Build 1978 FJ40. Waking up the ol’ girl!

[EStein]

Look @EStein This forum expects any photos paint work to be wet sanded to at least 2000 grit….

Seriously though nice job! Can’t wait to see the top when it’s done.

Haha. Ok ok. That’s definitely not in my DNA. As much as I’d love to I could never restore a show room car. No patience for that kind of stuff at all. I’m a rattle can guy at heart.

 

[EStein]

Got to work on the hard top parts. All went together pretty well. Cut some seals for the rear header out of some thin foam from the craft store. Have a feeling this thing is gonna leak!

Missed a broken bolt in side that holds the passenger door header. Oh well. Too late to drill it out now…

 

[EStein]

Got the epoxy on and the seal coat just now. In an hour or so I’m shooting color. Not happy how many scratches showing through.

 

[EStein]

So the 3M self leveling sealer turned out to be interesting. I didn’t know how much this would flow and ended up not getting enough material in for the first half. Once I realized it wasn’t going to seal the whole gutter I laid in in heavier and that did the trick. The stuff sets up quite fast and when I made a second pass over the lighter areas, it didn’t settle very well. If I had any advice to give, put a really heavy bead down on the first pass and then leave it alone.

Here is how it’s supposed to look…

And here’s how the other half looks…

Luckily I’m not tall enough to see it.

 

[EStein]

Cygnus definitely is not very white. I knew that but didn’t think it was this far off. I think it’ll look good though. Plenty of dust particles. The joy of painting in your garage. Got a little impatient with the top I must admit. Missed a random glob of seam sealer that flung up the side….not going to post that oops.

 

[RevISK]

Looks way green in the mixing cup but close enough on the top.

Looks good on my phone?

 

[EStein]

Looks way green in the mixing cup but close enough on the top.

Looks good on my phone?

It does! Way too green! I’m hoping it’s the light. Tomorrow will tell. I’ll get the bezel on. Top needs to dry for a few days so I can turn it upside down and get the headliner in.

 

[RevISK]

It does! Way too green! I’m hoping it’s the light. Tomorrow will tell. I’ll get the bezel on. Top needs to dry for a few days so I can turn it upside down and get the headliner in.

The whites in your pictures look good (paint strainer) so it really does look like the paint is green leaning. I’m a photographer by trade so I live and breathe color science (among other things).

Hopefully it’ll calm down once dry and in proper 5,600 kelvin daylight. Still, looks pretty good regardless. Probably no one will ever know, it’ll be our secret.

 

[EStein]

Now that it’s on and out in natural light, I really like the color. Can’t wait to get the cap on.

 

[RevISK]

Now that it’s on and out in natural light, I really like the color. Can’t wait to get the cap on.

View attachment 3414457

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Looks amazing! Great work.

 

[EStein]

Headliner in. Good quality from Cruiser Corps. It was a challenge and I’ve got some wrinkles but overall I’m good with it. There are a couple good videos on YouTube covering the process by @40channel and Lone Wolf Works. I just did small sections and went slow.
Corner were a bear!

 

[EStein]

Today was one of my favorite days. The cap is on! Wrestled a bunch with the seal..another good quality aftermarket from City Racer. Every time I would get it in place just right it would fall out of the other side. Went back-and-forth for about half an hour and finally recruiting my wife to help. Desperate measures. The whole family helped lift the cap on which instantly transformed it to the 40 it once was! . All new stainless hardware to secure it down.

Now the doors…..oh the doors. Waiting for next credit card cycle and I’ll be ordering the lower patch panels for all 4. Ugh. Really wanted to have this thing all buttoned up by winter but I can’t see that happening. We’ll see how smoothly the door repairs go.

I’m still blown away by this Cygnus White. It looked so dark and green in the pot. Love it.

 

[greenEFSI]

Looking so good!

 

[Wasatch Jay]

Now the doors…..oh the doors. Waiting for next credit card cycle and I’ll be ordering the lower patch panels for all 4. Ugh. Really wanted to have this thing all buttoned up by winter but I can’t see that happening. We’ll see how smoothly the door repairs go.

Eric,

Like many others I've thoroughly enjoyed this thread. I read every post over about a ten day period. I didn't want to binge read, but rather savor your progress and your descriptions. You did a wonderful job of capturing the highs and the lows one goes through in such a project. I think you've done an amazing job, and your daughter's deep investment in the project made it that much better.

I said this is a different thread, but I recently purchased a patch panel from Real Steel Cruiser Parts for the right ambulance door on my FJ40 and was very disappointed by the so-called "quality". It didn't fit "fer sh*t". Put differently: Major buyer's remorse. It was a waste of money, and I don't like wasting money.

I suspect I'm pickier than you, but even so I think you'll be very disappointed how poorly the patch panels line up with the contours of the original Toyota door(s). Yes, they are significantly cheaper than buying quality used doors, or aftermarket reproduction sheetmetal, but Benjamin Franklin's quote is dead-on accurate "The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the satisfaction of low price".

I wish I had taken pictures before I started the process of trying to modify the patch panels to actually match the Toyota contours so I could illustrate what I'm trying to describe, but I didn't....

You might consider waiting for some reviews of the sheet metal products being introduced by Topnault (TP Auto Parts). Yes, it will be more expensive, and not by a little, but I suspect you would be a lot happier with the finished product .

Good luck, and I look forward to following your continuing progress!

 

[EStein]

Eric,

Like many others I've thoroughly enjoyed this thread. I read every post over about a ten day period. I didn't want to binge read, but rather savor your progress and your descriptions. You did a wonderful job of capturing the highs and the lows one goes through in such a project. I think you've done an amazing job, and your daughter's deep investment in the project made it that much better.

I said this is a different thread, but I recently purchased a patch panel from Real Steel Cruiser Parts for the right ambulance door on my FJ40 and was very disappointed by the so-called "quality". It didn't fit "fer sh*t". Put differently: Major buyer's remorse. It was a waste of money, and I don't like wasting money.

I suspect I'm pickier than you, but even so I think you'll be very disappointed how poorly the patch panels line up with the contours of the original Toyota door(s). Yes, they are significantly cheaper than buying quality used doors, or aftermarket reproduction sheetmetal, but Benjamin Franklin's quote is dead-on accurate "The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the satisfaction of low price".

I wish I had taken pictures before I started the process of trying to modify the patch panels to actually match the Toyota contours so I could illustrate what I'm trying to describe, but I didn't....

You might consider waiting for some reviews of the sheet metal products being introduced by Topnault (TP Auto Parts). Yes, it will be more expensive, and not by a little, but I suspect you would be a lot happier with the finished product .

Good luck, and I look forward to following your continuing progress!

Oh man that is so disappointing to hear but I appreciate your feedback. I ordered a floor pan and I think my rear floor was from real steel and I don’t have any complaints but I will say the parts I ordered from Cool Cruisers were spot on and high-quality. I think I’m going to order from them and hope for the best. I will definitely report on here my experience and hopefully I don’t have to say yes, you told me so! I’ve definitely been watching the TP auto parts threads with interest. Thanks again for your kind feedback. It’s been a great project. My daughter goes back to college tomorrow morning so I’m sitting here tonight feeling sorry for myself.

 

[EStein]

Also, feeling sorry for myself because I backed my rig out of my garage tonight, and I didn’t open the garage door all the way. Scratch my newly painted top! Son of a…

 

[EStein]

Got the windows in. Actually went pretty smooth. I use some Windex to lube things up and then the rope method. If you haven’t heard of it, you can look it up on YouTube. Works really slick and I have to say it wasn’t that big of a deal. Two person job though.

 

[EStein]

Door patch panels came from CCOT. Got to work right away. I haven’t test fit for the main doors yet but for the ambulance doors I have to say the fit is really good. Maybe even perfect. My plan is to get the front panel all welded up and ground smooth and then spray epoxy primer on the inside panels and up into the door as much as I can before welding the back panel on. I use Eastwood internal frame coating on these a few months ago and you could see where it leaked out the seams. Worried about rust from the inside out again especially after taking these to the acid dipper.

 

[EStein]

Couldn’t find a mat for the rear bed that was in stock or one that I liked… Went down to the local feed store and picked up some quarter inch rubber matting. Probably find it at most feed/western/tractor supply places. Cuts easily with a utility knife. Anyway it looks really good and I think it will be super durable. Sits over the top of the insulated mat I got from CCOT.

 

[EStein]

Also got the outside skins welded on the ambulance doors. Looks pretty good after grinding. Going to spray some epoxy on the inside surfaces and then get the backside welded on. Will use some filler over the seam, another shot of epoxy, and then hopefully paint in a week or two. Really trying to get this done before the fall temps get here. coming fast. Mornings have been cold.