1978 Frame off restoration (1 Viewer)

[mekej80]

Well.....after laying eyes on my first FJ40 (my older brothers) a 1977, I knew I would one day have one of my own. Fast forward an embarrassing number of years and we get to my recent acquisition of my very own project FJ40.

My plan is to tear down and completely rebuild the rig to get to the final result of a close to factory semi-daily driver that I can sit back and admire as well as beat around some back roads.

I picked up the rig off Craigslist in Arizona, had my brother go look it over to make sure all the bits and pieces were there and had it shipped to me in SW Washington.

It arrives


View up front


View from the back

 

[mekej80]

Looks like I have maxed out my allotted image upload capacity...

 

[mekej80]

Until I can upload more pics I will just kind of go over what I have been working on and add the pics when I am able.

 

[mekej80]

Since the rig arrived I have completely stripped it down to the frame and body components. This is my first project of this kind so I will be eager to get the input of the many experts and ideas from those who have gone before me. Please feel free to put in your $.02 and help me stay on the right track.

 

[mekej80]

My plan is to send the frame out to sandblasting and epoxy coating this week... Any thoughts or suggestions on if this is the way to go? I have seen some posts of people dipping their frame (embarrassed to admit that I'm not really sure what that even is).

Also, I have been back and forth on the powder coating vs epoxy painting dilemma...thoughts?

 

[mekej80]

Can anyone tell that I am working on the requisite 10 posts to get the ability to add more pics and get on with the tour of the buildup?

 

[mekej80]

As far as the frame goes, the only rust issue that I uncovered was the rear spring plates. I ordered some replacements after drilling out the rivets on the original plates and grinding off some previous welding that was done to the rear member. I am working on getting the perches off the old plates to see if they will be useable or if I will be replacing them as well. They were welded to the old plates so it will be a grinder battle to see if they can be reasonably extracted or not.

 

[mekej80]

For the body I have been fairly pleased to find it is not a total pile...only mostly a pile. The rear quarter panels are a total loss and parts of the bed are in rough shape. The drivers front seat bracket and floor where they meet are rusted through, but the rest of the front 1/2 is pretty solid.

 

[mekej80]

I went ahead and ordered a replacement floor for the front and am planning on picking up a new rear 1/2 tub in the near future to address the main parts of the body that are in need.

Still looking for some replacement front doors...

Found a extra hard top and ambulance doors locally and picked them up since my rear doors are in sad shape in the lower half.

 

[platypusREX]

Welcome
First thing, that ugly thing sure is pretty. I like those tire for sure. Just new ones.
I can sure see you are post excited as was I two weeks ago. You can edit your posts instead of making a bunch continuous ones.

Go to Welcome to Flickr - Photo Sharing and upload your photos and you can post a pic like this. It helps to use Firefox because you can copy a image location. If other browsers can do it, I don't know because I use Ff.
My ultra cool Corvette with a Jeep in front of it.

Adios.

 

[mekej80]

I am planning on a clean-up and rebuild of the entire drive line, so I am currently researching the best kits to do the transfer, transmission, and engine. Taking the block to a local engine shop to have it inspected and determine if it needs to be bored out and pistons replaced or if new rings will do the job. The upper half of the engine was rebuilt by the PO and looks great. I had the engine compression tested and one of the cylinders was low, so I know I'm going to at least put new rings in. With my limited knowledge I have checked the cylinders for wear and there is a very slight ridge at the top end, but still think it will be worthwhile to have it checked by a pro and gone over. Of course while I have it all apart I am going to replace the wear items like the clutch and bearings as well as gaskets and seals wherever I can find them.

Probably going to put a 2" lift kit on it just to make it a bit taller and put a little new iron under it and make it trail better.

Planning on going with a set of original wheels with the classic caps on them.

 

[mekej80]

Thanks platypusREX, looking forward to getting lots of feedback from the many users of the forum.

 

[platypusREX]

From what I deduced so far if you pull that block out have it drilled and tapped for power steering. Even if you dont buy PS it will be there in the future.
Adios.

 

[77TPIFJ]

My ultra cool Corvette with a Jeep in front of it.

Adios.

you call your cruiser a jeep

 

[mekej80]

A few more pics now that I am able to upload some more.

 

[mekej80]

On with the tear down...

 

[mekej80]

That pretty much gets everything caught up to the current status of the build. I will be sending the frame out for basting and painting this week, as well as getting the block over to the engine shop to have it inspected and cleaned. Hoping a new set of rings is all that I'm going to need to put on the block. I will be doing a clean/rebuild of the trans and transfer case while the other pieces are out. with the motor I am going to swap out all the seals and bearings while it is broken down.

Onwards!

 

[mekej80]

I've been away from the forum and project for a little while gathering parts and getting a few things done. After getting the frame back I noticed some major flaws in the pain job so I sent it back again and just recently have it back again. I also decided it was time to get a sand blasting cabinet and adequate air compressor to run it so I should be able to knock things out now.

This brings up a question...what does everyone recommend using as blasting media? I picked up some aluminum oxide with the cabinet, but don't really know if that's the best thing. I've got a lot of caked on grime on parts and just want to get that all off and make sure there is no surface rust left when I prime and paint the parts.

I'll get some pics going again now that more progress will be coming.

 

[Roboosfj40s]

Glass beads or walnut shells ground up do not etch thinner metal panels. Just knocks off paint rust and gunk. Cost more but does an excellent job. I used the glass beads in a small cabinet years ago in refinishing firearms. IMHO were great but as I said not as cheap as sand and others.

 

[ArkansasLarry]

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