'77 FJ40 buildup in Charlotte (finally)

[voyager:01]

THIS TRUCK IS LOOKING SSSICK! the black bezel doesn't look half bad on this color rig.. but i will always vote white.. when i first started noticing cruisers the white bezel was the first thing that really stood out to me.. it's a true 40 signature IMO.

 

[AKcruiserfreak]

Wow! What a great build. I woulld go with white on a dark-colored rig like yours. I went with black on my yellow 71, but will probably go with a chrome bezel in the near-future just to be different. You do some great work.

TK

 

[highlandcruzer]

Man, that 40 is a thing of beauty! Nice work!




The black bezel does looks sharp,.... but I think I'd also have to vote for white. [either way will look good ]

 

[MTPCRUISER]

White - The black just disappears into the green.

 

[motomonkey]

White will really make it pop.

 

[Cirbo]

Ok... when the cage gets powder coated, the bezel will get white too.

Nobody jumped on the old cage design, so I cut the front off, re-used the "B" and "C" components, and rebuilt the "A" section. I didn't like the first design because when you tilted the windshield down, the "A" bars appeared to be completely vertical. Last week's ROTW gave me the ide to rake the "A" bars back, but not as canted as the windshield. When done at 15 degrees, it put the "A" components too far away from the actual windshield.

Remember, I wanted complete protection for front seat occupants, the ability to fold back the soft top hoops without removial, and a good platform for a bikini that would still run water off. Oh, and it needed to fit with the full doors, padded dash, and still need access to the knobs to drop the windshield. Oh, and it needed to look "different" too.

 

[Cirbo]

The one thing that cannot be seen from the diagrams or shot is a stringer below the belt line that goes from the "B" hoop to the rear mounting points. "A" and "B" floor mounts will be frame attachments, but not "C".

Edit: fixed the diagram above to indicate additional stringers. (pictured in blue... purple.... not sure what that color is)

 

[Cirbo]

Well, I was out of picture room, so I sold something on ebay to make the necessary money to buy a membership......

Sure am gonna miss Mom.

 

[Cirbo]

Took a break to build a set of bolt-on sliders for Yoshi. My guess is that he'll be sporting them at GSMTR, if he gets them painted and installed in time.

Mocked them up on the project truck.

 

[Cirbo]

Installed the Flaming River tilt column and steering parts today. It's tough to see, but I chopped the left AA motor mount for clearance. The column clears it, and the frame, by about a half inch each.

Whew.....

 

[Cirbo]

The other thing that I finally got sorted out was the driveshaft issues.

Rear - 18 inch CV shaft.

I had flipped the rear leafsprings to give us three additional inches for the rear shaft. We also cut the spring perches off and rewelded them to (hopefully) correct any driveline vibrations. It's interesting that we got so close, as we preloaded the springs with ratchet straps without a body installed (or any clue of it's final resting height).

Front shaft - 36.5 inches with the AA transfer case yoke to clear the 700-R4 pan.

 

[lvcruiser]

Which Flaming river column did you get. Do you have the part number? I was planning on getting one for mine too. Were the mounts part of a kit that came with it or did you get those seperately?

 

[Cirbo]

The column was a p/n FR20006, 32 inch tilt column that has a 2 inch diameter. I also ordered a mount (FR20114) for the dashboard location. The firewall mount came from BTB. (I think AA also sells them)

 

[LakeNorman_FJ40]

For the bezel, go Cygnus White in my opinion. But with all of the chrome and billet on this truck, I'd consider either a ceramic coat silver or a chrome bezel scuffed with a scotch brite to make it look billet.

 

[Cirbo]

Excellent thought Drew. I'll be sure to check color chips when I take the cage to be powder coated. They did a great silver flake with clear coat powder topping for the wheels on my parts chaser.

 

[UNCFj40]

very nice 77. when im back in charlotte we should get together.

 

[Cirbo]

Always happy to talk Cruisers. Ping me when you do.

jC

 

[BZEP]

Unbelievable looking cruiser. Is this thing staying in the Charlotte area when its all finished? Do you have your next rebuild lined up . I personally like white bezel's but I think the brushed look would work on this particular cruiser as well. Been following your build up for a while. Congrats on a great looking cruiser.

 

[MD11Fr8Dog]

The other thing that I finally got sorted out was the driveshaft issues.

Rear - 18 inch CV shaft.

I had flipped the rear leafsprings to give us three additional inches for the rear shaft. We also cut the spring perches off and rewelded them to (hopefully) correct any driveline vibrations. It's interesting that we got so close, as we preloaded the springs with ratchet straps without a body installed (or any clue of it's final resting height).

Front shaft - 36.5 inches with the AA transfer case yoke to clear the 700-R4 pan.

Who did the driveshafts??

 

[Cirbo]

Unbelievable looking cruiser. Is this thing staying in the Charlotte area when its all finished? Do you have your next rebuild lined up . I personally like white bezel's but I think the brushed look would work on this particular cruiser as well. Been following your build up for a while. Congrats on a great looking cruiser.

Thanks for the kind words. The truck will end up in Cleveland after it's shake-down runs down here. I'll let Greg make the final call on the bezel. Drew had a good point about the brushed silver. I have a '57 Land Rover 107 that is next in line, but I'll be looking for a new victim in the coming months.