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

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Jdc1 said:
Awesome progress. I was able to use a newer(late 70s) fan shroud and it cleared the compressor without cutting. I didn’t like how the early trimmed shroud turned out. Also, while you’ve got the rad out, slotting the mounting holes in the frame to give you more adjustment front to back might be a good idea. My AC condenser is pretty close to the Bib.
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GREAT advice, thanks @Jdc1
 
shipmag said:
I would recommend taking a couple pieces of plywood nailed together. Lay the old roof on the plywood and trace the outline of the roof. Then you can spot weld the pieces together. You dont want to weld the pieces on the fiberglass. The outline you traced will be a guide to align the pieces up for you. I used the compression rivets and a special tool used. I borrowed the tool from a guy in town. I did this back 20 years ago..
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This is very helpful as well! I had laid out the new rail brow pieces on top of the old rail and was just going to eyeball it, but I like this better. Thanks @shipmag
 
Vae Victus said:
GREAT advice, thanks @Jdc1
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I am standing it as we speak.

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Vae Victus said:
This is very helpful as well! I had laid out the new rail brow pieces on top of the old rail and was just going to eyeball it, but I like this better. Thanks @shipmag
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After i welded it i placed the top on the rail on the plywood and transfer drilled one then put a bolt in then we t to
Opposite corner center the top on the rail again and transferred drilled a second hole. And put a bolt in it. Now the top is fixed. Transfer drill all the other holes. I would recommend getting a transfer punch set at harbor freight the $18 bucks will be a good investment and all the holes and rivets will line up better. Im memory serves me right there was a special caulking seal that was recommended that wont harden and crack. It was a 3m product. Otherwise heat and age most caulk hardens and the top will leak all the time. Good luck.

I really want to thank you for convincing me to make the hoses Ive sold over 500 since that first group buy of 20.
Lou
 
shipmag said:
After i welded it i placed the top on the rail on the plywood and transfer drilled one then put a bolt in then we t to
Opposite corner center the top on the rail again and transferred drilled a second hole. And put a bolt in it. Now the top is fixed. Transfer drill all the other holes. I would recommend getting a transfer punch set at harbor freight the $18 bucks will be a good investment and all the holes and rivets will line up better. Im memory serves me right there was a special caulking seal that was recommended that wont harden and crack. It was a 3m product. Otherwise heat and age most caulk hardens and the top will leak all the time. Good luck.

I really want to thank you for convincing me to make the hoses Ive sold over 500 since that first group buy of 20.
Lou
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Well heck - no commission?
Remind me - which hose? The trxfr to tranny braided one?
 
Vae Victus said:
Not working on it at the moment but will soon today.
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I would recommend setting the top on it put a bolt through each corner slide it onto the two sheets of plywood nailed together the. Trace it. Without the top on it it will flex enough to be off on your bolt holes.
 
shipmag said:
I would recommend setting the top on it put a bolt through each corner slide it onto the two sheets of plywood nailed together the. Trace it. Without the top on it it will flex enough to be off on your bolt holes.
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I traced it on a roll of painters paper. Then cut it and welded the two pieces in. Went fairly well.
 
Rain Gutter process so far.
  1. The rain gutter brow replacement is two pieces. They must be welded in the middle, and then on the ends.
  2. Traced the gutter (the front brow area and about 2' down on the sides) onto painters paper. Traced it upside down, as that's the easier side to lay it while welding it up)
  3. I fit the new brow pieces over the existing parts several times to check the fit.
  4. I cut one end of the old brow off and observed how much the side of the gutter shifted from its original position. My pieces ended up not needing to be cut AT ALL and were exactly the right length. It didn't seem so at first but I noticed when I cut one end off, the side of the rain gutter flexed inward about 3/4" where I had cut it. It was welded under flexion (opposite of tension). This is when I figured out the two pieces did not need to be shortened in the middle area.
  5. I cut the other side off.
  6. Tack Welded the two parts in the middle and test fit it on the roof, which was lying upside down. It seemed to fit very closely to the old part so I then test fit it on the rain gutter again.
  7. I fit and tack welded one end onto the rain gutter. I then put the rain gutter on the roof to check the fit again. Fit was good when l flexed the gutter apart slightly to meet the new pieces. Bolt holes lined up well enough to see that I could use cleco clamps once I was ready to start putting in rivets.
  8. Tacked the other side on. Checked fit on the roof. Fit was good.
  9. Finish-welded the 3 areas. These are simple spot welds - nothing continuous.
  10. Ground down the welds with a Roloc 2" 3M wheel. Cleaned up the first welds a bit by welding some low spots.
  11. there wer 4 broken bolts on the gutter so I ground them off with the Roloc and welded on new nuts. MUCH easier than trying to drill out those damn broken bolts.
  12. Decided to media blast the gutter instead of trying to grind it. It had too much oxidized rust areas with bad pitting that needed to be fully cleaned up. This exposed a few holes that I'll need to patch up.
Traced to paper
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Tack welded middle
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Love this air saw.
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Full weld. Prior to cleanup.
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After media blasting
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Vae Victus said:
With one side lined up, you can see the other side flexed in about 3/4". I held the old side rail out to meet the width of the new brow pieces when tacking it.

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Good work. You are farther along than i am with crinkle. With osteoarthritis i cant even turn a screw driver so I have to rely on my cousin now for 7 years to do something. Im at his mercy unfortunately. Surgery wednesday next week. Then the other wrist then after next hunting season the ankle will be fuzed. So i doubt any thing gets done until mid or fall 2022z
 
shipmag said:
Good work. You are farther along than i am with crinkle. With osteoarthritis i cant even turn a screw driver so I have to rely on my cousin now for 7 years to do something. Im at his mercy unfortunately. Surgery wednesday next week. Then the other wrist then after next hunting season the ankle will be fuzed. So i doubt any thing gets done until mid or fall 2022z
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That sucks man. I can empathize a little. My bro in law and good friend has psoriatic that started when he was about 30. Started as lock jaw, went on to take out his shoulders, wrists, fingers and toe joints. Ankles currently. He's 52 now. Had several surgeries to repair shoulders and wrists, including reattaching the tendons in his fingers due to the wrist bones being sharp on the ends where they had deteriorated.

He too loves to wrench and cannot really anymore. I've helped him some but not enough. He has a Hurrican and an Audi R8 so he just sticks to new toys now. Sometimes I don't feel too badly for him.

I have a 10 YO MDX, a 9YO minivan, and a 44 YO pile of Toyota parts at the moment, though I'm getting my sh*t in a pile finally.
 
Finished repairing and putting POR15 inside the roof rail. Should I leave it off the roof and let the painter have access to the entire roof to repair and paint it, as well as access to the entire rail, or should I go ahead and put the rivets on and the 3M caulk and let him repair and paint fully assembled?

I lean on unassembled. I should probably take off the brow rail and let him paint it properly as well.

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Vae Victus said:
Finished repairing and putting POR15 inside the roof rail. Should I leave it off the roof and let the painter have access to the entire roof to repair and paint it, as well as access to the entire rail, or should I go ahead and put the rivets on and the 3M caulk and let him repair and paint fully assembled?

I lean on unassembled. I should probably take off the brow rail and let him paint it properly as well.

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