Where to begin - Inherited my Aunt's 77 FJ40 (1 Viewer)

[120mm]

Great thread! And timely, too.

I own a house in Newton, and I hope to return from overseas by the end of this year. After which time I plan on getting an FJ40.

I would really like to say howdy and check out your ride.

 

[NellieFJ40]

120mm,

Thanks, and sounds good! I'm not sure what timeline is for finishing the work on the 40 but I'd be more than happy to show it off. Drop me a line once back and we can meet up.

 

[NellieFJ40]

Long due for an update. Progress at the shop has been very slow. They've pretty well got the tub back put together and just set it back on the frame this week. They'll be test fitting all the doors this week then pulling the tub back off to undercoat it. At that time it'll go back on for good and work will focus on front fenders the hood and top.

The shop wants to undercoat it with a product called liizard skin but from I've read it seems to be more for interior coatings to reduce noise/heat. Not sure about that. Also I'll soon need to decide how I want to finish the interior floors. I don't really want any rubberized coatings I don't think but then don't want the painted floors all best up either. Decisions decisions!

Here are a few pictures.










Any thoughts or comments are a.ways appreciwted!

 

[emac]

Great thread, I just swaw it for the first time toinght. Congrats on the job, what a great gift from your Aunt.

On my rig I did a body colored durable coating on the floors up to the firewall. It has a fine sandpaper feel. It is the same product used for rocker panels to avoid stone chips. I dont recall the name, but i am sure any body shop knows the stuff. For insulation/ sound I did CCOT precut insulation with a heavy rear rubber mat, and a rubber front mat. Works great. It wouldnt be good if the rig were to see water inside often. Mine doesnt. Let me know if you need any links for the products. Keep it up!!

 

[Jdc1]

I'll be using SEM chipguard on the underside and floor of my resto. I like that the texture is similar to a heavy orange peel and not sharp like some of the others. Does your shop have any other builds that have lizard skin on them for you to see? I'm under the impression that it is used under paint and isn't a top coat.

 

[NellieFJ40]

Thank you both for your thoughts. Ill check out all those products. I don't anticipate that my 40 will see water either.

I did look around on the lizard skin website and see that they make a topcoat which appears to be more for added durability. Hopefully that's what the shop plans to use.

Im going with aftermarket front fenders so will want something durable to add some additional protection to the fenders which i understand are thinner than the oem fenders.

 

[emac]

On a Cobra kit car I built we used 3M Body Shutz under all the fenders to deaden sound and protect the fiberglass from chips. I have been very impressed with it.

Because the underside of the fenders show a lot on a 40 I wanted to keep mine looking factory. Plus, I really didn't have plans of doing a lot of off road stuff. You may want to look at a finished rig to get an idea of where you want the undercoating to start and stop. If it were me I would probably use a product that can be painted or tinted to the body color.

 

[NellieFJ40]

Thought I'd provide another update. Shop has been working on finishing up the tub body work and has epoxy primed the tub inside and out. They'll be paining the firewall and undercoating the outside then putting the tub back on the frame.

I think we've made the decision to undercoat the bottom of the tub with upols raptor liner. It will just be black as the shop has heard thst sometimes theupol tinted red will have a pink vast. I certainly don't want that.

Anyway here are some photos of the sandblasted then epoxied tub.

 

[Jdc1]

Thought I'd provide another update. Shop has been working on finishing up the tub body work and has epoxy primed the tub inside and out. They'll be paining the firewall and undercoating the outside then putting the tub back on the frame.

I think we've made the decision to undercoat the bottom of the tub with upols raptor liner. It will just be black as the shop has heard thst sometimes theupol tinted red will have a pink vast. I certainly don't want that.

Anyway here are some photos of the sandblasted then epoxied tub.

Your tub is is great shape. Your Aunt definitely took care of it.

 

[White Stripe]

Their are a lot of nooks and crannies in the stock tub, and because of that, if undercoated, its possible for moisture to creep in between the metal and undercoating and cause rust.

 

[alabamatacomaguy]

That tub looks great
If Toyota sold new old stock tubs I'd imagine they would look like that.

 

[NellieFJ40]

Jdc and alabamatacomaguy thanks so much for the kind thoughts! Jdc my aunt did take good care of the 40 but it still had plenty of rust. The tub, as it sits now, has quite a few replacement panels from real steel.

White stripe that is a scary thought and one I hadn't thought of. Don't most people still undercoat their 40s? I know that my aunt had the vehicle undercoated when she bought it new. If no undercoating is used is it just the primer and paint on the bottom of the vehicle?

Any other comments on value, or warnings, or undercoating would be greatly appreciated!

 

[White Stripe]

Sure some people still undercoat. I undercoated my tub-but it's a aqualu, not many places for moisture to hide and it's not spot weld construction. When I look at a stock tub, on the bottom I see the reinforcement channels, they are spot welded on. If the underside for example is sprayed with Raptor, the inside of the reinforcement channels are difficult to reach and usually left bare paint or whatever. So now when moisture or corrosives get in-between the spot welds in those areas, rather than being able to be rinsed out with a good wash if the underside is just painted, the moisture and corrosives can instead seep through the spot welds and up underneath the Raptor or whatever is used. The stock tubs have lots of these structural supports. This is just my opinion course. In the end, it's just metal,and anything can be fixed.

 

[NellieFJ40]

Posted in the paunt body section but thoight i would post here as well. I'm very close to neading to make decisions regarding the final paint and interior finishes.

Bpdyshop is recommending using a ful thane single stage urethane paint. Either nason or chroma 1 premier by axalta/dupont. On the exterior they would add a clear coat for additional durability. No clear on the interior of the vehicle.

The are recommending using dynamat on the front floor pan to replace the oem material that was on the pan. Im not sure and cant make up my mind.

Also, they are recommending using a chipcoat in the interior for the rear floor. This would not go on the wheel wells but rather just under where the rear mat lays. They think it would help ensure that rocks and such that get under the mat would then not be so rough on the paint. This makes sense to me for practicality but i cant help bjt thinking of all the threads Ive read about not usimg these types of finishes on these vehicles.

I'm finding making these decisions to be very difficult!

 

[Jdc1]

Posted in the paunt body section but thoight i would post here as well. I'm very close to neading to make decisions regarding the final paint and interior finishes.

Bpdyshop is recommending using a ful thane single stage urethane paint. Either nason or chroma 1 premier by axalta/dupont. On the exterior they would add a clear coat for additional durability. No clear on the interior of the vehicle.

The are recommending using dynamat on the front floor pan to replace the oem material that was on the pan. Im not sure and cant make up my mind.

Also, they are recommending using a chipcoat in the interior for the rear floor. This would not go on the wheel wells but rather just under where the rear mat lays. They think it would help ensure that rocks and such that get under the mat would then not be so rough on the paint. This makes sense to me for practicality but i cant help bjt thinking of all the threads Ive read about not usimg these types of finishes on these vehicles.

I'm finding making these decisions to be very difficult!

Id take a pass on the dynamat and use something removable under your mat. That product seems to trap moisture and looks like a PITA to remove (dont be a PO).

Our painters will be using SEM tinted chipguard on the underside and just the floor of the interior. It wont be a DD and wont see salt so the moisture shouldn't be an issue. It was blasted, epoxy primed twice and spent more time than I'd like to admit at the body shop to fix rust, l'm not to concerned about it coming back.

Good Luck.

 

[White Stripe]

I would not use dynamat, I would just use a insulated carpet or mat that is easily removable and keep an eye on it that it moisture doesn't get wet underneath, if it does just pull the mat out and let it dry. I don't know anything about the chipcoat stuff. Whatever you do just keep in mind what obstacles would have to be overcome to do repairs in the future.

 

[NellieFJ40]

Thank you both for your thoughts. I think I'll hold firm on not using dynamat. Sounds like whatever little that may gain me could be achoeved with something laid on, but not affixed to, the floor.

Im really strugling with the chipcoat. You both make good points.

 

[mattressking]

Great progress. I find myself dipping into the 40 section more and more and I really wish the 60 section understood the pitfalls to dynamat and its equivalent.

Have you looked into POR15? They have a nice selection of coatings that are rather popular for restorations.

Other options would be e-coating, I've been seeing that process appear more and more in 911 restorations that didn't have galvanized bodies. Pricey, but seems like the best method long term.

 

[NellieFJ40]

Mattressking thanks. Can't wait to have it back. I did consider por15 to coat the frame and axles but ended up going with rust bullet products. For the under side of the tub I did end up going with the upol raptor product. The shop said it applied nicely and, to my very rookie eye, it looks nice now. Hopefully it holds up over time.

The escorting sounds interesting but it appears that as of now more traditional coating will be used on my 40.

 

[NellieFJ40]

I got to thinking I dont think I ever shared these photos. Here is my Aunt in Nellie. These were taken the first summer she had her 40 and were taken in July of 77. This is the trail to Argentine Pass in Colorado.