Builds "Forsaken 40" ~ 1st Frame-off Build (1 Viewer)

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Drake2

SILVER Star
Joined
Oct 11, 2017
Threads
534
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4,366
Location
SW Utah
Well the time has come to start the build thread that I have been prepping for over 3 years now. After years of reading, researching, and tons of questions, I was able to lay the plan out. This provided me with a good idea of what parts I would need, and after buying up most of the parts I could lay my hands on in the 3 surrounding states, I have acquired the majority of what I will need thus far. I have had plenty of 40's over the last 20+ years but they have always been minimal builds, just to keep them running or the occasional engine swap, never a frame-off.

A few years ago I bought my brothers 40 that I helped him buy back in the 1990's. It had been sitting unused in his garage since 2001. I towed it to my workshop before he could change his mind. It sat in my workshop for about a year while I tried to figure out the plan for it. This plan would be the first for a DD and weekend trail rig combined.

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This tub unbeknownst to me had a lot of patching done buy one of the PO's and then covered by about 500 lbs of bondo :bang:. With my very limited bodywork skills I decided that for a DD rig this was not going to be the best platform to start with so I started my search for a decent platform (tub). In the meantime, I was out purchasing random 40 parts wherever I could find them. I figured even if I don't need them I could use them for trading, bartering, selling, etc.....to get the parts I would end up needing eventually. I was not having any luck finding a tub that was both good and affordable until I started looking at old threads in the MUD classifieds and I found a member in Northern California who listed a tub for sale but he said it was already gone. However, he had another tub/rolling chassis available (06/1966 - titled as 67). After he sent me lots of pics and of course bartering on a bunch of misc parts we inked the deal. These pics are prior to shipping to Wisconsin.

In comes the "Forsaken 40"

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There is a very interesting story behind this 40. The PO that I purchased it from never titled it and got it as part of a trade I think. It was scavenged for parts before selling to me. The PO before him did title it, owned it for a little more than a year, did nothing with it so again it sat. That PO got it from a friend of his in exchange for some automotive work from what he told me. He had always liked it but was never able to buy it. The PO before him was the man who owned it for the better part of 40 years. That man was Bob Bruce Bradford (below).

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Sadly, on August 24, 2017 Bruce passed away (RIP). Bruce was born in Gridley, California, on Aug. 18, 1948. He moved from Lynwood, California, to Fort Jones in 1979. He spent many years on the road driving truck to support his family. At one time Bruce was a volunteer firefighter for the Scott Valley Fire Department. He enjoyed riding his Harley, spending time with family and friends, and loved playing Santa for the local children in the Scott Valley area.

I was able to speak with Bruce's son who just turned 40 last year. I was hoping that he would be able shed some light on what Bruce's vision was for this FJ40. Although his son told me that he actually never saw the 40 move (in 40 years), the story is that Bruce was building it into a desert racer of sorts. Pics of the modifications Bruce did will be forthcoming. His son also told me that Bruce was friends with the guy who started Advance Adapters. In fact, they had done some type of racing together :cheers:.

Transportation

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After inking the deal and making a down payment on the chassis/tub I started the search for reasonable transport. That was really frustrating. I checked out all the usual transport options including USHIP. I was bombarded by transport companies working through USHIP, like 20 calls/emails a day. It was transport overload. I was expecting about $1500 for transport but the quotes were all over the spectrum from 900-3600. The one thing they all had in common.........not one of them would confirm when they could pick it up or when it would be delivered??????? WTF. Some said if the "package does not steer or brake" we are not interested. Others said "if we have to winch it on, no thanks". Meanwhile I have a down payment tied up and no clear plan of how or when I can get it out of the PO's way. So I started looking deeper into the 900 quote (Ameri-Transport) IIRC. They were nice on the phone, they even spoke English which was a bonus but they were not able to guarantee a pick up date without an 8 week window. I read some past customer reviews from other transport companies, ouch. Horror stories, of prices changing without notice, delivery times delayed by months, even drivers holding cars hostage until additional "cash" is handed over. I ended up working out a deal with a customer of mine to relay the delivery. He had a flatbed coming from Lincoln, CA to Nebraska. He would unload in Nebraska and put on another flatbed for the trip from Nebraska to Wisconsin. All in for the relay, with someone I trusted was $1200. The driver even called me every day to let me know how everything was going :clap:.

To be continued:
 
Arrival of the "Forsaken 40"

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After arrival I started to closely evaluate what I just purchased and stressed over for months. I am happy to say that it is the cleanest tub I have ever seen. Someone a long time ago stripped this body and applied some kind of rust inhibitor. They stripped it clean, no seam sealer, nothing. Unfortunately after the rust inhibitor was applied it was forsaken to bake outside in the dry California sun, unwanted for decades. This 40 just could not seem to catch a break. Fortunately, I purchased a pristine steel tub ready for a new life. I know Bruce had removed most of the switches and reflectors from the body and filled in the holes. Based on how he did it, I think it will be easy enough to pop them back in. It appears he glued or epoxied seel plates behind the holes then filled them with bondo or something.

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Inside the glovebox with flash on

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Inside the glove box with flash off, showing all the missing seam sealer.

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To be continued:
 
Nice clean cowl

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Solid floors!

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More pics....

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Unfortunately the fenders have been cut but the Bushwackers should clean that up, assuming they fit. On the good side, the metal is all very solid and without holes.

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No mouse house in this tub but it does have a bees nest :D

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Nice tub! ...Sounds like you have enough parts accumulated now for a good start, what's your plan for the powertrain?
 
1978 Chevy SB400 (6.6L) carburated
1989 Chevy TH400 Auto Trans, NP205 transfer case
1980 FJ40 Front axle 3.7 gears
1962 FJ40 rear axle housing (centered differential) from @Tank5 with a 1980 FJ40 differential assy 3.7 gears
35" tires (style and rim size TBD)

I have multiple differentials with 4.10's if the 3.7's are killing to much initial torque. It all depends on my highway RPM speed. My calcs show about 2200 RPM with the 3.7 gears or 2500 RPM with the 4.10's. Both @70mph. The TH400 does not have an overdrive but they do not come any more bulletproof than that for an auto trans.

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I got my knuckle rebuild kit with Koyo wheel bearing from Kurt @cruiseroutfit. Clearly the front axle assy is in need of some love and the rebuild is very necessary based on the below :cool:

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Where did all the holes go in the tub’s dash?
 
@middlecalf The original PO was in the process of making a "desert racer" out of this 40. In the process he pulled all the "non-essential" items out like switches, knobs, marker lights, reflectors, etc...and plugged all the holes. He placed a thin piece of sheet metal on the back sides and then filled the holes with some kind of filler. Most of which I will probably try to pop out. See below:

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Friday update...........all the front axle rebuild stuff has arrived. Just have to go get a fish scale for the preload. The rotors are the "partially coated" ones. All the braking surfaces will wear clean right away but the rest will remain resistant to any corrosion/rust.

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Got my kids to do 90% of the teardown of the front axle until the last set of cone washers decided they do not want to cooporate. Tried using a brass drift on top of the studs.....no luck so we had to call it a night.



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These cone washers are proving to be a worthy opponent.

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These cone washers are proving to be a worthy opponent.

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If you take out the bottom cover (use a punch through the center of the bearing) you can then punch the top out through the top bearing with the same punch. That is, of course, if the brass drift or brass hammer on the studs doesn't work to persuade the cone washers. Sometimes penetrating oil is your friend in this procedure.
 
Forsaken 40 updates:

After some rigorous pounding on the studs the cone washers holding the last steering arm finally surrendered. I have somewhat organized the filthy parts on my cart so they can proceed to the parts washer for a good shower.

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Unfortunately by balls have been neglected and were invaded by the rust demons. Showed my wife a picture of my neglected balls and said "see this is why I keep telling you that my balls need regular attention" ;). Thankfully they're not blue but I will have to see what to do about this :poop:

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Finally separated the TH400 from the NP205 transfer case. The TH400 needs to go for a rebuild and after watching a YT video of the process I will not even consider trying to do it myself so It's getting dropped off for a professional refresh. There is a great YT video of the NP205 rebuild along with a parts list that I will do myself as it looks a bit more manageable.

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I do see some tooth wear on the output shaft so it may need to be replaced, we'll see what the shop thinks.

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Stage 1 complete for saving the rusty knuckles.



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Has anyone seen had this happen to their races (Koyo 303030) ? When I disassembled the knuckles everything had decent grease and nothing was dry other than the exposed outer surface of the knuckle balls. I would estimate these wear spots to be 0.003"-0.005" deep. Both upper and lower races had the same effect but the lower ones are the worst. The axle is from an 02/1980 FJ40.

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Trying to decide on a paint color/shade for when the time comes. I was originally thinking the Audi Nardo grey which is similar to Toyota Cement Grey, then I was looking at the nice blue on the newer Tundras, then back to the grey again :bang:..........Then a couple months ago I found it by accident and I knew it would be the one. Copperhead metallic is what it will be but there are many different shades to it. I have included below a couple different versions but I think I am leaning more towards the shiny one. Not 100% on that, maybe it will be somewhere between them. The darker (on the 40) one has some pearl in it as well. Maybe just different lighting, not sure. This will be a daily driver weekend trail rig but garage kept in the winter. Paint thoughts?

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Has anyone seen had this happen to their races (Koyo 303030) ? When I disassembled the knuckles everything had decent grease and nothing was dry other than the exposed outer surface of the knuckle balls. I would estimate these wear spots to be 0.003"-0.005" deep. Both upper and lower races had the same effect but the lower ones are the worst. The axle is from an 02/1980 FJ40.

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Yes. Absolutely.

If you think about it, that bearing spends most of its life NOT turning. You turn the wheel, bearing moves, you recenter the wheel then you drive halfway across Nebraska before you have to get gas again. Probably get passed by 200 cars without making another turn. Very unlike the bearings that the axle rides in. Very much like a headset bearing in a bicycle which usually wear in the very same way.

I assume you replaced them.
 
Yes. Absolutely.

If you think about it, that bearing spends most of its life NOT turning. You turn the wheel, bearing moves, you recenter the wheel then you drive halfway across Nebraska before you have to get gas again. Probably get passed by 200 cars without making another turn. Very unlike the bearings that the axle rides in. Very much like a headset bearing in a bicycle which usually wear in the very same way.

I assume you replaced them.
Thanks for your reply. Yes, I have a complete knuckle rebuild kit w/koyo bearings from Kurt @cruiseroutfit that will be going in soon.
 

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