Builds 1991 FJ75 moving to America

[c2dfj45]

This stuff looks promising... I've earmarked this for future projects. Thanks!



The foil tape, or fiberglass, certainly would have been easier than my solution. Good tips. It has been fun to see how many similarities our trucks have... fun and bemusing. The arid environment treated them well... but the hard service in Oman offset a lot of that. Ha!

Tough place and a tough life I think. They're living the good life now though....

 

[Honger]

Tough place and a tough life I think. They're living the good life now though....

Exactly! A friend of mine pointed out that my Troopy has basically gone into pampered retirement compared to its past life.

Loads of work and progress the last few weeks...

Patched all holes in the floor except 8... 4 for the bench seat and 4 for the rear platform.
Cleaned the old adhesive off the roof with an abrasive wheel. My arms were like jelly after that. Primed the cleaned roof with Mastercoat. Also started putting some Damplifier on the roof and the eventual plan is Spectrum up there as well.

Painted spectrum in multiple coats (3) inside the rear body panel cavities.

And inside the rockers where I couldn't reach with Mastercoat and Spectrum I sprayed Fluid Film.

 

[c2dfj45]

That roof looks great! Lots of work for sure. What are you going to do for a headliner?

I've been driving my truck around a bit now(well before the carb came off) and it's really quiet inside with the sound deadeners. You're going to be shocked I bet since you've spent more time driving yours.

 

[c2dfj45]

Is the thing on the right rear behind the wheel well a cover for the rear filler? Is that OEM?

 

[svsisu]

Fluid Film and it's close relative Woolwax are great products. I buy it by the gallon and spray it every where on the underside of my trucks, and use the aerosol can with extension to spray in every hole in the body.

 

[Honger]

That roof looks great! Lots of work for sure. What are you going to do for a headliner?

I've been driving my truck around a bit now(well before the carb came off) and it's really quiet inside with the sound deadeners. You're going to be shocked I bet since you've spent more time driving yours.

I'm tempted to use that Thermozite stuff you used... really like how it turned out on yours. I kind of want a white/light color though to keep it from being too dark inside.

Oh man, it's crazy how much quieter it is. Once the roof is done and I get the front cab area done it's going to be revolutionary. But already it has gotten soooooo much more bearable inside.

Is the thing on the right rear behind the wheel well a cover for the rear filler? Is that OEM?

It isn't OEM. While the bozos who added my rear tank did use an OEM tank and OEM filler tube, they put the filler in the wrong spot. My fender already has the welt for the correct location but they somehow missed it so they added their own cover over the incorrect placement. I was tempted to yank it all out and reposition it. But it works and my cargo deck passes over it anyway.

Fluid Film and it's close relative Woolwax are great products. I buy it by the gallon and spray it every where on the underside of my trucks, and use the aerosol can with extension to spray in every hole in the body.

@wngrog seems to find a use for it in every one of his builds and it seemed natural to use it where I couldn't reach with the Mastercoat. Smelled interesting for a few days.

 

[c2dfj45]

I'm tempted to use that Thermozite stuff you used... really like how it turned out on yours. I kind of want a white/light color though to keep it from being too dark inside.

Oh man, it's crazy how much quieter it is. Once the roof is done and I get the front cab area done it's going to be revolutionary. But already it has gotten soooooo much more bearable inside.



It isn't OEM. While the bozos who added my rear tank did use an OEM tank and OEM filler tube, they put the filler in the wrong spot. My fender already has the welt for the correct location but they somehow missed it so they added their own cover over the incorrect placement. I was tempted to yank it all out and reposition it. But it works and my cargo deck passes over it anyway.



@wngrog seems to find a use for it in every one of his builds and it seemed natural to use it where I couldn't reach with the Mastercoat. Smelled interesting for a few days.

Originally I wanted a lighter color on the inside of the roof but the Thermozite made more sense because was some what more able to be stretched around and I like having the layer of foil behind it. And it's yet another layer of quiet. The dark color hasn't once even registered on my OCD radar. I kind of like seeing the roof ribs up there in body color against it. Really looks utilitarian. A little different I guess with the grey interior vs. the tan. Even with the tan it would look sharp. Light colored headliners seem to always be begging for dirty finger prints

 

[Honger]

Originally I wanted a lighter color on the inside of the roof but the Thermozite made more sense because was some what more able to be stretched around and I like having the layer of foil behind it. And it's yet another layer of quiet. The dark color hasn't once even registered on my OCD radar. I kind of like seeing the roof ribs up there in body color against it. Really looks utilitarian. A little different I guess with the grey interior vs. the tan. Even with the tan it would look sharp. Light colored headliners seem to always be begging for dirty finger prints

Hmmm... I frequently have 30 dirty fingers riding in the back seat of the Troopy... good point.

 

[c2dfj45]

Hmmm... I frequently have 30 dirty fingers riding in the back seat of the Troopy... good point.

LOTS of dirty fingers in that truck!

Honestly the grey looks really good up there. It kind of just blends in. The trim around the edge, the painted braces...it's all cool detail stuff that makes it look complete. Looking forward to using it on some other builds.

There was one other fabric I liked....it was light, almost white that they use in boats. It's a stretch material. I wanted to use it but the install would have been a nightmare because it would have been impossible to keep clean on install. Couldn't do it.

 

[svsisu]

@wngrog seems to find a use for it in every one of his builds and it seemed natural to use it where I couldn't reach with the Mastercoat. Smelled interesting for a few days.
[/QUOTE]

Some people really don't like the smell... I don't mind it at all, and it does fade. Woolwax is basically the same product but does not smell nearly as strong, is more resistant to wash off, and comes in straw and black colors. You can find more info on it here :
www.kellsportproducts.com

WoolWax ( @bob1008 ) is a supporting vendor, and I believe offers a discount to mud members.

I've been really impressed with both products, and have found uses everywhere.

Sorry for the hijack.

 

[Honger]

We took a camping trip up north of Phoenix to the Mogollon Rim two weeks back... 4 days, 3 nights. It was perfect. It was made all the better because I got to test my new solar setup.

I had already picked up a 100W solar panel while living in the UAE... intended for my 80-series originally, it came home with me and has now been placed on my Troopy. I had a simple, cheap charge controller already in hand, but this thread nerded me out on the Victron Energy Blue Solar 75|15, so I grabbed one. I cross posted over there too. After reading that the Bluetooth range was better with the external dongle, I went that route...

Marine-grade 10-gauge wire and a Blue Sea Cable Clam (very awesome gland for roof entry to the vehicle FYI!)...

And since the truck has a few pre-existing holes in the roof due to it's past-life in Oman, drilling the larger hole for the cable entry wasn't so bad. I did the largest Cable Clam that Blue Sea offers because it gives me room to add a few more wires in the future (lights, HAM antenna, etc.). I did the hole where one of the interior roof crossmembers will conveniently cover it.

I used aluminum angle to make brackets for attaching to the roof rack. I build these so that I can pivot the panel at an angle into either direction.

I also bought some new German-made MS4 connectors and reterminated the panel while working on things. The chincy Chicom connectors on the solar panel were already cracked.

Mounted up... still loads of room on the rack.

Shown angled into the sun here.

And it clearly keeps up with the fridge/freeze without a problem.

 

[FJBen]

We took a camping trip up north of Phoenix to the Mogollon Rim two weeks back... 4 days, 3 nights. It was perfect. It was made all the better because I got to test my new solar setup.

Love that area, we always said we were going to move to Payson.

 

[Coolerman]

If you have not fixed your fusible link yet I may have a much nicer solution in the works. I finally tracked down a 2 pin connector that accepts the 7.8mm terminals to use for dual fusible links. I could make you a link that looks like an FJ40 link, but has two separate links. It would have a 2 pin male connector for the harness side, the dual fusible would plug into that, then a two pin connector to a 10ga wire would connect to the + battery terminal. Let me know if you are interested.

 

[Honger]

If you have not fixed your fusible link yet I may have a much nicer solution in the works. I finally tracked down a 2 pin connector that accepts the 7.8mm terminals to use for dual fusible links. I could make you a link that looks like an FJ40 link, but has two separate links. It would have a 2 pin male connector for the harness side, the dual fusible would plug into that, then a two pin connector to a 10ga wire would connect to the + battery terminal. Let me know if you are interested.

I JUST got your package in the mail, thanks for that! So I have not fixed it yet. Happy to work on a more elegant, and more easily replaced, solution.

So I'd have a dual link terminated on both ends with 2-pin connectors. I'd add a 2-pin male connector the harness... and you'd give me the 10ga wire that connects to the terminal? Very interested. Are they weatherproof connectors?

 

[Coolerman]

No the connectors are not sealed, but putting dielectric grease in the connectors before plugging them up will prevent any corrosion issues. These are the same as BJ40 fusible link connectors.

I will build you one tonight and ship it to you no charge. If it works out, I can sell them to other people to fix their links.

 

[Coolerman]

OK here is what I built for your truck.
Top is the fusible link itself. This has two links: A 18ga link and a 14ga link
Center is the connection to the battery + post. The ring terminal is 3/8" to fit your new battery post clamps.
Bottom is the harness side connector with the two male terminals.

email me your mailing address to fj40coolerman at gmail dot com and I will get it on its way

.

 

[Honger]

OK here is what I built for your truck.
Top is the fusible link itself. This has two links: A 18ga link and a 14ga link
Center is the connection to the battery + post. The ring terminal is 3/8" to fit your new battery post clamps.
Bottom is the harness side connector with the two male terminals.

email me your mailing address to fj40coolerman at gmail dot com and I will get it on its way

.View attachment 2351267

My gosh this is top notch. Thank you so very much!
Email sent... and I'll be sure to post up installed photos.

 

[Coolerman]

When you get the link: I wrote on the fusible link connector which link is 14ga and which is 18ga. Make sure to match those to the correct size wire on the harness side.

 

[Honger]

When you get the link: I wrote on the fusible link connector which link is 14ga and which is 18ga. Make sure to match those to the correct size wire on the harness side.

Thanks again for this Mark! I appreciate this reminder. I'm the type who gets ahead of myself sometimes. Ha!

Once it's in hand I'll be splicing it in and will share photos. I gotta imagine others will be interested in this. Any 70-series out of the Middle East or South America is highly likely to no longer have a functional fusible link, if there is one at all.

 

[c2dfj45]

I know we could use that setup for our Troopy.