Builds Wimberosa's build: Loretta dances again (1 Viewer)

[wimberosa]

I guess this makes sense regarding vibration/resonance now that I think about it. Basically area (1) and area (2) as well as the outside door skins
DO NOT have any raised ribs formed into them and they span at least 12"x12" areas. So these areas pick up and transmit vibrations more than others.
I was expecting a lot of vibration/resonance from the back wheel wells...and while there is some....its not on par with that cowl portion of the hood. That cowl portion of the hood is like a very loud tin can.

 

[wimberosa]

Last time she gets rotated like this....an experiment...and going back together...

She got one last rotation all around to slosh the fluid film and wool wax into all the crevices.

In this picture you can also see an experiment I'm running with putting 1/2" ceramic fiber
blanket behind the metal heat shield. I debated about how to install this and used a bit
of liquid glass to attach it and with additional compression between the heat shield and tub...
it should hold. Seemed like an opportune time to try to enhance heat shielding.


And then ... she's back on the tub. Yay! We're actually going back together! More updates
soon.

 

[wimberosa]

Really satisfying to bolt back on the stuff that I've previously spent time refurbing and prepping.
Heater is mostly in. Fuel system is in and hooked up. Dash is mostly in. Clutch and brake system
hooked up. Surprises still being found such as having to replace my complete lock set and door
catch on driver side.

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

Excellent work there!

 

[wimberosa]

Steady progress. I'm going to have to re-spray the hood, windshield and side-steps. Just not right. Enough electrical installed to theoretically turn over with the key but something is amiss.

 

[wimberosa]

Satisfying to finally complete an accumulation started many years ago. When I first got this 40, it had no
jack, rods, tools and even the rod and toolbag clips were gone. Just got a NOS bag. I think I'm missing
the spark plug wrench from the tool kit...but otherwise I think I've got the 1979 jack/tool spec covered. Some
of this came from a wimberley tx storage bin....some from japan....odds and ends from ebay...and some directly
from toyota.

 

[wimberosa]

She ran! Fuel pump went kaput on me when she was idle....so a new one and she's getting
gas to the carb now. Looks like my oil pan gasket must have dried also because I have a
new small leak there. Perhaps it will settle down with a little workout.

It requires the choke out to keep it running for now....but I expected far worse with
all the new potential vacuum leaks given re-smog. Anyway...here's 10 seconds of video from
the first run.

 

[psmbfuer]

She ran! Fuel pump went kaput on me when she was idle....so a new one and she's getting
gas to the carb now. Looks like my oil pan gasket must have dried also because I have a
new small leak there. Perhaps it will settle down with a little workout.

It requires the choke out to keep it running for now....but I expected far worse with
all the new potential vacuum leaks given re-smog. Anyway...here's 10 seconds of video from
the first run.

Excellent progress - sounding and looking great wimberosa.

 

[procomsignathid]

This is such a beautiful build... and what a milestone! I am envious of that paint job

 

[wimberosa]

So here's where I'm attempting to head on floor coverings. I definitely wanted something

1) I could lift/remove off the floor to check for moisture and dry out
2) was insulated against floor heat
3) contributed to sound deadening

That left me with some kind of closed cell foam and a vinyl top. I had attempted to "cheap out" on this
and started using a mass loaded vinyl and closed cell foam from the depot home store. That turned out
to be a waste of time. The builder type of mass loaded vinyl is very brittle and easily torn by hand! Additionally
the closed cell foam is more flammable than I expected (tested with torch applied to it). So all the labor I put into
that solution got thrown away ;-( At that point my time trumped the cost and I'm currently trying the dynadeck
mass loaded vinyl + foam cell combo. The stuff is expensive....but its pretty quality stuff. I tested out the burn
point also and its much better. So you'll see in the following pictures what I'm doing

a) a pattern with relief cut in 4 points around the bends
b) additionally I'll cut footwell pads with same material to overlap the edges of what you see here.
c) finish it off with a city racer mat over what I don't cover with this material.

 

[wimberosa]

Additionally...Aditionally.... This build and truck gets a new name "Loretta". Every time I think about the name reminds me of Cher playing Loretta in
Moonstruck. An unmarried daughter who is looking older and greyer....but she goes to the salon and gets a new "coat of paint" ... and underneath she's the hot chica! Pretty much sums up this build. Loretta it is!

 

[PidgeonGuggolo]

I did all this exhaust work with the following items.

2.5" stainless steel exhaust pipe with mandrel bends from manifold to tailpipe.
Purchased from Speedway Motors. Really happy with the quality of the bends
in this mandrel kit. It included 12 mandrel bends and I used almost everything.
Very little of the straight pipe is needed.

• Speedway Motors Stainless Steel Exhaust Bend Kit, 2-1/2 Inch (Part #91013828)

I went with a walker CARB cat 80905. It has 2.25" inlet/outlet. This was unfortunate
downsizing as I was intending to keep it at 2.5" all the way through. However there
are very few CARB compliant cats that are approved for the pre-OBDII land cruisers.
This is the second cat i attempted to work with. I got another direct-fit CAT (for the
1979 FJ40) from another CAT supplier. I was not happy with that cat as it was not
remotely square end to end and there was weld slag in the internal cell area. Thankfully
they respected their return policy with no issues and I switched to the walker universal
cat and welded it myself. Very happy with the walker setup.

• Walker CalCat CARB 80905 Universal Catalytic Converter (2.25 Inlet ID 2.25 Outlet ID)

BTW...if you want to know what CAT actually is compliant with your vehicle ... if you
are in a state that mandates a CAT style... then you can find it at arb.parts. Here
is the link for the 1979 compliant CATs in colorado (we're tagging along with NY and CA)

1979 Toyota Land-Cruiser Catalytic Converters

arb.parts

The muffler I'm using is a Ford truck style from the 80s.

• Walker 17160 - SoundFX Steel Round Aluminized Exhaust Muffler
  (2.5" Offset ID 2.5" Offset OD. 20" Length)

The flanges to connect the cat and the muffler up are the 3.4" bolt pattern
that toyota uses. These aren't the exact same as the OEM flanges because
the OEM ones have a well where the compression gasket sits in. The flanges
I'm using have the correct bolt pattern but are flat across the face. Close
enough to a part that is NLA!

• Vibrant Performance 3-Bolt 2.5 Inch Exhaust Flange 1482S
• Vibrant Performance Exhaust Flange Gaskets 1462

Thanks so much for posting this. Im going to do my best to copy your work. One question. The Flange to the CAT, i see there are welds to the flange but how is this tight so no emissions are going in between. There are welds in spots, or are you welding this up? Sorry im a absolute beginner so i have no idea. Very impressed by the work! Unfortunately my 40 had no exhaust left due to rust. nothing was there so this post is gold to me!

 

[wimberosa]

You may be referencing post

Builds Post in thread 'Wimberosa's build: Loretta dances again'

Feb 6, 2025

Here is an update on my build with a new exhaust tacked in...but not completely welded yet.
This is an "over the frame crossover" to the outside of the frame for the catalytic converter.
The 1979+ normally routes the exhaust down pipe as an "under the frame" crossover. You can
do this multiple ways from the manifold to the cat. I did it by going into the rear side of the
fender well and under the fender lip, with a jog bag up to the cat. Its also possible to route closer
to the floor pan and not enter the fender well. I currently do no have my tub sitting on the
frame, so I did the...

• wimberosa

• 

where i show photos with the whole system just tacked in with my mig welder. (Step 1) get it all mocked up
and tacked in where it looks like it will fit nicely. On a subsequent post (Step 2) there are photos where I went back with a tig weld
and closed up all the joints tight. Then between the flanges there is a gasket with bolts pulling both flange sides up tight
to each other with the gasket between. That part is referenced in my parts list in those posts.
If I were to do this again...i may would drop down to 2.25 size pipes (maybe) and I would definitely try to curl under the frame
earlier before the back tire to route it further away from the rubber. Its very close to original oem routing but since I'm running
a larger 16" rim and larger tire than stock oem...a bit more room between pipe and tire is warranted. I ended up putting some
fibreglass wrap on that area to mitigate heat close to the tire. I'm referencing this part of the piping. It could be better....

 

[wimberosa]

Here's the interim wrap-up of the dynadeck floor covering. This is probably all I'm covering with dynadeck
and will be waiting for a city racer toyota mat to complete the covering of the transmission tunnel and foot areas.
In these images I just glued a bit of rubber tubing to the underside of the relief cuts ... to mitigate further splitting
under stress. I also added some velcro at the front corners for separating and lifting.

Note that the winning formula for glue and this material is (HH-66, and JB Weld Steel Reinforced Epoxy).
Poorer glue performers were - gorilla glue yellow, gorilla glue clear, and loctite vinyl fabric and plastic

 

[wimberosa]

I've been putting off finishing a new drip rail for the roof...because I suspected it was gonna be a PITA.
I've now confirmed my suspicions ... but progress has been made. My circumstances are:

1) Using a CCOT weld together rail I bought several years ago.
2) An old rail that was rusted completely through (and bent) in places.
3) Two upper quarters that aren't original fitment. Replacement (from the junk yard) and an original that's been re-skinned

First off I attempted to re-weld my old rail some to use as a pattern on the new rail welding. This
just threw the whole process off because I couldn't get the new rail to match the old rail + the upper
quarters + the fibre-glass shell. Multiple days frittering proved it was a lost cause.

At that point I decided that I really needed to fit from the existing fibre-glass roof and the upper quarters
only....but something wasn't kosher between those two and the CCOT rail. So at that point I enlisted
the help of @fjc-man to get some measurements to determine what is an indication of square uppers.

Here's where some suggestions may be of value add to anyone doing this process or even just re-installing
uppers you previously had on your 40.....

Three measurements can determine if you are relatively square.

1. Strap a straight edge to each side of the upper quarters (just below where the drip rail would sit). Allow
the straight edge to extend to the window frame and then measure from the edge of the frame lip (where the door bow
attaches). Do this on both sides. The proper distance for 1979 tops is near 3" at this point. Anywhere from 2.75 to 3.0" is probably fine.

2. The second measurement is across the driver and passenger sides from door frame lip to door frame lip. My measurements
are taken from just below the door bow. Here's a pic of the point I'm measuring. In this photo I'm right at 60" ... but thats
the wrong value. At least on the 1979 tops ... this value should be closer to 60.5. Any value close to that within a 1/4" is probably fine.

After making these measurements I realized that both sides were not mirroring each other and both sides were wildly
or slightly incorrect. At that point I ratchet strapped the sides and pulled in the correct directions. This got it
pretty square... The fitment of the roof and the CCOT rail started jiving and I was able to weld everything up.

More data forthcoming as I start the riveting and painting.