!OY Coolermans 2/71 Build

[Coolerman]

Well since I'm on a roll recently getting things done, I thought I would start a thread on my build.

Long story short: I have owned it for 8 years. Got the Cruiser from my younger brother who bought it from the original owner. Brother went through a divorce and about the only thing his X didn't take was the Cruiser. It was delivered to my house by a wrecker with no rear axle under it. I threw a tarp over it and forgot about it. After about a year I put the axle back under it cause he claimed he was coming to get it. Here it is after that... It then sat for another 3 years with the wife bitching about it the whole time. Details

As you can see this thing was a rust bucket!

Only in the last 4 years have I been working on it. I starting just trying to get it running and one thing led to another till last winter I decided that it was to be a frame off fix it up but NOT a restoration.

I've got hundreds of pics of the zig zag path I have taken in getting this thing to where it is now. For ANYONE contemplating restoring a Cruiser: Make the commitment EARLY on to do a frame off or not. I wasted so much time fixing things out of sequence....

Anyway I started by getting it running. This was easy, clean the points, put a battery in it, cut the fuel line and stick in in a can of gas, pour some gas down the carb and crank it. It started pretty easily.

This was a pic of the engine AFTER pressure washing it! Man it was nasty...

After getting it running I had to fix the fuel system. The gas tank had a few holes in it...

I completely cleaned the tank inside and out with muratic acid and used a fiber glass repair kit to 'fix' it. It has held gas for years! See here for a more complete description of the fuel system issues.

Over the next couple of years I worked on various things with no real plan in mind. I rebuilt the brakes in the rear, replaced the main brake lines which meant I had to learn how to do double flares, and worked on the electrical system. I knew deep inside that I was just wasting time. The body was simply rotted and no amount of fixing other things was going to change that.

So I bit the bullet and bought a small welder. I started practising on stuff then one day got to drinking with a friend and we tore into the rear sill job.... Funny how spirits lube the creative urge!

My rear bumper was toast from my brother trying to extract a fork lift that had tried to go off roading so I replaced it with a 74 bumper.

The more I got into the body the more I realized there was to do....

I ended up basically rebuilding the body piece by piece. Floors, cargo area, wheel wells, quarter panels, tool box.

It was about the time I finished this work that I realized I was so deep that a frame off needed to be done. Again with the wonder lube flowing I tore into stripping the tub.

The body was now strong enough to support itself with a bit of bracing so with my brother helping me we used a Hi-Lift and raised the body off the frame.

We got the body up on saw horses but my brother had to leave. So I had to figure out a way to get the body out of the way. This is what I came up with...

The body suspened from the garage ceiling with wire ropes and pulleys! I can raise and lower it easily. This allows me to get the frame/engine out using a true hillbilly contraption.

I then pulled the engine/tranny/t-case out in one piece to see if my Harbor Freight picker would do it....

Next up was pulling the tranny/t-case off and putting the engine on a stand for de-greasing and painting. We will skip forward a bit here

The frame could now be sand blasted...

That's pretty much where I am right now. I do have the frame painted with Rust Bullet and will post pics of that later. Enjoy!

 

[MDH33]

That's inspring to say the least. Nice job so far. I was skeptical looking at the first few pics and the extent of the rust. You're giving my '73 FJ40 some hope.

 

[CruisinMT]

the rust on my rig looks like specs compared to what was on that green monster. Great job, I wish I had some welding skills, and the guts to do a frame off.

 

[Coolerman]

He's far from done! But man I can see light at the end of the tunnel!

I should NEVER have attempted repairing that body Knowing what I know now I would buy a 3/4 tub from one of our fine vendors. I am learning to weld however as I do this!

I should have some pics of the completed frame and front axle in a day or so.

 

[shelfboy1]

nice job there coolerman looks like a factory soft top originally keep up the good work and good luck

 

[WaAkFJ]

Nice job! Glad to see a build thread. It's like an abbreviated version of your site.

Your site is an inspiration and wealth of knowledge! (which I commonly refer too!)

 

[Coolerman]

Well here is the inspirational pic of the day! With the frame now done I can start putting the truck back together. Waiting on some shackel pins so I can put the axle back under it.

Pic of the frame after blasting and two coats of Rust Bullet on it. I have decided to leave the frame silver just because I can ;p

 

[CruisinMT]

Nice job! Glad to see a build thread. It's like an abbreviated version of your site.

Your site is an inspiration and wealth of knowledge! (which I commonly refer too!)

Amen to that. Helped me fix my broken rear hatch lever.

 

[Coolerman]

Cool! I was wondering if you used that to fix your hatch. Glad that helped you out. Did you print out the template? I tested it a couple of times with my own printers but wondered about someone else printing it out.

 

[CruisinMT]

it worked great, I don't own a tiny grinder so mne doesn't look exactly like the template, but it works.

 

[Coolerman]

Teaser pic of my next set of pics on the build...

What I started with and what I'm about to attach to the 4 sp tranny...

 

[laguna80]

Awesome, this is going to be a good build. Your site helped me out immensely. Well, at least until I sold my 40.

 

[reservefj40]

Looks awesome, keep posting the pics.

 

[CruisinMT]

hot damn thats a sweet TC

 

[Coolerman]

Yep I have to caress it when I pass by.

Case body is powder coated with a coat of Extreme Chrome. The 'red' parts are also coated with one coat of Extreme chrome then yank it out of the oven while it's still 375 degrees and spray it with Anodized Red then back in the oven for 10 minutes.

Overkill? Totally!

 

[antFJ]

glad to see you'll be passing some more of your knowledge to some of us less experienced folks... website is awesome and i definitely used it to build a de-rust tank of my own running on a computer power supply.. invaluable resource.. i look forward to seeing this think getting back together

 

[bbalbano]

Very Nice build Coolerman.. I cant wait to see the finished product.

 

[Coolerman]

OK time to update this thread.

I have been working on so many little things that it seems nothing is actually getting done but I AM working on it!

Here are the latest updates: I completed the front axle. I had rebuilt the front knuckles and brakes over two years ago but had not stripped the old paint off so that was done and two coats of Rust Bullet were put on. That was followed by 2 coats of black gloss epoxy. The leaf springs were totally taken apart, derusted, the spring clamps were straightened out for better articulation then each separate leaf was coated on all sides with Slip Plate #2 and reassembled. A spring pin was fabbed to fit the axle perch and 4 degree caster shim.

 

[Coolerman]

Next I built a set of shackles from parts of two different sets. One set was a Con-Fer set that I acquired from a fellow Mud member and the other was the side plates from my original shackles. I cut the H out of the Con-Fer, cut
them to the same length as my original side plates, re-drilled them to 5/8" with a carbide tipped masonry bit (in my new floor mount Jet drill press), tack welded the new CCOT greasable spring pins to one side, then powder coated
them. Finally the axle was put back under the front using new U-bolts and spring bushings. I still have to bend up the long hard brake line across the axle but have the small one done. At some point I will torque the u-bolts to
final torque and cut off the excess length.

 

[Coolerman]

Rest of shackle pics