- Thread starter
- #481
If you look closely, I’m actually missing 6 or 8 of them. My plan is to replace these modern acorn nuts with more period correct lug nuts that I’m going to
Build Rescuing a Basket Case '72 FJ40
- Thread starter diesellibrarian
- Start date
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- Thread starter
- #482
It’s so true, haha! Just the other day I found the “to do” list for my FJ62, which has been my daily driver for over two years. There are still 6 or 7 uncompleted items on that list.
- Thread starter
- #483
Made a start on getting the seat mounted. Of course I started with the "easy" side, i.e. the one without a huge fuel tank in the way. I figured that locating the left-hand mounting setup would make it easier to measure and fabricate the right-hand bracketry.
Anyway, I started by doing a bunch of measuring to make sure that the seat was centered right/left etc. and then marked the holes for the front left mounting bracket, which I salvaged from a pile of junk at my local scrap yard. I think it's from a later FJ40. I also made a small reinforcement bracket from a piece of 1/8" bar stock. This will go under the floor to provide additional support to the seat bracket. I welded the nuts on for ease of installation, mostly.
Here's the bracket bolted in place:
Here's the mounting bracket on the underside of the floor pan:
I do like that the mount looks quasi-stock. I'm not trying to make something that the safety inspector might flag as homemade, though that might be a little trickier on the passenger side.
Finally, with the front bracket bolted in place I was able to positively locate the rear bracket. This one is installed using rivnuts, since I don't have access to the underside of the panel.
Hopefully in the next few days I can come up with a solution for the passenger side. Mounting the seat should be the last major bit of work on this truck. Really hoping to be able to get out to the mountains to have some fun with it before winter sets in!
Anyway, I started by doing a bunch of measuring to make sure that the seat was centered right/left etc. and then marked the holes for the front left mounting bracket, which I salvaged from a pile of junk at my local scrap yard. I think it's from a later FJ40. I also made a small reinforcement bracket from a piece of 1/8" bar stock. This will go under the floor to provide additional support to the seat bracket. I welded the nuts on for ease of installation, mostly.
Here's the bracket bolted in place:
Here's the mounting bracket on the underside of the floor pan:
I do like that the mount looks quasi-stock. I'm not trying to make something that the safety inspector might flag as homemade, though that might be a little trickier on the passenger side.
Finally, with the front bracket bolted in place I was able to positively locate the rear bracket. This one is installed using rivnuts, since I don't have access to the underside of the panel.
Hopefully in the next few days I can come up with a solution for the passenger side. Mounting the seat should be the last major bit of work on this truck. Really hoping to be able to get out to the mountains to have some fun with it before winter sets in!
Your rig is looking GREAT
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- #485
One of the items on my "to do" list is to get the fuel gauge working. I've been doing lots of reading here on Mud, and I learned a lot - namely, that gauges and senders are not at all compatible across certain years. The earlier gauges (69-72ish) will not work with a later sender. Since I'd installed a later tank, I figured that I most likely had a later sender. Luckily my crusty original tank was still lying around so I pulled the sender out of it, thinking I could simply reinstall it in my newer tank.
Crusty old tank with older-style sender:
This is what the older-style sender looks like on the underside:
Anyway, long story short: the older senders will NOT fit in a newer tank without modification. The mounting holes are the same, but the hole on the later tanks has a thin metal lip that interferes with the collar on the underside of the sending unit. You can see the differences in the following photos:
Older tank:
Newer tank:
So, I now have the correct sender ready to install, but it won't fit into the tank. After mulling my options, I chose probably the stupidest route, which was to enlarge the mounting hole on the later tank with a half-round file. This actually worked pretty well! I put a magnet on the back side of the file to catch any filings that might otherwise have fallen into the tank. After a few minutes of work, I was able to fit the older-style sender into the hole. I installed it, hooked up the wires, and...the fuel gauge still didn't work - it went straight to the "full" mark.
So, I pulled the sender out and bench-tested the resistance, and it was nowhere near what is specified in the manual. It reads about 30 ohms across the spectrum, whereas it should range from 2.1 - 7 ohms. So, it looks like I went to a lot of trouble to come full circle to where I probably should have started: I'll likely need to reinstall the later sender and replace the fuel gauge in the cluster with a later-type gauge.
I do have one question, though: notwithstanding the out-of-spec resistance on the sender, I am wondering it anyone can confirm that there should be 12v at the yellow/red wire that runs from the gauge to the sender? I was not able to read any voltage on that wire.
Crusty old tank with older-style sender:
This is what the older-style sender looks like on the underside:
Anyway, long story short: the older senders will NOT fit in a newer tank without modification. The mounting holes are the same, but the hole on the later tanks has a thin metal lip that interferes with the collar on the underside of the sending unit. You can see the differences in the following photos:
Older tank:
Newer tank:
So, I now have the correct sender ready to install, but it won't fit into the tank. After mulling my options, I chose probably the stupidest route, which was to enlarge the mounting hole on the later tank with a half-round file. This actually worked pretty well! I put a magnet on the back side of the file to catch any filings that might otherwise have fallen into the tank. After a few minutes of work, I was able to fit the older-style sender into the hole. I installed it, hooked up the wires, and...the fuel gauge still didn't work - it went straight to the "full" mark.
So, I pulled the sender out and bench-tested the resistance, and it was nowhere near what is specified in the manual. It reads about 30 ohms across the spectrum, whereas it should range from 2.1 - 7 ohms. So, it looks like I went to a lot of trouble to come full circle to where I probably should have started: I'll likely need to reinstall the later sender and replace the fuel gauge in the cluster with a later-type gauge.
I do have one question, though: notwithstanding the out-of-spec resistance on the sender, I am wondering it anyone can confirm that there should be 12v at the yellow/red wire that runs from the gauge to the sender? I was not able to read any voltage on that wire.
- Thread starter
- #486
I've been procrastinating on this repair for a while now, partly because I hate doing things twice. When I bought this 40, it had a nasty tear in the right fender. I hammered it back into shape and then welded it up, but unfortunately I got a little aggressive with the grinder and I thinned the metal to the point where it cracked. Lesson learned. Here's the crack in question:
To fix this, I found a small piece of scrap sheet metal to use as a patch. Because of the location of the repair, the patch needed some shaping to get it to fit. I used a ball peen hammer to introduce some stretch to the middle of the patch, and then used my small, crappy English wheel to smooth it out.
I clamped the patch to the fender and marked the outline, then cut it out with a cut-off wheel, using a mill file to get the fit-up nice and tight.
Then I welded it in, ground the welds flush and added some filler. Pretty tricky working with such a dented surface, but I made it work.
After a few coats of primer followed by a couple of thin layers of topcoat, the repair is almost invisible, and the paint blends quite well with the surrounding patina. I used some red Scotchbrite to help blend the old paint with the new.
All in all, not bad for an evening's work, and another item checked off the list.
To fix this, I found a small piece of scrap sheet metal to use as a patch. Because of the location of the repair, the patch needed some shaping to get it to fit. I used a ball peen hammer to introduce some stretch to the middle of the patch, and then used my small, crappy English wheel to smooth it out.
I clamped the patch to the fender and marked the outline, then cut it out with a cut-off wheel, using a mill file to get the fit-up nice and tight.
Then I welded it in, ground the welds flush and added some filler. Pretty tricky working with such a dented surface, but I made it work.
After a few coats of primer followed by a couple of thin layers of topcoat, the repair is almost invisible, and the paint blends quite well with the surrounding patina. I used some red Scotchbrite to help blend the old paint with the new.
All in all, not bad for an evening's work, and another item checked off the list.
72 is somewhere round the change date - does your cluster have the quick release speedo cable and plug in wiring or the earlier threaded speedo and individually wired gauges? If its the later type the fuel gauge will also have 3 nuts securing it - these are the 5 volt gauges and use the later senders and weird things happen trying to read volts across that red/yellow wire.
- Thread starter
- #488
It’s the early thread-on speedo cable cluster.
I just put power across an early gauge - should be 12volts right to the sender. If you short the sender wire to earth the gauge will show full - does take a while for the needle to move, I wouldn't let it go past full.
- Thread starter
- #490
I don't have any pics for this little update, but last night I decided to double-check the clutch adjustment, etc., as shifting is not always the smoothest on this truck. I also remembered that I'd never properly bled the clutch line, so I decided to do that as well. After bleeding the line I went to test the pedal feel, and started hearing a strange knocking sound when I fully depressed the pedal. I decided to remove the inspection cover to see if I could spot what was causing the knock, and sure enough, when I looked up at the clutch assembly, I could see what looked like a nut of some sort resting on the clutch fork. I dug it out to discover that it was actually the clutch fork pivot ball that had come loose somehow.
Great.
Anyway, I proceeded to spend the next two hours trying to find a way to re-install the pivot ball without dropping the transmission. And as it turn out, it is possible! For anyone who finds themselves in this unfortunate situation, you can move the fork outward (i.e. to the left) a little, which opens up enough room to slide the pivot ball in through the clutch fork opening in the side of the bell housing. I used long needle nose pliers to get it close, and then gently maneuvered it into place while threading the mounting bolt in from the back side of the bell housing. Needless to say, I put some Locktite on the threads before reinstalling.
Once the pivot ball was snugged down, I was able to slide the clutch fork back into place, locking the ball behind the retainer tabs on the back side of the fork.
Just thought I'd share my experience with this as I wasn't able to find any other threads talking about how to deal with a dropped pivot ball on an early three-finger clutch.
--
(Actually I will add one pic, but not of the clutch. I managed to get my '71 home, and sitting on reasonable tires as opposed to the 33" Boggers, which I sold for $600 even though they were 16 years old! haha) This truck is in pretty good shape overall and it's going to get its own build thread, which I've already kind of started here.
Great.
Anyway, I proceeded to spend the next two hours trying to find a way to re-install the pivot ball without dropping the transmission. And as it turn out, it is possible! For anyone who finds themselves in this unfortunate situation, you can move the fork outward (i.e. to the left) a little, which opens up enough room to slide the pivot ball in through the clutch fork opening in the side of the bell housing. I used long needle nose pliers to get it close, and then gently maneuvered it into place while threading the mounting bolt in from the back side of the bell housing. Needless to say, I put some Locktite on the threads before reinstalling.
Once the pivot ball was snugged down, I was able to slide the clutch fork back into place, locking the ball behind the retainer tabs on the back side of the fork.
Just thought I'd share my experience with this as I wasn't able to find any other threads talking about how to deal with a dropped pivot ball on an early three-finger clutch.
--
(Actually I will add one pic, but not of the clutch. I managed to get my '71 home, and sitting on reasonable tires as opposed to the 33" Boggers, which I sold for $600 even though they were 16 years old! haha) This truck is in pretty good shape overall and it's going to get its own build thread, which I've already kind of started here.
- Thread starter
- #491
Finally made some progress on getting the bench seat fully mounted. I've had the driver's side sorted for a while, but thanks to the fuel tank, the passenger side has been more of a challenge. But I think I finally got something fabbed up that will do the trick. In the end it was a matter of hacking up a seat mount bracket from a later 40 and welding it back together in a completely different configuration. I was able to use the stock mounting hole in the floor pan, but everything else had to be located. I used nutserts for the rear bracket.
Here's the bracket set in place for a test fit. As you can see, I had to go up and over the tank, and then dogleg to the left about an inch. That allowed me to avoid the various hoses and what not coming off the back of the tank.
For the rear bracket, I made something very similar to what I'd used on the left-hand side:
Just need to hit these with a coat of paint and that's one of the final big items checked off the list! Not gonna lie, I'm really liking the way this Cruiser has turned out!
I currently have it posted for sale at $CDN 11,000, which is probably about $USD 8,500. A few nibbles so far, that's about it. If it doesn't sell, I will continue to work on it until it's fully ready for the road.
Here's the bracket set in place for a test fit. As you can see, I had to go up and over the tank, and then dogleg to the left about an inch. That allowed me to avoid the various hoses and what not coming off the back of the tank.
For the rear bracket, I made something very similar to what I'd used on the left-hand side:
Just need to hit these with a coat of paint and that's one of the final big items checked off the list! Not gonna lie, I'm really liking the way this Cruiser has turned out!
I currently have it posted for sale at $CDN 11,000, which is probably about $USD 8,500. A few nibbles so far, that's about it. If it doesn't sell, I will continue to work on it until it's fully ready for the road.
- Thread starter
- #492
Well no one is buying this 40, so I’ll just keep working on it. I’ve started feeding it immunosuppressants so that it doesn’t reject the GM parts I’ve transplanted in over the past few days (you SBC swap guys know what I’m talking about 
) . In my defense, I did try installing Toyota seat belts, but they just don’t work with my bench seat configuration. So I went to the wrecker and found some lap belts from a square body. It definitely hurts my heart a little bit, but what the hell, they work.
While I was at the wrecking yard, I also had a brainwave that I could maybe find some windshield lock strip. I actually ended up pulling some from that same square body. The GM lock strip cross section is radically different from the Toyota one, but I figured it was worth a try, and lo and behold, it worked great! Toyota had quoted me $80 and a two-week wait for some OE stuff, meanwhile I got seatbelts and strip for $50.
This lock strip tool is amazing. Installing the strip took all of 10 minutes, once I got the technique figured out. Soapy water helps a lot.
I worked late last night and finally got the bench seat fully mounted. I don’t think I’ll have to remove it again, thank gawd. With seat, seatbelts, and windshield fully handled, there aren’t too many items left on my list! Fuel gauge, soft top, a few odds and sods…
That’s all for now!
) . In my defense, I did try installing Toyota seat belts, but they just don’t work with my bench seat configuration. So I went to the wrecker and found some lap belts from a square body. It definitely hurts my heart a little bit, but what the hell, they work. While I was at the wrecking yard, I also had a brainwave that I could maybe find some windshield lock strip. I actually ended up pulling some from that same square body. The GM lock strip cross section is radically different from the Toyota one, but I figured it was worth a try, and lo and behold, it worked great! Toyota had quoted me $80 and a two-week wait for some OE stuff, meanwhile I got seatbelts and strip for $50.
This lock strip tool is amazing. Installing the strip took all of 10 minutes, once I got the technique figured out. Soapy water helps a lot.
I worked late last night and finally got the bench seat fully mounted. I don’t think I’ll have to remove it again, thank gawd. With seat, seatbelts, and windshield fully handled, there aren’t too many items left on my list! Fuel gauge, soft top, a few odds and sods…
That’s all for now!
FloridaLife
SILVER Star
Well no one is buying this 40, so I’ll just keep working on it. I’ve started feeding it immunosuppressants so that it doesn’t reject the GM parts I’ve transplanted in over the past few days (you SBC swap guys know what I’m talking about
View attachment 3995915
While I was at the wrecking yard, I also had a brainwave that I could maybe find some windshield lock strip. I actually ended up pulling some from that same square body. The GM lock strip cross section is radically different from the Toyota one, but I figured it was worth a try, and lo and behold, it worked great! Toyota had quoted me $80 and a two-week wait for some OE stuff, meanwhile I got seatbelts and strip for $50.
This lock strip tool is amazing. Installing the strip took all of 10 minutes, once I got the technique figured out. Soapy water helps a lot.
View attachment 3995924
View attachment 3995925
I worked late last night and finally got the bench seat fully mounted. I don’t think I’ll have to remove it again, thank gawd. With seat, seatbelts, and windshield fully handled, there aren’t too many items left on my list! Fuel gauge, soft top, a few odds and sods…
That’s all for now!
That windshield weatherstrip looks great. ALL of the rubber around all of my glass was bad, so I cut it all out and removed all the glass for the paint & body guys when it was first delivered over there. Your lock strip tool looks a little different than the ones I've seen. What brand is it and/or where did you get it?
- Thread starter
- #494
Thanks! It’s a $15 no-name unit from Princess Auto, aka Canada’s Harbor Freight.
FloridaLife
SILVER Star
Ah, there is a Harbor Freight here so I'll check there. Thanks.
- Thread starter
- #496
Well, we had our first snowfall this weekend, so it seems that winter is just around the corner, and that means strategizing my next move with regard to winter projects. I never did sell the FJ40, so I've decided to tuck it away under my carport for the winter, with my '71 for company. I drove it from the garage to my house, and while I did manage to get it there, it ran quite poorly - lots of misfires and whatnot. I still think there's an electrical gremlin somewhere that's causing voltage drops that affect ignition. I may look at sourcing a new voltage regulator over the winter so that I can install in the spring, and then hopefully get the thing insured and drive it for a few months to work the kinks out before hopefully moving it along to its next sucker owner.
In order to get the 40 into my carport, I had to get the 55 OUT of my carport. I ended up towing it to my buddy's place and parking it next to his garage. I rent half of his garage, and that's where most of my Cruiser work happens anyway.
I've got to say I like the look of those white wagon wheels on the 55. I picked those up recently for a song. They need some cleanup but I think they're a good choice for this truck. Hoping to move the 55 into the shop soon, to start work on bringing it back to life. But first, I promised my brother I'd do some rust and dent repair on his beloved '71 VW bus. He was in town this weekend so we were able to get it all stripped down. It doesn't need a ton of work, but it will probably consume the next couple of months.
All this to say: this thread will probably go silent until spring. Thanks all for following along this far. There will be more adventures ahead, including (hopefully) some pics of my adventures in the 40.
In order to get the 40 into my carport, I had to get the 55 OUT of my carport. I ended up towing it to my buddy's place and parking it next to his garage. I rent half of his garage, and that's where most of my Cruiser work happens anyway.
I've got to say I like the look of those white wagon wheels on the 55. I picked those up recently for a song. They need some cleanup but I think they're a good choice for this truck. Hoping to move the 55 into the shop soon, to start work on bringing it back to life. But first, I promised my brother I'd do some rust and dent repair on his beloved '71 VW bus. He was in town this weekend so we were able to get it all stripped down. It doesn't need a ton of work, but it will probably consume the next couple of months.
All this to say: this thread will probably go silent until spring. Thanks all for following along this far. There will be more adventures ahead, including (hopefully) some pics of my adventures in the 40.
FloridaLife
SILVER Star
Well, we had our first snowfall this weekend, so it seems that winter is just around the corner, and that means strategizing my next move with regard to winter projects. I never did sell the FJ40, so I've decided to tuck it away under my carport for the winter, with my '71 for company. I drove it from the garage to my house, and while I did manage to get it there, it ran quite poorly - lots of misfires and whatnot. I still think there's an electrical gremlin somewhere that's causing voltage drops that affect ignition. I may look at sourcing a new voltage regulator over the winter so that I can install in the spring, and then hopefully get the thing insured and drive it for a few months to work the kinks out before hopefully moving it along to its nextsuckerowner.
View attachment 4010781
In order to get the 40 into my carport, I had to get the 55 OUT of my carport. I ended up towing it to my buddy's place and parking it next to his garage. I rent half of his garage, and that's where most of my Cruiser work happens anyway.
View attachment 4010783
I've got to say I like the look of those white wagon wheels on the 55. I picked those up recently for a song. They need some cleanup but I think they're a good choice for this truck. Hoping to move the 55 into the shop soon, to start work on bringing it back to life. But first, I promised my brother I'd do some rust and dent repair on his beloved '71 VW bus. He was in town this weekend so we were able to get it all stripped down. It doesn't need a ton of work, but it will probably consume the next couple of months.
View attachment 4010786
All this to say: this thread will probably go silent until spring. Thanks all for following along this far. There will be more adventures ahead, including (hopefully) some pics of my adventures in the 40.
It has been great following your handy work.
My grandfather had a VW bus that he drove all over Europe while stationed there in the military. I loved that thing when I was growing up. We would take it to go fishing all the time. It had the swing out safari front windshields, pop up top, wood cabinets & table, and it was super fun. He lived in the country, no traffic, so when I was little he would put me on his lap and let me steer it with that big ole' steering wheel. And, it had a pull out radio, so for all of you that thought those were a new thing in the 1980's, nope, VW had it decades earlier. AM, FM, SW1, and SW2. He would bring it inside and tune it to the station with the atomic clock and set his watch and all the clocks in the house. I wish I had that old bus.