The Blue Bomber

laguna80 · 10-12-07, 12:34 AM

Felt like it was time to make a thread for my ride. 74 FJ55 all stock aside from the tires. The truck has some serious rust in all the wrong places. Frame is still really good. Tailgate is horrible. Rockers are even worse. Floorpan is bad as well, doors too. The roof is probably the worst of all. I bought this the day it was posted on craigslist (I had been looking forever). I have no welding experience, but am a fast learner. Hopefully that will all work out. College has been getting in the way. Here's some preliminary shots.

laguna80 · 10-12-07, 12:36 AM

Rust now. underside of the rocker.

The roof.

More to come later.

laguna80 · 10-12-07, 01:03 AM

Oh yeah, naturally I'm having problems with the rear window. The front switch doesn't work at all, but the tailgate switch works partially. I have power to the panel. The circuit breaker and relay are fine. I don't have the window hooked up because I'm trying to figure out how to get the thing to work. Also, the channel is totally rusted out. Anyways, I think the tailgate key switch is partially bad. I can get it to operate up and when I switch the wires, the thing operates down. I'm thinking that the down wire is possibly grounded out somewhere or that it's not properly connected to the switch. Hopefully, I'll figure it out soon.

n2666s · 10-12-07, 01:18 AM

check the tailgate motor gear........they are almost always cracked and need to be replaced........the tailgates I have seen with problems.......always ended up with finding a cracked plastic gear............"Schumkster" did a very nice writeup on Toyota trails a cpl. of years ago on tailgate trouble shooting;

Lou

laguna80 · 10-12-07, 01:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by n2666s

check the tailgate motor gear........they are almost always cracked and need to be replaced........the tailgates I have seen with problems.......always ended up with finding a cracked plastic gear............"Schumkster" did a very nice writeup on Toyota trails a cpl. of years ago on tailgate trouble shooting;

Lou

Thanks for the tip. I bought all replacement stuff from one of the members here. The mechanical stuff is in good shape. When I turn the key to make it go down I get nothing except a click. But it responds really well when I make it go up. I was really thinking of buying one of those brass gears that were being made, but didn't because I didn't have all the equipment yet. Figured I'd just wait. I've seen that writeup mentioned in almost every thread that's about tailgate problems. It must be very good. I should probably become a TLCA member and try to get the back issue.

n2666s · 10-12-07, 05:45 PM

Lance at IPOR recently made up several sets of awsome rockers; you might give him a call and see if he has any left.......about twice or more the thickness of the originals!

Lou

UGA LEE · 10-13-07, 03:18 PM

Thats the May/June 2004 issue with that write up on the rear window. Just got done reading it............... again.

Hope you get it worked out.

n2666s · 10-13-07, 03:29 PM

did you inspect the gear visually?, trollhole and eventhough walked me through it, I was about ready to beat my head in with frustration at trying to get mine to work!

Lou

laguna80 · 10-13-07, 04:05 PM

Yep, I checked out the gear and it's still solid as plastic can be. I've taken out the tailgate key switch and inspected inside. There was a lot of crud built up inside and the contacts looked a little worn, so I cleaned it up a bit and filed the contacts a little. Still no luck. I'm almost 100% sure that either the wire going to the tailgate key switch is bad or the tumbler mechanism thingy isn't working right. I'm leaning toward wire based purely on previous experience. I feel that it has to be the wire or tumbler because if I switch wires on the little circuitboard, then the window will go down and if I switch them back it can go up. Only when I turn the key counterclockwise does it not do anything.

laguna80 · 10-13-07, 07:09 PM

Success! Turns out the contacts inside the tailgate key switch needed to be filed down some more. The mechanism works now, although I can't attach the glass because the tabs came off of the window channel.

laguna80 · 12-05-07, 08:23 PM

Jeebus, I really need to get to work on this thing. Unfortunately, finals is getting in the way for now. However, Christmas break (sorry I meant WINTER break)

will be a nice time for me to work in addition to studying for the MCATs. Wheel cylinder is leaking in the front and if I can find a minitruck or LC front end, then I will probably do disk brakes in the front this winter. I hope to get some rust repair done too.

LC_Hamma · 12-06-07, 12:58 PM

Good score, well kinda, it's a

:shrug:
Is the roof like that all the way around? You gonna chop it off & build it up

or stay stock like 99% of the "builds" on here

?

laguna80 · 12-07-07, 12:04 PM

Ya the roof is like that all the way around except for the rear. I really have no idea what I will do with it. To be perfectly honest, I think it rains to much here in Hawaii to chop the roof off. I'd end up getting wet on a weekly basis.

LC_Hamma · 12-07-07, 12:51 PM

You could do a targa top - cut it off right behind the rear seats. Fab up a cage & yer good to go crawlin on the lava rock

Or, you could just put a canopy top on there for the Fantasy Island look

laguna80 · 12-18-07, 04:51 PM

Got a bunch of zero rust heading my way and bought some H3PO4 today. I really need to get out to a junkyard and find me some disk brake parts. These wheel cylinders are killing me. :(

laguna80 · 12-26-07, 02:15 PM

I've got a lead on a minitruck axle that I can use for a disk brake swap and I just bought a Hobart Handler 125 on Amazon for 300.00 (Our house doesn't have 220v) I liked this one because I can upgrade to gas if I wanted, but it's really windy where I live a lot of the time so I figured flux cored would be better. I can't wait till that stuff gets here.

PabloCruise · 12-26-07, 02:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by laguna80

Got a bunch of zero rust heading my way and bought some H3PO4 today. I really need to get out to a junkyard and find me some disk brake parts. These wheel cylinders are killing me. :(

Or look up Lavarunner out your way. He found a disc brake Pig and then it sounded like he was getting out of Cruisers...

laguna80 · 12-26-07, 07:04 PM

Thanks, I'll look him up. Out of curiosity how bad is shipping for a front axle to Hawaii. I have no idea how much one weighs, but if anyone has shipped anything like that, then I'd like to know. Cruiserparts.net might be a possible source.

laguna80 · 12-29-07, 04:25 AM

I'm going to start prepping the body for painting and paint some of it using the "roller" technique. The zero rust arrived really fast. I'm really just using this to fill up the time till my welder arrives and/or I'm able to get disc brake parts. Hopefully, I can get that taken care of before classes start again.

laguna80 · 01-03-08, 04:47 PM

The welder should be here on the fourth.

Here's a pic of a small portion of the truck prepped and ready for paint.

I messed up the first coat because I didn't stir the paint properly. I decided to paint the whole rear end of the truck. The coat I put on one side was entirely too thick. I didn't get any orange peel so I just left it like that. Today, I did it properly. The paint was mixed well and the paint went on thin just how it's supposed to. Hopefully, the rest will turn out well too.

ChuckB · 01-04-08, 11:05 AM

Didn't we talk via PM? Which island are you on? I'm on Oahu. Would love to check our your piggy if possible?

(edit)

Just checked PM's. So is the 55 still on the big island or did you bring it over already?

laguna80 · 01-06-08, 09:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChuckB

Didn't we talk via PM? Which island are you on? I'm on Oahu. Would love to check our your piggy if possible?

(edit)

Just checked PM's. So is the 55 still on the big island or did you bring it over already?

Sorry, I've been out training at Schofield for the past 3 days. I brought the pig up from Big Island. Right now, I'm waiting on some disk brake parts to do a front disc conversion, then it will be road worthy again. You can come check it out if you like. I'll talk to you via pm for info.

laguna80 · 01-08-08, 03:13 PM

I'll post up some paint progress pics later on today. For now, I realized that my truck isn't as bad as I thought after seeing this one on the road.

laguna80 · 01-08-08, 05:30 PM

Here's a little update on how the paint looks. You can see the difference from the pics above.

laguna80 · 01-12-08, 03:27 PM

I got a couple of questions about welding for you peeps. To play it safe, I'm going to drop the fuel tank and plug the lines when I start welding. Is this what most of you all do? I'm got some huge sections of floor pan to weld in, do you take off the undercoating on the backside when you weld? How do you deal with places that are impossible to take off the undercoating on? If you don't do anything, does that lead to bad welds? Thanks for your time. I'll be posting up progress as time goes on, but it will be slow for now since I've got the MCAT in less than two weeks.

laguna80 · 01-13-08, 05:11 PM

Just tried welding for the first time. It's pretty fun.

I totally suck at it though. Here's pic, I really just wanted to see if I could lay a bead down...apparently I can't.

I think the sheetmetal was entirely too thin. I had the settings at their lowest.

cruiserbrett · 01-13-08, 05:19 PM

more often than not, the undercoating does lead to a little porosity in the weld, but catching fire and spreading is generally more of a concern. I would have a wet rag around to put out the small fires that inevitably start with welding a painted or undercoated surface. not a big deal, but a hose and a wet rag at the ready will help keep it under control.

10-12-07, 12:34 AM	#1
laguna80 IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: HI Posts: 399	The Blue Bomber Felt like it was time to make a thread for my ride. 74 FJ55 all stock aside from the tires. The truck has some serious rust in all the wrong places. Frame is still really good. Tailgate is horrible. Rockers are even worse. Floorpan is bad as well, doors too. The roof is probably the worst of all. I bought this the day it was posted on craigslist (I had been looking forever). I have no welding experience, but am a fast learner. Hopefully that will all work out. College has been getting in the way. Here's some preliminary shots. __________________ Blue Bomber Build http://forum.ih8mud.com/fj55-iron-pi...ue-bomber.html 1974 FJ55 Stock w/ Canadian weight reduction (that's going away though) front wheel disks. "In order to find his equal, an Irishman is forced to talk to God."

10-12-07, 12:36 AM	#2
laguna80 IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: HI Posts: 399	Rust now. underside of the rocker. The roof. More to come later. __________________ Blue Bomber Build http://forum.ih8mud.com/fj55-iron-pi...ue-bomber.html 1974 FJ55 Stock w/ Canadian weight reduction (that's going away though) front wheel disks. "In order to find his equal, an Irishman is forced to talk to God."

10-12-07, 01:03 AM	#3
laguna80 IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: HI Posts: 399	Oh yeah, naturally I'm having problems with the rear window. The front switch doesn't work at all, but the tailgate switch works partially. I have power to the panel. The circuit breaker and relay are fine. I don't have the window hooked up because I'm trying to figure out how to get the thing to work. Also, the channel is totally rusted out. Anyways, I think the tailgate key switch is partially bad. I can get it to operate up and when I switch the wires, the thing operates down. I'm thinking that the down wire is possibly grounded out somewhere or that it's not properly connected to the switch. Hopefully, I'll figure it out soon. __________________ Blue Bomber Build http://forum.ih8mud.com/fj55-iron-pi...ue-bomber.html 1974 FJ55 Stock w/ Canadian weight reduction (that's going away though) front wheel disks. "In order to find his equal, an Irishman is forced to talk to God."

10-13-07, 03:18 PM	#7
UGA LEE IH8MUD Junior Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Alma Arkansas Posts: 104	Thats the May/June 2004 issue with that write up on the rear window. Just got done reading it............... again. Hope you get it worked out. __________________ Son, you got a panty on your head. 1970 Fj 40(Linus),350,th350, 203/205, d60,14blt,coils,38s 1969 Fj 55 (Luigi) work in progress 1971 Fj 55 1971 Fj 40 1977 Fj 40 (all sold) 1985 Fj 60 (Lucious) 1997 Fzj 80 (Lucy)

10-13-07, 04:05 PM	#9
laguna80 IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: HI Posts: 399	Yep, I checked out the gear and it's still solid as plastic can be. I've taken out the tailgate key switch and inspected inside. There was a lot of crud built up inside and the contacts looked a little worn, so I cleaned it up a bit and filed the contacts a little. Still no luck. I'm almost 100% sure that either the wire going to the tailgate key switch is bad or the tumbler mechanism thingy isn't working right. I'm leaning toward wire based purely on previous experience. I feel that it has to be the wire or tumbler because if I switch wires on the little circuitboard, then the window will go down and if I switch them back it can go up. Only when I turn the key counterclockwise does it not do anything. __________________ Blue Bomber Build http://forum.ih8mud.com/fj55-iron-pi...ue-bomber.html 1974 FJ55 Stock w/ Canadian weight reduction (that's going away though) front wheel disks. "In order to find his equal, an Irishman is forced to talk to God."

10-12-07, 01:18 AM	#4
n2666s IH8MUD Lifer Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 2,032	check the tailgate motor gear........they are almost always cracked and need to be replaced........the tailgates I have seen with problems.......always ended up with finding a cracked plastic gear............"Schumkster" did a very nice writeup on Toyota trails a cpl. of years ago on tailgate trouble shooting; Lou

10-12-07, 05:45 PM	#6
n2666s IH8MUD Lifer Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 2,032	Lance at IPOR recently made up several sets of awsome rockers; you might give him a call and see if he has any left.......about twice or more the thickness of the originals! Lou

10-13-07, 03:29 PM	#8
n2666s IH8MUD Lifer Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 2,032	did you inspect the gear visually?, trollhole and eventhough walked me through it, I was about ready to beat my head in with frustration at trying to get mine to work! Lou

10-13-07, 07:09 PM	#10
laguna80 IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: HI Posts: 399	Success! Turns out the contacts inside the tailgate key switch needed to be filed down some more. The mechanism works now, although I can't attach the glass because the tabs came off of the window channel. __________________ Blue Bomber Build http://forum.ih8mud.com/fj55-iron-pi...ue-bomber.html 1974 FJ55 Stock w/ Canadian weight reduction (that's going away though) front wheel disks. "In order to find his equal, an Irishman is forced to talk to God."

12-05-07, 08:23 PM	#11
laguna80 IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: HI Posts: 399	Jeebus, I really need to get to work on this thing. Unfortunately, finals is getting in the way for now. However, Christmas break (sorry I meant WINTER break) will be a nice time for me to work in addition to studying for the MCATs. Wheel cylinder is leaking in the front and if I can find a minitruck or LC front end, then I will probably do disk brakes in the front this winter. I hope to get some rust repair done too. __________________ Blue Bomber Build http://forum.ih8mud.com/fj55-iron-pi...ue-bomber.html 1974 FJ55 Stock w/ Canadian weight reduction (that's going away though) front wheel disks. "In order to find his equal, an Irishman is forced to talk to God."

12-06-07, 12:58 PM	#12
LC_Hamma The Anti-Leafer Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Dallas, Georgia TLCA# 3343 Posts: 1,699	Good score, well kinda, it's a :shrug: Is the roof like that all the way around? You gonna chop it off & build it up or stay stock like 99% of the "builds" on here ? __________________ '73 FJ55 http://forum.ih8mud.com/fj55-iron-pig-preservation-society/76835-pig-chebby-avalanche-trim-%3D.html '73 FJ40 http://s132.photobucket.com/albums/q...&addtype=local '78 FJ40 - future crawler in pieces '93 Ram W350 5 spd. SRW CTD '99 Ram 3500 4X4 5 spd. DRW CTD '74 BMW 3.0CS future project

12-07-07, 12:04 PM	#13
laguna80 IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: HI Posts: 399	Ya the roof is like that all the way around except for the rear. I really have no idea what I will do with it. To be perfectly honest, I think it rains to much here in Hawaii to chop the roof off. I'd end up getting wet on a weekly basis. __________________ Blue Bomber Build http://forum.ih8mud.com/fj55-iron-pi...ue-bomber.html 1974 FJ55 Stock w/ Canadian weight reduction (that's going away though) front wheel disks. "In order to find his equal, an Irishman is forced to talk to God."

12-07-07, 12:51 PM	#14
LC_Hamma The Anti-Leafer Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Dallas, Georgia TLCA# 3343 Posts: 1,699	You could do a targa top - cut it off right behind the rear seats. Fab up a cage & yer good to go crawlin on the lava rock Or, you could just put a canopy top on there for the Fantasy Island look __________________ '73 FJ55 http://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=76835 '73 FJ40 http://s132.photobucket.com/albums/q...&addtype=local '78 FJ40 - future crawler in pieces '93 Ram W350 5 spd. SRW CTD '99 Ram 3500 4X4 5 spd. DRW CTD '74 BMW 3.0CS future project

12-18-07, 04:51 PM	#15
laguna80 IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: HI Posts: 399	Got a bunch of zero rust heading my way and bought some H3PO4 today. I really need to get out to a junkyard and find me some disk brake parts. These wheel cylinders are killing me. :( __________________ Blue Bomber Build http://forum.ih8mud.com/fj55-iron-pi...ue-bomber.html 1974 FJ55 Stock w/ Canadian weight reduction (that's going away though) front wheel disks. "In order to find his equal, an Irishman is forced to talk to God."

12-26-07, 02:15 PM	#16
laguna80 IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: HI Posts: 399	I've got a lead on a minitruck axle that I can use for a disk brake swap and I just bought a Hobart Handler 125 on Amazon for 300.00 (Our house doesn't have 220v) I liked this one because I can upgrade to gas if I wanted, but it's really windy where I live a lot of the time so I figured flux cored would be better. I can't wait till that stuff gets here. __________________ Blue Bomber Build http://forum.ih8mud.com/fj55-iron-pi...ue-bomber.html 1974 FJ55 Stock w/ Canadian weight reduction (that's going away though) front wheel disks. "In order to find his equal, an Irishman is forced to talk to God."

12-26-07, 07:04 PM	#18
laguna80 IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: HI Posts: 399	Thanks, I'll look him up. Out of curiosity how bad is shipping for a front axle to Hawaii. I have no idea how much one weighs, but if anyone has shipped anything like that, then I'd like to know. Cruiserparts.net might be a possible source. __________________ Blue Bomber Build http://forum.ih8mud.com/fj55-iron-pi...ue-bomber.html 1974 FJ55 Stock w/ Canadian weight reduction (that's going away though) front wheel disks. "In order to find his equal, an Irishman is forced to talk to God."

12-29-07, 04:25 AM	#19
laguna80 IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: HI Posts: 399	I'm going to start prepping the body for painting and paint some of it using the "roller" technique. The zero rust arrived really fast. I'm really just using this to fill up the time till my welder arrives and/or I'm able to get disc brake parts. Hopefully, I can get that taken care of before classes start again. __________________ Blue Bomber Build http://forum.ih8mud.com/fj55-iron-pi...ue-bomber.html 1974 FJ55 Stock w/ Canadian weight reduction (that's going away though) front wheel disks. "In order to find his equal, an Irishman is forced to talk to God."

01-03-08, 04:47 PM	#20
laguna80 IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: HI Posts: 399	The welder should be here on the fourth. Here's a pic of a small portion of the truck prepped and ready for paint. I messed up the first coat because I didn't stir the paint properly. I decided to paint the whole rear end of the truck. The coat I put on one side was entirely too thick. I didn't get any orange peel so I just left it like that. Today, I did it properly. The paint was mixed well and the paint went on thin just how it's supposed to. Hopefully, the rest will turn out well too. __________________ Blue Bomber Build http://forum.ih8mud.com/fj55-iron-pi...ue-bomber.html 1974 FJ55 Stock w/ Canadian weight reduction (that's going away though) front wheel disks. "In order to find his equal, an Irishman is forced to talk to God."

01-04-08, 11:05 AM	#21
ChuckB Currently Cruiser-less... Join Date: May 2003 Location: Honolulu, HI TLCA# 14425 Posts: 575	Didn't we talk via PM? Which island are you on? I'm on Oahu. Would love to check our your piggy if possible? (edit) Just checked PM's. So is the 55 still on the big island or did you bring it over already? __________________ '72 (Sold) '00 LX-UZJ100 (Sold) '86 FJ60 (Sold)

01-08-08, 03:13 PM	#23
laguna80 IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: HI Posts: 399	I'll post up some paint progress pics later on today. For now, I realized that my truck isn't as bad as I thought after seeing this one on the road. __________________ Blue Bomber Build http://forum.ih8mud.com/fj55-iron-pi...ue-bomber.html 1974 FJ55 Stock w/ Canadian weight reduction (that's going away though) front wheel disks. "In order to find his equal, an Irishman is forced to talk to God."

01-08-08, 05:30 PM	#24
laguna80 IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: HI Posts: 399	Here's a little update on how the paint looks. You can see the difference from the pics above. __________________ Blue Bomber Build http://forum.ih8mud.com/fj55-iron-pi...ue-bomber.html 1974 FJ55 Stock w/ Canadian weight reduction (that's going away though) front wheel disks. "In order to find his equal, an Irishman is forced to talk to God."

01-12-08, 03:27 PM	#25
laguna80 IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: HI Posts: 399	I got a couple of questions about welding for you peeps. To play it safe, I'm going to drop the fuel tank and plug the lines when I start welding. Is this what most of you all do? I'm got some huge sections of floor pan to weld in, do you take off the undercoating on the backside when you weld? How do you deal with places that are impossible to take off the undercoating on? If you don't do anything, does that lead to bad welds? Thanks for your time. I'll be posting up progress as time goes on, but it will be slow for now since I've got the MCAT in less than two weeks. __________________ Blue Bomber Build http://forum.ih8mud.com/fj55-iron-pi...ue-bomber.html 1974 FJ55 Stock w/ Canadian weight reduction (that's going away though) front wheel disks. "In order to find his equal, an Irishman is forced to talk to God."

01-13-08, 05:11 PM	#26
laguna80 IH8MUD Regular Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: HI Posts: 399	Just tried welding for the first time. It's pretty fun. I totally suck at it though. Here's pic, I really just wanted to see if I could lay a bead down...apparently I can't. I think the sheetmetal was entirely too thin. I had the settings at their lowest. __________________ Blue Bomber Build http://forum.ih8mud.com/fj55-iron-pi...ue-bomber.html 1974 FJ55 Stock w/ Canadian weight reduction (that's going away though) front wheel disks. "In order to find his equal, an Irishman is forced to talk to God."

01-13-08, 05:19 PM	#27
cruiserbrett IH8MUD Lifer Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: San Diego Posts: 1,239	more often than not, the undercoating does lead to a little porosity in the weld, but catching fire and spreading is generally more of a concern. I would have a wet rag around to put out the small fires that inevitably start with welding a painted or undercoated surface. not a big deal, but a hose and a wet rag at the ready will help keep it under control. __________________ Brett Lotsa cruisers and little time.