Builds The Clustertruck Rides Again - Refurbishing a 1975 Chevota (1 Viewer)

[RWBeringer4x4]

Alternator belt isnt tight enough.
Ditch the locker

I suspect you're correct on the alternator belt - just annoying as I've tightened it up a couple times and even switched to new belts. Alignment seems ok as well. If the belt was loose I'd kind of expect it to squeal all the time - not just when there's a load on the alternator...All said - I'm still going to try and tighten up the belt.

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

16 days later, I really haven’t made a ton of progress. The alternator belt was loose, I tightened it up, no more squealing for now.

The carb needs to be tweaked, probably re-jetted. I can’t stall it with he idle screws all the way in (but I almost can) so something isn’t right. For the time being I’m gonna keep driving the damn thing and live with 11mpg. I’ll mess with the carb this winter (maybe).

In the meantime, some pictures of what I’ve been up to:

My truck says “Toyota” on the front again.

I installed my new “iCrap” console from @mmw68 here on Mud.

A couple tweaks had to be made to the ProCar seat brackets to get them to fit, tweaks that involved grinding, so I covered up the interior and got to work:

Chop chop

After setting the drop cloths on fire a few times, (right next to the fuel lines, of course) I got the brackets removed:

I could have done more cleaning but given the fire hazard I chose to round off the cuts a bit and touch them up with a puff of chassis black.

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Installation of the console was pretty straight forward...14 bolts and some fiddling to get things straight in the truck. Maybe an hour total.

I love how modular this console is.

Problem with the shifter hitting the cup holder?

No problem! The cup holder is slotted, just drop it down:

Now you have room for your road soda!

I jest - don’t drink and drive kids. Also, given the tight fit in the 40 cab, you can only get about a 6.5 inch cup in the driver’s side cup holder - but there is zero conflict on the passenger side.

The rear drawer is positioned so that it JUST clears the heater:

All in all, it’s a huge improvement. Love having an arm rest and cup holders. plus, now I have somewhere secure to keep things since the glove box isn’t lockable.

Almost looks like a real truck inside!

Nothing but good things to say about the console. It’s super heavy duty (seriously I’m pretty sure it would stop small arms fire) and very nicely built. Very nice design @mmw68!

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Lastly - I re-installed the spare tire carrier. Partially because I was tired of kicking it around my garage, and partially to prepare for what’s coming next.

 

[reddingcruiser]

Well now, you have an almost complete FJ40! That must feel pretty good, despite the minor issues.

Wait, shhhhhhh, can you hear it? That little cruiser voice whispering “throttle body........you know you want to get me a throttle body.....I’ll run so much better, I promise....”

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Well now, you have an almost complete FJ40! That must feel pretty good, despite the minor issues.

Wait, shhhhhhh, can you hear it? That little cruiser voice whispering “throttle body........you know you want to get me a throttle body.....I’ll run so much better, I promise....”

@reddingcruiser - after all the unexpected "additions" while I had the engine out, you and @SuperBuickGuy were probably right. I probably should have just converted to a Vortec/Roller Block/TBI and been done with it. Honestly, if I ever get bored with the 350 I very well might throw a diesel in it. I'm pretty convinced a diesel is the ultimate power plant for a 40, but I'll cross that bridge around the time I retire. The flat tappet 350 and the Quadrajet are going to stick around for the foreseeable future.

There will always be tweaks, I'm sure, but this is the closest to a reliable FJ40 I've had yet. I'm pretty happy with it! I feel like I could tweak and tune to infinity on the mechanics, but really, ALMOST everything has been gone through and at least checked out, if not rebuilt or replaced at this point.

At this point, I'm rapidly approaching the next crossroads - ie: how far am I going to take the bodywork? I never set out to build a show truck or a trailer queen, but if I don't address some of the rust issues soon, I'll have bigger problems later. It looks like the Real Steel Cruiser Parts business is for sale, so I'll definitely be ordering up some panels here shortly, just in case...

 

[reddingcruiser]

You should just drive the crap out of it for now.

Buy a good space heater and save the body work for a rainy day.

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

You should just drive the crap out of it for now.

Buy a good space heater and save the body work for a rainy day.

That's the plan! I'm almost to the point where I could consider ACTUALLY WHEELING IT, instead of just running errands. The real issue there is I'd have to keep it in one piece enough to drive it home after wheeling (no two rig) and I also have no trail recovery gear to speak of, and the closest trails are 1.5-2 hours away (a full tank of gas, both directions). Would love to actually get this thing on some dirt though.

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

@reddingcruiser - PS How was Rubithon? Did your rig survive?

 

[reddingcruiser]

The Rubithon was great! My son went with and had a blast, and inspiration to get his finished sooner rather than later. Next year I am the Rubithon chairman, so my days a a 'spectator' are over for a while. I am, though, looking forward to the challenge!

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

The Rubithon was great! My son went with and had a blast, and inspiration to get his finished sooner rather than later. Next year I am the Rubithon chairman, so my days a a 'spectator' are over for a while. I am, though, looking forward to the challenge!

Awesome, if I can find a way to get out there next year for a ride-along with someone I definitely want to come check it out. Or maybe I'll have a REALLY good year at work and I can ship the 40 out

 

[reddingcruiser]

Awesome, if I can find a way to get out there next year for a ride-along with someone I definitely want to come check it out. Or maybe I'll have a REALLY good year at work and I can ship the 40 out

It's a trip you'll never forget. I can't remember if you have a locker, but if you have at least one, you rig will do fine once you get the carb dialed in. Love to have you.

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

It's a trip you'll never forget. I can't remember if you have a locker, but if you have at least one, you rig will do fine once you get the carb dialed in. Love to have you.

It's got an Aussie locker in the rear, that I'm still trying to decide if I want to get rid of (makes it a real pain on the road). Realistically there's no way I could afford to ship it out to California, but I can dream!

 

[Cdaniel]

Your MPG may improve slightly after the engine breaks in. Brick aerodynamics and fat tires are your enemies though. If the engine is happy with what the carb is giving after idle through the gears on the primaries, not too lean or fat. Leave the main jets alone. Primary metering rods is where you fiddle with the "fuel curve".

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Your MPG may improve slightly after the engine breaks in. Brick aerodynamics and fat tires are your enemies though. If the engine is happy with what the carb is giving after idle through the gears on the primaries, not too lean or fat. Leave the main jets alone. Primary metering rods is where you fiddle with the "fuel curve".

Yep - the Quadrajet is really performing admirably from a pure functionality standpoint - very responsive and smooth application of power through about 4000 RPM. It falls flat on its face about 4000 RPM but I expect that this is more due to the tiny runners on the SP2P intake. The fuel economy is the only concern. In a perfect world I'd love to see a consistent 13-14mpg but that might be unrealistic.

The issue is that I can't lean it out enough to stall it with the idle mixture screws which generally indicates a very rich condition. My plugs don't show any sign of fouling but I suspect that's where I'm losing a significant amount of excess fuel. The Qjet is also set up for my 283, which ran ENTIRELY off the primaries as a 2 barrel until about 4000RPM, so I have richer main jets and leaner secondaries.

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Well, this is annoying...

I’ve put about 600 trouble free miles on the truck so I was about due. Today I drove the truck to my wife’s barn and back (25 miles, round trip). I stopped got gas on the way. Everything was good, but I noticed an oilier vibe to the fumes.

I got home to find that somehow, both side of my intake manifold had simultaneously had the gaskets fail.

I had oil pooling where the intake meets the head, and oil pooling in the crevices after being pumped up the intake bolts.

What gives? I thought maybe the PCV had failed and I’d built crank pressure, but the PCV is still sucking away, and I get a moderate amount of vacuum through the breather on the opposite side. All the intake bolts seem snug. It seems strange that after 600 miles both sides would start leaking from the gaskets and the bolts... they’re blue FelPro gaskets. I put RTV in the corners, across the front and rear planes, and around the water jacket holes. Everything else was installed dry.

Looks like I get to pull the intake and try again.

Anyone have any idea what would cause this? I’d like to get to the root cause before I tear it down, repeat, and have the same issue again.

 

[Cdaniel]

Refresh my memory. New crate engine or remanufactured?

 

[mrboatman]

Check your valve cover gaskets first they are more prone to leak than the intake
JP

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

Refresh my memory. New crate engine or remanufactured?

Brand new crate 350 (the low horsepower one). 8.5:1 compression. Old Edelbrock SP2P intake on top (came off the 283). I did check it for flatness before I reinstalled it and it looked ok.

Check your valve cover gaskets first they are more prone to leak than the intake
JP

I was wondering if this might be the case but it really seems to be welling up along the edges of the intake gasket. Plus, it’s also pushing up through the manifold bolts and pooling there.

It would be equally strange (possibly stranger) to have both valve cover gaskets fail simultaneously. Seems like even less likelihood of a pressure spike there....

 

[Cdaniel]

True that on valve covers. Otherwise something dimensionally different
Possible between old 283 and later 350 heads?