'66 fj40 Frame Off Buildup - TJ's Cruiser

[DAD2SIX]

A few things I have learned from this site. Production date is '65 Title date is when the dealer sold it..... So it could have sat for months and months before getting sold and git titled as a '66 '65 FJ40. Corrugated top models ended mid year 1965. They are often titled as '66s...and I've even seen a one or two titled as a '67, as many of them sat at dealerships for a long time before being sold and titled. From mid '65 on, they had the newer style top, newer front doors with wing windows and not bugcatchers, and the newer windshield frames without the vent below the windshield.

 

[Corwin117]

looking great!!!!!

 

[truggier]

Tube fenders! Just tacked and no skins. I took MetalTech's design but replaced the tubes they supplied with .12 DOM.

 

[truggier]

Progress update: been doing alot of welding on the frame - most of the work I've been doing on the frame has been tacked in to this point. I had to order a new gas diffuser for my mig gun though...the old one kind of melted itself a new hole, I'm not sure why. I may have been using too much nozzle gel (the wire kept on fusing with the contact tip). So I'm in a holding pattern for that.

In the meantime I've been trying to decide how to implement the 4-link suspension on the rear, thread here:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-seri...r-coil-springs-rear-4-link-2.html#post8948224

 

[truggier]

Work from the past half year so so...first picture shows front airbag setup. I'm playing with this so I can remove leaves from the leaf springs for better articulation. It'll also provide forced articulation capability, adjustable ride height, and better ride. The bags (Slam SS8s) have internal bump stops at 2.7" and a stroke of 10.3". I plan on bagging the rear as well in combination with coil springs.

 

[truggier]

Also have skins tacked on the tube fenders:

 

[truggier]

The sliders are fully welded in:

 

[truggier]

After removing the cross braces from the rear I fabbed and welded in a 1/4" box channel. It fits inside the stock bumper. I want to add a auxiliary gas tank / fuel cell here but the braces were in the way.

 

[truggier]

Also I boxed the rear frame using the RuffStuff kit. I've yet to weld in the tube over the rear axle.

 

[White Stripe]

Wow this looks like it will be cool. I messed around with forced articulation quite a bit on my RC rock crawler. It does give some benefits, but a well designed regular suspension will almost do just as good. To do it properly from my experience you need to do it mechanically rather than hydraulics or pnuematics. Ive only seen 2 or 3 designs that do it properly to work in the real world. The scorpion is one example, and they don't really give away too many secrets about how it actually works. I really had to dig to figure it out.

 

[truggier]

Thanks. I'm having fun with the bags and I hope it works out. I was planning on using a 'cradle' for where the airbag touches the axle, so that the airbags can't limit droop and tear. Daystar makes one.

If you have any sort of write up or pictures on your build with the airbags, I'd be interested.

 

[truggier]

Progress since last update (not as much as I had hoped, but here it is).

I fabbed up some diff armor for the front axle and welded it in (and painted it):

I also took away the old front axle shock mounts and put in double shear ones instead:

On the rear axle housing, I rearranged the shock mounts a bit and added pedestals for the air bags (a bit hard to see in the photo):

I also moved the front axle rear shackle mount a bit forward and down to get a better shackle angle:

Finally, I've been working on the fender skins - sanding the bejeusus out of them. One side is completed and the other side is almost there.