- Thread starter
- #21
I'm glad he got to meet my daughter Avery. She's going to have a lot of stories to hear about Uncle Ralphie when she's older.
1978 FJ40 Resto - Lord Jesus, What Have I Done?
- Thread starter adistler1
- Start date
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Rainman
Wondering what my next vehicle will be...
Ahaahhahahhaaaaahhhaaaa....
I had a buddy who had a VW Bus that turned the brights on and off with the horn and when you pulled on the turn indicator the horn went off.
PRICELESS!!
So, your PO was a doctor?
A Cardiologist?
Wiring pacemakers to intermittent power sources?
Ralphie was a huge loss to the world of comedy... and to all of us who thrive on great comedians.
I'm very sorry for your loss... and for ours.
I'm very sorry for your loss... and for ours.
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Baaaaaahahahahaha - that's seriously the funniest PO hack I've ever heard, AD. Priceless!
Nostradamus
SILVER Star
My neighbor growing up had a VW bug that I learned to drive stick shift on. With the key in the ignition, if you touched any other key on the key ring to metal on the steering column, the horn would honk. Every time you made a tight turn and the keys bumped into the column, car honked.
It also steered like an ocean vessel. On the highway, you'd make a slight adjustment with the steering wheel and what seemed like a minute later the car would move in the same direction. Was like making a call down to the engine room with that latency.
That car was a trip.
- Thread starter
- #28
My next purchase was a Trollhole top. Man, it's a work of beauty. I got my bows from Real Steel Cruisers. One of the channel pieces that slides into the passenger side B-pillar is bent. I didn't really notice it until I slide the top on. I guess I'll address it when I go to repaint the truck. The top itself is great though. Definitely recommend it.
- Thread starter
- #29
The back of my truck is a mess. The sill is actually just two pieces of aluminum that were never really even tacked onto the floor. It goes maybe 2" behind the quarter panels. The passenger side quarter panel is actually welded to the bumper. This has caused the back of the truck to be way out of whack. Nothing fits. I ended up buying some old barn doors off Ebay and put some nutserts in with the help of @oldschool4wheeling, who thankfully joined our misfit gang of cruiser aficionados. I got the doors mounted but there's still a huge gap on either side. It looks terrible. Also, this pretty much pushed me over the top and I'm going to start repairing the tub and replacing sheet metal.
- Thread starter
- #30
In looking at the barn doors and fancy new turn signal/brake lights, I decided to go ahead and grind down all the leftover welds from the monstrosity of a rear bumper that got cut off. I also cleaned up my tire carrier with the help of @oldschool4wheeling. He cut the welds, pried it apart and got the new bushings in and tacked it all back together. I used SEM Trim Black on everything.
ginmtb
'74 FJ40 - my first!
Making great progress! I saw this photo and recall reading that the springs for the drums should be slightly different than in your photo. One spring goes on the front, one goes behind. See this:
Assembling the Brake Shoes/Springs/Cylinders
Haha, I've got a drill bit set in a case just like yours. Bought it decades ago and still use it regularly.
Rainman
Wondering what my next vehicle will be...
When we tackled the rear seals and bearings, we paid no attention to the brakes other than noticing all the fluid. I see a set of Rainman's Brake lines in @adistler1's future. A good all around brake job is in need. That does not need to be put on the bottom of the to do list.
Damn... i sure loved Raphie stuff! Good job on the cruiser
- Thread starter
- #35
So, this pretty much brings me to present day. I bought a welder. Got a sweet little Hobart Handler 140 from another Land Cruiser buddy. My Aunt's ex husband (Ex-uncle?) happens to be a retired master welder and I drove up to Kentucky with the Hobart to take a 3 hour lesson from him. He showed me how to set everything up and operate it, then threw different gauges of scrap metal my way.
- Thread starter
- #36
Y'all might appreciate this air boat that he built from ground up. He made every cut, bend and weld. Rebuilt the engine. It produces over 1100 HP. We took it out on the river and it sounds like a C-130. That prop is insanely loud. Louder than the motor with straight headers.
- Thread starter
- #38
I removed the old seats, transmission cover and tank cover to find that he had riveted a floor pan over the old floor, sandwiching some quikcrete in there where the floor had rusted through. I haven't gotten to the drivers side yet, but instead of an actual floor pan, he just riveted a sheet of aluminum over that side.
- Thread starter
- #39
I started cutting out the cancer and found that most of the A-pillar was rusted out at the floor. So, it looks like it won't be as easy as patching the floor with some panels. I'm going to keep cutting out the necessary stuff and fabbing up 16 gauge sheet metal until I get it back to where it needs to be and is structurally sound.
Does anyone have any advice on cleaning rust out of the channels and proper preventative measures? My angle grinder won't reach it and the flap disc on the Dremel lasts about 30 seconds. From a quick google search, I saw Eastwood sells what is basically a 4-step process where I'd brush it out until it was relatively clean and use Eastwood Pre, then Rust Converter and then Rust Encapsulator and Extreme Chassis Black.
Does anyone have any advice on cleaning rust out of the channels and proper preventative measures? My angle grinder won't reach it and the flap disc on the Dremel lasts about 30 seconds. From a quick google search, I saw Eastwood sells what is basically a 4-step process where I'd brush it out until it was relatively clean and use Eastwood Pre, then Rust Converter and then Rust Encapsulator and Extreme Chassis Black.
- Thread starter
- #40
Started shaping pieces to rebuild the channel and A-pillar.
