Project "Sparkle Wrench"....1972 TLC 40 and all his rusty friends!!! (2 Viewers)

[toomanytoyzz]

Project "Sparkle Wrench"....1972 TLC 40.

The battle is about to begin. I just got this jewel deliverd from NC from mud member NCJeff a week ago. For the price, I was expecting the worst, but the 'ole boy actually has good bones. The frame is in excellent shape, and though the body has it share of iron ore necrosis, I have the tools to repair him.

The plan (for now) is get the body off the frame and on the spit which should only be a couple hours of work, and get it to the media blaster. I'm not going factory specs with this build so alot of the sheetmetal will be fabbed. I think I will purchase the rear floor to keep it sort of factory looking. The front floors look ok and will be patched accordingly, but the rockers and 1/4's will need to be replaced. The rear sill will be custom made. Alot of good threads on this site for that fab job. All in all the tub isn't a complete loss compared to some I've owned in the past.

Here's some teaser pics before I get it on the rotisserie and ready for the blaster. I'll be ordering the epoxy primer this week. Gotta get it in epoxy ASAP after blasting.

 

[toomanytoyzz]

Here's a few more.

 

[toomanytoyzz]

...and some more.

 

[toomanytoyzz]

...and the finalfew (obviously for now)!!

 

[toomanytoyzz]

No tear down progress YET, but I'm heading up to my dad's shop on Sunday to start getting the front end off and hopefully the body ready for (or close to)removal. One good thing is everything on the dash and most components on the firewall have been removed. Too bad I don't have them to reinstall after bodywork and paint, but my plan is to source a stock rust bucket for most of the missing pieces and drivetrain. That will be WAY down the road.

One positive thing is my father-in-law is letting me bring the tub down to his house/garage so I will not have an hour and fifteen minute trek to work on it. This will definitely speed up the rebuild process. He's got a decent amount of tools and I brought one of my 110v Miller mig welders down. I don't have my plasma torch so my cutoff wheel and electric sheers will have to get the job done.

I am bored at work, so I have been playing around with a tailgate I am planning on fabbing up to replace the FUBAR'd barn doors that came with the vehicle. I'm gonna use some 1"x3"x1/8" rectangular tube I have to frame it out and back it with some 1/8" sheetmetal. I'm probably gonna fabricate the hinges myself, and buy a chain/wire kit to hold the gate up when open. I also have some decent latches I bought a while back to secure it to the 1/4 when it's closed. The icing on the cake will be the embossed TOYOTA section I removed from a 1981 Toyota Pickup I had a few years back. The gate was rusted to hell and this was the only salvageable section. I think it will look good. I'll post pics as I go.

Please excuse my CRAPPY attempt at artwork. I'm sure you can get the gist.

 

[toomanytoyzz]

I got to work on the rig for a few hours today. I took the piece of drift wood which was being utilized as the rear channel. I also took the state of the art patch work using sheetmetal/aluminum etc. etc. out of the gas tank section of the tub. It looks GREAT now.

I did get the front end sheetmetal removed failry quickly with only a couple broken bolts. All in all not a bad few hours. My next stage is to get everything removed from the cowl like the heater lines, wiring harness, brake lines, linkages etc. and cut the body mount bolts off. Then the body will be ready to come off. Does anyone have any good pics of how they rigged up the rear section of the tub to attach it to a rotisserie? I'm trying to think of a way to do it which will let me work around the rusted sections that need to be replaced.

Here's a few pics.

 

[toomanytoyzz]

Here's a few more.

 

[toomanytoyzz]

....and the last for tonight. I also shot a vid and posted it on youtube. I've posted it here. Enjoy!!!

 

[DSRTRDR]

 

[toomanytoyzz]

Got up to work on the FJ today. It was a REALLY nice day and though I got some good sunburn on my neck, it was well worth it. I braced the tub up and cut out the remaining pieces of the rear sill. I have to tweak the rear bumper back to square before I fab the rear sill, but it will have to wait til next week. I REALLY need to get this tub on the rotisserie, have it blasted and end it down to my father-in-laws garage so I can get to the real meat and potatoes of the rebuild.

I did get a chance to shoot a short vid of what I accomplished today. The windshield frame was a PITA like I knew it was going to be, but I used some round stock and welded 19mm nuts to the tops and welded the other end to the scew. I TRIED and TRIED using my impact driver with a 6lb sledge but they wouldn't budge. I've used this trick before with good results so I decided to give it a whirl. It worked good. I only broke two srews (which were in the same spot on either side), but at least it's off.

I will be heading up to the shop next Sunday in hopes to put it on the rotisserie, but we will see. I will keep you guys updated with pics and a vid as I go along.

 

[toomanytoyzz]

...here's a few more. The last two are the template GaFJ40Jeff sent me from the sill he made. Thank you sir!!!

 

[toomanytoyzz]

....and some more. I'd suggest this method uf you are having a hard time removing these screws like I did. It saves some time which is a rare commodity for me. Hope you like my ghetto fab work bech. The bolts weren't installed EXACTLY even. It's the pursuit of perfection.

 

[toomanytoyzz]

...and even some more.

 

[toomanytoyzz]

Here's the vid. Sorry, but it's only the tear down process. Not too exciting, but I'm hoping to get this ball rolling to the good stuff soon.

 

[JohnnyC]

Really good work so far... Love to see the tailgate when done... Post up the process... Almost had one of those tailgates... Crazy old guys kids sent all his stuff the scrap yard

I hope your going to keep the wood as a reminder of your hard work... I got a piece of sheet metal that has 3/4" bondo on it... Ahhhh the memories

 

[Hugh Heifer]

Awesome - log for a rear sill

Always happy when someone get down and dirty to save one.

 

[toomanytoyzz]

I hope your going to keep the wood as a reminder of your hard work... I got a piece of sheet metal that has 3/4" bondo on it... Ahhhh the memories

Yeah, I will put it on the wall of shame. I have saved some other "there I fixed it" pieces I've yanked off of vehicles in the past. My favorite so far being the One Way sign cut up to cover the rotted front DS floor in a 1973 Ford Bronco I bought about eight years ago. The PO cut it into tetris looking pieces and really spent some time precisely covering the rust using tons of rivets. The main downfall being just that....covering the rust instead of removing it first. The sign pieces being stratigically placed was just the icing on the cake. Some people should not be allowed around tools.

 

[toomanytoyzz]

Got crack-a-lackin' on the rear sill today. I only had a few hours to work on it today, but I did make some progress on the sill. It started off slow because I was at a loss after poking the holes in the bottom section as to how I was going to cut the 1/4" steel tube so I can access the bolts from behind the sill. My torch setup is still at my dad's house (apparently out of ACY) and my plasma cutter is a smaller unit only rated for 1/8" steel on a good day. My cousin showed up and gave me the idea to use a hole saw kit I had in my toolbox to open up the section. I was nervous about the curved section not giving enough room to get a wrench in there, but I was happily proved wrong after poking the first hole.

I then moved on to the top and bottom curved sections. I got thwm cut out, but need to purchase the straps to hook them together. I forgot how most guys who make the sill weld the curved pieces/strap to the tube. Is it over top of the tube or butted up to it?

Here's some pics. Hoping to get up there one night this week as well as next Sunday.

 

[toomanytoyzz]

Here's the four curved sections. I used 1/8" steel only because that's all I had lying around. I still think it will be stout enough. It will definitely be easier to get the strap curved over thicker material.

I did get to clean the pieces up ALOT to make them uniform!! Like I said, my plasma cutter tends to struggle on 1/8" steel.

 

[toomanytoyzz]

Well, it was a crappy cold day in the Northeast, but I managed to take the drive to my dad's shop and get a few hours on the '72. Really only got to finish off the rear sill with the exception of gronding the outer welds. It was getting too late so I decided to wait 'til next time.

I am still up in the air about putting full quarters on or just patching the existing ones. My plan next weekend is to get the rig into "my designated bay" and start chemically stripping the 1/4's to see what I'm in for. I'll keep you updated.