diesellibrarian
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- #221
That's great info, thank you! I can now stop questioning my sanity.
Builds Rescuing a Basket Case '72 FJ40
- Thread starter diesellibrarian
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Happy to help! Here is the manual's confirmation of layout on a RHD unit -
With that said, my early '72 FJ43 has a factory radio cutout under the ash tray, so the manual is not always definitive.
diesellibrarian
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- #223
Thanks! There are definitely a few differences between that manual and my truck: the main one being that my heater controls are in the dash, not mounted below it. It seems that 72 was maybe a transition year for some things, such as the move from column to floor shift. That might explain the fact that the harness has a provision for a 4WD indicator light switch, even though there is no switch?
Yes, if you look at this comparison between LHD and RHD in a brochure you see how different the layout is -
Even so, on my 10/72 FJ40 (Australian spec) it has the throttle cable mounting under the ignition key while the manual shows a dash mounted cable like my earlier 40's.
Then also, in 9/72 a bunch of changes occurred as well which could explain the short LR wires you found (on RHD 40's those wires are long enough and come down to the transmission next to the starter and haphazardly dangle over the 4wd linkage with very little in the form of securing the wires.
I think these are the factory, unused (in my case from new) wires for a 4wd indicator where such is specified -
diesellibrarian
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- #226
Yes, that matches mine exactly. Thanks so much for all your help!
diesellibrarian
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- #227
The Pig has landed in my driveway. I originally saw this rig posted on Kijiji, but dismissed it because it was so far away. However, the price was very attractive, so I started looking at getting it shipped. The seller suggested that I join a Facebook group that connects people who need something shipped with people who hauling an empty trailer. Turns out Facebook is good for something after all! I found a company that would haul it for a reasonable price, as long as I was willing to wait for the next truck that was heading to my area. Not a problem!
Anyway, I've had cars shipped before, but never this kind of distance:
It all worked out great, though. Here's a few pics of the rig. This one will have its own build thread eventually, but for now it'll sit under my carport until the 40 is done.
With shipping, I'm into this thing for just over $CDN 3,000, which is like $USD 2,200 or so. Not bad for a fairly solid/complete FJ55.
Anyway, I've had cars shipped before, but never this kind of distance:
It all worked out great, though. Here's a few pics of the rig. This one will have its own build thread eventually, but for now it'll sit under my carport until the 40 is done.
With shipping, I'm into this thing for just over $CDN 3,000, which is like $USD 2,200 or so. Not bad for a fairly solid/complete FJ55.
damn! You've almost got the whole fleet now! Love it.
diesellibrarian
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- #230
Right?? So funny. I was actually quite worried about sourcing new rear glass, but as it turns out, the glass is there - it's just fully retracted into the tailgate. I assume that it will require a bit of effort to get it working again, but that is the plan, eventually.
You know, for as uniques as that is, I’ve actually seen one similar to that!
diesellibrarian
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- #232
Well, I think I have the electrical pretty much dialed on this truck. I ended up de-looming the whole rear harness, removing extraneous wires and cleaning/repairing connectors before re-wrapping it with tape. Brake/tail/flashers as applicable are now operational on all four corners, which is a big step!
I also did a little more painting (i.e. spray bombing) the rear part of the truck, and installed some of the badges and the rear tire carrier - the latter mostly just to get it out of my way, as it's been rattling around on the floor under and around the truck for months. I've decided to use the OG badges, even though they are pretty rough. I really want this truck to retain as much of its original story as possible, and sadly abuse and neglect are a big part of that story. Hopefully now it can wear these badges with pride! As mentioned earlier in this thread, I've moved the back-up light and badges to the right side of the truck so that they're not hidden by spare tire carrier, which is from a later model.
I think I mentioned earlier that I had stashed away the reverse light lens in a "safe place." Turns out it's so safe that even I don't know where to find it! Hopefully it'll materialize at some point.
Spare tire carrier installed:
Pretty much to the point where there are only two major things to do on the body: cargo floor and seats. I also have a new set of body mounts to install, and a very cracked steering wheel to restore. Then it'll be a front axle rebuild and/or disc brake swap, rear brakes, and steering. Also can't wait to see how it looks on the stock steelies. New goal is to have it done by Christmas.
I also did a little more painting (i.e. spray bombing) the rear part of the truck, and installed some of the badges and the rear tire carrier - the latter mostly just to get it out of my way, as it's been rattling around on the floor under and around the truck for months. I've decided to use the OG badges, even though they are pretty rough. I really want this truck to retain as much of its original story as possible, and sadly abuse and neglect are a big part of that story. Hopefully now it can wear these badges with pride! As mentioned earlier in this thread, I've moved the back-up light and badges to the right side of the truck so that they're not hidden by spare tire carrier, which is from a later model.
I think I mentioned earlier that I had stashed away the reverse light lens in a "safe place." Turns out it's so safe that even I don't know where to find it! Hopefully it'll materialize at some point.
Spare tire carrier installed:
Pretty much to the point where there are only two major things to do on the body: cargo floor and seats. I also have a new set of body mounts to install, and a very cracked steering wheel to restore. Then it'll be a front axle rebuild and/or disc brake swap, rear brakes, and steering. Also can't wait to see how it looks on the stock steelies. New goal is to have it done by Christmas.
@diesellibrarian You had a harness in the rear of your 40? What a luxury! Somebody chopped mine right behind the drivers seat haha.
diesellibrarian
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- #234
Dang, well that sucks! At least it’s only four wires, though. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered such simple wiring.
The front of the harness is incredibly brittle, so I plan on just scratch building a harness anyway. I should spend some time on Coolerman's site going over his stash of repro and NOS connectors to see what I need. I think Toyota still makes the fiber board fuse holders for some years of the 40, and if not, City Racer sells a couple variations. It'll be an undertaking, but less complicated than, say, scratch building a 60 harness. Which I've done for rear portion of a 60...
diesellibrarian
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- #236
Still procrastinating on the floor replacement, this time by installing new poly body mounts all around. I knew I was going to have to do this job eventually, so I've been soaking the old hardware with PB Blaster. I think it helped, but I still broke a few body mount bolts in the removal process.
I'm installing these Daystar poly mounts that I sourced from a "local" (i.e. 600km away) Cruiser shop. I managed to get most of them in without issue, but the manufacturing seems to be a little inconsistent, as there were visible differences in dimension from one mount to the other. On some of them I had to cut away some of the poly at the back of the "throat" of the mount to in order to get the holes to line up. Also, the hardware was a little strange. It's not SAE hardware, but it also didn't fit my 17mm socket very well, meaning that I often had to knock the socket off the bolt with a hammer. Weird.
Here are the mounts. You can see that the molding looks amateurish at best.
How they mount on the truck (in this case, the new rear sill that I'd made:
In the end, I was able to replace all of the body mounts except for the two larger ones at the front: they just spin and spin, and there doesn't seem to be a way to hold the nut that sits on top of the mount. I did find another thread where someone encountered this same problem, and they ended up cutting the bolt with a sawzall, so that's what I'll do as well.
And this is all I have to say about replacing the body mounts on a rusty early 40 series:
Hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend.
I'm installing these Daystar poly mounts that I sourced from a "local" (i.e. 600km away) Cruiser shop. I managed to get most of them in without issue, but the manufacturing seems to be a little inconsistent, as there were visible differences in dimension from one mount to the other. On some of them I had to cut away some of the poly at the back of the "throat" of the mount to in order to get the holes to line up. Also, the hardware was a little strange. It's not SAE hardware, but it also didn't fit my 17mm socket very well, meaning that I often had to knock the socket off the bolt with a hammer. Weird.
Here are the mounts. You can see that the molding looks amateurish at best.
How they mount on the truck (in this case, the new rear sill that I'd made:
In the end, I was able to replace all of the body mounts except for the two larger ones at the front: they just spin and spin, and there doesn't seem to be a way to hold the nut that sits on top of the mount. I did find another thread where someone encountered this same problem, and they ended up cutting the bolt with a sawzall, so that's what I'll do as well.
And this is all I have to say about replacing the body mounts on a rusty early 40 series:
Hope everyone has a great Labor Day weekend.
SC-Cruiser
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Thanks for the honest review of this project.
I have the same project at some point in my future. The last time i replaced a body mount a long time was when I replaced the rear sill in mine and at that time I used an acetylene to burn those suckers out. The burning rubber wasnt so pleasant
diesellibrarian
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- #238
Hi all, looking for some advice on this diff. I’ve never dug into a differential before, and I don’t really know what I’m looking at. There is clearly some physical damage to the ring gear, and some big divots on the differential case that look to me to be the result of a chunk of metal rattling around in the housing. The oil clearly had metal in it, and there were some filings on the drain plug, but no sign of broken pieces of gear etc.
Is this diff assembly toast? Could I use it, and maybe swap it to the front? Is there a surefire way to know if this diff needs rebuilding?
Is this diff assembly toast? Could I use it, and maybe swap it to the front? Is there a surefire way to know if this diff needs rebuilding?
diesellibrarian
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- #239
I’m thinking that this diff is cooked, but I’d be happy for someone to tell me otherwise lol.
pb4ugo
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The notches in the case are from the pinion gear. I wouldn't run it. It's probably cheaper to find a used 3rd member.
