Builds 1965 FJ40, What Have I Gotten Myself Into? (2 Viewers)

[Krondor]

Well It has been about a year since I last posted... Life, new GF (she supports the Land Cruiser), new house, new job, etc has prevented me on making as much progress as I would like to have done. I am still working on Ol' Flora Jean. Slowly but surely. I should hope to start working on her more now that I have moved.

anyways, here is where I left off, including some previous work.

Seats:
I started by dismantling the seats. The frames were rusted out, the vinyl had holes, and the springs were home to a family of squirrels.

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[Krondor]

I didn't save any pictures from the repair process. But I welded up a number of holes, blasted the frames, and painted the frames. I then sent the off to @Julie2006 to have them recovered. Side note to Julie, sorry it has taken me so long to post pictures. Once the cruiser is painted, I will be sure to send you some more detailed pictures. Julie did a pretty awesome job with the reproduction of the covers. I know I could have purchased them off SOR but I wanted something that would set my seats apart from the rest. I was able to choose the exact material along with the leather pattern. I chose a marine vinyl pattern that would withstand the sun, heat, and weather of the south.

 

[Krondor]

After the initial coat of primer, I saw that I still had a long way to go with the body. I thought I could live with some of the bumps and ripples. But I have worked this hard so far, I figured I might work a little harder and remove those.

 

[Krondor]

 

[Krondor]

This brings me to the past couple weeks. I have made some more progress with sanding. I estimate another 40 hours of sanding left before I will put another layer of primer to lock in any body filler/seal off any areas I sanded through. You can see the new doors and bows installed. Trying to get all the gaps fitted correctly.

I also needed a little inspiration in the mean time. I wanted to have some direction and @Box Rocket with Box Rocket Designs was the perfect help.

I commissioned him to draft a rendering of Flora Jean. I was able to customize the rendering with what I liked/didn't like. I sent him around 20 pictures and he sent back the perfect rendering.

That is what I am working to.

 

[Krondor]

Did I mention I bought a house? NO MORE 1 CAR GARAGE!!!!! Time to move!! So with the help of some good friends, we loaded her up.

 

[Krondor]

Here is her new home:

If you notice the garage height... It barely fits Flora Jean. I will need to expand the garage height when I put the soft top bows on but for now it'll work just fine.

But CHECK OUT ALL THAT SPACE!!!!!

 

[Krondor]

Now I just have to unpack and organize everything. I hope to convert the shop into a paint booth over the next few weeks and get her primed, painted, and ready to reassemble!!

It will NOT be another year before I post again. Thanks for the support.

 

[rmckay1021]

Great work!!!! Keep at it and you will have a great truck!!!!

 

[Advrider639]

Nice man. I started my 40 in high school, bits and pieces through college and after graduating and a job (as an engineer as well) I have turned my project back on full throttle.

I’m in Atlanta if you ever need anything.

 

[Krondor]

I appreciate it @Advrider639 . Yeah I am trying to do things the right way and taking my time. Learning as I go, making a few mistakes, and some rework. As an engineer, I am very familiar with rework.... But hey, that's how we learn and grow. After moving into a larger garage, I should be getting the project back on track shortly.

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

Here is her new home:

View attachment 2024137​

If you notice the garage height... It barely fits Flora Jean. I will need to expand the garage height when I put the soft top bows on but for now it'll work just fine.

View attachment 2024139

View attachment 2024141​

But CHECK OUT ALL THAT SPACE!!!!!

Good on you for restoring Flora Jean. Nice rig. Great story. Looks like it will be a tight fit through the garage door. Height is close. You can always redo the garage if needed.

 

[Advrider639]

Having the space makes all the difference. I’ve made plenty of mistakes on my rig, fixed most, had to live with some. I never plan on selling it, so it’s all unique to me.

 

[Krondor]

Good on you for restoring Flora Jean. Nice rig. Great story. Looks like it will be a tight fit through the garage door. Height is close. You can always redo the garage if needed.

Once I get settled in and organized. One of my first projects will be replacing the 6' 9" door with an 8' door. I had to take the soft top bows off to get her inside the garage.... Once put together, Flora Jean stands a hair under 7'. The new door should give me plenty of room to drive in and out. If anyone is wondering a new single garage door with installation is around $700-$900.

 

[Krondor]

It has been slow working on Flora Jean. I have been spending most of my time working on my FJ80. I finally had some time to wrench on the 40. One of the things that I didn't like was the mount for my oil filter. I am using a remote oil filter for ease of changing the oil. I produced this bracket after seeing another user with a similar set up. My only concern is how close the oil is to the exhaust manifold. Does anyone have any opinions on this?

The oil lines will also be replaced. I do not like the way that they are bent.

 

[Krondor]

Suspension update. I posted about my shackle angle on another thread. Consensus was that I needed longer shackles and that with the extra weight once finished, the shackle angle will improve. I also learned that my springs were most likely sky jacker springs. I also figured this was a good time to replace my bushings and the aluminum caster shims.

When I removed the bushings, I learned that the skyjacker used the 1 3/8" bushings while my frame used the 1" bushings. Quick note, if you have this problem, the 1" bushings have a 5/8" hole and you will need to purchase the 1/ 3/8" bushings with a 5/8" hole as well. There are two options from what I have found. SOR and OME both sell the larger bushings with the smaller hole. Since I didnt want yellow bushings, I went with SOR.

Now to wait for everything to come in....

 

[65swb45]

...and when you find that shoulder widths vary, you’ll wish you didn’t have fixed gusset shackles.

 

[Krondor]

I did notice that. I am planning to use a shackle spacer for the top bushings. Even if I didn't use fixed gusset shackles, I would still need to use a spacers as to not have a triangular like shackle angle between the top and bottom.

 

[Krondor]

As I wait for the suspension components to come in. I decided to take a crack at fixing my doors. Two of the bolts snagged and spun out of their nut cages. I couldn't just drill it out and I was afraid that a nutsert would show.

So I proceeded to cut out the hinge pieces

McMaster-Carr makes a caged M8x1.25 weld nut that was a perfect replacement.

 

[Krondor]

Welding back in place.

Still needs a little massaging overall pretty flat.

Next up: Turning to the underside. There was a large crack at the top of the door.

Again, it still needs a little work but its sturdy.