Builds Ryan’s 40 AKA "Bandit"

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My 72 (oct71) 40 had the lines to the middle seat back. I think it was from CA. When I swapped to some buckets I must have capped those lines off. That was forever ago, I can't really recall.
 
Notched a few wins yesterday. My gas tank and radiator are back from the shop. You can see where they had to plug some holes. Hopefully there won’t be any issues going forward with it.

I also finally got my oil pan off. This thing put up a good fight! Thankfully, the grease is scraping off pretty easily. I only wish it was this easy to clean up my transmission and tcase.

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Notched a few wins yesterday. My gas tank and radiator are back from the shop. You can see where they had to plug some holes. Hopefully there won’t be any issues going forward with it.

I also finally got my oil pan off. This thing put up a good fight! Thankfully, the grease is scraping off pretty easily. I only wish it was this easy to clean up my transmission and tcase.

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Great job!
 
I’ve been MIA for a little on the project. Partly because my family and I took a trip to Moab for spring break and partly because I’m just unmotivated. Work is pretty stressful right now, so when I get home the last thing I want to do is work some more. However, I’m pushing through this weekend and getting some work done.

First thing is I got an ultrasonic cleaner from my dad. He bought this years ago to clean gun parts but never even opened it. I threw in my oil pan bolts last night and I’m really impressed. The bolts were caked in grease, so I started by soaking them in degreaser for several days. I wiped off what was left, threw them in the ultrasonic and this is how they came out. A little left in the threads but other than that, they look great!

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I’ve also been working on removing my old oil pan gasket. I almost wish I had never removed it because this was a giant pain in the ass. My gasket was really stuck on there and it’s taken a lot of work to get it all off. I have some little remnants left on the ends but I’m starting to dry fit my gasket onto the pan. This gap has me worried. I’ve tried straightening out the flange, but I’m having trouble getting the end flat with what I have to work with. Will tightening up the pan onto the block flatten this out enough to seal?

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Of course, I have to throw in some pictures of our trip to Moab. What an awesome place! We didn’t do anything crazy technical. The first day we were there, we did Chicken Corners. Awesome trail! The actual Chicken Corners portion of the trail was a little rough for my kids’ liking but they survived. We also hit up Canyon Lands and Arches National Parks. Pictures can’t do the beauty justice. We ended up having to stay an extra night due to a storm moving through the Colorado mountains the night before our planned trip home. None of us were complaining though! We finished the trip with a drive along Potash Road/Shafer Trail. The switchbacks going up the cliff side on Shafer Trail into Canyonlands was amazing!

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And one of my favorite parts of the trip was seeing this place. Apparently, Navtec is the oldest expedition company in Moab? At least that’s what I heard. I counted 18 Land Cruisers on their lot.

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That is such an epic place. It’s crazy to see how much the town has developed since 2017.

I’d run the gasket with a dab of silicone on each side of the gasket at the corners.
That’s the plan. I’ve flattened the flange about as much as I can. I ordered some snap ups but they didn’t get here early enough today for me to install the pan. Hopefully, I’ll have it installed in the next couple of days. After that, I can run the engine and check for leaks
 
Got a lot done this weekend. It felt good to scratch a few things off the list. I was sort of dead in the water on my oil pan until I could flatten out the flange. I took a break from that and decided to create a little more floor space in my garage by installing my 4plus tire carrier. This thing is very well made and I’m glad I was able to grab one before he retires. I just need to finish wiring up the new light. Has anyone done this? How did you route your wiring?

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I spent today looking over the oil pan with my dad and working on flattening it out. I also replaced the rear main seal while I’m waiting on some snap ups to be delivered to help with the oil pan install.

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I got around to installing the oil pan last night. I was really intimidated by this considering my deformed pan, but I think it turned out great. I didn’t think it was as bad as some people have said, either. I grabbed some Snap-Ups and started by dry fitting everything to make sure it all lined up correctly. I’m glad I did this because I ended up choosing a different bolt hole location to install the snap ups in after dry fitting.

After dry fitting, I added some black FIPG to the corners of the top of the gasket and installed it on the snap ups first. Then, I added black FIPG to the corners of the oil pan. I let it sit for around 15-20 minutes and then installed the pan on the snap ups. I initially had trouble threading in the bolts, so I grabbed my jack and put a little bit of pressure on the pan to lift it a little. From there, it was a breeze. I hand tightened all the bolts and then worked by way from the middle out torquing them all to 86 INCH lbs.

Only time will tell, but fingers crossed there’s no leaks when I finally add fluids back into the truck and get it running again.

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This post is mostly just for me to reference where I'm at in my timeline, so here's an update:

I finally pulled the trigger on my new suspension kit. I went with everything in the Dobinson's kit except the shocks because I have brand new shocks on it already. I ultimately decided on the heavy springs from Dobinson due to the fact that I have the winch up front and just added the 4Plus tire carrier/cooler combo to the rear. I believe @Flatlanderfj40 has this same setup and says the ride is great. Some of the parts are on back order, so I have no idea when they'll arrive, but I can't wait!

In the meantime, I have lots of projects to finish on the 40. I just got the oil pan installed this week. Up next is getting my new water pump from Cruiser Cult and installing it along with a new thermostat and timing cover gasket. I also pulled the carb last night for a much needed cleaning.

Once those projects are finished, I think I can start putting everything back together and adding fluids. I plan to run the engine before installing my clutch, transmission, and t-case so I can check for leaks while everything's out.

One other big project I need to do is the rear differential. There's plenty of backlash and I suspect it needs rebuilt, but I'll start investigating that soon enough.
 
Check the military wrap measurement on the springs. Apparently there is a bad batch going out. I got alerted by Ian @RevISK of this.

They should be around 55 mm - he got some that were 65 mm. I'll stop there in case he wants to chime in on his experience.

I went with mediums - sometimes I don't know why not heavy and remove a spring if too stiff - I like to do things difficult. (mine is more time on the road than off - goal is my tractor to go faster than the tractors mowing ditch weed around here).

@Flatlanderfj40/ - you taking your 40 to SAS this year? Would love to compare the med to heavy - I too have the 4plus back and bull bar front with a winch. (I might be in your neck of the woods (Leawood) later this spring to help build and install a 4runner engine. Maybe drive Yellr down if I have the suspension and all that on and compare rides??

Pict of the military wrap...
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Check the military wrap measurement on the springs. Apparently there is a bad batch going out. I got alerted by Ian @RevISK of this.

They should be around 55 mm - he got some that were 65 mm. I'll stop there in case he wants to chime in on his experience.

I went with mediums - sometimes I don't know why not heavy and remove a spring if too stiff - I like to do things difficult. (mine is more time on the road than off - goal is my tractor to go faster than the tractors mowing ditch weed around here).

@Flatlanderfj40/ - you taking your 40 to SAS this year? Would love to compare the med to heavy - I too have the 4plus back and bull bar front with a winch. (I might be in your neck of the woods (Leawood) later this spring to help build and install a 4runner engine. Maybe drive Yellr down if I have the suspension and all that on and compare rides??

Pict of the military wrap...
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I’ll have the 40 there. I had originally planned on the medium kit but @Polecat recieved the heavy/incorrect fronts for his 43… I ended up using them and hollering @crikeymike for the rest. Glad I did. Silky smooth and much more responsive off-road. Hit me up when you come to KC.
 
I’ll have the 40 there. I had originally planned on the medium kit but @Polecat recieved the heavy/incorrect fronts for his 43… I ended up using them and hollering @crikeymike for the rest. Glad I did. Silky smooth and much more responsive off-road. Hit me up when you come to KC.
I will - also - Friend Mark (Red 40 I call Ketchup on my thread) there in Leawood - we are thinking Tuttle Creek on a weekend in June - still sketchy with details and if we will really go - but we are talking about it if you're interested. Will DM or put on my thread.

Sorry Ryan - was easier to reply - back to your 40!
 
Check the military wrap measurement on the springs. Apparently there is a bad batch going out. I got alerted by Ian @RevISK of this.

They should be around 55 mm - he got some that were 65 mm. I'll stop there in case he wants to chime in on his experience.

I went with mediums - sometimes I don't know why not heavy and remove a spring if too stiff - I like to do things difficult. (mine is more time on the road than off - goal is my tractor to go faster than the tractors mowing ditch weed around here).

@Flatlanderfj40/ - you taking your 40 to SAS this year? Would love to compare the med to heavy - I too have the 4plus back and bull bar front with a winch. (I might be in your neck of the woods (Leawood) later this spring to help build and install a 4runner engine. Maybe drive Yellr down if I have the suspension and all that on and compare rides??

Pict of the military wrap...
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@Flatlanderfj40 this shouldn't apply to your year, but @OlYellr and I both have crossover year trucks. 1/80 for him and 4/80 for me. Some stuff changed in 8/80 and the suspension was one. My case is weird and still pisses me off so I really don't want to talk about it too much. However, yes, the wraps on mine were oversize by a few mm's (confirmed by Dobinson's).
It is worth double checking prior to installation, but don't expect anyone to do anything about it.
 
A couple of pictures from the disassembly of the carb. I ran the top cover for 3 10 minute cycles in my ultrasonic cleaner but I’m not too impressed with the results. I plan on grabbing a can of carb dip tomorrow to let it soak and see how that goes. Gotta appreciate @Pin_Head for his videos on how to rebuild these things!

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Thermostat, new reman water pump, and timing cover are all back on. Belts and hoses are next. I'm so excited to be putting it all back together. I can't wait to hear this thing run again!

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scooting right along! its looking great! Do you rock a warn 8274? I am thinking of getting one of those for mine.
 
Lots of progress, but I’ve been forgetting to update my build thread lately. I got the carburetor rebuilt last week and bolted on. Now I’m putting everything back together in anticipation of refilling fluids and firing the engine again. I ordered some new exhaust pipe studs and vacuum line but just realized that my VSV has a broken port. I’m wondering if anyone has any advice on how to best deal with this?

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