What have you done to your Land Cruiser this week? (18 Viewers)

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@lostmarbles Tom, Sorry to read about whats happened. Your advice to me through-out my build has been great. If you change your mind, Id be more than happy to keep an eye out for a 40 from Australia for you!

Today the doors and bonnet got finished, and the body got another two coats, i also dropped off the roof to get lining put in. Next week the front and rear will get a coat or two of black.

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Finished painting the axles, springs and chassis, assembled the bits. Went to the engine shop and put the engine back in. Engine has had some repairs ie main bearings, hone and new rings. Reconditioned head, valves lapped, new valve guides - 2 new exhaust valves, fixed up the oil pump, new water pump...and a few more. When I did the springs and gave them a good greasing between the leafs I thought it would make the spring movement softer....still feels too hard and the shackle angle I still think is a bit steep - 9 degrees off the vertical. Still a bit of work to do!!

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I was worried about my shackle angle when i installed susp. on chassis. As i keep adding body parts, the shackle angle gets better.
 
Finished painting the axles, springs and chassis, assembled the bits. Went to the engine shop and put the engine back in. Engine has had some repairs ie main bearings, hone and new rings. Reconditioned head, valves lapped, new valve guides - 2 new exhaust valves, fixed up the oil pump, new water pump...and a few more. When I did the springs and gave them a good greasing between the leafs I thought it would make the spring movement softer....still feels too hard and the shackle angle I still think is a bit steep - 9 degrees off the vertical. Still a bit of work to do!!

Without the weight of the body pushing down on the springs, the shackle angle will be high - you're missing several hundred pounds of sheet metal pushing down on the springs to improve the shackle angle.
 
Finished painting the axles, springs and chassis, assembled the bits. Went to the engine shop and put the engine back in. Engine has had some repairs ie main bearings, hone and new rings. Reconditioned head, valves lapped, new valve guides - 2 new exhaust valves, fixed up the oil pump, new water pump...and a few more. When I did the springs and gave them a good greasing between the leafs I thought it would make the spring movement softer....still feels too hard and the shackle angle I still think is a bit steep - 9 degrees off the vertical. Still a bit of work to do!!

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What's that blue thing between your tires? A smurf plow?:lol::lol::lol:
 
Valve stem is shot, so in preparation to receiving this valve stem installer that I ordered, (no need to remove wheel/break bead etc.,) I removed rock rash and steel splinters from the wheel rim outer and inner edge. Also pounded the rim straight as I could. The tire was flat, so it was easy to get the dremel on the inside rim edge with a pry bar on the tire.

Sounds like a good idea, so I thought I'd try it. Pretty good if you rip a valve stem off on a rock on the trail and are able to do a quick replacement. All you'd need would be the kit, spare valve stems, and a bit of liquid dish soap to lubricate the install.

https://www.amazon.com/Tool-connection-5540-Valve-Laser/dp/B00FEP60MS

AME 51025 will also work, but the valve stem puller is wimpy and often pulls out of the plastic handle.
 
I know how you feel, Nolen...

Dianna thinks I'm paranoid... I can't tell you how many different medical places (doctors, labs, MRIs, etc.) I've been to... Sign in, wait... Wait... Wait... Finally ask, "have you forgotten me"?

"Who are you?"... "We stapled your paperwork to someone else's"... "Hi Danny, I didn't see you come in"... I was the only person in the waiting room... And I was wearing a YELLOW shirt.

Happens all the time.

The great Leonard Cohen (Canadian Poet and singer/songwriter) said there are a series of stages that men go through, in their appeal to the opposite sex... "Irrestible, resistible, transparent, invisible, repulsive and, eventually... Cute".

I'm long past irrestible and not yet at cute... Stuck somewhere in the middle...

Is that where you are?

Lmao, I guess so man. I'm only 53 but a ugly 53, thank god my wife's got bad eye sight. Sorry I left you hanging yesterday had to get to the airport. Been running back and forth from hospital to mom's house, stepdad is bad sick. Uncle is gone for a bit so I've added his place to the list. Not to mention a few bikes that I need to finish, so the 40 won't see no attention for a few days.
 
.. Tom, Sorry to read about whats happened. Your advice to me through-out my build has been great. If you change your mind, Id be more than happy to keep an eye out for a 40 from Australia for you!..

Thanks Phil..

Beautiful paint job there!

Who knows what the future holds. Some of the best days of my life were spent exploring places like this (near Wedge Island in your state) in my 40..
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Sandy (my wife) was a real sun worshipper back in those days... and you can see the yellow WA plates on our cruiser..

A lot has changed over there where you are (like every other place in the world too) but I'm sure there's still lots of remote places to get well away from the masses... I'm very tempted to return for a holiday for sure and I'll keep your kind offer in the back of my head..

Cheers - Tom
 
First time poster. Got my 40 back with a new (to it) wiper motor. Title transferred, registered and street legal ;). Pulled the top and doors, and then spent a couple hours with a 6 yer old helper trying to map out the unidentifiable aftermarket wiring harness. Next stop, getting the hazards and high beams to work.

Glamor pic from PO (@FARMAN33) for reference as all my photos are of it sitting forlornly in the garage.
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@Skydog - yep Toyota 464 beige.

@lostmarbles Yep, Wedge Island - things have changed. The leases on the shacks there have been expired/rolled over for a few years. Theres a bit a debate about it (Some info here: Wedge Island | Wedge Island WA - Help Save our Community) There's also the 'Indian Ocean Dr' now which runs past Lancelin, Wedge, Grey, The Pinnacles, Cervantes and Jurien Bay and joins back up with Brand highway. You may have heard its gone in.

Once it's back together I plan on taking it back up that way, probably staying up in Cervantes for a week or so with the wife and little one. Here's a pic from when Dad had my 40 and I was sitting on the beach at Wedge Island:

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@Ramey can't wait to see you bring it "all the way." I miss her terribly! Just in time for some fantastic Cruiser weather too.
 
Got my roof rack back from the powdercoater. Put on a fresh set of Mark's Off Road rack clamps with spacer tubes, and started reattaching a new plywood deck.
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@Skydog - yep Toyota 464 beige.
@lostmarbles Yep, Wedge Island - things have changed. The leases on the shacks there have been expired/rolled over for a few years. Theres a bit a debate about it (Some info here: Wedge Island | Wedge Island WA - Help Save our Community) There's also the 'Indian Ocean Dr' now which runs past Lancelin, Wedge, Grey, The Pinnacles, Cervantes and Jurien Bay and joins back up with Brand highway. You may have heard its gone in.
Once it's back together I plan on taking it back up that way, probably staying up in Cervantes for a week or so with the wife and little one. Here's a pic from when Dad had my 40 and I was sitting on the beach at Wedge Island:

Great photo. (I reckon it deserves a spot in the "back in their day thread".)

I didn't know anything about that new road.. I think I remember travelling very long distances on soft sand tracks though scrub (back in 1981 or thereabouts) to take that photo.

:beer:
 
OEM wheels painted Rustoleum Smoke Gray, rear tub panels painted single stage color match and metal repair done on panels, aux tank filler removed........................Should have gone to the BFG AT K02 33X10.5X15 a LONG time ago! Much better drivability..............View attachment 1327255

Waxed the cruiser today and for the first time I realized how beautiful the Toyota Freeborn red color was, they did an excellent job in selecting FJ40 colors!

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Both of these Freeborn beauties look ALMOST too nice to drive! :steer:
 
Follow up on the valve stem installer. Got the tool Tuesday, and used it yesterday. No instructions, only what I could glean from buyers comments and a few youtube vids.

The valve stem puller worked very well, pulled out the stem easy peasy. Then I lubed the stem hole in the wheel and the valve stem base. The first two tries didn't go so well. Success on the third go. For me, the answer was to hold the cone HARD against the wheel over the stem hole with one hand. Then, push the stem tool/stem FAST and HARD into the cone with the other. Stem went fully inside the wheel easily and then a pull out until it snapped into the slot. I guess I wasn't pushing hard/fast enough. I was relubing for each try.

https://www.amazon.com/Tool-connection-5540-Valve-Laser/dp/B00FEP60MS
 

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