78 FJ45 demo pics (1 Viewer)

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Rhinoliner

SILVER Star
Joined
Oct 25, 2005
Threads
29
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626
Location
Kerrville, Texas
78 FJ45 Long and Slow Rebuild

Just a couple of pics of my discovery process to see what I am up against.

PO seemed to be talented with fiberglass repair kits. He had a knack for making the end result look just like a big nasty glob of peanut butter.

I was almost afraid to see what was under this hunk of fiberglass, but was pleasantly surprised at what I found.

Found out last night that the truck came with a complimentary cheap pocket knife. It actually looks pretty good in the fuel tank well.

Marvin
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A couple more pics of the driver's side. I'm almost embarrased to show these. The driver's side is going to take a little work.
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Looking Great!

Keep it up the great work. Deffinately interested to see your progress.

Dave
 
Rhino,

Great to see you start this thread!

What are your plans for your restoration?

Brian
 
Well, I'm on a limited budget so I'm not going for a total restoration. Hopefully when I am done it will look about like madams557's truck because I like the way it looks. For color I'm thinking either Mustard Yellow or Olive Brown like the FJ40 on the CCOT site. I haven't figured out that paint code #653 because some of them I have seen look brownish and some look greenish.

I'll probably end up using diamond plate for the bed floor and wheel wells just because of cost. Therefore, I may end up with some patch panel material for sale that others might be able to use.

It needs power steering but I need to educate myself more on the different methods (probably Saginaw).

I've only got one leaking rear wheel cylinder and the shoes and drums look good, so I will probably just keep the power drum brakes. I ordered some parts from Cdan to go through my front axle and fix my brakes. Also have a carburetor kit, radiator, radiator hoses, and front fenders on the way. Parts are supposed to start arriving tomorrow.

Of course, it will get custom color Rhino Linings underneath, in the bed and inside the cab floor.

Regards,
Marvin
 
Rhino,

If you put any metal up for sale - please let me know.

Check out this thread about PS (https://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.php?t=65318). Looks like a cool setup - I heard it is not as strong as a saganaw but depends on what you are planning to do w/ your rig once it is done.

Keep the pics coming!

Brian
 
Yeah, I saw that thread and it definitely looks like it might be one of the easiest ways to go. I don't plan to do any serious offroading in this truck, I'm sure its toughest days are behind it now.

Got started taking stuff off of the dash last night, but didn't get too far. I'm guessing the PO was probably an electrician, thank goodness. He had added a dome lamp with door jamb switches, front driving lights, aftermarket radio, and dual batteries all without damaging the factory wiring harness. All of his inline connections were soldered then sealed in heat shrink and most of it was then run through flexible conduit. This will make a nice new radio for my fishing boat.
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I got the bed completely taken apart this weekend and I dropped off some of the parts to be sand blasted this morning. To blast the bed sides, front header panel and all of the lower support braces will be less than $150, which I thought sounded fair. Can't wait to get them back to see how many holes appear.
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Making some progress...

Are you drilling out the factory tack welds or using the air hammer/chisel?
 
I drilled out some of the spot welds and used the air chisel on others. Some areas of the bed were so pitted that you couldn't even tell where the spot welds were. The chisel also came in handy to cut off all of the bolts because there was no way to get a Phillips screwdriver into them all of the rust and previous multiple paint jobs. These pics show what some of the worst portions of the bed floor looked like.
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Just a couple of pics of last nights progress. I removed the steering column and pedal assemblies. Most of the wiring harness has been removed at this point.

It's starting to look a little bare now.

Also, I received my parts to repair the front axle leaks, a new rear wheel cylinder, brake hoses, radiator hoses and a clutch slave cylinder. Thanks to CDan.
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Is this factory?

Is this a factory throttle control cable that I pulled out? It was installed in the "D" shaped hole in the dash just under the rectangular hole for the brake and seatbelt warning lights. The bracket looks like it is a Toyota part but the cable looks like it might be aftermarket. Anyone have a picture of what it's supposed to look like?
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Rhinoliner said:
Is this a factory throttle control cable that I pulled out? It was installed in the "D" shaped hole in the dash just under the rectangular hole for the brake and seatbelt warning lights. The bracket looks like it is a Toyota part but the cable looks like it might be aftermarket. Anyone have a picture of what it's supposed to look like?

Sorry - I can't help you on that one, unless the toggle switch on my rig is factory. LOL

I'd be curious to know as well what is supposed to go in there.
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The throttle control knob on my truck is located inbetween the e-brake handle and the steering colum. It is on a bracket screwed to the bottom lip on the dash. I am pretty sure it is stock. Mine is Canadian though so it might have been different from the factory.
 
A little more progress made last night. I got the wiring harness out and everything removed from the dash.

I got a new Honey-Do/small remodelling project assignment last night so I probably won't get to work on the Cruiser for the next couple of days.
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Driver's door pillar

These pics sort of show a problem area that I could use some help with. The driver's side door pillar is a little tweaked. I made a few adjustments before starting to take everything apart and I got the door opening and closing nice and smoothly. And I got everything looking really straight and lined up when the door is closed. But, when the door is open or off you can notice the pillar is bent a little. It's just a cosmetic issue from the inside. From the outside everything looks normal. The door weatherstrip appeared to seal fine.

Has anyone here replaced one of these pillars? Would anyone advise against replacing the pillar? Any guidance would be appreciated. Also, anyone know a source where I could get a pillar to use as a replacement?

Thanks,
Marvin
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Marvin,

If the door seals OK and only cosmetic from the inside - is it worth the trouble to fix it?

I'll PM you the name of a guy I have just bought a firewall from that I am going to put into my FJ45. Maybe he can cut one out of a late '70's rig that you can put in there.

When do you get the bed back from the sandblaster?

Brian
 
Well, I got the bed parts back from being sand blasted today. They look pretty good, sorta like Swiss cheese. At least most of the bad areas are basically flat. The bed supports look pretty good except for the top of the very front brace.
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