Builds Yeller Gold (1 Viewer)

[Ol Yeller]

Life gets in the way, that happens on most things, getting my 1974 pig up to snuff for weekend duty has been no exception.

When I was a little kid my parents had a 71 that mom daily drove, it wasn’t long before my dad and uncle pulled the six and dropped in a 327, when that got tired dad put a Sears crate 350 in it. Other upgrades were 4 Mazda 808 bucket seats, power steering, shackle lift and pipe bumpers. By about 1983 it was done, I recall watching the road go by with the back doors closed, traded it off on a 1980 Cherokee Chief.

Fast forward a generation and I’m out wheeling with our “farm truck”, a 99 dodge quad cab in ex Ministry of Highways Yellow, this is good enough for years until the kids start getting big...I’m always kinda wistfully looking for a 55 for sale, most are so far gone or pricey they are non starters.

One day I search up FJ55 for sale and get a fresh ad, I’m the first caller, wife encourages me to go look. My buddy and I head into town and find it stuffed in a garage, fresh work has been done by the young guy selling it and it is very solid - for around here. Deposit is left and I return on the weekend to trailer it home.

 

[Ol Yeller]

Return with trailer, there is a brand new clutch but it won’t disengage...start it in gear and try to time it right that I don’t drive off the trailer nose. There is also a new carb & fuel pump but it only runs off a jerry can.

Talking to the young guy I get some back story - he bought it off a movie prop company, who had bought a warehouse full of gold mining equipment with this stuffed in the back corner, might explaine why it was fairly well preserved.

By total chance a good friend lives just 3 blocks away from where the young guy was staying, I find this picture quite interesting how similar the design language is for Japanese imports of the same age but different manufacture.

Lots of looks towing it home, I haven’t seen a 55 driving on the road in years at this point.

 

[Ol Yeller]

Comes with a bucket with new wheel cylinders, has some fresh paint in the engine bay...about now I first get on Mud and discover the motor is from a 75.

Did I mention the bias ply spare still has the sticker on it?

Time goes by, I clean it some, adjust the clutch, bleed the brakes and hook the fuel lines back to the tank. Test drives are very short and unsuccessful. Brakes are sketchy, constantly plugs the fuel filter.

 

[Ol Yeller]

Busy building my shop and not getting any younger so I spend 3k of project money on an important tool that should help me enjoy being a gear head for years to come.

First real job is pulling the tank to get it cleaned...

Beyond funky inside

Comes back much better

 

[Ol Yeller]

Play with brakes, carb, distributor and a horrible oil leak before driving a bit one summer.

 

[Ol Yeller]

Driving around is acceptable but unpredictable at times, still fun to put a few easy miles on.

View attachment 1974602

I decide it’s not ready to do family outings with the worn out brakes, even new linings after this didn’t help much because the drums are so out of round, I think it sat in that warehouse many years.

I decide that 60 axles and power steering are on my wish list, along with new lift springs.

 

[Ol Yeller]

I found a 62 axle for the front

And a steering box off the same rusty pile

A full set of OME springs arrive, 60 series heavies...my plan is to drill the rear axle perch off center to make up the 1” further forward axle placement of the 60 pack.

Life is busy, no progress on the 55, I permit it for our local club day.

 

[Ol Yeller]

So here I am, ~6 years later , cleaning the 62 housing and striping the 3rd members outta the 55 axles to re-use.

I’m not sure if these severely pitted knuckles need attention before I move on?

Almost all the studs came out because the ends were peened over, at least it drained the diff.

This had a hard life, broken spring pack...when I did the tank I had a heck of a time getting it back in, I realized after it was pushing the collapsed cargo floor up.

 

[Big Sexy]

Nicely done story line. The pictures help show your progress / woes. I'm jealous of that fine looking lift...

I completely understand how life gets in the way / constantly shifting priorities - it's a balancing act for us men. Family time is a top priority.

My '79 is 80-90% complete I guess. As I look back on the project, all the time, effort and $$$, I would say the work was enjoyable - the small incremental fixes and improvements kept me motivated but, I had to walk away from it for weeks at a time as well....

Glad to see that you have/are making good progress on such a worthwhile vehicle. I hope you continue to keep us updated.

Life is very short gentleman. Enjoy it.

 

[scrapdaddy]

Cool history too, very lucky finding a clean one. I look forward to your progress.

 

[scrapdaddy]

Let's talk about the pitted knuckles. What's the worst that would happen, the seal/wiper couldn't keep all the grease wiped off and some builds up over time, maybe quicker than we think. If you use good Marlin double lip axle seals and keep the oil out of the knuckle then the grease might stay firm and not run out the pits.

I thought someone tried to epoxy the pits smooth, not sure if it worked.

Anybody have ideas?

 

[RocketCityCrzrs]

Such a good read, keep the updates coming.

My knuckles had some pitting too when I rebuilt them. I didn't do anything special to them, just put them back together. That was about a year ago and 10k miles with no issues

 

[RUSH55]

Awesome story man! Glad to see you got a thread going for your rig! What a sweet find with a cool story!

As far as the pitting on the knuckles, it would probably be fine if you left it, but if the cosmetic aspect bothers you too much, my first thought is maybe some solder like the body guys use. You could probably also get away with laying some welds in there then grinding smooth - I’d go with some tacks or short stitch beads to keep the heat down on that area. But I’m not entirely sure of the hardness and metal composition of those knuckle balls and would hate for the heat to cause cracks - BUT people do cut-and-turns all the time and weld to that knuckle piece without issue. Could also just fill em with bondo, sand it down and paint over it.

 

[PabloCruise]

I have been wondering if you had a build thread!

 

[Ol Yeller]

Such a good read, keep the updates coming.

My knuckles had some pitting too when I rebuilt them. I didn't do anything special to them, just put them back together. That was about a year ago and 10k miles with no issues

This is great feedback, as this rig will never see many miles in any given year, one less thing to worry about.

 

[61twpw]

Great find! Life does hold us up sometimes, but secret is to keep at it. My lift is one of the best additions my shop ever got. Enjoyed the read.

 

[Ol Yeller]

Spent Mothers day cooking meals and getting some garden fence up. Headed to the shop after dinner and pulled some more stuff loose on the pig.

Did I mention I hate drum brakes...

Opened the diff cover, a bit furry in there but the bearings feel fine, tried manipulating the pinion and it feels tight so I think it will just get a seal once it’s on the bench.

 

[wngrog]

Thanks for the great read. Awesome. Keep this roll going.

 

[Ol Yeller]

My son had to paint a school project tonight so I took advantage and had a helper for pulling the 3rd out, having never done much on a solid axle before I was learning too as we went.

Got it safely out without loosing bits or dropping it on the floor - win.

 

[wngrog]

Those get heavier every year.