Builds Sweet Caroline: 1977 FJ40 Build

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Looks pretty good now, but you'll want to pull those doors off to glue weatherstripping on. Good practice!
 
Looks pretty good now, but you'll want to pull those doors off to glue weatherstripping on. Good practice!
Speaking of taking off the doors. I was wondering if you take the top of your truck off ever. I've heard it can be a pain. I have a friend that said it might cause the body of the car to shift thus causing it to rattle when you put the top back on. Any thoughts?
 
You have a California spec 77. The black tag under the hood with white lettering is a tell tale. Fed spec had white with black letters. That fan is correct for a California spec of that year (76-78 I think, 76 and 77 for sure), but should be thermostatically controlled with a temp sensor on the carb, not switch in cab. There are some other differences like carb and exhaust manifold. Good luck with it.

I have an oct. 76 federal which is a 77.
 
Last spring I removed the cap (roof), front and rear doors and sides, complete disassembly. Drove around with bikini top through end of fall and LOVED IT. Before I put the hardtop back I installed a new headliner my wife sewed up, cleaned and compounded in and outside paint, put it all back together and am VERY happy with how much the noise from rattling doors I eliminated. Cap lifts off after bolts are removed. I used 2x4s as a ramp to slide the cap off the backside. Sides lift off after bolts are removed. One man can carry each piece by himself. My wife helped lift to reinstall cap, just to get it back on the ramp. Not that hard, actually!
 
Last spring I removed the cap (roof), front and rear doors and sides, complete disassembly. Drove around with bikini top through end of fall and LOVED IT. Before I put the hardtop back I installed a new headliner my wife sewed up, cleaned and compounded in and outside paint, put it all back together and am VERY happy with how much the noise from rattling doors I eliminated. Cap lifts off after bolts are removed. I used 2x4s as a ramp to slide the cap off the backside. Sides lift off after bolts are removed. One man can carry each piece by himself. My wife helped lift to reinstall cap, just to get it back on the ramp. Not that hard, actually!
That sounds great. I hope to take the roof off in the summer. So how exactly did you eliminate door rattle?
 
Factory Service Manual has a body section that shows how to adjust front and Amby doors. Do you have the Amby door latches, top and bottom, in the driver side door? Mine was missing the bottom, found a replacement in Mud classifieds. Weatherstripping and correctly adjusted doors (with ALL the latch parts) will take care of almost all those annoying rattles.
 
Here are the factory dash knobs for a '77: where you cig lighter is is supposed to be a plug.
attachment.php


The little red indicator to the lower left of the steering wheel is factory.

I would replace those brake hoses. You can't put a price on safety and they aren't expensive.

Shaky brakes are probably warped rotors/drums. Easy enough to take in and have turned, cheap enough to replace with new as well.
 
Last edited:
Yup that fan is Cali spec... Keep the pics coming... Also the top have a rear side vent ?...
 
Never mind went back to look closer at the pic ... So small on the phone lol... And see the vents and those started in 77
 
Being from AZ the old owner may have added it from a Cali spec car or the the temp switch went out and he modded it ... The tag say anything about Cali ??
 
If your looking for brake lines there's a member on here or maybe it's a couple members who are currently reproducing the brake lines and using high quality materials. They are on my list of things to get once I finish house buying stuff. I'll go look at the names of the person and edit this when I find it.
https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/rainmans-brake-lines-llc.800737/

Looks like you got a great starting point with the vehicle and you found this place which can turn you to an expert on these if you read around. As so many have gone through these and written advice on here.
My guess is something went out on the carb fans original wiring and a previous owner just put it to a switch to turn on manually. I've read in hot climates it helps keep fuel from getting to hot in the carb like the posters ahead of me mentioned.

Be warned they are like puppy's they get attention in public and you start thinking that you need more than one so they don't get lonely
 
Last edited:
Update (Day 2)
Picked her up from the shop today after she got some 31/10.5/R15 KM2's. Later I put a new door handle on the driver side. (Sorry for poor quality photos, had to take them on my phone)That's about it for today, check back soon...
20150216_164538.webp
20150216_164548.webp
20150216_164606.webp
20150216_164628.webp

20150216_173934.webp
 
I seem to be missing the fan pull button on my dash. I was trying to get the wipers and heater to work earlier today. I could get the fan vent to open, but no air came out. Anybody know what the fan pull, fresh pull, and warm pull buttons do? thanks.
 
The fan pull is a 2-position switch. First position is fan motor low speed, second position (all the way out) is fan motor high speed AND rear fan on.

The fresh pull hooks to a cable that goes through the firewall and actuates the damper to recirculate air (knob pushed in) and allow fresh air in (knob pulled out).

The warm pull knob hooks to a cable that opens and closes the heater valve on the engine side of the firewall.

Those bolts on the side of your quarter panel are probably from some sort of fuel can holder that the PO mounted there.
 
Anyone know how to rethread a button/knob through the dashboard. My headlights switch is hanging under the dashboard and I need to get it back into the dash. Also my wipe wash knob is a little lose/shaky and I'd like to stabilize it. Thanks.
20150216_194826.webp
20150216_194833.webp
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom