Build 1978 US Market FJ40 Factory Restoration

777Gage · May 16, 2020

Interested in the research as well for 78. My Olive 653, has black hood latches & windshield fasteners, which look original?
I also have a chrome bezel which I believe is OEM as well?

dmaddox · May 17, 2020

Two more devils down, with new hardware welded in place. Eight more to go. When a bolt is stubborn, don’t just keep twisting on it! And if it does snap, don’t drill it out at the current angle of the sun and put a 3/16” bolt through it.

dmaddox · May 19, 2020

Guys - I need some advice. The quarter panels - while good after re-"lipping" them. Are not straight and WILL require quite a bit, if not considerable filler to get them to something I am proud of. Question: Filler, or replace the quarters with all-new steel? Pros: Clean, straight, correct, little filler. Cons: Time, cost, a ton of work (again), filler. What would you do? As you can see the passenger side is worse than the drive side, but still - both will require quite a bit of filler. This is bugging me enough to ask.

bmoonhajjar · May 19, 2020

dmaddox said:
Guys - I need some advice. The quarter panels - while good after re-"lipping" them. Are not straight and WILL require quite a bit, if not considerable filler to get them to something I am proud of. Question: Filler, or replace the quarters with all-new steel? Pros: Clean, straight, correct, little filler. Cons: Time, cost, a ton of work (again), filler. What would you do? As you can see the passenger side is worse than the drive side, but still - both will require quite a bit of filler. This is bugging me enough to ask.

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New Steel or else it will bug you forever.

65swb45 · May 19, 2020

Street or trail rig? Bondo has a habit of popping at the most embarrassing times on trail rigs.

dmaddox · May 19, 2020

Weekend cruiser, 99% street, for caffeine and carburetors car club get togethers. I've done my trail rigs on 35" swampers. This one is for relaxing and coffee chit chatting at local car shows. Great question Mark!

bmoonhajjar · May 19, 2020

Dallas, if you are asking then you already know the answer. This is your fourth build from what I can tell. Do it right and document it, and if you ever need to move it, someone will appreciate and pay up for the work that was done.

Just my opinion.

cwags12 · May 19, 2020

Agree with @bmoonhajjar ! Steel all the way, so the quarters will match the quality of the rest of the rig, tub, etc. Pros far outweigh the cons in the medium/long run.

dmaddox · May 19, 2020

New quarter panels on the way. Thank you gents. I just didn't feel right, as well and perfect as everything else is coming together, putting this much plastic on the quarters.

Curtice · May 20, 2020

dmaddox said:
More work on the tub today

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Mind me asking what you are using as a tub dolly/stand in these pictures? Thanks.

dmaddox · May 20, 2020

I cut the legs down on an auto body stand I had and then used 1/2" electrical conduit to tie it together.

I then welded casters from ACE hardware on.

This:

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Curtice · May 20, 2020

What an awesome idea. Im gonna copy it

dmaddox · May 22, 2020

Peter piper primed a peck of pewter pieces. (Epoxy primer, NOT rattle can. I learned my lesson there. Acrylics like to bully enamels).

dmaddox · May 22, 2020

Wet sanding with 320 and 600

bmoonhajjar · May 22, 2020

dmaddox said:
Wet sanding with 320 and 600
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Why not powder coat?

dmaddox · May 22, 2020

Because I would rather have the exact pewter color, and I don’t mind/enjoy doing a proper paint job on things. I mean, if a single stage paint lasted 40+ years, I think this epoxy/base clear should last another 40. Ive seen a lot of powder coating that is pretty close to the stock pewter that look amazing however.