Restoring Hank

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Week-end report. Disk brakes front and back are done, new brake lines all run, and springs re-arched. Started in on the engine, cleaning it up for a thorough inspection. We'll see what kind of work that's going to need, but so far @Mechnizer says "engine is looking pretty solid, has a few small issues, but so far looks like a good runner."

I'll take that good news!

Full set of photos: https://it.thislife.com/XN8kdUDn

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Any more shots of the routing of those brake lines on the axles, and the hard-to-soft line transitions at the calipers? I'm going to be crossing this bridge in the next month - looking for all the info I can get. I've seen a bunch of images but with the axles out of the truck like that I feel like you (or Mechanizer) could get some really clean shots of the routing and bracket mounting points.

What rear disc setup did you go with? If it's the monte-carlo set up, what rear soft lines did you run? Did the calipers have to be ground down at all to allow for proper line clearance?

Sorry - a ton of questions but, as I said, I'm just about to go through this!
 
RWBeringer4x4 said:
Any more shots of the routing of those brake lines on the axles, and the hard-to-soft line transitions at the calipers? I'm going to be crossing this bridge in the next month - looking for all the info I can get. I've seen a bunch of images but with the axles out of the truck like that I feel like you (or Mechanizer) could get some really clean shots of the routing and bracket mounting points.
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Take a look around April 8 here. There are some closer photos of the brake lines at the calipers, albeit a little blurry. I'll see if I can get some better daylight shots.

RWBeringer4x4 said:
What rear disc setup did you go with? If it's the monte-carlo set up, what rear soft lines did you run? Did the calipers have to be ground down at all to allow for proper line clearance?
Click to expand...

It's a kit @Mechnizer is putting together. PM him for more info.
 
RWBeringer4x4 said:
Any more shots of the routing of those brake lines on the axles, and the hard-to-soft line transitions at the calipers? I'm going to be crossing this bridge in the next month - looking for all the info I can get. I've seen a bunch of images but with the axles out of the truck like that I feel like you (or Mechanizer) could get some really clean shots of the routing and bracket mounting points.

What rear disc setup did you go with? If it's the monte-carlo set up, what rear soft lines did you run? Did the calipers have to be ground down at all to allow for proper line clearance?

Sorry - a ton of questions but, as I said, I'm just about to go through this!
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Rick,
Rainman has a thread - he is making brake line sets for people. He's a very detailed graphic designer/tech illustrator that understands how to make it look good instead of just making it "fit." He was frustrated with what he was able to get from SOR and other vendors - complete crap. He did them for his customer's truck, and is doing a set for me.

I'll come back and quote it once I find the link.

EDIT - here: https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/fj40-brake-lines-and-the-potential-source.800737/


...via IH8MUD app
 
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Vae Victus said:
Rick,
Rainman has a thread - he is making brake line sets for people. He's a very detailed graphic designer/tech illustrator that understands how to make it look good instead of just making it "fit." He was frustrated with what he was able to get from SOR and other vendors - complete crap. He did them for his customer's truck, and is doing a set for me.

I'll come back and quote it once I find the link.

EDIT - here: https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/fj40-brake-lines-and-the-potential-source.800737/


...via IH8MUD app
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Thanks, VV, I was more interested in the soft lines running to the calipers, not the hard lines. Rainman has some serious hard line bending skill, but I'm curious to see the banjo bolt set-up for the rear discs (and how any necessary grinding was performed), and how the hard-to-soft mounting tabs were set up.
 
Here are a few shots of SYPD's 40 rear axle and brake parts.

The Banjo hose I use is custom made at Parkers hose, the stock OEM banjo hose can be used but looks
Back yard and is bulky .

I can provide a builders kit which includes just the brackets or a complete kit with everything needed to complete project except hard line.
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sypd said:
. . . ."Who Needs A Road", the story of the longest land journey in history done in, what else, an FJ40 Land Cruiser. There's a Jeep in the story too, but so far all it does is break down.

http://amzn.com/B004CYF8PW
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yup, a fun read - I read it on paper, though :cheers:
 
DSRTRDR said:
yup, a fun read - I read it on paper, though :cheers:
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Aint got nuthin' against the paper, though I do love my Kindle Paperwhite. :)

The author, Harold Stephens, has a small gallery of photos from the journey on his website: http://www.haroldstephens.net/image/tid/20

kruisinkid said:
drop down tailgate just hit ebay if you still were interested...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toyota-FJ40...Parts_Accessories&hash=item2338f6f4e5&vxp=mtr
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Thx. Yeh, seller re-listed it. I was watching the previous listing and the "Buy It Now" was $400. That condition compared to $525 for a Real Steel version, I think I'd choose Real Steel. Any way I go it's not going to be original to this 40, so my thinking is go for the best value.
 
Mechnizer said:
I found David 2 half doors with hinges, local to me here in Phoenix.
But if he would rather have a tailgate !

What say you David ?
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I'm fine with the half doors. Aesthetically they match the soft top.

I do wonder if there's a mounting advantage of one over the other, meaning does mounting a tailgate require more modification to the rear as compared to the half doors?

And I suspect since I'll swap the soft and hard tops on occasion, the half doors work better. If I take off a tailgate and put the ambulance doors on, I then have holes at the bottom of the sill.

Thinking out loud....
 
Living in the Past said:
The barn door required two hinges on each side. Neither line up with the one hinge on the ambulance doors. This why I asked what other have done. TO me the six bolt bolts on the bottom would be a cleaner look. The other thing if your using the stock tire carrier the barn doors will open on the wrong side. With a tailgate you do have to open the tire carrier to drop the tailgate but with the barn doors and soft top it possible to open one door with the tire carrier if opens the opposite door from the tire carrier first. If you plan on having passenger's loading in the back barn doors are nicer particularly if they are adults. If no passenger's a tailgate is a nice place to sit while taking a short break on the trail.
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Ah, if I understand you correctly, you're saying ambulance doors open right side (passenger) first, then left side (driver), but half door / barn doors open left and then right? And this is b/c in the earlier years the tire mount was on the right, and in my year (1978) it is on the left.

Yeh, like you I wonder what others have done here. Anyone?

I'll do some deeper research after I get some more work done.
 
aesthetically, when the ambi doors are on, i would rather see fewer holes in the body/quarters and be ok with extra holes in the sill. i would rather want the dropdown gate. more rare, looks better to me. speaking of the sill/tire carrier, what size tires are you going with? anything over 31 and i would be slapping on a 4+ one anyway or you will eventually tear the quarter panel.
 
If you dont want extra holes and really dont require easy access into the rear, I would go with the bolt on tailgate from Real Steel. But if you do require easy access, and want the cleanest look I would go with a drop down tailgate especially since you have to open your tire carrier no matter what to gain entry. IMO the holes along the bottom are not as noticable as on either side of the opening.
 
I have my tire carrier on the passenger side and my barn doors open left first, then right, so I "technically" can open the left and have access. That being said, with my 33 inch tire on the spare tire carrier, if I want to open the top hatch (which needs to be released before I can open the barn doors), I need to open the tire carrier anyways. This isn't an issue if you run the soft top.

The one down side I haven't seen mentioned previously about the barn/ambulance/tailgate is that the top bolts for my barn doors (clock wise at the 10 and 2 positions) are floating capture nuts that are NOT accessible from inside the cab. The top 2 nuts float in cages that are inside of the inner tub and cannot be accessed without cutting metal out or drilling large bolt size holes. If you're looking for an OE secured setup, that is going to be a pain to re-invent. In my case all 4 bolts and nuts were totally rusted and pretty much unable to be removed.
 
Living in the Past said:
Another custom option would be to use a tailgate but hinge it on one side. Then make a latch that would use the holes for the ambulance doors on the other side. You would have extra holes on the other side but the spare tire would hide those when it closed.

My 79 came had a fixed plate on the back when I bought it. I don't like didn't like not having easy access to the back. It now has a hard top and ambulance door on it. If I wanted to go the fixed panel route I would find a tailgate to use. Flat panels take to much away from what a FJ40 should look like.
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This is brilliant in a "Why didn't I think of this" kind of way. I've been trying to figure out how to use the existing bolt holes to mount a tailgate that is actually mobile. I think I'll do this, when the time comes.
 
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