60 Series Flatbed/Ute/Tray back etc...

[cruiserpilot]

That rear shackle looks bad, you have no weight on it. It will settle with some weight. I would think part of
the problem of a cut like this is you remove about 800 lbs of metal for the springs. You might have to remove a
leaf or two, depending on how heavy the tray is. Can't help you with springs, maybe go enquire with the
Tacoma guys, they should have the stats on their springs.

 

[Najman]

Two of my all time favorite 60 choppers...

Keep at it man..

J

View attachment 1126989 View attachment 1126990

Do you have a b

Two of my all time favorite 60 choppers...

Keep at it man..

J

View attachment 1126989 View attachment 1126990

When i saw the first one a month ago i loved so much that i have on my screen saver ,
I just secured a 1983 Bj60 and will be chopping it and making it like the first picture it is crazy as i never ever thaught of owning a toyota

 

[enfield]

I agree with the flapper wheel for the welds. I would definitely take my time and try to get those looking a little better, before I washed my hands and hit it with paint.
Not trying to be disparaging, I just feel that you've invested a lot of time in this project and you will regret not taking that little bit of extra care.
I still think it looks good though. I would personally relocate the rear axle, to give it a more conventional truck wheel base, but I'm not a rock crawler or anything.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

A flapper wheel will clean those welds right up. Nice work, looks good so far.

I agree with the flapper wheel for the welds. I would definitely take my time and try to get those looking a little better, before I washed my hands and hit it with paint.
Not trying to be disparaging, I just feel that you've invested a lot of time in this project and you will regret not taking that little bit of extra care.
I still think it looks good though. I would personally relocate the rear axle, to give it a more conventional truck wheel base, but I'm not a rock crawler or anything.

Two things... a flapper wheel takes metal down extremely quick AND it heats the metal faster and causes thin metal to warp. If you are not experienced with them take your time and practice on scrap. They can cause more problems than they are worth when working with thin metals.

I use resin fiber discs to finish off welds. They float over the weld, taking it down and don't dig into the base metal like a flapper wheel does. Let the wheel do the work don't apply pressure. The R/F wheels are ideal for this over a flapper wheel. I use flapper wheels for sculpting shapes, taking large amounts of metal down, etc..

Change the R/F discs regularly. If you find yourself needing to apply pressure... CHANGE THE DISC. They are MUCH cheaper than a flapper wheel individually, but you will use more of them. When a flapper wheel starts to "dull" you can get it to start eating more metal by applying more pressure... More pressure equals more heat/friction. IMO a very bad recipe for sheetmetal work.

I'd stay in the 60-80 grit range on the discs.

RSI (Roark Supply, MUD vendor) as well as many other suppliers have these discs and the reusable backing pad/disc. Any decent welding supply will have them in stock as well.

Good luck and take your time.

Jason

 

[cruiserpilot]

Resin Fiber Disc, I will have to look. I don't know of them by that name. Good to learn every day.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

Resin Fiber Disc, I will have to look. I don't know of them by that name. Good to learn every day.

Here's a pic and link

4-1/2" Resin Fiber Sanding Disc - 25 Pack

J

 

[BlueCruiser84]

Ah, I might actually have a bunch of those in a drawer. I guess i'll have to go back to lowes and get a backing plate.

For my knowledge - the order of events should be grinding wheel -> Flapper wheel -> resin fiber disc? Do I use something after that?


Enfield, as far as the wheelbase is concerned I want to get all the weight on the rear and drive it a while before I decide how much/ if I want to move it back. I don't have high hopes - my dad and I (350lbs total) were sitting on the rear frame portion and it may have lowered a quarter inch. I agree that currently it looks a little funny with the rear tire being so close to the cab. I really want to stay away from using a custom driveshaft. One thought I had was to use the driveshaft from a pre-85 fj60 since they are 3-4 inches longer.

I also want to get the spring situation sorted out at the same time. If I could find a longer spring that I could run in OEM mounts by using a longer shackle that would be ideal. I am trying to keep the mechanicals of this thing as close to stock as possible. I had an fj40 made up of mix-n-match custom stuff and it was such a pain in the ass finding parts if something broke.

 

[BlueCruiser84]

with those resin fiber discs it looks like i need a backing plate? Then the disc is mounted to the backing plate with....?

I just want to order everything I need in one go.

 

[BlueCruiser84]

Actually in the spirit of using LC specific parts it's starting to look like flipping the springs and re-drilling the military wrap might be the way to go. That would get me about 3 inches of wheel base.

 

[cruiserpilot]

What about a set of FJ45 springs, with some leafs removed? They are longer, and it would just require
relocation of the bushing mount on the frame. If you go redrill the holes on the spring pack, carefully
chamfer the hole so as to hopefully eliminate a crack in the spring radiating out from the drill hole.

 

[BlueCruiser84]

Good tip with the chamfering. The only problem with fj45 springs is they are rare and I would have to buy them. Probably new. Do you happen to know their dimensions?

 

[cruiserpilot]

No, sorry about that. You might find an old used set, then take them apart and clean them up.

 

[TRAIL TAILOR]

with those resin fiber discs it looks like i need a backing plate? Then the disc is mounted to the backing plate with....?

I just want to order everything I need in one go.

Just use the resin fiber from the start. You'll see what I mean when you get going. Grinder wheels are TOO coarse and leave deep gouges, flapper wheels, IMO shouldn't be used for bodywork, just me....


Zirconia Blue Resin Fiber Sanding Discs - Roark Supply

Backing Pads for Resin Fiber Discs

I like the rubber backed pads over the nylon backed. They are vented for cooling purposes. So pad, disc and then the threaded retainer nut (this comes with the pad)

You can get these on Amazon, Ebay, or your local welding supply...

Jason

 

[mp_cude]

Do you have a b

When i saw the first one a month ago i loved so much that i have on my screen saver ,
I just secured a 1983 Bj60 and will be chopping it and making it like the first picture it is crazy as i never ever thaught of owning a toyota

reminds me of the Lamborghini LM002

 

[BlueCruiser84]

Just use the resin fiber from the start. You'll see what I mean when you get going. Grinder wheels are TOO coarse and leave deep gouges, flapper wheels, IMO shouldn't be used for bodywork, just me....


Zirconia Blue Resin Fiber Sanding Discs - Roark Supply

Backing Pads for Resin Fiber Discs

I like the rubber backed pads over the nylon backed. They are vented for cooling purposes. So pad, disc and then the threaded retainer nut (this comes with the pad)

You can get these on Amazon, Ebay, or your local welding supply...

Jason

Roger that. These are my next purchase.

What do you like for paint removal? I'm using one of the woven sponge looking things and it works great, but it's wearing fast and they are expensive. It looks like my "whole" truck is covered in a a millimeter thick layer of bondo or REALLY thick primer and then painted.

 

[BlueCruiser84]

I order the Resin Fiber discs, the rubber backing plate, and some of the paint remover discs - they were actually WAY cheaper at @Roark Supply than Lowes!

 

[BlueCruiser84]

Resin Fiber discs were sweet. Metalwork still looks terrible by bodyman standards but I'm over it. Cleaned it up, removed paint, soot, slag, dirt, rust, and dust and hit it with primer. I think it's going to look good. After seeing it with a solid coat of paint I think I am going to try to use color matched monstaliner to finish it off. That will help hide some of the irregularities and seal up some of the areas where the welds are, uuhh, less than perfect.

 

[BlueCruiser84]

I also got my flatbed frame welded together. I need to grab some wood and some metal for the cross bars, but then it will be finished up.

I used an aftermarket trailer hitch off my 80 that fit PERFECTLY between the frame rails of the 60. I cut about 8 inches off the frame I think. Nothing too crazy.

 

[maat]

 

[BlueCruiser84]

Some inspiration!