Builds Won a '74 40 on a coin toss... (2 Viewers)

[DSRTRDR]

X2. I know you're excited to jump in and start fixing everything, I think we've all been there before. But fix whatever needs to be done to make it safe, then drive it for a year or so before you do any major work. You'll probably change your mind ten times on what you want to do with it, and stuff that bothers you now will probably be forgotten as new stuff that you never even thought of comes up. I went through the same thing when I first bought mine, I had the front end stripped down to the frame within a week of getting it, thinking I had to fix every little rust hole and rebuild everything. After almost a year I realize I had barely driven the thing, so I put it all back together and have been enjoying it for the last decade. Most of the stuff that I wanted to do either no longer bothers me or is a much lower priority than before. Had I continued down the original route it'd probably still be in pieces in my driveway

I have gone the other way: first I drove and wheeled my 40 for almost 10 years, and now it's been in the shop for almost a year

I am pretty sure I wouldn't love my 40 as much if I hadn't spent all these years driving it

 

[JohnnyC]

A lot of us make it a work in progress ... Mines been a work in progress for 20+ yrs

Drive... Fix... Enjoy... Repeat

With no finish line to cross there's no need to rush into things with a cruiser LOL

 

[Hogan]

With no finish line to cross there's no need to rush into things with a cruiser LOL

I agree, but you will want to keep it drive able while you are working it. We purchased a 1962 FJ40 17 years ago and I took it apart to fix it up and it hasn't been back together since. I ran out of gas, time and money, plus we had little ones to raise. I'm hoping to get it back on the road this year, but you can't rush these things.

 

[FJ404345]

As daily drivers I always had Ford and Chevrolet 4x4 pick up trucks.

Working on the FJ40's is fun, but driving is more fun. The work in progress I'm still working on the Troopy, but it seems like it takes forever.

Since last year i decided to make the FJ40's my DD's and as I come on large construction sites I need to do wheeling daily.

It's hard to drive them everyday for many hours, but driving the legend makes me smile every minute while driving it

 

[tls3601]

Congrats! My '78 needed some love too and I see a LOT of potential with yours! Aside from some relatively minor stuff, that rig will rock!!!! Welcome to the 40 club..............

 

[tls3601]

FJ4043, that is it man!!!!! "Driving the legend", that is what these vehicles are. Considered to be the reference off road 4X4 that all others compared themselves to back in the day............AND they still are.

 

[ginmtb]

GinMbt, don't be lazy !, put on top of your initial plan list, " polish the total truck myself "

Show your happiness of owning it !

Oh yeah, I'm definitely showing this thing some love! It just happens to be that my friend has all kinds of car detailing stuff and really wants to do it for me. It takes a village with these cars right?

 

[ginmtb]

Congrats! My '78 needed some love too and I see a LOT of potential with yours! Aside from some relatively minor stuff, that rig will rock!!!! Welcome to the 40 club..............

Thank you so much! I feel very fortunate to have gotten this rig. And at a price where I can still do most if not everything I want to and stay within budget. Of course, as I get everything done that I want, there will be more. There's always more right?

 

[ginmtb]

A lot of us make it a work in progress ... Mines been a work in progress for 20+ yrs

Drive... Fix... Enjoy... Repeat

With no finish line to cross there's no need to rush into things with a cruiser LOL

Yes, a work in progress indeed! I like having a vehicle that I can drive and work on at the same time. Have a couple of friends who say that is the best way to do things. You can enjoy it during the process, unlike some who take years and then get tired of the project and never finish...

 

[ginmtb]

So showed my 40 some love today - more cleaning! Took out the floor mat and wiped it all down and vacuumed. Amazing how many nooks and crannies there are. I found tons of leaves in this car! I didn't take a photo, but the space under the grill right in front of the windshield basically was completely full of sticks, leaves, and other assorted debris. One of the drain holes was completely plugged so there was a little rust near it but fortunately not bad at all. The other drain hole - not sure where that goes as I don't see a tube running from that one.

The paint for the center hump is in perfect condition as you can see in the photo. Nice to have been covered up all these years. The passenger side floor is solid as well. The driver side is definitely the worst of any of the flat surfaces - but still solid. I'm wondering, should I remove the factory sound dampening material? My friend was saying it was a water magnet.

I also started the degreasing of the underside project - that is going to take a couple of significant efforts. Lot of gunk on there. But made some good progress and got my POR15 ordered up. I can actually see some bare metal!

 

[ginmtb]

More shots of the underside after degreasing...

 

[ginmtb]

Any thoughts on removing the factory sound/heat dampening material? Thanks!

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[MyTwoToys]

Spray Brake Cleaner is great for removing grease and dirt. I pressure washed all of mine before I did anyting, however, mine was not running at the time and has been a full frame of rebuild. I would also recommend an air angle grinder with a 3" wire brush wheel. That has been a fantastic tool for me. Nice rig by the way. Mine was in much worse shape.

 

[MyTwoToys]

Here are some underside shots including the spot on the floor with the leak. I plan on trying to do some degreasing this weekend of the underside and getting the engine compartment cleaned up. Would be nice to be able to better see what's going on. Should help with pinpointing the leak. Eventually I want to put the rust inhibitor stuff on as much of the underside I can get to.

Any advice on getting things cleaned up? Favorite degreasers? Any special techniques that make the job easier?

Just had a chance to view the pics. Looks like your rear transfer case seal is leaking. This is pretty common from what I understand. This looks to be where your leak is.

 

[ginmtb]

Spray Brake Cleaner is great for removing grease and dirt. I pressure washed all of mine before I did anyting, however, mine was not running at the time and has been a full frame of rebuild. I would also recommend an air angle grinder with a 3" wire brush wheel. That has been a fantastic tool for me. Nice rig by the way. Mine was in much worse shape.

Good advice thank you! I have a peanut grinder assuming I can use that with a wire brush wheel and do the same thing?


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[ginmtb]

Just had a chance to view the pics. Looks like your rear transfer case seal is leaking. This is pretty common from what I understand. This looks to be where your leak is.

I re-torqued the oil pan gasket bolts last night - so we'll see if that helps too. It certainly possible I'm leaking from more than one place...

Thanks!


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[FJ404345]

I re-torqued the oil pan gasket bolts last night - so we'll see if that helps too. It certainly possible I'm leaking from more than one place...

Thanks!


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really ?

 

[ginmtb]

really ?

Guess that was saying I could have rust in more spots than one lol. Thank you from Captain Obvious...


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[FJ404345]

lol....you leak from more then one place or your truck does ?

 

[ginmtb]

lol....you leak from more then one place or your truck does ?

Oh I just re-read lol. Guess it depends on what I ate that day...


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