Yep...I was using my 2008 Shelby GT to get around. I sold it to a nice couple in Albuquerque. Now I don't take the flyovers on the 51 / 202 stack at 80 mph, but oh well. I'm also not likely going to be donating to the DPS speed camera cartel much anymore either.
I bought Kavik's FJ-60 and have put a bunch of work/parts into it. I think he did an awsome job on the SOA and recognize how much work that takes. It is a cool rig and I am happy to be keeping it alive.
I still have a few items to address including some powertrain vibes above 40mph. I did have the driveshaft balanced and lengthened and new ujoints applied by Phoenix Rack and Axle. Some of you may have witnessed when Kavik had the rear axle snap event. I pulled the the rear third member and it was rebuilt. The carnage left some shrapnel and a snapped carrier bearing and an out of round diff case. Thanks to ZUK in Chandler and Specter for the rebuild / parts. I swapped out the rear wheel bearings as well. But the 4.88 ring and pinon were good to go. Everything else is new.
The transmission / xfer case is getting swapped out next week with another set I'm getting from the boys in Colorado at Redline Motor Sports. Also there is a little clanky clank in the steering I need to track down and I am likely switching to a Saginaw pump. The Toyota sounds pretty tired pushing those 37s.
Most of the oil leaks are fixed, with the exception of the rear main which will be changed when i have the trans out. The two main contributors to oil seepage were the fuel pump (actually out the weep hole) and the oil cooler. For those with 2F oil coolers...get the orings and copper gaskets from a toyota parts counter. Use a dental pick to make sure the old ones are entirely out. The repair doesn't require removing the coolant lines from the cooler, but you will get oily. If you do it when it is cold, the drippage is less.
I replaced the radiator, water pump, fan clutch and some hoses to address some high temps. Also, I had the carb top off and cleaned everything out really well. I blew the fuel lines clean with air. There was a small crack in the wire insulation on the fuel cut solenoid i noticed when I was bench testing it. It is possible that puppy was shorting to the carb air horn at some point contributing to the weird fuel starvation isssues.
The fuel filter and fuel pump were likely the main culprits. I ran into the starve/bucky scenario and pulled over to find an empty bowl in the carb site window. Those re-usable filters can be deceiving because they look like they have gas coming through. What you can't see is the tired fuel pump sucking like a hoover and only getting the carb bowl half full. I used a cut off .223 shell casing to bypass the filter. Back in action. Made it home and changed it out.
The ignition system, being and HEI, was pretty simple. I set the timing at 6 degrees BTDC and changed a bad plug wire. When I had all the plugs out for a compression test they looked good. Just a bad wire. BTW. The compression was 120-130psi across the board. Not too bad.
So next on list is xmission / xfer case, brake linings, and steering pump. I'll let you all know how that goes. Until then, you might see this monster blue rig rolling around the area east of 51 and north of Greenway.
to a good new home and what sounds like a very capable new owner...I can only hope that mine went to a responsible party that will work on her right...