1970 FJ40 restoration (2 Viewers)

[antFJ]

zags do you know off hand what color your heater is? I'm going to get mine powder coated by I can't tell what color it is supposed to be...

EDIT: Page 10 - rustoleom gray.. i'm gonna see if we can match that at the powder coater...

 

[zags]

zags do you know off hand what color your heater is? I'm going to get mine powder coated by I can't tell what color it is supposed to be...

EDIT: Page 10 - rustoleom gray.. i'm gonna see if we can match that at the powder coater...

If they have something a little bluer and slightly darker that would be spot on.

 

[zags]

Did some more painting this weekend. I finished up painting all of the little stuff. I have not painted the roof and bezel yet, I am still looking for the "correct" Shell Ivory. I also got a few more things bolted on and restored the emission computer.
I was originally planning on powder coating the roll bar black, but on a whim I painted it body color. What do you guys think?

 

[Phares]

How did you keep track of which bults/nuts/screws went where when you dropped them off at the cad plater? If you mentioned this earlier in the thread I apologize I just love the look but imagine it takes a lot of notes/photos to keep straight. IMO I like the body color roll bar but honestly I think it is up to you. The black would give it some contrast and tie in the back area to the front area of the 40. Top notch build.

 

[zags]

How did you keep track of which bults/nuts/screws went where when you dropped them off at the cad plater? If you mentioned this earlier in the thread I apologize I just love the look but imagine it takes a lot of notes/photos to keep straight.

I did take a lot of photos, videos and notes, but to be honest, I really didn't need to refer to them as much as I thought.

When I got my stuff back from the plater, my kids and I sorted them and put them into bins that I scored for free from a shop that was going out of business. In most cases, the correct bolts just make sense. Washer head bolts will generally be used on sheet metal, etc.

 

[Crawlerdad]

That is a true labor of love. Very nice work.

 

[lelandEOD]

Zags, do you mind sharing the name/info of the plater you used for the cad plating? How did the cost compare with the Caswell kit? I imagine the majority of the work would be in the blasting. Is that why you did it yourself? Also, is bead media necessary or would aluminum oxide work too (or is it too aggressive)?


As always, your restoration is an inspiration and when I get the email notifications that you've posted to this thread, I get more excited than a grown man probably should.

 

[zags]

Zags, do you mind sharing the name/info of the plater you used for the cad plating? How did the cost compare with the Caswell kit? I imagine the majority of the work would be in the blasting. Is that why you did it yourself? Also, is bead media necessary or would aluminum oxide work too (or is it too aggressive)?

The plater I used was Sav-On Plating in Phoenix, AZ. I am not sure how they prepare the stuff for plating, but it is in bulk so the quality on old, rusty or painted hardware is hit-or-miss. That is why I bead blasted them myself. Like I mentioned earlier, a big factor in my choosing to have a plater do the work instead of using a kit is that I had some big parts plated like the fan shroud and brake lines. If you are just doing the small stuff, the kit would be much cheaper, but it would be very time consuming. There are a lot of cad plated parts on a 40!

As far as the media, I used glass beads because some of the plated parts are aluminum. Also I would be afraid that the aluminum oxide might damage the threads on the really tiny screws.

I used a strong magnet to hold the really small stuff while I was blasting them and sifted my media occasionally to find strays. I was afraid that the plating shop might loose some of the really tiny hardware, but I they did a great job of keeping it all together.

 

[thecrazygreek]

The rollbar is sweet in body Color but I would consider losing it maybe? Or go oem style? Great freaking build!

 

[zags]

The rollbar is sweet in body Color but I would consider losing it maybe? Or go oem style? Great freaking build!

I am pretty much committed to keeping the roll bar at this point. I built mounts in to the body that do not match a later factory bar. Also, I have three point seat belts that I bought just for this set up.
I have a later model OE roll bar, but It just didn't look "right" to me because it was for obviously for a later model. The idea was that any mods I did would be somewhat period correct. I fabbed the roll bar to look similar to the ones available in the 70's which is why I originally planned on it being black.

 

[Chamba]

I am pretty much committed to keeping the roll bar at this point. I built mounts in to the body that do not match a later factory bar. Also, I have three point seat belts that I bought just for this set up.
I have a later model OE roll bar, but It just didn't look "right" to me because it was for obviously for a later model. The idea was that any mods I did would be somewhat period correct. I fabbed the roll bar to look similar to the ones available in the 70's which is why I originally planned on it being black.

I agree with you here and I would not want to drive one without a roll bar. Although I do have to admit that I love the look of the factory bar - especially the '79 - '84 bar - but for this rig I like your reasoning.

As for going body colour- that looks fantastic!

 

[zags]

A minor setback, I found a drop of coolant on the tranny hump. The heater core must be leaking. At least they are easy to replace.

 

[fjkev]

Very nice work. Just starting to work on my '70. Will definitely refer to your thread for inspiration and reference.

Kevin

 

[zags]

Another update. Last week I finished up restoring the cluster. I glass beaded and repainted everything then used a Gauge Marks kit to redo the lettering. This was an excellent quality kit and it was easier to use than I expected. The only thing I didn't like was that the refinished gauge faces made the odometer numbers look terrible. Saturday I painted the top and bezel (gasp!) Cygnus white. After a long search, I could not find any kind of formula for Shell Ivory. I did find that Shell Ivory and Cygnus White are pretty similar. I believe the Cygnus white was a body color, not a trim color, but since it is so close to the original trim color that it has become the accepted norm. I installed a battery and decided to fire it up. That did not go so well, and you can check out my thread on that with a video here:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/728006-what-did-i-screw-up-fresh-f-engine-died.html

A new oil pump and distributor will get it up and running. It is really disheartening to have to go back and redo things when you are so close to getting it on the road.

 

[zags]

A few more pics.

 

[apeterson]

Wow!!! This looks great.. Love the color

 

[crazyjakedana]

Very nice work. Just starting to work on my '70. Will definitely refer to your thread for inspiration and reference.

Kevin

I will too!

 

[crazyjakedana]

A few more pics.

That's what I need a new air intake. My great grandpa tried to convert it to a newer one and did well but you can't buy the filters for it anymore.

 

[zags]

I have been doing some color sanding lately to get ready to put the rest of the body together. I also finished up a couple of more projects like installing the fuel tank.

 

[JADCRUISER]

Hi Zags
did you fix the engine
please Updates!!!