[SKINNER]

It seems like I do more reading than posting on Ih8mud, but I thought I might share a couple photos of my 1984 FJ60. I pulled the body this weekend with plans to complete an overall freshening (hopefully a quick one at that) in time for paint this spring.

[SKINNER]

Basic plan is to go through and freshen everything. Current plans include AAL, new shocks, rebuild both propshafts, rebuild steering gear, knuckles, replace brake/fuel lines, reseal the SBC, and I have the TBI setup from an 89 C1500 that will be going on. Oh, and of course clean and paint frame, springs, axles, underbody, etc.

After this is all completed I should be ready for paint in the spring.

[NocalFJ60]

Sounds like a good project. Nice shop. Keep us posted. I enjoy the pictures.

[sterling]

Wow!
Nice shop, should make things just a little easier!


Keep us posted on the progress

[made4surf]

Nice resto.

How do you tear yourself away from such a beautiful shop?

[bigDcruiser]

holy hell i'm jelous. is that your personal shop? you should be able to make quick work of her w/ a set-up like that.

[SKINNER]

Thanks for all the compliments on the shop! I built it last year and it sure makes things easier. I've spent too much time working on my back in the weather, but now I have 1100 sq.ft of heated paradise (seperate from "the wifes" garage) to work in!

The lift was a christmas present from my wife, so a frame off only makes sense, right?

[BillyGHusk]

Originally Posted by SKINNER

The lift was a christmas present from my wife, so a frame off only makes sense, right?

holy ****

My wifes Christmas present to me(that she doesn't know she gave me) was a set of OEM Aussie mirrors....

[made4surf]

Skinner, You the MAN!

[Tvaldriz]

Skinner:

Man, what a neat shop. Should make the restoration project
enjoyable.


Tom

[SKINNER]

Just a quick update: another engineer I work with asked if I could put a clutch in his car this morning....Murphy's Law! So I am now working to drop the body back on the frame so that the FJ isn't tying up the lift. Before hand I decided to pull the engine, trans, transfer case, and Ranger overdrive. Couple pics:

[SKINNER]

I went ahead and set the body back on the frame last night and got the shop cleaned up. Sorry, no pics.

I'll be back up and running as soon as I get this clutch job off of my lift.

Anybody have any recommendations on the easiest way to clean the 24 years of grime off of the cab floor (while overhead)? I did a preliminary pressure washing on my back, however, there are still some areas of heavy build up.

[northwest]

Great shop. Way to go on this project. Would love to do the same one day. Please post more pics.

[chukardog]

What does a lift like that cost? Looking at building another garage and this thread just talked me into a lift.

[SKINNER]

Originally Posted by chukardog

What does a lift like that cost? Looking at building another garage and this thread just talked me into a lift.

They can vary widely, however, mine was a steal at $1400.

[SKINNER]

I got a chance to pull the cruiser body again tonight (bye-bye clutch job). I've also stripped the 350 down and have degreased as best as possible. I'm now waiting for a warmer day (25*F today) so that I can roll it outside for a good pressure washing before painting and swapping intakes.

As for the frame, I've got it stripped of bumpers, spare tire xmember, brake/fuel lines, etc., and started wire wheeling it tonight in preparation for a good coat of RustBullet. However, my wire wheel is worn out from my last project so progress was slow. And again, I'm waiting for a warmer day so that I can pressure wash.

Here are a couple pics:

[jgordon]

Damn. Nice shop, nice progress.

[SKINNER]

Originally Posted by jgordon

Damn. Nice shop, nice progress.

Thanks man!

[simmadown]

Great thread, Skinner. Keep it coming!

[SKINNER]

Weekend Update.

I made a lot of progress cleaning the frame this weekend. 3 wire wheels later, I just about have the entire frame stripped (need to flip and do bottom side yet). I started this inside the garage Friday night and managed to make a HUGE mess. Luckily, it warmed up to 44 this afternoon. So, I rolled the frame outside to finish wire wheeling the front half (which gave me a chance to mop the floor). Enjoy:









I also set up a pseudo paint booth (using the FJ as a ceiling) to start freshening up the 350. I'll show a pic of the paint booth; but you guys will have to wait for a pic of the 350 until after it's done.

[Marc311]

Nice. Real cool to watch it unfold. Keep the pics coming.

[mel lowe]

The paint booth is nice.

Looks like fun!

[klinetime574]

Very good job. I love watching someone make a classic new again.

[SKINNER]

Thanks for the nice comments guys! Don't be jealous over the paint booth...I know some may look at it as boasting, but I've got a lot of money invested in it and I was just so proud that I had to share it.

Anyhow, I got board after eating dinner (what's with the lack of quality TV anymore?) and went out to the garage to continue the madness. Let's just say I had a clean floor . I went ahead and pulled the axles and leafs; which was a major PITA as only one of the cross pins came out without me having to cut it. Here's a couple more pics:

The bottom's not so clean, looks like I'll be wire-wheeling tomorrow night.




Both axles awaiting rebuilds & fresh coats of paint




Front axle; and it's taken a lot of pressure washing to even get it this clean:


And, sneak peak of the 350. Awaiting TBI manifold and new oil pan, timing chain & cover, and valve covers:

[SKINNER]

No real photo updates for today, but I did get the majority of the engine pieces cleaned/painted tonight. In addition I pulled the pan on the SBC and found it is a 4 bolt main block. Running the casting #'s indicates its a high nickel block from an early 70's camaro...pretty cool I guess.

[Michael.lee]

Impressive. Your shop rocks!

[SKINNER]

Originally Posted by Michael.lee

Impressive. Your shop rocks!

Thanks man! I should be posting some new pics very soon. I took Monday off, and hope to get the frame painted with rust bullet and the front rear axles rebuilt.

[rchalmers3]

Skinner,

You asked a question earlier about the best way to clean the body on the underside.
If you have more work besides cleaning the underside of the body, like sectioning out rust you might want to consider the utility of a rotisserie. This gives you a comfortable work position on almost every surface of the body.

I have seen on other threads some designs with a materials list to assist you in the assembly if you choose to make one.

Thanks for posting, I find your your project encouraging.

Rick

[SKINNER]

Originally Posted by rchalmers3

Skinner,

You asked a question earlier about the best way to clean the body on the underside.
If you have more work besides cleaning the underside of the body, like sectioning out rust you might want to consider the utility of a rotisserie. This gives you a comfortable work position on almost every surface of the body.

I have seen on other threads some designs with a materials list to assist you in the assembly if you choose to make one.

Thanks for posting, I find your your project encouraging.

Rick

It's funny you say that. I just sold my rotisserie. I had built it for a Olds 442 project that a friend was working on, but the car ended up getting scrapped and the rotisserie was taking up so much space. It had hydraulic cylinders on each end and made it a breeze to flip the 442. You're right, it would have worked well for the FJ.

[SKINNER]

I had the day off today and I was able to get my frame painted with rust bullet. I sprayed it through an HVLP gun and it turned out excellent, however, I questions RustBullet's statement that it does not need to be thinned to be sprayed (they actually say it can't be thinned). I used the nozzle size that they recommend, but it still didn't spray as smoothly as I thought it should. Here are a few pics:














I'll be spraying the semi-gloss black on it tomorrow night.