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Richmond, VA
Hey guys. New user here. My 16 year old son and I are undertaking our first restoration/resto/Mod. We would love to stick with the classic Cruiser look but. It sure we have the budget for a straight up restoration. We would love your input and advice as we get started. We are working on a currently mostly stock ‘77 FJ40 with a good amount of rust. She runs and drives with is a big plus although stopping is a little dicey. We’ll be addressing the rust and the brakes first. Currently no doors at all but since we will be primarily targeting a beach home for her the doors are not a top priority. The floor pan is pretty thin and showing plenty of daylight but I think that the tub is largely salvageable. Love to here your thoughts on that?? Also, I have no welding experience but I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty and we are both pretty quick learners. Are there any good resources in the Mid Atlantic or upper Southeast for a tub restoration or any good places for fabrication that I should check out to piece her back together? Thanks in advance for all of your feedback.

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JOB 1: return color to Olive Green, oh, and welcome to Mud, where the off road goes on forever and the party never ends :flipoff2:
By the way, the location of the voltage regulator on the firewall, the carb cooler fan on driver side fender and the windshield wipers say the body is a 78.
 
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Welcome! Looks like an awesome project. As for fabrication, I'd spend the money and buy a MIG welder then teach yourself how to use it. If you were to pay someone to restore the body, you would be spending upwards of 10grand to fix it. You and them would want it done the right way and body work isn't cheap. There are plenty of threads here on mud where monkeys like myself can do it so I am sure you can too. There are a number of companies that sell body parts like floor pans, rear seals, and fenders. So spend some time on here, do some research, then attempt it yourself.
 
Buy a welder. I'm not much older than your son, and I've learned a ton with my resto. 10/10 would recommend.
 
Welcome! Looks like an awesome project. As for fabrication, I'd spend the money and buy a MIG welder then teach yourself how to use it. If you were to pay someone to restore the body, you would be spending upwards of 10grand to fix it. You and them would want it done the right way and body work isn't cheap. There are plenty of threads here on mud where monkeys like myself can do it so I am sure you can too. There are a number of companies that sell body parts like floor pans, rear seals, and fenders. So spend some time on here, do some research, then attempt it yourself.
JOB 1: return color to Olive Green, oh, and welcome to Mud, where the off road goes on forever and the party never ends :flipoff2:
By the way, the location of the voltage regulator on the firewall, the carb cooler fan on driver side fender and the windshield wipers say the body is a 78.
VIN plate says production Oct. 1977 so is this an early ‘78. That’s what the most current registration says. Waiting on the title.
 
Welcome! Looks like an awesome project. As for fabrication, I'd spend the money and buy a MIG welder then teach yourself how to use it. If you were to pay someone to restore the body, you would be spending upwards of 10grand to fix it. You and them would want it done the right way and body work isn't cheap. There are plenty of threads here on mud where monkeys like myself can do it so I am sure you can too. There are a number of companies that sell body parts like floor pans, rear seals, and fenders. So spend some time on here, do some research, then attempt it yourself.
Thanks, I had definitely planned to learn that along with everything else. Haha. I appreciate the vote of confidence.
 
Cool, thanks. My son is very confident that we can do it so we may as well go for it.

They are great projects but plan on doubling your budget. :rofl:

There are plenty of great resources here on mud to help.
 
Cool, thanks. My son is very confident that we can do it so
Buy a welder. I'm not much older than your son, and I've learned a ton with my resto. 10/10 would recommend
They are great projects but plan on doubling your budget. :rofl:

There are plenty of great resources here on mud to help.
Any thoughts on a welder? There appears to be quite a range of prices/features.
 
Cool, thanks. My son is very confident that we can do it so


Any thoughts on a welder? There appears to be quite a range of prices/features.

What's your budget? I like my Miller 211 quite a lot. Plenty of comparable models out there.
 
Get a MIG welder! I had a Lincoln 110? And it worked real good for welding vehicles back together. But buy plenty of practice peices and be ready to flip the breaker alot :p you cam get them to attach to the gas bottles and that will get you a much cleaner weld (if you have a steady hand and practice under your belt). But going with the flux core and just dealing with the splatter is a much cheaper option. It's like they say "a grinder and paint makes me the welder I aint"
 
Get a MIG welder! I had a Lincoln 110? And it worked real good for welding vehicles back together. But buy plenty of practice peices and be ready to flip the breaker alot :p you cam get them to attach to the gas bottles and that will get you a much cleaner weld (if you have a steady hand and practice under your belt). But going with the flux core and just dealing with the splatter is a much cheaper option. It's like they say "a grinder and paint makes me the welder I aint"
Any specific Welder you’d recommend? There is quite a range of options out there.
 
220v or 110v?
 
I don’t currently have 220 in the garage but my breaker box is there so it probably wouldn’t be too outrageous to add an outlet. Are there pros or cons to each option?

220 is always better if you can get a plug. A lot more options then.
 
Look on Craigslist for a used 220v Miller or Lincoln wire feed with argon gas. $600-1000 (used) is the range for these. Some will have low miles, because people buy welder and then never get around to using it. You might also visit a General Air store and ask them and price up a new setup and then you'll know a deal when you see it elsewhere. The welders I'm referring to are consumer grade, but you don't really get into commercial grade stuff until you spend 2500-5000. That's more than many of us want to spend (or our wives will approve of).

You don't have to go crazy, but don't cheap out on a welder. A decent welder is a lot of fun to use, but welding can be frustrating, and the last thing a novice needs are issues with the welder itself.
 
Look on Craigslist for a used 220v Miller or Lincoln wire feed with argon gas. $600-1000 (used) is the range for these. Some will have low miles, because people buy welder and then never get around to using it. You might also visit a General Air store and ask them and price up a new setup and then you'll know a deal when you see it elsewhere. The welders I'm referring to are consumer grade, but you don't really get into commercial grade stuff until you spend 2500-5000. That's more than many of us want to spend (or our wives will approve of).

You don't have to go crazy, but don't cheap out on a welder. A decent welder is a lot of fun to use, but welding can be frustrating, and the last thing a novice needs are issues with the welder itself.
Thanks, sounds like a lot of good advice. I’ll see if I can track down a used one while I work on getting an electrician out to put in a 220 outlet.
 

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