FJ40 I call Shipwreck

[Deaf Bob]

Get stuck HARD, and out easy!
Hope it all is fun!

[ratpatrol66]

I see you made it in the readers rides edition of Petersons 4 Wheel and Offroad.

[SuperBuickGuy]

It was a blast today
Other then continually having to unwedge Buick from my seat


pretty, it is


It worked pretty well, not ready to claim it's reliable


and got clearer as the day progressed


with a bit of time to play in the mud

[SuperBuickGuy]

so the list to fix is actually pretty benign and short.
1) remove the driver's side header and fix a leak
2) fix a couple wiring issues (one headlight and a marker aren't working all the time)
3) get the front stabilizer on and maybe lower the panhard bar mount
4) fix the linkage for rear 4 lo - I didn't have low today because it wouldn't come out of high... I'm thinking I simply need to give up on this mechanism and try a different one
5) put a doggie block to keep Buick in the back.... he was a pain today
6) I'm going to change the thermostat again.... today, it was either 220* or 180*.... to me that's a faulty thermostat or the computer is bouncing between it thinking it's cold and richening the mixture (which is either a sensor or a computer)... so I'll change one at a time but see if I can't solve that
7) I need to raise the back at least 1 1/2"

In other news, the power steering cooler worked great and solved the whining issue
the water pump pulley fixed the squeak
there was only the occasional leak around the edges - and it was raining pretty steadily.

and in random news. the truck, loaded weighs 5060

[ratpatrol66]

Where were you out playing today?

[SuperBuickGuy]

I was - doing something I've never done with such an involved project.... driving it in the rain, mud, and snow....

[Deaf Bob]

Went out, had fun, came home..success !!

[SuperBuickGuy]

Bangshift was first, now the others start noticing


I'm supposed to do a shoot with a Toyota Magazine for a feature.... crossing fingers that it'll happen - that'd be cool.

[DanStokes]

VERY cool! It's great when your efforts are noticed and appreciated. And the FJ is certainly worthy.

Dan

[silver_bullet]

totally cool!

[SuperBuickGuy]

Headers, ugh!
I 'saved' myself time and effort by buying what I thought was 18 ga stainless headers. They might be stainless, but I'm thinking they're chinesium... before anyone gets on my case about these silicone welds, this is to simply to reduce leakage until I can build new ones.... but since there's a deck, a trailer, a RV trailer before I have that kind of time to invest...

I flattened these last time I did this


you can see where they're leaking - that rust color comes from the exhaust leak


I do like Percy's gaskets - these are reuseable... and reused




silicone weld time

blowing lots of holes because they're maybe 20 ga.

and more rust repair coming... but first

doors

[SuperBuickGuy]

a bit more work


knocked it down


premature primer, but for a reason .... it's getting too cold to work on these so it's time to prime them and stick them into the rafters then pull them down when Spring springs

[silver_bullet]

sounds like a plan.... doors are looking awesome!

[SuperBuickGuy]

so it's time to finish the roof install.... was waiting for instructions, but got tired of waiting - which means it could be wrong, but it's not.
screw in the twisties


then take a deep breath and cut a hole in your brand-new, $1,500 top


and put the ring on

that was the first one... next round went a bit easier
mark the heads

then trim a bunch and install


finally a better plan... mark the heads as above, then use the backing ring to mark how much material to cut out

like so

by now, cutting holes is easy

punch 4 holes for the tabs


and hammer over using a block of wood as a dolly behind the mount.... easy, no?

[DanStokes]

Spiffy! But I know what you mean about making holes in soft trim - once and done, there's no welding in the hole and refinishing.

Dan