oregon fj
Serial rescuer of old vehicles
First few parts home from the paint shop.
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First few parts home from the paint shop.
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No, it is River Blue (per Sikkens database, see Vintage Paints - River Blue). To my eye, Cadet (which I considered as well) is a bit more grayish, rather than the hint of green-gray in River. I like Cadet as well, but River is said to be correct for a '64, Cadet came much later.Beautiful. Is that Cadet Blue?
Victory! It was a bit too hot to paint yesterday, but today was a pleasant 72°F, so I was able to put down three coats of Freeborn Red acrylic enamel tonight after work. The floor looks great. The transmission hump and gas tank cover orange peeled a little. I had the Cruiser in a relatively controlled makeshift booth in the garage. The two covers were sitting on paper on the driveway in a little warmer air and a little bit of a breeze. They still look fine, and will probably polish up a little better tomorrow.
Overall, I think it turned out just fine. If I ever pull the tub to paint it properly, I'll redo it anyway, so the spots my rookie bodywork and paint skills show won't be a big deal. If I don't go the total restore route and make it all pretty and shiny, then it really doesn't matter if the floor isn't perfect. At the very least, the little bit of rust I had has been addressed, the seams are de-rusted and sealed, and the floor has a fresh layer of Rust Bullet, epoxy primer, and new paint that should all work together to keep the rust from taking hold and killing this truck in my lifetime.
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I have been doing a great deal of research here on MUD and the interwebs to figure out what new tires I wanted. My 40 has the original suspension on it still except for Bilstein shocks. I went with Toyo M55's in 235/85 R16. Very happy so far. The tries are load range E, and I read more than a few times that the ride is more harsh, but I have a much improved ride quality...can't figure that out but I'm not complaining. Its quieter, takes bumps in the road better and is smoother. Plus with the larger diameter tires (old ones were 31 x 10.5 x 15) the truck is more enjoyable to shift with the J30 transmission. I should have done this a few years ago. View attachment 1773851
September 1982
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Looks great. Almost a twin to my 74 FJ40.Well, intake gaskets round 2 had to happen. The original gaskets (Fel Pro steel core) started leaking oil after 600 miles. Apparently this can happen as the gaskets are too “stiff” for an aluminum intake manifold to crush for a proper seal at 25ft lbs. they need the 45ft lb torque of a cast iron manifold. I’ve seen arguments on both sides saying this is or is not a problem, but the fact is, they were leaking, so now I am giving some Mr. Gasket fiber gaskets a shot:
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More exciting - I swapped the slightly dry rotted cooper AT’s and rusty wagon wheels that had been on my truck since I bought it for some CityRacer 16” OEM style wheels, and some new 7.5R16 BFG KM3’s. Finally have a reason to mount the spare tire carrier!
BEFORE:
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AFTER:
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Love the tall-skinny look, and love the fact that I finally have a reason to mount my spare tire carrier.
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Looks great. Almost a twin to my 74 FJ40.
I was just thinking this the other day. I switched from 31x10.5 R15 Cooper Discoverer A/T’s running at 32psi to 7.5R16 BFG KM3’s at 45psi and somehow the ride seems to have improved? Doesn’t make sense to me either but I’m happy for the improvement.
The only thing I’ll say is cornering on those tall, skinny tires seems a little more perilous than it did on the wider, shorter coopers.
CHALK TEST NEEDED ^^^^^^
33x10.5 were very overinflated at 35 psi. They're completely different at 25 (even though that's inflated) for my 4700 lb rig. They no longer feel like you're going to tip over... even at 60 mph.
Run around the block at 25... you'll be plesently surprised.