cool build, sub'd.
Builds '74 FJ40 Build: My 1st Cruiser
- Thread starter gpfj40
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- Thread starter
- #42
I decided I should build an exhaust heat shield while I had the tub on its side. This would have been a perfect place to use a bead roller but since I don't have one a flange press and hat channel will have to do the trick to keep it from rattling.
Next I spent at least a day cleaning my grange in preparation of building the paint booth and wanting to minimize the dust that can get stirred up. The paint both took about a day to build, it seems to do the trick. The fan keeps the overspray moving outside. I need better lighting though, will figure that out before the I paint the exterior panels.
After wiping the dust off, then wiping with prep cleaner I seam sealed all of the seams on the underside of the tub, then sprayed ep-2c endura primer. I sprayed freeborn red ex-2c on the areas I don't intend on HNRing or Raptor lining, then I brushed on HNR on most of the areas I feel heat or road noise will transfer inside the cruiser. I will give the exhaust side 1 more coat of HNR once the first coat dries, they spray colour matched Raptor liner.
Next I spent at least a day cleaning my grange in preparation of building the paint booth and wanting to minimize the dust that can get stirred up. The paint both took about a day to build, it seems to do the trick. The fan keeps the overspray moving outside. I need better lighting though, will figure that out before the I paint the exterior panels.
After wiping the dust off, then wiping with prep cleaner I seam sealed all of the seams on the underside of the tub, then sprayed ep-2c endura primer. I sprayed freeborn red ex-2c on the areas I don't intend on HNRing or Raptor lining, then I brushed on HNR on most of the areas I feel heat or road noise will transfer inside the cruiser. I will give the exhaust side 1 more coat of HNR once the first coat dries, they spray colour matched Raptor liner.
Looks really sharp, Keep it coming. Neil
- Thread starter
- #44
Tonight I sprayed tinted Upol Raptor Liner with the upol shultz gun that was included with the kit on the tub bottom and firewall. The whole process was pretty easy. I'm glad I took the time to tape/mask because it is messy, and it is very smelly, considerably worse than the epoxy primer and 2 part top coat I sprayed yesterday. I was a slightly concerned the colour was a little light when I first started spraying but it appears to be darkening up to the same as the freeborn red chip I gave the guy a Napa to scan. He made me a pint of the colour without the binders to tint the Raptor liner. I poured 62ml (4 ounces) into each bottle along with 250ml (1 cup) of hardener. Time will tell if the liner is durable enough for this application, the reviews here on mud are good so in confident it will be good.
- Thread starter
- #45
Some more progress this weekend:
Once the tube was un masked and in the day light it was obvious the raptor liner came out just a little lighter than freeborn red, but very close. It would be noticeable if you transitioned mid panel but because it is on the underside it will be ok. I mounted the tub on the chassis for what I hope is the last time. I also started reassembling the rad and power steering pump bracket. This is the point in this project I hope to get space back in my garage as parts start getting put back on the cruiser. You may also notice I put a blank out panel where the heater blower goes, I have no intention of reusing the stock heating system. I will be putting some type of Vintage Air system in it, just not sure what yet.
The fuel filler and vent worked out as expected. I used proper goodyear filler hose I picked up at Greggs Dist.
The upper mounts of the rear shocks were also mounted. I decided to move the axle forward 1 hole on the 3 position spring perch, to the centre hole. The drive shaft ended up being a little too short and I was a little concerned with the interface between the fuel tank and the diff, but no more. I believe I have installed the bump stops in such a way they will prevent unwanted contact.
I made up a temporary bracket for the 80 series park brake hand lever. My long term plan is to build this into a console but for now I want to have a functional hand brake. I'm using all of the stock park brake parts from an 80 series: axle drums, cables, handle. I have removed the shoes from the 40 series drums along with the cable and under dash pull lever.
Next up is to put the front end back together, including wiring and hoses, then try to start it.
Once the tube was un masked and in the day light it was obvious the raptor liner came out just a little lighter than freeborn red, but very close. It would be noticeable if you transitioned mid panel but because it is on the underside it will be ok. I mounted the tub on the chassis for what I hope is the last time. I also started reassembling the rad and power steering pump bracket. This is the point in this project I hope to get space back in my garage as parts start getting put back on the cruiser. You may also notice I put a blank out panel where the heater blower goes, I have no intention of reusing the stock heating system. I will be putting some type of Vintage Air system in it, just not sure what yet.
The fuel filler and vent worked out as expected. I used proper goodyear filler hose I picked up at Greggs Dist.
The upper mounts of the rear shocks were also mounted. I decided to move the axle forward 1 hole on the 3 position spring perch, to the centre hole. The drive shaft ended up being a little too short and I was a little concerned with the interface between the fuel tank and the diff, but no more. I believe I have installed the bump stops in such a way they will prevent unwanted contact.
I made up a temporary bracket for the 80 series park brake hand lever. My long term plan is to build this into a console but for now I want to have a functional hand brake. I'm using all of the stock park brake parts from an 80 series: axle drums, cables, handle. I have removed the shoes from the 40 series drums along with the cable and under dash pull lever.
Next up is to put the front end back together, including wiring and hoses, then try to start it.
- Thread starter
- #46
It's been 2 weeks since i updated this, there was no real interesting or significant milestones accomplished durning this time, just lots of little time consuming tasks. The major goal has been met, I purchased it at the end of Sept '13, stripped, rebuilt and 10 months later it is drivable. Today I took it on its first drive as a FJ43 riding on 80 series coils and radius arms.
I was really impressed at how smooth the ride is now compared to before. Pot holes and heaves in the road used to bang and clunk, now I dare say it feels like my '08 tacoma. I drove it on a couple of miles of gravel road which has the usual wash board sections, again it is an entirely different truck than it was 8.5 months ago when I first started striping it.
Seat belts are mostly in, rear belts are from the same jeep as the rear seat. The front seat belts are from the same mid 90s 4 runner as the front seats.
I put the old windshield back in to the newer frame I recently acquired for practice so I don't wreck the new glass once I purchase it. It went ok, but I feel like I should try and source a new rubber gasket for the final build post paint.
The brakes were a bit of a pain, installing the non abs master cylinder from a '93 80 series was easier than expected. It bolted right up to the 40 booster and the pedal throw is good, although I will likely adjust the pedal height down since this MC doesn't travel as far as the 40 MC. The pain was the absolutely frozen rear calliper bleeders. No amount of effort was going to get them out so I bought reman'd rear callipers from Napa. The front bleeders did finally release after much effort.
The wiring went reasonably smooth given the poor labelling I did when I tore it down. All of the light rewiring on the rear worked out and all of the lights are working.
Next up is to strip the old hard top and extend the panels to suit the 43 tub, as well as drive the cruiser around town when there is no chance of rain to keep looking for bugs.
Here is the only recent pic taken tonight, there wasn't much of note to take pics of in the last 2 weeks:
I was really impressed at how smooth the ride is now compared to before. Pot holes and heaves in the road used to bang and clunk, now I dare say it feels like my '08 tacoma. I drove it on a couple of miles of gravel road which has the usual wash board sections, again it is an entirely different truck than it was 8.5 months ago when I first started striping it.
Seat belts are mostly in, rear belts are from the same jeep as the rear seat. The front seat belts are from the same mid 90s 4 runner as the front seats.
I put the old windshield back in to the newer frame I recently acquired for practice so I don't wreck the new glass once I purchase it. It went ok, but I feel like I should try and source a new rubber gasket for the final build post paint.
The brakes were a bit of a pain, installing the non abs master cylinder from a '93 80 series was easier than expected. It bolted right up to the 40 booster and the pedal throw is good, although I will likely adjust the pedal height down since this MC doesn't travel as far as the 40 MC. The pain was the absolutely frozen rear calliper bleeders. No amount of effort was going to get them out so I bought reman'd rear callipers from Napa. The front bleeders did finally release after much effort.
The wiring went reasonably smooth given the poor labelling I did when I tore it down. All of the light rewiring on the rear worked out and all of the lights are working.
Next up is to strip the old hard top and extend the panels to suit the 43 tub, as well as drive the cruiser around town when there is no chance of rain to keep looking for bugs.
Here is the only recent pic taken tonight, there wasn't much of note to take pics of in the last 2 weeks:
- Thread starter
- #47
Extending the Hard Top 14":
I started by measuring the width of the roof drip rails on the rear section where they appear to be parallel, I learned the roof narrows to the front 1/4" per foot in this section. That will complicate things once I get to the fibreglassing stage. It made the most sense to cut the fibreglass dome closer to the middle where the dome arch is more consistent. I cut the fibreglass dome at 22" from the rear without cutting the drip rail as I figured I don't want any of the bonded seams to line up.
Next was to cut the side panels right between the corner window and side window, including the drip rail. Once put in place on the tub there was a 14.25" gap. I cut down the top and bottom rails off a wrecked side panel and welded 14.25" pieces of them into the panels as they sat on the tub. I attempted to keep things as straight as possible by clamping angle iron where ever feasible and tried to be patient as I spot welded the 2 used rails and the new 14x17 piece of sheet metal in place. At this point I cut off the drip rail about 6" from the front roof section.
I cut 35.5" off the rear of the spare roof/drip rail I had acquired, plus an extra 6" off the rails to make space for the extra drip rail on I left on the front section. The roof is just sitting on top in the pic below, I'm happy to report it clears the rear roll bar by about 1/2". I'm happy about that because it was too hard to measure or mock up when putting the roll bar together so I just took a chance, I have to admit I was worried it wasn't going to work when I first put the rear panel up next to it on the tub.
Next up I think I will tack the drip rail, then remove the whole hard top and strip it down to refinish in pieces. I may need to remove a number of the rivets that hold the fibreglass to the drip rail if the two arches don't line up.
There are a couple more pics of the roof but photo bucket is being difficult.
I started by measuring the width of the roof drip rails on the rear section where they appear to be parallel, I learned the roof narrows to the front 1/4" per foot in this section. That will complicate things once I get to the fibreglassing stage. It made the most sense to cut the fibreglass dome closer to the middle where the dome arch is more consistent. I cut the fibreglass dome at 22" from the rear without cutting the drip rail as I figured I don't want any of the bonded seams to line up.
Next was to cut the side panels right between the corner window and side window, including the drip rail. Once put in place on the tub there was a 14.25" gap. I cut down the top and bottom rails off a wrecked side panel and welded 14.25" pieces of them into the panels as they sat on the tub. I attempted to keep things as straight as possible by clamping angle iron where ever feasible and tried to be patient as I spot welded the 2 used rails and the new 14x17 piece of sheet metal in place. At this point I cut off the drip rail about 6" from the front roof section.
I cut 35.5" off the rear of the spare roof/drip rail I had acquired, plus an extra 6" off the rails to make space for the extra drip rail on I left on the front section. The roof is just sitting on top in the pic below, I'm happy to report it clears the rear roll bar by about 1/2". I'm happy about that because it was too hard to measure or mock up when putting the roll bar together so I just took a chance, I have to admit I was worried it wasn't going to work when I first put the rear panel up next to it on the tub.
Next up I think I will tack the drip rail, then remove the whole hard top and strip it down to refinish in pieces. I may need to remove a number of the rivets that hold the fibreglass to the drip rail if the two arches don't line up.
There are a couple more pics of the roof but photo bucket is being difficult.
Looking great and is coming along nicely. I finally got my panhard & steering all sorted. Its close enough as its only a full time beach vehicle
looking good
Blaine,
You caught by surprise on my thread (Kind of deer in the headlights), when you posted a quote it still didn't hit home until I reread it late last night.
This is sweeeeeet!!! I missed the updates. I was subscribed but evidently not getting updates on your thread? A little frustrated at that because I would have followed your lead on more than a few things.
Very well thought out. Very impressed. Great fabrication skills.
You had commented about your coil buckets, I think they look pretty strong. I love how you did the shocks. I may go back and take your suggestion and copy it.
Did you move your front axle up approximately 4"? I love the pan hard arm, rear attachments for radius arm, and drag link. Your PS gearbox is exactly what I want.
Keep it up man, there is no doubt your inspiring someone else with what you have accomplished. Heck you got me wanting to go back and rework some things. I don't know whether to thank you or cuss you at this point.
Man O Man this is good Toyota Porn!!
You caught by surprise on my thread (Kind of deer in the headlights), when you posted a quote it still didn't hit home until I reread it late last night.
This is sweeeeeet!!! I missed the updates. I was subscribed but evidently not getting updates on your thread? A little frustrated at that because I would have followed your lead on more than a few things.
Very well thought out. Very impressed. Great fabrication skills.
You had commented about your coil buckets, I think they look pretty strong. I love how you did the shocks. I may go back and take your suggestion and copy it.
Did you move your front axle up approximately 4"? I love the pan hard arm, rear attachments for radius arm, and drag link. Your PS gearbox is exactly what I want.
Keep it up man, there is no doubt your inspiring someone else with what you have accomplished. Heck you got me wanting to go back and rework some things. I don't know whether to thank you or cuss you at this point.
Man O Man this is good Toyota Porn!!
- Thread starter
- #51
fjgoober,
Thanks for the encouraging words. I didn’t get a perfect measurement on how far forward I moved the front axle, I believe it ended up 1.5” ahead of the original location. There was a few things holding it from going any further: Tire relative to front slope on the front fender, wanted to keep the PS box behind the bib and that frame slope I telling you about in your thread was making my castor worse with every inch I went forward. I never really thought about the pinion being up and dry due angle like you mentioned, but as I think about it now that won’t be a problem on my rig given how I tried to maintain a close to the stock castor angle. I can’t remember if I posted about having OME castor bushing installed to the radius arm to help this situation, I think they are part of my success. Most of the steering links, pitman arm and pan hard bar parts are from Trail Gear Canada. They have the best shipping cost of any online dealers as they are in Canada.
If others are following with plans to do the same I hope they put there own ideas into play, I’ve not been building this for hard core rock crawling, more so moderate offloading while still comfortable to drive on the street/gravel. If I had been after building a crawler most of metal used in the fab would have been 50%-75% thicker and I’d have gone to a 3 link, stretched the rear more and put a smaller better protected fuel tank. I’m not a welder or fabricator, just a guy who likes to solve problems and learn on the go. And I love the lines on a 40, just not the ride.
Thanks for the encouraging words. I didn’t get a perfect measurement on how far forward I moved the front axle, I believe it ended up 1.5” ahead of the original location. There was a few things holding it from going any further: Tire relative to front slope on the front fender, wanted to keep the PS box behind the bib and that frame slope I telling you about in your thread was making my castor worse with every inch I went forward. I never really thought about the pinion being up and dry due angle like you mentioned, but as I think about it now that won’t be a problem on my rig given how I tried to maintain a close to the stock castor angle. I can’t remember if I posted about having OME castor bushing installed to the radius arm to help this situation, I think they are part of my success. Most of the steering links, pitman arm and pan hard bar parts are from Trail Gear Canada. They have the best shipping cost of any online dealers as they are in Canada.
If others are following with plans to do the same I hope they put there own ideas into play, I’ve not been building this for hard core rock crawling, more so moderate offloading while still comfortable to drive on the street/gravel. If I had been after building a crawler most of metal used in the fab would have been 50%-75% thicker and I’d have gone to a 3 link, stretched the rear more and put a smaller better protected fuel tank. I’m not a welder or fabricator, just a guy who likes to solve problems and learn on the go. And I love the lines on a 40, just not the ride.
- Thread starter
- #52
It’s been a month and a half since I updated this, progress has been made but not very quickly. Welding the sheet metal in to both the inside and outside the hard top sides and getting them smoothed out with filler has been time consuming, as has the fibreglass and filler on the roof. Here are some pics part way through fixing up these 3 pieces, I neglected to take any more through this phase cause body work doesn’t make for interesting reading. The top and the sides have been primed now and I hope to get the final coat on soon. I decided to raptor line the whole inside of the tub and hard top in a light grey much like the seats I have installed. I realize I may regret this down the road, but I can’t help but think about how much easier to install and clean the raptor liner will be. I hope to spray the raptor liner on the inside freshly primed panels and tub while they are apart for painting. It is pretty clear to me at this point it won’t be a show truck, I guess thats ok so I won’t be worried about scratching the paint in the bush. Winter is coming so I need to get my butt in gear.
- Thread starter
- #53
The extended top and sides panels are primed and sanded, waiting for a top coat.
- Thread starter
- #55
I painted and seam sealed the top earlier in the week, then put a solid effort in on the hood and upper door stops. I forgot to take a pic of the finished cygnet white top. I’m pretty happy with how the self levelling 3M seam sealer worked out, but I’m not sure it was worth the extra cash (2 double tubes at $65 each). It seams I’m paranoid about my roof leaking. This is no doubt due the fact I just finished making 2 roofs in to 1 longer roof.
Just finished a midnight paint session, have to say I’m pretty happy with the fact I’m spraying freeborn red now……things are finally looking like they are happening:
Just finished a midnight paint session, have to say I’m pretty happy with the fact I’m spraying freeborn red now……things are finally looking like they are happening:
- Thread starter
- #56
More body work today. I have been fearing the removal the glass from my hatch to repair the rust that goes right up under the weatherstripping since I started this project a year ago. I figured for sure I’d break the glass while prying it out of the old hard weatherstripping as happened removing my windshield, but I had to get this done as I’m nearing the end of my hard top stretch/refinish so I took the plunge. I got it out without breaking it!
After that it was more cutting, wire wheeling and flap discing to remove the rust. Next up will be to use some rust transformer in side the hatch, then POR15 inside, then weld cut/bend/weld some patches.
After that it was more cutting, wire wheeling and flap discing to remove the rust. Next up will be to use some rust transformer in side the hatch, then POR15 inside, then weld cut/bend/weld some patches.
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2011
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Love the can do attitude dude and I love your work! You'd fit right in down here.
This is a great build thread, sub'd.
I dont know if you have addressed it yet, but i would definitely add some bracing to that upper panhard mount. Run a brace to the opposite frame rail like the stock 80 to spread the load.
This is something I am doing for piece of mind on my 80 swapped 40. My panhard mount is almost in the exact location. There is a lot of leverage on that mount, especially when you get bound up.
This is something I am doing for piece of mind on my 80 swapped 40. My panhard mount is almost in the exact location. There is a lot of leverage on that mount, especially when you get bound up.
- Thread starter
- #60
yOHda, I have thought about cross bracing the upper pan hard mount but not done anything about it. If you have an pics to share on how you have or will create this brace I’d be interested to check them out.
