Builds 4Door FJ40 Build (FZJ40) (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

I finally got my front diff assembled and back in place, just waiting on the rest of the suspension parts and brake hoses. I tried to clean and paint most of the things with Por15 but I keep having mixed results. When I put on one coat, everything looks great but when I try to add a second coat as recommended I get some cloudy areas in the paint. I guess one coat is it from now on.

I installed the stock E-Locker, rebuilt the hubs and converted to manual locking hubs, I also picked up some inexpensive calipers, pads, brake lines from rockauto.com, I am liking that site more and more. The website its self is just OK but the prices are great.

Those springs are 3" lift springs from the Icon Phase 1 suspension kit. Purchased from Metal Tech, they had a 20 or 25% off sale over Thanksgiving

IMG_2696.JPG


IMG_2733.JPG


IMG_2732.JPG


IMG_2731.JPG
 
Why not just bend it back straight?

That was my first thought too. I called a few Land Cruiser shops and they all said to replace it, they said bending and re bending weakens it and for the price of a used one it's not worth taking the chance. Although i guess I am taking a chance with an unknown used one :)

-Derek
 
Hooked up the high pressure side of the power steering. I used the Earls DIY hose and fittings. The hose fittings are 6an so I had to use some adapter fittings.

Steering box thread / adapter sizes:
Low pressure return side (closest to the engine) - 17mm X 1.50mm to -6 AN Male SKU # PS185007 Toyota 17mm X 1.50mm Power Steering Fitting
High pressure side - Earls -6 AN Male to 16mm x 1.50 Male Part # 961955ERL

IMG_2721.JPG


IMG_2725.JPG


IMG_2729.JPG


IMG_2724.JPG
 
It was hard to find the right O2 sensor, but here is the part number for a 2001 Chevy LS Gen III 4.8 from a Silverado with a 4 flat connector.

Bosch 13026

IMG_2818.JPG
 
I had a local marine guy build a tank, there was a slight mix up and the tank is a bit small than planned but should be just fine. This is a 23.5 gallon tank I could have gone bigger. I should have made it a bit wider and smaller front to back as the suspension components are very close to the tanks plumbing. This tank took too long to build and I overpaid. If I was going to do it again I would have just bought a cheap replacement tank that fit the area. I had to make my own mounts and will need a skid plate anyway so might was well have just bought a inexpensive aftermarket tank.

I have been told that the LS swap external pumps are better at pushing than pulling so I need to put the pump as close to the tank as possible. I had the tank guy weld on a little perch for the pump. I guess I could have gone lower but it was pretty close to the panhard if I did.

IMG_2892.JPG


IMG_2876.JPG


IMG_2895.JPG


IMG_2903.JPG


IMG_2900.JPG
 
Tube fender kit arrived. Trying to line up the hood, body, bib and fender aprons has been a nightmare. I hope to finish the fenders this weekend and be able to start fitting the radiator \ fan shroud.

IMG_2929.JPG


IMG_2928.JPG


IMG_2927.JPG


IMG_2925.JPG
 
These tube fenders are a bunch of work and like any good home improvement project all I see is my mistakes.

Question for anyone who is a good welder:
The directions from metal tech say to tack, skip weld and eventually connect all of the welds on the top of the outside edge of the skin to the tube. Check out the last pic. I feel like if I do that I will have a series of 1000 bugger welds and the finished edge will look like hell even after grinding then down. Is that just how it goes and I just grind down what I can and just smooth out the edge with body filler later? I started welding from the underside but that is not that easy and looks like hell too and no chance of grinding.

Any advice is appreciated



1909406


1909407


IMG_2935.JPG


IMG_2946.JPG
 
I don't think its necessary to weld the whole edge. The spot welds will be fine but I would check to see if the spot welds have created waves in the sheet that will become obvious after paint. You want the sheet metal to fit nice onto the tube before welding. You could probably hide the waves with bondo though. I would seam seal the underside to keep moisture getting to the welds from the underside and then bedliner over that.
 
I don't think its necessary to weld the whole edge. The spot welds will be fine but I would check to see if the spot welds have created waves in the sheet that will become obvious after paint. You want the sheet metal to fit nice onto the tube before welding. You could probably hide the waves with bondo though. I would seam seal the underside to keep moisture getting to the welds from the underside and then bedliner over that.
Thank you for the advice. I do not see or feel any waves in the sheet metal. The picture does make it look like there are some though. One area on a curve did get a bit distorted but i think that was dinged in shipping of the skin or the alignment of the inner and outer tube support was off enough to cause a problem.
 
Dang this is a cool project. Bent radius arm could just be careless wheeling, not necessarily an accident. They're not too hard to bend, ask me how I know :eek: If you're looking for a replacement arm that's a little longer than stock, you can always try @Delta VS
 
These tube fenders are a bunch of work and like any good home improvement project all I see is my mistakes.

Question for anyone who is a good welder:
The directions from metal tech say to tack, skip weld and eventually connect all of the welds on the top of the outside edge of the skin to the tube. Check out the last pic. I feel like if I do that I will have a series of 1000 bugger welds and the finished edge will look like hell even after grinding then down. Is that just how it goes and I just grind down what I can and just smooth out the edge with body filler later? I started welding from the underside but that is not that easy and looks like hell too and no chance of grinding.

Any advice is appreciated



View attachment 1909406

View attachment 1909407

View attachment 1909411

View attachment 1909412

DAAAANG nice project!

Yes, you need to just put little tacks all the way around. One of the reasons why body work is considered an "art" and why it can cost thousands upon thousands of dollars. Old guy once said "you just keep your hand on the metal right next to the weld with no glove, if it's getting warm, come back later". It takes a VERY LONG TIME to do it right, and once it goes wrong, good luck. The last thing you want it to do is have one of those spots pop off and then crack all the bondo around it. Having a solid weld all the way around is the "right" way to do it.

As far as radius arms go, we have made custom ones for swaps like this (80 front end under a 70 series), happy to work with you on something like that if needed.
 
DAAAANG nice project!

Yes, you need to just put little tacks all the way around. One of the reasons why body work is considered an "art" and why it can cost thousands upon thousands of dollars. Old guy once said "you just keep your hand on the metal right next to the weld with no glove, if it's getting warm, come back later". It takes a VERY LONG TIME to do it right, and once it goes wrong, good luck. The last thing you want it to do is have one of those spots pop off and then crack all the bondo around it. Having a solid weld all the way around is the "right" way to do it.

As far as radius arms go, we have made custom ones for swaps like this (80 front end under a 70 series), happy to work with you on something like that if needed.

Thanks for the welding advice, I liked the story. I will keep at it and take my time, I also forgot to change to the smaller wire size., so that should help too. Whoops :(

I might be interested in those radius arms but I need to put some 35's on this thing so can see how it looks and decide if moving the axle forward is needed and how much.

in your opinion, can you simply install radius arms that are 1-2 inches longer without moving any other suspension or steering component?
 
I am strongly leaning toward buying the vintage air AC with the ultra high blower Part# 941201. The guy at Vintage air says that the distributors with free shipping, etc should be able to give me the FJ40 kit with a LS bracket and compressor without any additional fee. I guess we will find out tomorrow.

@White Stripe I just read a post from you about your vintage air setup. i assume you are still happy with it. How much of your glove box do you actually have to cut?
 
I am strongly leaning toward buying the vintage air AC with the ultra high blower Part# 941201. The guy at Vintage air says that the distributors with free shipping, etc should be able to give me the FJ40 kit with a LS bracket and compressor without any additional fee. I guess we will find out tomorrow.

@White Stripe I just read a post from you about your vintage air setup. i assume you are still happy with it. How much of your glove box do you actually have to cut?
Cut the glovebox? I didn't cut any of the glovebox. Their are a couple holes you drill in the bottom of it for bolts for support but that's it. Once it gets over 90 degrees with my black soft top it struggles to keep more than the front passengers cool. For a 4 door rig I would consider a front and rear AC unit personally. Soft tops let a lot of heat in.
 
Cut the glovebox? I didn't cut any of the glovebox. Their are a couple holes you drill in the bottom of it for bolts for support but that's it. Once it gets over 90 degrees with my black soft top it struggles to keep more than the front passengers cool. For a 4 door rig I would consider a front and rear AC unit personally. Soft tops let a lot of heat in.
Yeah I thought I read a few places that the glovebox would be reduced. A few holes never hurt anyone, thanks.
 
Some Radiator Mounting Brackets. Radiator is from Speedway and it's their 26" speedway generic brand 2 row radiator.

1918554


1918555


1918557


1918559


1918560
 
Last edited:

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom