1964 FJ45 LB “RB1” Project

[DanS HJ-45]

You made it skinnier!

You can also see the butt welds from the sectioning you did to make it skinnier. Great work! That's subtle!

Dan

 

[miker]

Alright then, wrong-o.

I have no idea what the measurement should be (obviously too long or too short) so I'll bow out of this puzzler. It was fun - any consolation prizes?

No prizes. Just thought it would be fun to see if anyone would notice the difference. My pictures weren't that great so it made the differences not very noticeable.

 

[Henry James the 47th]

Now that i realize what you did, , I gotta say nicely done! Very clean work.

 

[miker]

Had a chance to work on the tailgate for a few hours over last weekend. The top rail, side supports, and bottom support were all twisted, dented, smashed and useless for anything but giving me and idea how a fj45 tailgate was constructed. Oh, and I was able to get measurements from some of the pieces.

I was able to find a few scraps of sheet that were pretty close to the correct stock tailgate thickness at the local metal yard. After $18 at the yard and a few hours later with the bender, I ended up with what you see below.

Bottom support made of 18ga. Still need to trim one side.

 

[miker]

Side supports also mode from 18ga. These also need to be trimed to length and width. The bottom end will need to be rolled to match the stock look:

 

[miker]

Here's the top rail also needing to be cut to length and trimmed to correct width. Shaping this required the use of the bender plus some dolly and hammer time. I mainly used a rubber mallet and a piece of solid round stock for the dolly. This thickness of this top rail is about .090"

 

[miker]

And here are the pieces on the bench. I know, I know, a poser pic.

 

[miker]

Its been awhile since I posted...

because I've been busy with a new job, family, and other things. I haven't been able to spend much time or money on this project but I did start working on the front of the frame. I want to get the suspension hung so I can make a rolling chassis/body of of it. Might have a chance to spend a few hours on it this weekend.

 

[miker]

The front frame "C" channel is extended 2" longer. The inner is plated in 1/4". Cross member is plated on ends. Frame is then being boxed after spacers added to upper 2 saginaw box bolt holes.

 

[miker]

Just a couple more.

 

[KT40]

Great to see you back at it Mike.
Missed you at the swap meet.
Maybe see you at the 45 run?

 

[cruiserbrett]

that looks great!

where did you get those front spring pin brackets? those are really nice!!!

 

[miker]

Great to see you back at it Mike.
Missed you at the swap meet.
Maybe see you at the 45 run?

Thanks Ken, I planned to go to the swap meet but I've been so busy that I haven't even been browsing here on Mud to find out when it was. I guess I missed it. Unfortuneately these days, everytime I'm on the computer, all I'm doing is working.

I'd like to make the 45 run. I hoped to have some chance to actually bring the 45 this year but again, that's out of the question.

I have some work related travel scheduled for early Sept so that might get in the way but I'll see how everything works out.

Mike

 

[miker]

that looks great!

where did you get those front spring pin brackets? those are really nice!!!

I made them awhile ago. I think I posted up some pics of all the bracketry I made for this project, should be in an earlier post.

Found it, post 15: IH8MUD™ Forums - View Single Post - 1964 FJ45 LB “RB1” Project

 

[vtcruiser60]

Any updates for those of us that procrastinate frequently by monitoring your build....

 

[Gusb]

Really impressed by your efforts! Followed a link here from the 40 forum. Thanks for sharing this build/info with everyone. Very helpful seeing how you put things together.

I'm is the process of picking up a small Miller (MIG), trying to learn to weld and doing a bit of fab on my FJ40. How does one locate a good source for all that 18ga sheet metal and what should I be after? There must be quality issues, different steel compositions, etc.?

 

[miker]

Any updates for those of us that procrastinate frequently by monitoring your build....

LOL...Funny but true. I'm still in the same boat here. Too busy with work to really spend much time on the 45. Since the last update, I've got the front spring hangers welded on and the springs hung. I've got the front diff housing bolted up with u-bolts and plates and I have the knuckles cut and turned but not rewelded yet because I'm not sure yet how much Ill need to turn them. I won't know until I get a drive train mounted. I still plan to go with a SBC, 700r4, toybox and then stock case or Orion. I've got the stock t-case, toybox, and 700r4 core. I need to pick up a SBC core in order to bolt everything together and get the engine/tranny mounts figured out as well as the driveline angles and front diff knuckle angle.

 

[miker]

Really impressed by your efforts! Followed a link here from the 40 forum. Thanks for sharing this build/info with everyone. Very helpful seeing how you put things together.

I'm is the process of picking up a small Miller (MIG), trying to learn to weld and doing a bit of fab on my FJ40. How does one locate a good source for all that 18ga sheet metal and what should I be after? There must be quality issues, different steel compositions, etc.?

I would look for metal suppliers in your area. Some will cut sheet for you for an extra charge and some will only sell full sheets of 4 feet x 8 feet so you may want to plan what you will need. If you buy the whole sheet, you will generally get a better price per pound but if you are not going to need it, there's no sense in having it lying around rusting. I'm just using mild steel which I believe is cold rolled to final thickness. You will find there is a range of thicknesses for each gauge as they are not too precise but its close enough for body work, especially for hand fabrication projects. I don't know if you will have much choice in steel types but I haven't really searched for anything other than what's generally available which is mild steel. I understand that any of the new cars will use lighter, thinner high strength steel but these are steels I understand are more difficult to work with. Many are not recommended for welding so if you are planning on welding in patch panels or fabricating body panels then the mild steel is probably the way to go and for an older Land Cruiser the mild steel is likely the best match to OEM. If you buy a micrometer you can accurately measure the thickness of the panel you are patching or replacing and get the closest thinckness steel you find. You will not generally be able to get the exact same thickness as OEM but you can generally get close. Hope that helps. I'm not an expert, I just learn by trial and error.

 

[mderrick]

press bender

just found your thread, sweet work. i am in the process of doing a lv any chance you have some drawings/demensions for your bending jig?

 

[miker]

just found your thread, sweet work. i am in the process of doing a lv any chance you have some drawings/demensions for your bending jig?

I don't have any drawings. I started the project as I do most things and that's with the design in my head and a just few things down on paper. I adjusted the design as I built it and then modified it again once it was built and 'tested' and found to be too weak to do larger and (relatively) thicker sheet material. From the pictures in this thread I think you can see how the frame and the dies were built. If the frame were not as long then it could be built lighter or the same for doing some thicker metals. If it were built longer than the 6' I made it, well, it would need to be a lot stronger to do 18ga but it might work for thinner/softer material.

Shoot me a PM if you have some specific questions.