Build "Scout" the 1977 FJ40

[Honger]

Funny you should ask @EWheeler , I've decided that in a few weeks I'll be putting together a classified ad for Scout. It's been an absolutely beautiful journey but Scout is ready to move on to a new family. PM me or call me if you're interested. I will need to do a little research to figure out a price but feel free to shoot any questions my way. Sad to see it go but we're buying a new home and won't have as much room, plus if I'm honest, it's more sad seeing Scout sit in the garage for months on end... someone needs to drive and appreciate it. Let the next journey begin!!

Cheers,
Adam
206-817-6788

Wow, bummer to hear this, but I get it. Seasons of life come and go. Yours has been a solid build. You found a very solid starting point and you doubled down and gave this truck the 5-star treatment... and did so much yourself. Has been fun to follow along.

 

[77CruiserDog]

I'm back! Took the top off Scout a couple of days ago. Lots of fuel smell, tracked it down to a float level that was too high, also old fuel... addressed the float thanks to Pin Head's video and drove the old gas out of it. Headed out on a loop near Broken Top in Central Oregon where I live now tomorrow. I'll get some pics. Happy to be back and glad I didn't end up selling Scout. It's so great driving this thing after a few years. Taking the top off really makes a big difference... couldn't do that when I lived in Seattle.

 

[77CruiserDog]

Happy Fall

 

[TheHardWay]

Happy Fall
View attachment 4223822

Glad to have you back!

 

[77CruiserDog]

I drove a loop around the base of Broken Top with my wife yesterday. Popped in to the forest service road 4601 at the base of Tumalo Falls then to 370 and came out at Todd Lake. At about mile 10 Scout started idling like garbage. Stopped to bump the idle up and continued on. It was beautiful and we had a picnic at the top/saddle area. Perfect 84 degree sunny day, except the idle.

In the back of my mind I kept thinking I hope I didn't introduce anything to the float bowl by accident when I lowered the float a touch. I got home parked it and thought about it most of the night. I was also concerned it was an intake gasket, that job sucks.

Woke up and danced around the inevitable for a bit, checked torque on intake bolts, looked for vacuum leak with carb cleaner, check plugs, cap, rotor, timing all the usual suspects... I didn't want to take the top of the carb off again because that job also sucks.

Then I used AI to ask a few questions and told it what I'd done and that the idle dropped from 650 smooth to around 450 and was choppy... it even missed as I turned the idle up to 800rpm but smoothed out at around 900rpms. The idle mixture screw had little effect on anything. I could open it wide open 8-10 turns and nothing changed. AI suggested that I take the idle mixture screw out, blow carb cleaner in the idle mixture screw hole and then blow some compressed air through horn of the carb to dislodge debris that might have found it's way in to the idle circuit then blow more air through the hole where the screw came out. I did it, reinstalled the idle mixture screw and it immediately ran perfect, reset the idle speed and idle mixture screw and now I'm a happy camper... I smell like gas but at least I didn't have to take off the top of the carb again.

I'm chuckling at the fact that AI was used to fix a 50 year old vehicle. It came to the conclusion that there was something in the idle circuit in about 4 seconds. There are AI fans and haters, people who are refusing to use it or mistakenly using it for everything without fact checking it. I believe that using it as a tool to assist helped save me hours and I'm nearly certain I would have removed the top of my carb by now only to find after reassembling it that nothing changed. Either way, AI is here to stay and sure it might destroy the world but, at least my FJ40 idles smoothly. Small price to pay.

 

[77CruiserDog]

 

[77CruiserDog]

Annoyingly, the stumbling/overall poor idle quality came back and I suspect the idle circuit is partially plugged up again. I ordered a few things to confirm/help resolve this. Carb cleaner spray, long red spray tubes (rather than the shortish ones that come with the carb cleaner) and a new air nozzle for the compressor with a rubber tip.

• I plan on warming the engine up and making sure it's not just a poorly adjusted idle or idle mixture
• then remove the idle mixture screw, spray carb cleaner through the idle mixture screw hole
• then compressed air and retest

If it's fixed after that I am not convinced it will stay that way. Worried I may have let fuel containing ethanol sit in the carb for a period of time... can't remember what I filled up with a few months back. I'll report back and share the findings.

I also ordered a new factory bumper, mine was damaged when I did the restoration... bent and scratched pretty badly.
I also ordered new exterior door handles as the non-oem one I installed on the passenger door is complete garbage.

More soon!

 

[77CruiserDog]

I feel like I had success in clearing the idle circuit. It now runs perfectly at idle. I removed the idle mixture screw and used compressed air and carb cleaner to blow out whatever it was that was plugging it up. Reinstalled the screw, set the idle mixture and test drove it about 25 miles... smooth as glass. For now I'm going to consider this issue handled.

I also nearly forgot, I brought my wife along for a work trip in Park City a few months back and since we flew into SLC I figured we should go to the Land Cruiser Heritage Museum. It was rad. So many cool rigs and I believe it's what got me motivated to take the top off Scout and begin tinkering around with it again. If you happen to be passing through SLC take a few hours and make the 15 minute voyage out to the museum, it's so fun. My wife really enjoyed it as well.

 

[77CruiserDog]

Over the weekend I drove Scout several times and had zero idle issues. I also added a can of Seafoam to the fuel tank, which should help clean out the fuel system. Whatever the cause, it's running great now and the idle is smooth and consistent.

I also knocked a few items off my punch list to make Scout a better driver.

First up was adjusting the rear drum brakes. I did that yesterday and immediately noticed a difference. It stops smoother and more confidently now, and the front end doesn't dive nearly as much under braking. Clearly, it was overdue.

The adjustment procedure has been covered many times, but for posterity: each of my rear wheels has two adjusters, one in front of the axle and one behind it. To expand the shoes, "row away from the axle." I lifted one rear wheel at a time and used a flathead screwdriver to make the adjustments. Both adjusters needed about a full turn before the shoes lightly contacted the drum. From there, I backed them off roughly 1/8 turn until only a faint scrape remained while spinning the wheel.

Next, I checked the front and rear spring U-bolts and torqued them to 90 ft-lbs. Several, especially on the front axle, needed attention. I've torqued them before, but a recent off-road trip likely allowed everything to settle in a bit.

Later today I plan to check the roll bar/cage mounting bolts to see if I can eliminate a few squeaks and rattles. *UPDATE* The roll bar was tight as a drum, but I found a coolant leak on the passenger side footwell which was hidden by the floor mats... I'll figure this out, it's likely a hose clamp but might be a heater core as well?

However, I also checked the body mounts while I was under there, (which were last touched when I put the body back on after the refresh) and they were all needing some attention. I'm happy I checked them!

I also installed the sun visors. They weren't exactly necessary in Western Washington, but they're proving much more useful here in Central Oregon.

Next on the list is a clutch adjustment. I haven't touched it since reinstalling the body, and I get a little notchiness shifting from first to second. With only about 300 miles on the new transmission and clutch, it's also possible that things are still breaking in.

 

[77CruiserDog]

Adjusted my clutch, it was way off... the pedal height was about 2 cm too high and the free play in the slave cylinder was about 10-15mm vs 3-4mm

Baselining is a helpful practice if nothing else but to get reacquainted after a few years of not really doing much to it.

 

[B y r o n]

Parts wear and adjustments need to be made from time to time.

 

[77CruiserDog]

Parts wear and adjustments need to be made from time to time.

Very true, I also wonder if I was so eager to drive this after doing the refresh that I didn't spend as much time adjusting the clutch properly. All good now though, I'm going to grease some zerks and take it for a spin. Hoping the 1st to 2nd gear notchiness is better or gone.