has dried up and shrunk. So I'll be in the market for a canvas top and the rear bows.

I pulled off the bed cap on the passenger side so that I could clean and POR 15 the channel are before installing the fender panel.

Before installing the passenger panel, I cleaned up and installed a donor fuel door.

 

[NicksFJ40]

You can see in the top left corner of the marker light, I got the metal too hot (I think), which caused the metal to bow out. Recently I was able to straighten it with a sheet metal hammer and dolly.

 

[NicksFJ40]

Back side of Aux fuel compartment.

Main fuel compartment.

 

[NicksFJ40]

Pic of the warped area.

 

[Martyt]

Nice work! Funny (or maybe not so funny) how one issue can beget (or reveal) another issue—- sometimes willful blindness is not such a bad thing (unless you have to deal with a sheared crank of course)