Build 1st FJ40, '76 - SMOKEY - Puttin’ her Back Together

[shipmag]

What i learned is take the rear diff and put
It in front take the front diff put it in the rear. Rebuild completely the one from the rear. On the front just replace the pionon shaft and the bolt that holds it in place. Do the same on the rear by replacing pionion shaft and bolt. The logic is the front never got used much so put it in the rear but i was told by a cruiserhead change the pinion shaft and bolt.

 

[djcfj40]

I was in the same boat that you are when it came to the body work.Got a estimate of $12000.00 plus to have mine redone.... YIKES !!!!
I figured I was left no choice but to educate myself and do the best I can..
I've done 90% of the body work myself and was able to have a friend of mine that is an excellent body and paint guy to do the final finishing touches and paint it for me.
The end result was great and I learned a lot. And more important is that I saved huge money with me doing all the "grunt" work.
Stick with it !!!!
You're doing everything else so right, Don't do the quick and cheap now and regret it when it's done.

 

[Vae Victus]

What i learned is take the rear diff and put
It in front take the front diff put it in the rear. Rebuild completely the one from the rear. On the front just replace the pionon shaft and the bolt that holds it in place. Do the same on the rear by replacing pionion shaft and bolt. The logic is the front never got used much so put it in the rear but i was told by a cruiserhead change the pinion shaft and bolt.

Yep, the rear was already rebuilt when I bought it from Roma. So what's left is his old "rear" that will go to the front, but needs to be rebuilt. I have the parts, just need to "git 'er done." Includes the bearings. I'll have to check on the shaft and bolt. Been so long since I've looked. I bought the kit from Kurt at Cruiser Outfitters.

 

[Vae Victus]

When are you planning on using that shrinking wheel? I would love to see some pics as to how it works. Thanks

I've used it for about 2 hours now, and it seems to work pretty well, though on a small area that I'm working, it's hard to tell. Here are some photos of the fender AFTER using the shrinking wheel on it, and some off block hammering. Metal thickness between the old and the new sections is pretty stark on the edges, so it's creating some challenges that may result in some additional metal replacement in a couple of areas.

Early on

PRIOR TO BLASTING

AFTER BLASTING (NO ADDITIONAL WORK DONE YET)
fyi - this was blasted with crushed glass. There is NO primer on the fender.

Lots of low and high areas still. I will finish this work and hopefully take my lessons onto the larger sections of replacements I need to do. X your fingers!


Word to the wise - cut out larger areas if you think the metal is thin anywhere near the rust. It sucks going back and cutting and patching larger and larger areas. That just creates something that looks like your grandma's quilt, not a panel on a vehicle.

Using the disk is easy, but a little strange at first. You basically run it on an angle grinder and use it to heat up the high areas on the metal. Once you heat it, you use a spray bottle or wet rag to cool it down quickly and shrink the metal. Rinse and repeat until the high spot comes down. There is a really good youtube vid showing a guy working on a crappy looking area on a classic rebuild and it comes out looking pretty good after what was probably 1.5 hours in real time. Heat, cool, heat, cool, hammer, sand, heat, cool, hammer, sand, etc. (Here is the video. Note: it is a video by one of the sellers of a shrinking disc. It is who I purchased from.)

I used the small disc at first, but then switched to the larger one, which worked much better. My issue is that I have a 6" Metabo grinder but it spins too fast for the rating, which is causing it to potentially heat too quickly and making the disc get rough (snagging on the metal), which is making take off a little bit of metal if I don't smooth it back down every 5-10 minutes. Doesn't take long (I use a 2" grinding disc and spin both at the same time to sand it down).

 

[Vae Victus]

Here is the rusted area on the fender that will need a patch. Remained small after blasting so should repair nicely.

and here are the rest of the blasted parts ready for paint.

 

[shipmag]

Yep, the rear was already rebuilt when I bought it from Roma. So what's left is his old "rear" that will go to the front, but needs to be rebuilt. I have the parts, just need to "git 'er done." Includes the bearings. I'll have to check on the shaft and bolt. Been so long since I've looked. I bought the kit from Kurt at Cruiser Outfitters.

you cant tell if the shaft has weakened so what the cruiser head told me to replace it rather than breaking it on the trail for a $50 part, Cant remember what I paid for it got it from Beno.

 

[TCSTARK]

Looking good Scott. Keep up the hard work.

 

[Vae Victus]

Update (thanks @Jdc1 for the poke to do this update): I spoke to the guy at the Lincoln Auto Body shop who runs it - Tommy. Doug and I went there together in his '79 40 primarily so Tommy could size up Doug's vehicle for body and paint. Doug needs some panels replaced, and bought a new tub rear as well, so the metal work will be extensive (though his vehicle is in pretty good shape - Doug's going to invest in new metal since he's saving $$ on paint and body).

Tommy showed us around - pretty impressive auto school here in little ol Nashville. Currently they have 1000 students, and there were guys and gals everywhere in overalls doing work on vehicles, going to classes, etc. He showed us the current stable of vehicles that are being worked on, and there were about 8 "classic" vehicles that were under restoration. He said the classics get pushed to the rear when a late model comes in, because everyone needs late model skills, not classics. But, everyone enjoys working on the classics.... Some of the vehicles there for > 1 year.

Unfortunately for Doug, it looks like it will be behind a few other vehicles to get done, but Tommy will likely push Doug ahead of the low priority stuff (like his wife's old Nova (no, not a Nova, what was it...?) anyway). But when I mentioned that mine would be bare metal, and metal replacement already done, needing body filler and paint, he said "oh, just bring it in and we will get you done fast."

Ok, wow, I wanted to start skipping around the parking lot. Now I'm sure it will still be 6 months, but I was thinking a year and a half after seeing all those cars in there currently being worked on.

Onward I press. It is supposed to be nice the next 3 days and I've got a little time this weekend so hopefully I'll make progress. No promises. I did work on the welding table assembly last weekend but my time was short.

Doug's Vehicle

 

[oldschool4wheeling]

Nice looking rig if I say so myself!

 

[oldschool4wheeling]

TTT

The weather sure is getting nice around here!!

 

[Vae Victus]

I let more than a month pass without posting, and I needed it. But, slowly getting back in.

I have removed the diff that I need to rebuild, and gotten the bolts and nuts to secure the diff tool to the welding table. Just need to tap the holes, weld the captive nut, and screw the dang thing down.

Then I can mount the diff and rebuild quickly (hopefully).

Also took the tarp off the '70 FJ40 and mocked up the seat support system that I bought. Been so long (more than a week) that I've forgotten from whom, and have to reeducate myself. Also need to find some more photos of how they aligned all the tubes before I weld it up. I'm going to be forced to drill holes in the floor pan and weld some bracing underneath for the front two legs. Not excited to do that, but have no choice right now. It'll weld up later if I remove it.

I've actually been extremely busy, not with work but with getting my home garden (more like a food forest) going in the late winter and early spring. Most of that is done but ... I've built a greenhouse, built 10 (only 6 for me) raised beds out of 1" thick easter cedar lumber, planted 4 grapevines, 17 trays of seedlings, created a seedling nursery rack system, mulched a 40' x 40' area for the new beehives, built 3 bee hives, planted (supervised) 15 fruit trees, moved about 10 yards of mulch and 6 yards of compost one shovel at a time (and one trailer load at a time) to various spots on our 9 acres.... Needless to say, I've been doing stuff, just not truck stuff. I've discovered that it is hard to grow stuff. For me.

Sorry for the side note, but hey, at least I wasn't sitting on my butt.

Here are some photos proving that I did something.

 

[TCSTARK]

Scott - where did you purchase the greenhouse? What did you plant?

 

[TheHardWay]

Shhhhh, he can't tell you - but it's for medicinal purposes

 

[SuperBuickGuy]

it's how he gets such groovy bends in his pipe

 

[Weber Sarge]

How do you like the weld table kit ?
Nice start on a garden , I gave up my 5,000 square foot one out back - couldn't keep up in the summer due to work hours .
Sarge

 

[Vae Victus]

Well hello everyone. Let me introduce myself. Oh wait, I know you people! But it has been a while.

I have the garden under control so I dove into the rear 3rd member rebuild last night and today, after several months of downtime on this project. Of course I wait until it's 95* and 160% humidity.

Hey - it's a diff. No excitement, but I did get to use the new welding table and the custom diff jig that was cut out for me. Just had to weld the captive nuts on. The jig is very easy to use. Only thing I don't like is that the holes are not aligned such that the diff is turned at an angle. Didn't really bother me once I stared working on it but being centered would be nice. I guess for a production of exactly 1 unit, I cannot complain.

Getting to know the welding table. Haven't welded much on it (them actually - two joined together with a couple of bolts) yet, but so far, more than meets my amateur needs. Love the holes to bolt to and clamp to with those (very hard to find) StrongHand clamps that have a 5/8" post that fits in the holes.

So - uh, here's the pics.

Rotated 90* on the jig. Very easy to turn

Using the ol' slide hammer to remove the axle bearings.

The old:

The new:

 

[Weber Sarge]

I hope you took a moment to mark those carrier bearing caps , they are machined to fit and cross bored - the cannot be mixed up .
Sarge

 

[Jdc1]

Did you make any progress on finding a painter?

 

[Vae Victus]

I hope you took a moment to mark those carrier bearing caps , they are machined to fit and cross bored - the cannot be mixed up .
Sarge

Yes, I did. Cmon Sarge, I know it's been a minute, but I am Mr Detail.

As a matter of fact, I wanted to post a GREAT how to video from YouTube on rebuilding diffs. It's a professional vid from 2001 that is 1.5hrs long and covers the 3-4 major types of diffs. I learned a TON watching it. Everyone has their different ways to do certain things, but this person is very knowledgeable.

Everyone who plans to rebuild a diff should mark this video:

 

[Vae Victus]

Did you make any progress on finding a painter?

Sort of. The guy at the Lincoln Technical (Auto Diesel) College said they'd paint it. I told him it would be in bare metal and have the metal work already done and he said "Bring it in any time - we can work you in fast."

But, those are just words. We will see.