Builds 1978 US Market FJ40 Factory Restoration (2 Viewers)

[dmaddox]

Cleaned up the threads after tacking in M8x1.25 nuts onto the back of the upper and lower mounts.

Apologies for the terrible photo - also while it is nice to know weld-through primer is in all the nooks and crannies, it makes a mess when you weld it.

There are a few small spots to touch up.

Shot of the rear sill:

Man, these photos sure point out all of the mistakes I'm making. I'll clean up the weld at the top here, too.

I'll have to measure, mark and drill for the rear marker lights and emblems as well. Will get to that next.

I had to make this corner here, some visible flaws, but I hope it looks fairly stock.

 

[mrboatman]

Very nice work You deserve a after all that

 

[OPMACHINE]

You are doing a good job! The ability to solve problems is what separates the welder from the fabricators.

 

[TheHardWay]

X2 - Dude, Thursday morning you were in the depths of despair. Look at you now. Comeback Kid!

 

[waiting for time]

Great job, keep it up.

 

[dmaddox]

Thank you all. I know its not stellar, but it will be in the end!

I have a question for you guys. On my old tub, on the backside of the marker lights, were these small reinforcement tabs. I salvaged them, but am not sure if they are stock or not. Let me know what you think:

 

[airon23]

Yes those are stock. I believe they're just tack welded top and bottom.

 

[dmaddox]

Thank you, I’ll spot them in. Details!

 

[ToyotaMatt]

Thank you all. I know its not stellar, but it will be in the end!

I have a question for you guys. On my old tub, on the backside of the marker lights, were these small reinforcement tabs. I salvaged them, but am not sure if they are stock or not. Let me know what you think:

View attachment 2440167

The tabs are factory Dallas , add meat for the Female threads for side markers machine mounting screws .

I have seen these on front early - 12/74 front apron
Lamps as well

- why not a spot welded captured nut for the needed female threads some may ask ?

- simple , nut is too small to accept a mig weld back in 1978 and survive from not becoming a
“ Globular - Cluster “ .....

 

[dmaddox]

Ok I believe all metal work is completed on the tub.

I have measured and drilled for all of the emblems, reflectors, tire carrier and body mounts. Outside of putting on the frame, everything measures exact. Recall, I have only replaced the quarters and rear sill, everything else is original to the cruiser.

I took advice and welded on the support tabs and re-tapped to ensure its lined up. I then ground smooth.

These photos prior to cleaning up the welds and steel:

Ready for a little filler and primer. I am on the fence with the rockers. I inspected them again today and the photos make them look much worse than they are, and I have inspected them for rust. I dug out and cleaned the back of them, and may get away with some dolly/hammer work, since the steel is all good. Let me know your thoughts on this one. If it was easy, I'd just cut out, but that area is a bugger. So, with the steel being good??? Hmmm....

Full body shot - and one of the lousey garage. Here, you can see the rocker is actually pretty straight. I'll hit it with the dolly set and see how it can straighten.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

 

[waiting for time]

What you see on the rockers is the Steel between the spot welds being pushed away from the floor.
there will be corrosion between the floor and the outside rocker.
If you don’t want to take them off at least make sure it stops. As soon as moisture gets back in there it continues.

 

[SteveH]

Outside of putting on the frame, everything measures exact. Recall, I have only replaced the quarters and rear sill, everything else is original to the cruiser.

<the voice of 'more work'...>
Have you test fitted all the doors (including rear) and top? IMO, it's not ready for paint until you have. Even if you think something hasn't moved, it may have, and the time to find out is now.

 

[dmaddox]

Very true - and I think the only proper way to do this would be to actually bolt it to the frame. It sitting on this cart is probably not the best way to ensure this.

 

[MOTOV8R]

nice work! So do you have this support for your upper hinge mount? Was it just play in the hinges and the location of your initial holes that had the carrier too low on the first go? Glad you got it all resolved.

My awl_teq sill for the 79 had lower hinge holes and captured nuts. But when I lined up the catch and the upper mount I couldn't make it fit. I had to cut out the captured nuts and fill the holes and make new ones. So you are not alone in your struggles for making all these pieces come back together.

 

[dmaddox]

Yes - thank you!! I do have everything as it should, stock. The bracket to support the upper hinge is in place, I had to cut off and re-weld in new captive nuts on the back, approx 1/8" higher than original - and as pictured I welded in new captive nuts on the lower as well. It turned out very nice.

Not sure what page of this thread I first realized it, but the front driver door hinge was welded on, clearly out of nothing other than being lazy. In taking @SteveH recommendation to test fit everything, I pulled out my Toyota hinges to install the doors.

Yeah - I had to pull it all apart, reweld the "slot" (for a lack of a better term) and fit and fiddle with fixing the bracket and retaining plate? for the upper hinge. I hope to graduate with a diploma in fabrication when I am done, but essentially I had to really dive into that upper hinge.

Half way through fixing - cutting off all of the old "lets just weld the hinge on" disaster:

Re-installing the hinges - passenger side:

Hinges in place on both sides - bolted in properly:

Small wins!

edit to fix the image sizes

 

[SteveH]

Having fixed that welded-on-hinge-kludge will pay a dividend at some point down the road. And it's so easy right now to get to those upper hinge bolts that will later be occluded by some much under-dash junk.

 

[dmaddox]

Project “will it fit” is underway, starting with the tub on the frame. Luckily everything lines up perfectly. I am very lucky, to be honest! Here I placed just a few (6) bolts and body mounts on in order to snug it down.

Over the next few days I'll test fit the ambulance doors, hard top sides, doors, etc...

I love the look of a stock cruiser - and this gave me a little inspiration, just test fitting the tub - seeing the ride height, stance and how cool this will be when completed.

 

[dmaddox]

Good morning.

I have test fitted all of the doors and hard top. I did need to do some minor tweaking, but nothing major. Everything bolted right up for the most part.
A reminder of all the body work and prep in my future....ugh a bit demoralizing to see I need to fix yet so much more. My goal before the real cold set in was to have the tub done and painted, so that I could spend the winter on electrical, seats, cooling/heater system, dash, etc... So that come spring, I could work on the remaining panels, glass and weatherstripping and call it a wrap by summer. Maybe too ambitious. A one man band here in a hobbit hole garage, so we will see.

I am embarrassed to post this photo, but in the least made me happy to see the panels bolt right up and the ambulance doors within a respectable tolerance.

Enjoy your day - dallas

 

[ToyotaMatt]

Good morning.

I have test fitted all of the doors and hard top. I did need to do some minor tweaking, but nothing major. Everything bolted right up for the most part.
A reminder of all the body work and prep in my future....ugh a bit demoralizing to see I need to fix yet so much more. My goal before the real cold set in was to have the tub done and painted, so that I could spend the winter on electrical, seats, cooling/heater system, dash, etc... So that come spring, I could work on the remaining panels, glass and weatherstripping and call it a wrap by summer. Maybe too ambitious. A one man band here in a hobbit hole garage, so we will see.

I am embarrassed to post this photo, but in the least made me happy to see the panels bolt right up and the ambulance doors within a respectable tolerance.

Enjoy your day - dallas

View attachment 2444750

morning Dallas ,

no need for embarrass brother

your work and attn to details , is UN-matched !

i continue to study and learn much from your careful and methodical approach's

i feel like T-TEN class is back in session at age 46

keep it up and Do not change a approach detail , im subscribed to all that you do

kindly matt

 

[FJBen]

Nice work Dallas! Keep at it, you will get there. Don't worry too much about deadlines, looking good.