Builds STPCHLD's rebirth recorded

[Rainman]

Been meaning to start this thread but waited til just before diving into the first wrenching day which begins in the morning.

Over the last couple of weeks I've removed the brake lines from the truck and began creating patterns for complete replacement and found that the front disc swap in the truck was done well until they tried to make the brake lines. Overly creative comes to mind... The best way to learn about a vintage your not familiar with is to take apart a truck that has a mix of old and new(er). I will end up with a hybrid '77 front half of the brake system and '70 rear half. Should be perfect.

In the morning, my future son-in-law is coming over for some "auto mechanic school". He's about to bust to pull his first tranny. We'll be replacing the rear main oil seal, the clutch and pressure plate, pilot bearing, and throwout bearing. Should be straight forward but I doubt I've worked on a 40 without some item throwing in an unnecessary hour somewhere. It'll be good either for bonding or character correcting.
(sidenote) Both he and my daughter can't decide weather to ride away from the barn on their October wedding day in the '32 or 2NCHNC.

I'll begin adding photos after tomorrow's work day.

@Vae Victus, here we go...

 

[TheHardWay]

First to subscribe!

 

[78fj40mg]

Second!

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

The adventures of @Vae Victus and @Rainman continue. Looking forward to it!

 

[Living in the Past]

I assume this is the 3/70 FJ40? Are you keeping the booster and master that were in the 40? I've kicked around the idea of doing this to my 68 for years but mine hasn't been converted to disc so would be starting from scratch. Plan was to use the 76-80 booster and master along with the brakes lines over to the passenger's frame rail. Then use adapter to go to the smaller brake line to the back. Does yours still have the 9MM brakes lines to the back? Do you think that will have any effect on how they will operate? Did you ever get a chance to drive it before tearing into it?

Why do you think 3/70 was a Franken Month for the FJ40s? Never heard that before.

 

[Rainman]

3/70 isn't a Frankentruck, just this one. It does have a late model front end under it. I'll be discussing that in detail in the next couple of weeks. And yes, the truck had all the original 9mm lines everywhere but the front axle and the new master.

 

[Rainman]

Wrench day one down. Had some time to spend at first explaining to John David how the clutch system works. I think he got it.

Pulled everything out all the way to removing the flywheel. Then replaced the pilot bearing and rear main seal. On the way back out came the brand new clutch, pressure plate and throwout bearing. Tearing down found a couple of unfortunate weaklings. The parking brake cable has cracks all in it. I'll guess it works but most likely has internal issues. Will check later. The speedo cable got caught or something as the tranny came out and stripped the guts completely out of its insulator. Not sure if it was completely my fault or busted at the joint. One casualty. Overall I'd say it was a successful afternoon. No busted knuckles or anything. One slightly smarter 22yr old and new parts in the STPCHLD.

 

[Vae Victus]

By the way, this is a truck that Rainman is working on for me while I focus on my frame off on a 1976 truck. I found it by posting a Wanted ad in Craigslist. Great, solid, well cared for truck that needs some updates.

A very nice ex army vet from Clarksville TN, next to Ft Campbell KY, home of the 101st Airborne, sold this to me. It has its quirks and oddities - like the carpeted dash pad, and the half hockey pucks for the gas tank pads - that make Stepchild (STPCHLD - 7 letters for the license plate) what she is.

 

[Vae Victus]

I assume this is the 3/70 FJ40? ... Plan was to use the 76-80 booster and master ....

Only issue is the '76-80 Booster is a serious NLA at the moment. Cardone has been refurbishing a few but reports are that the diaphragm is not being replaced and they are failing.

I'll put the link to the '76 booster thread when I'm at the computer, but there's lots of options for the early ones - you just have to be creative. Rainman is going to try to create a repeatable "kit" solution for this eventually.

 

[Living in the Past]

Here the thread your talking about it https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/1976-1980-fj40-brake-booster-replacement-list.731418/#post-8495531

I hoping I have at least one that is still good. Got a few of these stored away.

 

[Vae Victus]

Dude - that's a lot of parts.

 

[Rainman]

No kidding... There wouldn't be a double fitting for the brake lines in there somewhere would there? You know, the one on the right chassis rail that receives the two lines from the master off the firewall..?

Please?

 

[Vae Victus]

I'm trying to decide how to do a couple of things. Input desired.

1. STPCHLD doesn't have a good seat solution at the moment. Original bench seats are gone. Tool box top is gone too it seems. @Rainman will have to check the existing seats to see if they have a bracket on them - they were somehow mounted to the truck!

If we have a mounting bracket then the decision is easy - get some good seats (Liking some of the Corbeau seats that are not too far from late model stock seats. Add their seat frame and mount to the existing hardware).

But, if no seat mounting solution is found to be with the truck, then what? Will the SOR seat brackets for '73-'75 work?

Long term - who knows, but could go back to a nice oem bench setup if this goes the way of a restore.

2. Tires - I believe I decided to get 4 BFG TA KO New Construction 33x10.5x15s. Can get them local for about $167 each, plus tax, mounting, and other bulls**t. They will remain for now on the wagon wheels, and then I'll get a spare steelie and put the one good BFG on it that exists now. In the future, I can move the 4 tires to original steelies if desired.

3. Yes, I know, 3 is more than a couple, but ... suspension: will for now use the suspension from the '76 FJ40. Springs and Shackles anyway if they are still good. I may need some new shackles as a couple of these were pretty bent up (and you know how I hate that). I'll need to ensure that we are at a 2" lift to get good clearance on the 33" tires. Right????

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

My .02:

1. Seats - Corbeaus are pretty comfortable (so I've heard) but I really like the Scat Procar 90's for a "classic look." definitely less bolstered, but has some nice, old school stitching and shape. They also make brackets that mount to the 40 - although maybe not pre 75...you might have to check that.

2. No input here, aside from that those seem to be the "go-to" tires for these trucks, so I'm sure they'll look great!

3. My understanding is that if your rear fenders are not cut, you'll most likely need 2-2.5 inches of lift to accomodate 33's and not have them scrubbing your fender wells. Even at 2 inches, however, they might scrub under significant flex. If this will be a primarily road driven truck, probably nothing to worry about.

Be careful lifting the whole truck at the shackles. Extending the shackles changes your caster angle. I know when I ran a shackle that was just 3/4" over stock length, it shifted my caster from 1 degree positive, to 0.2 degrees positive. Due to the fact that shackles actually sit at an angle, you generally only get about a 2:1 ratio of lift per length of shackle. In short, you're looking at a 4" OVER STOCK LENGTH shackle to gain 2 inches of lift. That's going to be a mighty long shackle (5-6 inches probably) and result in some mighty negative caster - which in turn will necessitate caster shims.

Spring lifts lift the suspension evenly, and thereby don't cause the same caster issues.

 

[Racer65]

Here the thread your talking about it https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/1976-1980-fj40-brake-booster-replacement-list.731418/#post-8495531

I hoping I have at least one that is still good. Got a few of these stored away.

Now we know why these boosters are getting hard to find. Because they are all in your garage!

 

[KY Longhunter]

I've got the bench seats from a '65 in BG

They are kind of rough but I would let them go ...

 

[Rainman]

KYL,
Does the "30" seat have the lid for the box under it? This truck has only the large tubular rack. No gas tank straps or driver anything.

Also:
Will the original straps go over and hold down a late model tank?

 

[KY Longhunter]

The '65 seat rested on the toolbox lid and hinged on 2 brackets bolted to the tub. These are for sale.

I cut the entire toolbox out of floor pan as I thought I had it sold and then buyer backed out.

The truck had a poly tank in it which I still have ... which is for sale : ) bench seat fit over the poly tank and there was 1 strap on it although if I recall it wasn't completely strapped in.

Maybe some of the "experts" in here can chime in with differences

 

[KY Longhunter]

Pictures

 

[KY Longhunter]