WHY IS IT HARD AS BALLS TO STOP ON STOCK Fj40 DRUM BRAKES?? (1 Viewer)

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  1. front brakes are likely out of adjustment.
  2. brake cylinders and/or shoes may have issues
  3. combination of two.

Or your vacuum booster is NFG
 
are sure that there is no leak on the pipe for the vaccum booster?
you can change the pipe with a new one for try once
 
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Anyone 6ft or taller having problems with leg room while driving? Either my seat adjustment is broken or this thing was designed for shorter people.
 
Nothing wrong with the seat adjustment, it's just you. 40s weren't designed to be ergonomic like today's vehicles with all the bells and whistles and cup holders. Totally a utilitarian design, actually the best even.

As for your brakes. Have you even taken off the wheels and had a look? Before you go spending $$ on discs or HD rebuilds do a thorough inspection(or have one done by a qualified TLC mechanic). Problem might be simple and inexpensive(ha) to fix.

First things first.
 
I'm 6'8' and have been driving my 40 for over 30 yrs. I've altered and moved the seat back close to the rear inner fender well and the rear down and frt up at the same time. There is a post around here on how to flip the seat rails around to gain more clearance too. Pedals are not a problem with my 14's, either.
 
I'm 6'8' and have been driving my 40 for over 30 yrs. I've altered and moved the seat back close to the rear inner fender well and the rear down and frt up at the same time. There is a post around here on how to flip the seat rails around to gain more clearance too. Pedals are not a problem with my 14's, either.

/this\

It’s all been covered.

All of my cruisers are manual drum brake, and they all stop ok.
 
 

Classic cruisers does not sell hat kit anymore. I have been seeing some home brew solutions. I have a bunch of scrap aluminum maybe I can build a new bracket
 
What year? Bucket seats?

If buckets, you can , as the thread mentions, reverse the three mounting towers and adapt the seat sliders to mount the rear towers as close to the rear wheel wells as possible. It only stretches your leg room about 1.5”.

The FJ40 was built for me (5’6”), but I’ve seenposts from guys who are as tall as 6’10 and they make it work.

This thread shows fab work one guy did.


You can google ih8mud: fj40 legroom or ih8mud: fj40 seat bracket and see a list of mud threads about adapting your seat mounts.

I actually increased the legroom, for a taller friend... but, he was belly challenged and couldn’t drive it anyway, without me removing the steering column... so I fab’ed up steel stringers and cut risers, to raise the seat 1.5”, to try to make driving easier on my old knees. Neither was more comfortable for me... I changed it back.
 
I've got a 1970 FJ40, well, most of it I think, brakes work fine after I rebuilt the front brake lines and replaced the master. Let it sit too long and now I have to replace the wheel cylinders.
I'm interested in the comments about replacing the 3 on the column with 4 on the floor, though. Someone prior has put the 3 speed stick on the floor. Is it possible to get a few more mph converting the 3 to a 4 speed? What would than entail? I've heard a few different answers.
 
I've got a 1970 FJ40, well, most of it I think, brakes work fine after I rebuilt the front brake lines and replaced the master. Let it sit too long and now I have to replace the wheel cylinders.
I'm interested in the comments about replacing the 3 on the column with 4 on the floor, though. Someone prior has put the 3 speed stick on the floor. Is it possible to get a few more mph converting the 3 to a 4 speed? What would than entail? I've heard a few different answers.
Iirc the 4 speed still has a 1:1 top gear like the 3 speed. It just has a lower 1st gear. You have to do a 5 speed to get OD if you want higher speed or lower revs.
 

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