Builds Won a '74 40 on a coin toss...

[ginmtb]

Found the bracket to mount my alternator - some serious bling maybe I’ll start chroming everything on my cruiser. Who needs ash metallic grey when you’ve got chrome? Bwahahahaaaa! Need to cut a bunch off as indicated by the blue tape. Probably will have to wait until next weekend though.

 

[ginmtb]

Was peeking around he internets and see mesh on the cruiser oil pumps. Safe to assume this is standard? If so if that spring is inside of the engine I should be fine. Maybe I’ll throw a rare earth magnet on my drain plug just to see if it catches it.

 

[airon23]

Well I’ve been doing the vintage ad stuff in lieu of the insulation project. What a royal pain in the ass that is. Seriously I think that I could’ve pulled the engine and everything off the firewall and sprayed it with the Lizard Skins ceramic coating more quickly that I did stuffing insulation behind all the crap in the cab. Yes, I know that some frown upon insulation as it can harbor moisture but this isn’t a deep creek crosser nor do I operate it in the rain often. Plus I’ve now replaced every gasket and only the front door weatherstrip is the remaining foam/rubber left. I feel pretty good about it’s ability to keep water out-ish. Also, I really like having the roof back on so heat mitigation is going to be key. I’m closer to being done though as I got the tough/critical center section done. Only the drivers side is left thankfully!

Speaking of vintage, I took out the speaker holder in the glove box (yes I insulated the firewall inside there) and found a couple of old items tucked in there. One is a blank check, the account holder name is Terry Thomas from Cupertino. I think this cruiser must have never left the South Bay as I bought it from a guy in Santa Clara and I found some old registrations from I think one or two others down there. Sure wish I could track the PO’s down that would be neat. You can tell it is an old check they didn’t even include the area code!
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And this rolled up photo:
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If anyone knows that person or the woman in the photo please let me know! Yes, big long shot considering these items could be 40+ years old.

And the decal application continues @orangefj45 ...
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I once bought an old 71 FJ40 for parts only and inside it I found a lost person report from the mid-late 70s. It turns out the FJ40 had been used as a search and rescue truck probably near where I live in Reno/Tahoe I can only guess as the information was local. But I figured this could be something really cool for the person or family to have (not really knowing the outcome of the lost person). It had a phone # and address and everything for like the emergency contact person which judging by the name looked like a parent or relative.

So I called the phone number and they said it was the person I was asking about. I tell them what I found and how I found it as part of a search and rescue vehicle. They go on to tell me that their daughter was found alive and well a couple hours into the search. IIRC she had wondered off while they were camping or something like that. But she was ok and everything was fine. I said I would send him the report I found and he was glad to have it.

I think this kind of stuff would be cool if it ever got back to the right person.

 

[thebigredrocker]

On your fuel pump spring issue, I noticed a while ago Marlin Crawler has a drain plug with a protruding magnet. Not sure if it’s 40 series compatible though.

 

[Nader]

I stick an extra neodymium magnet on all my cars' and motorcycles' drain plugs. You can get a stack of them in different diameters from Harbor Freight.

Have you heard of the shop-vac trick to keep oil in the crankcase while swapping out drain plugs? Put the vac hose in the oil filler up top, and there should be enough vacuum in the crankcase to minimize oil from pouring out of the drain plug in case you need to swap it out for whatever reason. Like forgetting a washer, sticking a magnet on it, etc. I've only heard about it, never tried it.

 

[ginmtb]

I stick an extra neodymium magnet on all my cars' and motorcycles' drain plugs. You can get a stack of them in different diameters from Harbor Freight.

Have you heard of the shop-vac trick to keep oil in the crankcase while swapping out drain plugs? Put the vac hose in the oil filler up top, and there should be enough vacuum in the crankcase to minimize oil from pouring out of the drain plug in case you need to swap it out for whatever reason. Like forgetting a washer, sticking a magnet on it, etc. I've only heard about it, never tried it.

Cool! Thanks for that I may have to try it!

 

[Nader]

That was a cool video demonstrating the trick. A caveat is that those Porsche engines have a modified dry sump oiling system, so there isn't as much oil above that drain hole as a standard wet sump engine like ours. His video might make it look easier and cleaner than if we tried it. Then again, it might also depend on the strength of your shop vac and its seal against the filler.

 

[TheHardWay]

I think I'll wait for some brave soul to be the first guinea pig.

 

[ginmtb]

Decided I couldn’t wait until the weekend to install the alternator so here it is. Curved bracket works perfectly. Hope everything I replaced works...

 

[ginmtb]

Well I rolled the cruiser out of the garage and fired it up - it had sat for over a week and usually after that long of a time off it takes several turns of the key. Not to mention I drained fuel when I swapped out the fuel pump. To my surprise it fired right up! Not sure if it was the ignition switch, alternator, fuel pump, or a combination of all of them. Whatever it is I’ll take it! Pretty excited about the results of that work.

 

[ginmtb]

Drove the cruiser into work today. Noticed on the drive home what sounded like a loudish rattle at idle. But maybe it is a knock. Here is a video of the engine at idle. Hard to hear it but it definitely sounds different. A little rough. As noted, new fuel pump, alternator, and ignition switch. Any thoughts? Maybe my valve adjustment went bad?

 

[ginmtb]

I did some tinkering - adjusted all the valves (feel better about it this time it actually made sense to me thanks @pngunme for the valve adjustment 101 lesson). Thing is purring nicely. However I decided to convert it to diesel:



Holy bad bearings Batman! This is the new alternator too. Hopefully they’ll replace it - I bought it awhile ago but just got around to installing it.

 

[Solace in Solitude]

any time Mike!!

Edit: can’t tell about the alternator. Almost sounds (to me) like when I was a kid... I’d clothespin a playing card to the spokes of my bike, to make it badass. Yes, we had wheels in those days.

Are you sure nothing is dragging on the pulley or vanes?

 

[Nader]

I'd stick with the old alternator if there was nothing wrong with it. "They don't make 'em like they used to!"

 

[ginmtb]

any time Mike!!

Edit: can’t tell about the alternator. Almost sounds (to me) like when I was a kid... I’d clothespin a playing card to the spokes of my bike, to make it badass. Yes, we had wheels in those days.

Are you sure nothing is dragging on the pulley or vanes?

If you watch the video closely, you will see the fins move when it gets quieter and then move again when it gets louder. That can't be right. Inquiring with Georg to see if he has a rebuilt OEM model. @Nader I haven't tossed my old one but it is some non-descript one (not OEM) so who knows how old or what it is or how much longer it will last. Ironically I figured replacing would provide me with some more reliability...

 

[Racer65]

Are you using the original pulley? Does the pulley look like it's aligned with the other pulleys?

 

[ginmtb]

Are you using the original pulley? Does the pulley look like it's aligned with the other pulleys?

Yes swapped pulleys since the one that came with it was too small. Bolted on perfectly and everything is aligned nicely. You can tell something is up when the spinning fins physically move and then the sound changes too. They should not move like that since they are bolted onto the spindle. Makes me think the bearings inside that the spindle spins on are bad hence the fins/spindle moving like that.

Georg is going to check and see what he has with an internal regulator which will eliminate the wonky external VR.

 

[gator25]

Did you swap out the spacer that goes behind the fan (on the alt) when you swapped the pulley? Just a thought.

 

[ginmtb]

Did you swap out the spacer that goes behind the fan (on the alt) when you swapped the pulley? Just a thought.

I did - I ended up taking out the new alternator and reinstalled the old one. I was checking out the spindle and I can actually rock it some so I’m thinking that is not a good thing. I tried the same thing on the old one and it didn’t move at all.

Weather is supposed to be great this week hence installing the old one so I can drive it. I’ll still look into the option Georg and I discussed.

Looks kind of silly with that fancy chrome mounting bracket.

 

[ginmtb]

Big milestone today! I know, shouldn’t be driving and using my phone.