'86 FJ Restoration

[FJmonkey]

Awesome dude....

[paulfj03]

Wow, John. What a CLEAN FJ!! Good on ya!

[Pat Conlon]

Way to go John! Kudos!,

Nice work on the frame and those stainless steel header tubes. The bike looks bitchen.

Before you start the engine and heat up those shiney header tubes, wipe them down (twice) with lacquer thinner or alcohol to get off any oils or finger prints which may be on the metal.
If not, once you heat up those ss tubes, you will see every area where you touched them.
They will stain.

Good job! I love to see this kind of work...... Pat

[fj johnnie]

Thanks Pat. Good tip. So much to learn.

[Joe Sull]

And in addition this old girl showed up last fall. 25,000 original k's. $380 bucks how could I say no?

You should have said no just on principle  You can't buy a minibike for that money. I'm gonna be sick 

[fj johnnie]

And in addition this old girl showed up last fall. 25,000 original k's. $380 bucks how could I say no?

You should have said no just on principle  You can't buy a minibike for that money. I'm gonna be sick 

That's what happens when you check almost daily. Some people have no clue what to ask. Some people don't care. Some people just want to see the tail lights as soon as possible. A few of my buddies want me to buy their next bikes. The 1200 was only $450. The tank and all the plastics have original paint.

[Pat Conlon]

Johnnie, I gotta ask....did you by chance, bring a gun with you when you bought this bike?

And yea, can I get on your list for my next bike?

Well done.

[moparman70]

You picked the best year to restore --- hope I don't start something here......

Also, I learned something the hard way today --- when I pulled the motor on my 86 I can't remember just dropping it out with the lower frame attached --- maybe I did --- from your pics it looks so simple but I remember putting the motor back in was a little more difficult.

anyways -- beautiful bike

[WhiteBeard]

Wow, very nice.

Great work on the restoration!

Just a question on the side, what kind of camera did you use to take the pictures?
They are quite sharp and clear, nice colours...

Take care,
Nat

[keand3]

Wow, very nice.

Great work on the restoration!

Just a question on the side, what kind of camera did you use to take the pictures?
They are quite sharp and clear, nice colours...

Take care,
Nat

I agree with Nat.
The experience of following a thread with pictures this sharp is delightful!
Cheers
Ken

[fj johnnie]

  Canon rebel T2i. The credit for the good pictures go to my son. The crap ones are my iPhone. I am really bad at taking pictures, but when I start my 84 resto then I will try to take more pictures and try to make a more coherent posting of the process.
My first FJ was an 86 I bought in 87. The 90 I have has grown on me color wise but I must admit the ambulance colors are classic. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder however. The worst memory of the 86 was occasionally thinking, damn this thing is a bit heavy, but that was under extreme braking.

[fj johnnie]

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Here are the pictures of the completed 86.  A few little PITA issues still remain. The front brake needs to be bled as it is not perfect. Also the rear shock is no longer functioning properly. I do have a spare that can be used. Aside from that I need a couple shorter bolts to secure the horn as the splitter block for the front brake lines is no longer needed. I installed stainless brake lines . Runs good. Petcock issues have been resolved by applying a sealant to the rubber grommet the wires pass through. Now it will hold vacuum. Now all I can do is look at it. It was a fun project, and I now understand why some guys do this over and over again. It was a cheap way to entertain myself.





This is the current job. I had installed a Givi rack to the rear sub-frame of this bike. I over loaded the rearmost cross member of the sub frame with the rack/ top case. I had a quarter by inch and a half plate bent and welded in to replace the broken piece. It is now at the powder coater. When doing this I discovered my battery had run dry. So I ordered a voltage regulator from Randy.  A new Michelin Pilot Road 2 is on its way. Spring get your arse down here. This winter has driven me over the edge. And the only cure is Kokaloo!!!!

[jscgdunn]

Beautiful work!

[fj johnnie]

 Thank you.

[Antonn3]

great work fj johnnie ..
just an observation,, is the line that  goes from  the front caliper to anti dive valve correct in going inwards of the fork tubes as u are showing in the last pic?

Tony