The Fastest Land Cruiser in the world!! Or, time to replace the speedometer cable. (1 Viewer)

[Razin96]

Hello,
I haven't posted much on here, but I've certainly taken advantage of the vast information.

If, by the off chance, there is another newbie 40 owner less knowledgeable than me, I decided to share my experiences.

A quick back story on Frank.... Frank is a 1970 land cruiser that allegedly came from California.
I have never owned a classic vehicle and I've never so much as changed my own oil. But my wife drove by Frank and fell in love. I grew up driving old plow trucks and doing landscaping with my grandfather and after diving the LC, I was hooked.

I'm guessing it was amateur restored fairly well 15 - 20 years ago. Paint job, carpeted interior, new upholstery and matching steering wheel... But no mechanical upgrades. It's still 3 on the tree with no power steering, as far as I can tell its the original engine and for some maddening reason there are no cupholders!!!

So I've owned Frank since June and I honestly love every second of it. Working on it, driving it and marveling at the builds you all do here.

 

[middlecalf]

Cup holders are for wusses

diggin’ that upholstery

my “Smokey” doesn’t smoke anymore after engine rebuild, so thinking of changing name to Elijah cuz it’s a fighter

Frank is a great name

 

[Razin96]

A few weeks ago on a cold October morning I took Frank to my parents house when the speedometer started making a winding noise and quickly rocking back and forth.

At one point the needle seemed to get locked in at 100MPH and the needle actually broke off.

Changing the speedo cable is a pretty simple job I imagine most people could do.

The speedometer cable runs from the cluster to the transfer case. I imagine mine wasn't original because it was zip tied somewhat haphazardly.

I disconnected it from the transfer case end first to give myself a bit of slack on cluster end.

The cluster is held in by two screws which are obvious and two little clips on the bottom. To get it out you need to take out the screws and carefully lift up the cluster. Even with the loose Speedo cable you don't have a ton of room to operate.

I was honestly surprised at how little effort it took to get the cable out on both ends. Once I had it detached I left the cable in place, so I could follow the new cable down the same path

I attached the new cable at the cluster end first and followed the new cable through the same path as the old. Once I pulled the old cable out, you could see it had been melting against the muffler.

 

[Razin96]

Cup holders are for wusses

diggin’ that upholstery

my “Smokey” doesn’t smoke anymore after engine rebuild, so thinking of changing name to Elijah cuz it’s a fighter

Frank is a great name

Thanks, I've actually mastered the 3 on the tree shifting with a coffee in one hand. No spills on the 40 and only second degree burns on my lap.

I like the upholstery too. I'd like to get a roll bar in there soon, but I'm not willing to sacrifice my long jump seats and matching upholstery, so I'm thinking I'll need to have one custom built.

 

[4x4veteran]

Hello,
I haven't posted much on here, but I've certainly taken advantage of the vast information.

If, by the off chance, there is another newbie 40 owner less knowledgeable than me, I decided to share my experiences.

A quick back story on Frank.... Frank is a 1970 land cruiser that allegedly came from California.
I have never owned a classic vehicle and I've never so much as changed my own oil. But my wife drove by Frank and fell in love. I grew up driving old plow trucks and doing landscaping with my grandfather and after diving the LC, I was hooked.

I'm guessing it was amateur restored fairly well 15 - 20 years ago. Paint job, carpeted interior, new upholstery and matching steering wheel... But no mechanical upgrades. It's still 3 on the tree with no power steering, as far as I can tell its the original engine and for some maddening reason there are no cupholders!!!

So I've owned Frank since June and I honestly love every second of it. Working on it, driving it and marveling at the builds you all do here.

View attachment 3161262

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View attachment 3161264

Kind of like being inside of a giant banana. Congrats on your 40 and having a cool wife. Over the years I have done a lot of driving in my 1970 FJ40 and spilled a lot of soda on the dash because of no cup holders. Nice looking Toy. I am partial to yellow as I have driven Fiats for forty years and yellow seems to be their default color. On that speedo cable, if you haven't unhooked the battery, do it now!

 

[B y r o n]

Unless you've tried to pass an 18 wheeler at triple digit speeds I don't think you have the worlds fastest FJ40!

 

[Razin96]

Kind of like being inside of a giant banana. Congrats on your 40 and having a cool wife. Over the years I have done a lot of driving in my 1970 FJ40 and spilled a lot of soda on the dash because of no cup holders. Nice looking Toy. I am partial to yellow as I have driven Fiats for forty years and yellow seems to be their default color. On that speedo cable, if you haven't unhooked the battery, do it now!

Do it now, after I changed the cable?
Or I'm guessing I should have done that before I started?

 

[Razin96]

Unless you've tried to pass an 18 wheeler at triple digit speeds I don't think you have the worlds fastest FJ40!

Lol. I can barely pass guys on road bikes with my 40! But it was fun seeing 100 on the speedometer while little old ladies honked their horns to get past me.

 

[pb4ugo]

Welcome to the site. Good for you on getting your hands greasy. Yes, be sure to disconnect the battery. DO IT NOW! The amp meter gauge has live contacts on the back of it. They could be accidentally grounded and cause damage to the wiring harness.

 

[Razin96]

Thanks guys, I just ran out and disconnected it!

 

[Green Bean]

Thanks, I've actually mastered the 3 on the tree shifting with a coffee in one hand. No spills on the 40 and only second degree burns on my lap.

I like the upholstery too. I'd like to get a roll bar in there soon, but I'm not willing to sacrifice my long jump seats and matching upholstery, so I'm thinking I'll need to have one custom built.

You can use a OEM later model roll bar with long jump seats but you will need brackets that push the jump seats a bout 2 inches inward.

Thanks, I've actually mastered the 3 on the tree shifting with a coffee in one hand. No spills on the 40 and only second degree burns on my lap.

I like the upholstery too. I'd like to get a roll bar in there soon, but I'm not willing to sacrifice my long jump seats and matching upholstery, so I'm thinking I'll need to have one custom built.

 

[Razin96]

You can use a OEM later model roll bar with long jump seats but you will need brackets that push the jump seats a bout 2 inches inward.


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Thank you!
I'll probably start a new thread for this one. A guy near me has a roll bar he took off his 78.
If I can figure out how to move the seats out, I'll buy it.
Appreciate the info.

 

[FJ40Savvy]

Thank you!
I'll probably start a new thread for this one. A guy near me has a roll bar he took off his 78.
If I can figure out how to move the seats out, I'll buy it.
Appreciate the info.

SOR has a Seat Bracket Kit that pushed the jump seats inward. I have a OEM roll bar that I may install but am curious on how to support the seats when they are down. I still have pulled the trigger to buy this kit. Might be cheaper to make my own.

 

[LSUgeaux1]

A few weeks ago on a cold October morning I took Frank to my parents house when the speedometer started making a winding noise and quickly rocking back and forth.

At one point the needle seemed to get locked in at 100MPH and the needle actually broke off.

Changing the speedo cable is a pretty simple job I imagine most people could do.

The speedometer cable runs from the cluster to the transfer case. I imagine mine wasn't original because it was zip tied somewhat haphazardly.

I disconnected it from the transfer case end first to give myself a bit of slack on cluster end.

View attachment 3161286

The cluster is held in by two screws which are obvious and two little clips on the bottom. To get it out you need to take out the screws and carefully lift up the cluster. Even with the loose Speedo cable you don't have a ton of room to operate.

View attachment 3161291
View attachment 3161292

I was honestly surprised at how little effort it took to get the cable out on both ends. Once I had it detached I left the cable in place, so I could follow the new cable down the same path

View attachment 3161300

View attachment 3161301

I attached the new cable at the cluster end first and followed the new cable through the same path as the old. Once I pulled the old cable out, you could see it had been melting against the muffler.

View attachment 3161315

What did you do to replace the speedo needle? Glue it back, or replace with after market?

 

[DSRTRDR]

love the yellow

look at the O-rings where the speedo cable connects to the transmission, prone to leakage - definitely install new

 

[Razin96]

What did you do to replace the speedo needle? Glue it back, or replace with after market?

I'm embarrassed to say I haven't fixed it.
After this, I got distracted with some clutch problems and haven't gotten back around to the speedo.
It's probably a good time to revisit it.