71 redo

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Joined
Jul 16, 2007
Threads
14
Messages
117
Location
San Diego
I've owned this old FJ55 for around 10 years now. Although I've done much mechanical work on it, no body work has been done. Recently I purchased a 72 rolling chassis. It has many parts I have needed, and soon the 2 will become 1. Here are the pics of the 71 as it currently sits. I'll need to get up during the daylight where the 72 is stored to get pics of it. On this thread I will be posting the progress, however slow. I have limited resources, so it will be a daily driver work in progress. Recently a wire fried in my wiring harness and has caused the lights to stop working... Talk about motivation to get this rolling!

A special thank you goes out to Ribz for the deal of a lifetime for me. More to come later...

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Its good that uhaul trailer made it! and its always good to help save a :pig:

Here is a few the night the 55 left home.

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Its nice to have half of my garage back too. Looking forward to see the progress.
 
Thanks for posting the pics. It's going to be a lot of work.

Looks like just about everything usable on the 72 is better than mine so I will combine the best of both. I may just abandon the 71 altogether and redo the 72. Forgot to ask if it had been reg non-op. Mike?

I'd love to sell whatever parts are left, but I have no place to do this job so it currently sits at a wrecking yard (no not to be parted). My buddy owns it and I promised him the leftover carcass and parts for him to sell to pay for the use of his property for my "redo."

Just looked at glass seals at sor. about 150 for front and both static rear windows. That will be my first investment. Anyone know of seals and side view mirrors? Seals available at sor but no one seems to have the mirrors (no surprise there...).

If anyone is wanting a 3-speed trans/transfer case setup with the 350 sbc adaptor it will be available later on down the road (not sure when). I'm sure my buddy would like to sell it to a pig enthusiast, so let me know if there's interest.

This is going to take a lot of money and BEER!
 
mirrors for a 55 are hard to find. cause most of em broke off over the years! look at 40 series mirrors...I run one on my fender so in summer, I can remove the doors...it looks and works great. HTH.
 
All these new 55s popping up in the forum - COOL!

I like that... "new" 55s... :)

Found a frond windshield seal (thanks Paul) and i'm siliconing in the rear windows until I can afford 300 for the 2 cargo window seals. This is a slow process when money is tight. I hope to have it done before the end of the year... We'll see.
 
Found a frond windshield seal (thanks Paul) and i'm siliconing in the rear windows until I can afford 300 for the 2 cargo window seals.
Back before cargo options were available, several folks were able to make WS rubber work on the cargo windows. Basically cut the corners off and glued them back to fit. Might be a cheaper option anyway -

:cheers:

Tucker
 
Fittyfive,

So, the plan is to put the new body on your frame and running gear?

I'm thinking that I'm going to take the best from both and make one good unit. (I said unit). Looks like most of what is on the 72 is better than what's on the 71. We'll see...
 
Back before cargo options were available, several folks were able to make WS rubber work on the cargo windows. Basically cut the corners off and glued them back to fit. Might be a cheaper option anyway -

:cheers:

Tucker

Good idea, but the seals are all around $150 each. Thanks for the info.
 
mirrors for a 55 are hard to find. cause most of em broke off over the years! look at 40 series mirrors...I run one on my fender so in summer, I can remove the doors...it looks and works great. HTH.

Hard to find is an understatement. Thanks for the info.
 
notice the round mirrors on the fenders. They look like mickey mouse ears, but they work very well for the blind spot...
 
Nice project FJfittyfive. I'll let you know when I find my extra side mirror. Good to know that you're in SD. I will be moving my 1971 FJ55 from Pa. to Temecula in a year or two.

thanks,
Montano
 
Nice project FJfittyfive. I'll let you know when I find my extra side mirror. Good to know that you're in SD. I will be moving my 1971 FJ55 from Pa. to Temecula in a year or two.

thanks,
Montano

Thanks. you rock. Good luck with the move.
 
Cruiserparts.net has it for $79:

http://www.cruiserparts.net/parts/fj55.htm

Tucker

i forgot to check them. thanks. cruiserparts also has new aftermarket cargo window seals made by them (not oem) for $250 each! Ouch! Looks like front windshield seals are affordable... Looks like silicone it is for the cargo windows. I'll need to save up for the rear tailgate window seal.
 
Spent some time siliconing in the rear cargo windows. Crude but should seal very well. Put the hood on, but not connected. More to protect what's under it...

Progress is progress, no matter how minuscule.

Pics of how i used tape and cedar shims to hold it in place while the silicone cured.

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the silicone looks choppy (super sticky and messy), but the top coat should come out pretty smooth.
 
can you shoot some pics of the current roof on yours? I am considering chopping mine off due to the rust on the roof. What did you like about it, what dont you like about it?
 
can you shoot some pics of the current roof on yours? I am considering chopping mine off due to the rust on the roof. What did you like about it, what dont you like about it?

Boy that's a loaded question. When i bought it it was pretty much like it is. There was no rear window, so a lot of air came through the rear, and that back eddy brought in exhaust fumes (still does). When it rains, the top leaked in many places more due to rusty holes in critical places. The tarp-like material is rain tight and only finds it's way through the body. I've since siliconed the snot out of it and it's pretty rain tight now. I go back and forth on the back, because it's pretty cool having a pick-up bed in back, but the stock springs are weak for handling a load. I carry tools and currently use it for a work truck since my other truck is broken down currently.

The rear window is the front window of a 66 ford bronco. It fit perfectly between the stantions and is only siliconed in. above it is a piece of stainless steel I cut and, yes, siliconed in (are you getting a trend yet???).

During the summer when the weather is hot, the top transfers a lot of radiant heat through it (it's black), but get moving with some wind and it's fun. I've only taken the top completely off once, and that was to inspect it for siliconing.

The looks of confusion, thumbs up, and overall respect for an old jalopy still running is constantly amusing to me. I still get a chuckle when someone says "what the f%$k is that???".

I may miss the top not being there, but I got a trailer to haul stuff. All in all, I think I want a hard top and full glass. The only logical thing is that it was cut off in mexico cheaply and designed for pretty much fair weather driving, baja style. I don't think the top was a kit, but more custom made by hand by some hard working people south of the border. You can see where they welded in a "roll bar" that I would never trust. The hook hanging from it is to hold the top open to a truck bed tool box mounted where the rear seat should go... :) Like i said, work truck.

One more thing. I'm tall, and my head used to rub against the tarp, so above the front seats is a custom made truss from an old hard wood bow, cut to fit. it's only held in by it's own tension. It's also very loud on the freeway since the tarp flaps up and down against the roll bar. Hard to talk, but then again the exhaust is intentionally loud so talk over that is hard at speed.

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