1968 Farm Fresh Frame Off Resto

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I'll be starting back up on the sanding and a little rust repair next week. Jason has found a donor tub and well... a whole cruiser as well... I hope he posts the pic of his trailer load from Cali to Austin.. I love it! So, hopefully we will get this project rolling again with some endurance this time around.

J
 
He's alive!!!
 
Put up a WTB ad and got a few replies. One was perfect, and the seller was awesome- lots of photos, some phone calls, and having 2 local fellas from the Bay area look at it. I pulled the trigger on it. The other one was on ebay and after talking to Jas, I decided to get it if I could too. If you have to make a trip to get a FJ40 tub, why not get 2?!?!? Thats how I think/do things.

I looked into shipping, but they wanted $1250 from San Jose to Austin. Ouch. I figured I could drive out and back for the same and make a vacation of it. So thats what we did. We saw the Grand Canyon, Sunset Crater National Park, Yosemite- we camped here too, very serene. My brother lives in Modesto and never met my two youngest, so it was just another reason to go. Not many people will/can go on a cross-country trip on less than a week's notice with their family, especially to get some 40 tubs, so big kudos to my wife for being a great sport. We ended up having a great time.

The tan project is originally an AZ truck. It's a 1963 and SUPER clean. I will be doing a resto-mod on this- 2F/H42, discs, etc. It has the stamped bezel and vents in the windshield too. The orange one was isnt as clean as the tan, but still very nice. The rear tailights will need to be filled, they are pretty ugly. It will need a little bit of work on the rear sill. It's a 1972 and will go on the this project 40.

Here is a pic of my load. It was like this from Phoenix to Austin. I got some stares along the way :) And my MPG from Phoenix to Austin was BAD, I wonder why? :grinpimp:

Side note- I LOVE my diesel 7.3 Ford Ex and my trailer, they handled it like a dream. The only issue I had was my PS leaking badly in Cali at my brothers place. After some investigating, it ended up being the high pressure hose on the pump- the o-rings wore out. Since it has a hydroboost system, I had to fix it if I wanted brakes. Easy fix, just glad I was at my brothers place instead of the side of the road.


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Oh, Forgot to mention I stopped by and saw Georg and his shop in Stockton. Wow, very nice shop he has for anyone who hasnt seen it. I picked up a few things, dropped off some good Texas brew, and saw some incredible projects he was working on. He has more 1HZ projects than I ever have seen before at one time. Georg is just a great guy, wish he was closer.
 
Georg is awesome. I love my H55F and rebuilt T-case from him along with countless other items. Stand up guy for sure.

Its been a few weeks since I've done any work on Leo. I really hate this work schedule 14/7... PHFFT... it will be 18/3 this hitch.

Spent last night and this morning stripping down the doors, other hard side and header. I will get the bib, back doors, tire carrier and little parts knocked out this weekend.

Next, on to rust repair. I will post pics later.. got a couple sheets (2'x4') of 16ga screaming to join in on the fun.

J
 
if I would of known you where in Calif. it would of been great to have met you. I am subscribed to your thread now. to see the progress.
 
same here, could have met while you passed through Phoenix :cheers:
 
Nice work Jason, cant wait to get the tub to you. Out of curiosity, how does the metal get the red ? Thats not primer I am guessing?

Yea, I thought about maybe meeting up with some folks, but with the family its hard to do. And I can always use more time. I do make long road trips though, sometimes on the spur of the moment like this one.
 
Jas, that is the factory red oxide primer indeed. I checked a spot under the firewall and tub and its the same through out. The last 40 (a 1976) I stripped and painted had a grey factory primer like the 60 series do. Not sure when they changed color..

Someone may know that answer. I'd be curious to know.

So, in my experiences from painting a few projects, the darker primers will give a deeper/richer final color and a lighter primer will give a brighter/crisp color. However, if you get a rock chip etc.. the darker primers will stick out like a soar thumb and vice versa... So, we will talk about this before I buy and lay down the primer. I say go with a grey/white epoxy primer, I think it will make the spring green POP and look great.

J
 
All pieces that I can save are stripped down now. I will start cutting rusty metal out (hopefully this week) and beating them flat to go on the trace metal.

If anyone needs a certain patch panel, get in touch with Jason at CruiserYard and we will get you taken care of if the unused panels have what you need in good shape.

Hope everyone is enjoying themselves thus far. It is time for a little :princess: and :beer: time for me...

J
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Looking great Jason. I am getting inspired to start working on mine now.

Nice work J... What are you using to strip the parts down.
 
Jason,
I have a Jan 69 FJ40 and had the same type of questions, it has sat in the garage for the past year needing a rear main seal and I am just now starting to get serious about what to do. Your annual/miles usage is about the same as my plans. There is alot to be said about staying as original as possible, so many of these old trucks have been updated and "improved" If you decide to stay original as I have here are a couple things to think about; F motor, most are too stupid to die and in their original form have some pretty neat features kind of like an old tractor. 3 on the tree, mine too and I love it, alot of people have never been fortunate enough to drive one, my first car a 62 comet had one. Front Brakes, a good well adjusted drum brake setup will function well, the lack of power booster will make it harder to drive but with the miles you plan the adjustments will only be necessary every few years. But one change I would definitely make is to go to a dual chamber master cylinder and two separate circuits for front and back. this is a major safety improvement. And you may be able to find a Corolla system to fit the three bolt mount and still look original. You can get a proportioning valve to help balance the front and rear brakes. The Selectros can be cleaned up and painted to look pretty retro, mine was from Arizona and had them on it. I am looking forward to staying as original as possible and driving it until I am old old old.
 
J- that bezel/bib look good! I wil bring the tub up this weekend btw.

dlzadl- thanks for the update. I read the link to your purchase, wow, that thing is sweet. I definitely see numerous similarities between our builds. I'll look into the 2-chamber MC. Let me know when you post a build thread, I'd like to follow it.

As I mentioned a few posts back, it's funny how your's, the tub that is going on this and the other 40 project all came from there. All very solid for sure.
 
Jas dropped off the new tub, passenger fender and apron. Leo is loaded up and he will strip it down to the frame and get it blasted and painted. Then return it when I've got everything ready to reassemble.

I will start stripping down the new tub and other parts over the next few days.

J
 
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