A Little Refurbishment

[Rodger]

For a number of years the rear springs on our 40 have been very sad and the rear sits an inch and half lower than the front. We had tried a set of new 40 series springs only to discover that, being an ex winch race truck, that the springs were not 40, 60 or 70 series items and the guys who had built the truck couldn't remember what they had come off. During our last UK visit with the truck, we visited the same guys and after searching through their stock of rear springs found a pair that were the correct width but were just too long (that was discovered when we fitted them). During one of our desert trips with Dave2000 we were discussing the rear spring problem and he suggested that we combine the sets - the top two leaves of my old springs with the lower four from the new springs.

Lots of cleaning up and a lot of Dave's help of both sets and it worked.

And for the first time in many years the truck sits level. Thanks Dave.

It has been ten years since we painted our 40 and playing in the desert the sand, grit and stones take their toll so it was time for a little refurbishment. The front panels and wings had suffered so off they came and, guess what, that small hole was a whole load that needed addressing. Between the wing top and the vertical side panel there was a lot of ware so, after repairing, that we decided we would insert a rubber bead.

While the panels were off the engine had a clean and some paint, new thermostat, new hoses (the bottom one is a sleeved combination of two to mate the 40 rad to the 2H), plus oil change, new filters and so on. Plus re-setting the Voltage Regulator.

We discovered a small crack in the headlight bezel. When we originally painted, we did not strip the back of the bezel but this time we did - to discover more holes in it than a sieve. Out with the lead.

So the front valance, headlight bezel (which is supposed to be a creamier white), wings and side panels all got refurbished and painted with Toyota 050 but when we re-assembled it isn't the same white! So we have to re-visit the paint supplier (120kms round trip) in the near future plus the fact that the paint isn't hardening fully and we'll see what they have to say!!

We've still to do some bodywork on the rear, particularly where the mag mount was - hence the new cb aerial mount but won't start that until we have answers regarding the paint problems.

I predict that those panels are all going to come off again but maybe that's part of having a 40+ year old 40.

Regards,

Rodger

 

[Animal Mother]

Looks lovely. Well done.

 

[SteveJB]

Dont know anything about 40s but they do look a very nice way of life rather than the much thrown around lifestyle truck nice set of down pipes by the way did they come with the engine when you bought it or added after best of luck with the rest of the truck ta steve

 

[Rodger]

We picked up the headers in an sor.com sale a few years back and they were supposed to be for a 2H, and we brought them back from visiting our son in Canada. The suitcase was rather distorted! Except that the profiles were wrong so a friend got some new profiles cut and then welded it all together. The engine breathes a lot better and she pulls accordingly.
There is a thread early in the 40 section that shows how she was and her evolution which you might find interest - it's called Evolution of my 40

Thanks and regards,

Rodger

 

[froggy Steve]

looking Good Rodger, all set for Portugal this year Paint thing is a bit odd though - is it very hot where you are at the moment?

 

[Rodger]

Yes it's hot -high 30s most days (low 30s in shade) which should help the paint but no it is still soft after 8 weeks when it is usually thumb nail proof in 3.
Portugal is a bit of an unanswered question for us at the moment as there is so much going on and September/October just looks so busy so we have to see what falls into place and what falls by the wayside.
Good luck tomorrow.

Regards,
Rodger

 

[froggy Steve]

No worries and thanks...

 

[tonytoyota]

Hi Rodger that is a good job on the old cruiser love it thanks for the pics from Tony.

 

[goodoldboy]

For a number of years the rear springs on our 40 have been very sad and the rear sits an inch and half lower than the front. We had tried a set of new 40 series springs only to discover that, being an ex winch race truck, that the springs were not 40, 60 or 70 series items and the guys who had built the truck couldn't remember what they had come off. During our last UK visit with the truck, we visited the same guys and after searching through their stock of rear springs found a pair that were the correct width but were just too long (that was discovered when we fitted them). During one of our desert trips with Dave2000 we were discussing the rear spring problem and he suggested that we combine the sets - the top two leaves of my old springs with the lower four from the new springs.

View attachment 145934

Lots of cleaning up and a lot of Dave's help of both sets and it worked.

View attachment 145935

And for the first time in many years the truck sits level. Thanks Dave.

It has been ten years since we painted our 40 and playing in the desert the sand, grit and stones take their toll so it was time for a little refurbishment. The front panels and wings had suffered so off they came and, guess what, that small hole was a whole load that needed addressing. Between the wing top and the vertical side panel there was a lot of ware so, after repairing, that we decided we would insert a rubber bead.

View attachment 145936

While the panels were off the engine had a clean and some paint, new thermostat, new hoses (the bottom one is a sleeved combination of two to mate the 40 rad to the 2H), plus oil change, new filters and so on. Plus re-setting the Voltage Regulator.

View attachment 145937

We discovered a small crack in the headlight bezel. When we originally painted, we did not strip the back of the bezel but this time we did - to discover more holes in it than a sieve. Out with the lead.
View attachment 145938

So the front valance, headlight bezel (which is supposed to be a creamier white), wings and side panels all got refurbished and painted with Toyota 050 but when we re-assembled it isn't the same white! So we have to re-visit the paint supplier (120kms round trip) in the near future plus the fact that the paint isn't hardening fully and we'll see what they have to say!!

View attachment 145939

We've still to do some bodywork on the rear, particularly where the mag mount was - hence the new cb aerial mount but won't start that until we have answers regarding the paint problems.

I predict that those panels are all going to come off again but maybe that's part of having a 40+ year old 40.

Regards,

Rodger

Old leaf springs can be 're tempered but you need a lot of heat & of course some experience .Some companies used to offer this,service in the UK some years ago , for classics & HGVs.Some traveller mates of mine had this done on their Bedford FG IN Morocco back in the mid 90s.

 

[Towpack]

We used to have a spring manufacturer here in Sheffield who could make springs to any spec, leaf or coil. Kellett Springs, they disappeared some years ago but I think they were bought out and closed down.

 

[Rodger]

Well, firstly the paint appears to have hardened - at last. But when we tested the new springs the pins are too short and the axle moved back to its old position which caused the UJ holders to touch.
I contacted Owen Springs in the UK and sent drawings and they made new pins for me. 60 series axles sit on a rubber slipper pads and mine were shot so having ordered a new set the expected delivery date became August 30th - the day before we are leaving for some off-roading inland from Alicante. But we were scheduled to go to the UK for a week so when there I spoke with Simon Holton's assistant Sam and they emailed fiche extracts - that was Friday and. although not in stock at the the time of ordering I received them the following Thursday (the day we flew back) Brilliant service.
So now we have new pins, slipper pads and the truck is going back together. And we done the small repair on the rear... making progress.

Regards,

Rodger

 

[Rodger]

So the axle is fully located and we have changed the rear prop , rear UJ as the vibrations had created heat and was melting the grease so, to me, that indicated that at least the rubbers had perished . All done. Worth doing as two of the cups were struggling. Also removed the excess grease from the slider (caused by my over-enthusiasm with the grease gun). Couple more little jobs to do and then a test run on Saturday.

Recently I found a very interesting piece about BJ40 production dates:
When I first bought the truck I'd visited my then local Toyo dealer to get new filters and told them it was a '77 (according to the logbook). When the old guy behind the counter read the VIN number he said 'it's earlier than that'. I thought no more about it until I found the following information.
Prior to January 1st 1978 Toyota produced 31715 BJ40s from the beginning of February 1974 but did not specify numbers per month. The article, by an accredited Toyota archivist, states that production ran consistently at 675 per month. [31715/47 months] and my truck's number is 13719 so it was actually manufactured in September 1975.
Well I found it interesting - once a nerd always a nerd - I guess

Rodger