2/79 FJ40 body reassembly questions... (1 Viewer)

[Blue60]

Doing the preliminary hanging of body parts to my renovation project and have a couple of questions. I have a second generation Aqualu tub and cowl back on the frame and am ready "tweak" the fit of the big pieces. After getting the tub and cowl very close to where I think it should be on the frame, I've got the fenders, bib and aprons on and fitted very close to final fit also. But...when I lay on the hood I have a a bit of an overlap at the bib... about 3/8 of an inch over the front. Also the hood latch bolt holes on the hood do not align (vertically) with the catches for the hood hooks on the aprons. It seems I may have to move the tub and cowl back a bit (maybe split the difference), but before I do I wanted to ask the question. Is there a designed overhang of any sort of the hood over the bib?

Second question...I've seen all sorts of variations on how the gas cap door is hung on FJ40s. For 79 FJ40s I've seen two variations...hinges forward and hinges aft. I've scoured pictures, and cannot seem to come to any definitive conclusion. When I started the teardown on this original vehicle it was certainly hinged aft (based on the hardware orientation etc) and it appeared unmolested from original. So...anybody with a 2/79 stock FJ40 who can give a definitive answer?

Thanks, and pictures forthcoming shortly

Cheers, and keep on Cruising!

 

[JasonH]

My 40 is a 2/79 and the fuel door hinges "aft" (hinges on the left, key on the right when facing it).

 

[Blue60]

Thanks Jason...appreciate the info. Now, tell me 'bout your hood! Does it hang over (protrude) past the vertical face of the bib? If so, could you quantify?

Thanks!

 

[JasonH]

No, it sits flush.

 

[WES1977]

my 6/77 protrudes past my bib(maybe 1/4"), and I think my tub is an aquala tub. I didn't install it, the PO did. It looks fine to me.

 

[treerootCO]

My dad has a 2/'79 FJ40. Some of it is currently not assembled...some pics here. http://www.root45.com/gallery3/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=4079

if you would like more specific pics, let me know. I am pretty sure the hood is flush though.

 

[Franky40]

When we put the last one together here we had the same situation, but only on the passenger side. Drivers side was flush and passenger hung over the front about 1/4 to 3/8. We tried everthing to no avail. I went out and checked my 72, samr way. checked a 1970, same way. Looked at a 75 and a 76, they are about the same. I don't know if Toyota did it on purpose or not, but everyone I looked at was crooked one way or the other.

 

[jhaha]

I have the same thing with my hood and aquala tub. I don't think mine is a 3/8 inch overlap, but there is an overlap. Guess that is just the way it works!

 

[miker]

When we put the last one together here we had the same situation, but only on the passenger side. Drivers side was flush and passenger hung over the front about 1/4 to 3/8. We tried everthing to no avail. I went out and checked my 72, samr way. checked a 1970, same way. Looked at a 75 and a 76, they are about the same. I don't know if Toyota did it on purpose or not, but everyone I looked at was crooked one way or the other.

Had a similar problem on a recent one I put together. I could not adjust out the mis-alignment with the hinges. The eventual solution to getting a flush fitting hood to bib and hood to aprons was to shim the Body Tub mounts. I added shims between the body mounts and frame. It didn't take much but it made a huge difference in the hood-to-bib fit, as well as the fender apron-to-tub fit.

The dead givaway on mine was that the top of the fender apron were it meets the tub was higher then the tub. It took about 1/4" of shim to bring it in alignment. once this height was the same, the hood no longer had the bib overhang on that side as well.

This was a stock tub, not Aquala, but it might be worth a try to see if it makes any difference.

 

[erics]

for those who appreciate the innane:

regarding the gas tank door hinges... to my understanding 78 and earlier model years are hinge down, 79 is the only year where the hinge is to the rear, and 80+ are hinge to the front.

It is possible to have a tub with a late month (like nov/dec) in '79 that has hinge to the front as it would be a 1980 model built in late 79...

as I understand it, this is one of, if not THE only way to tell a 1980 model truck from a 79

I'm positive this will have an enormous impact on someone's life out there

happy cruisin'

 

[Blue60]

Thanks to all who contributed...

Appreciate the effort and info...will try to get pictures later this week to show you what I mean regarding the hood overhang at the bib. Hood fits well everywhere else!

Now that I know (relatively sure) how the fuel filler door is suppose to be, I will attempt to get it attached and aligned along with the latch. Unfortunately no access from the interior so will have to "slot" the hinge plate which rests against the inside of the fuel port and tweak it a bit. The striker plate will be an interesting challenge also. I'm thinking of modeling clay to make an impression of the striker plate postion when the fuel filler door closed. I suppose I could also just take very careful measurements!

Cheers, and Keep on Cruising!

Dave

 

[alf]

The angle of the cowl is causing your variance. I am assuming you are just test fitting and don't have it all bolted up (i.e. tub is not yet thru bolted to cowl). If this is the case I can see how you could have this 3/8 variance.

Once the tub and cowl are bolted together you will see that the cowl will be pulled back to the tub. You can estimate how far out you are by putting a level on the drip rail that goes down the side of the cowl by the door hinges. This drip rail should be relatively straight up and down. I am guessing yours will be leaning forward and thus creating your variance.

I have a 4/79 with a 3/4 2nd gen Aqualu and questioned this same geometry during my install.


ALF