Builds 81 bj42 build..... trusty rusty

[Ambrew]

If you could imagine the "u" shape of the tub door opening, I'm a 1/16" in at the top of the "u". either the cowl is bent back of the b pillar is bent forward. I suspect that it's the cowl bent back.

So the symptom is that the door rubs against the lip of the opening right below the latch. I managed to get it in on the driver's side, but had to thin down the door catch.

My options right now are to tweak the cowl forward, but I doubt that can happen without significant damage. Or I grind down the lip of the opening about a 1/16" and trim down the door catch again. I'll go take a pic or two right now.

 

[Ambrew]

You can see where the paint rubbed off. Going to have to fix paint at any rate. It's not super clear, but the hinge pic shows how close the door is to the hinge. I was thinking of ovalising the hinge holes but that will just lead to the door rubbing on the hinge.

I also shimmed the hinge plate forward by putting a washer in between the plate and the a pillar. it helped, but any closer and the hinge will rub the drip rail.

If I spread the opening to get a 1/16" more, I fear I might buckle the sheet metal or crack the paint. There is some filler in places so that wont help.

If I grind the lip, the paint touch up and that's it.

I will try to "flex" the tub using the body to frame bolts, but I doubt I will get that much out of it. The gaps are good right now, not perfect, but definitely land cruiser acceptable.

 

[Ambrew]

Fixed it. It was indeed the cowl being bent back. I made a leg from 2" square tube, and used a botlle jack to pry open the door opening. Now I have that 16" I needed. I did dent the door jam near the door catch, but it will not be visible from the outside. I may fix it with the paint touch ups later, we'll see.

 

[Turdzoplenty]

I got the turn signal from Kurt awhile back. they are the Japanese "high quality" aftermarket. If I were to get them again, I would have gone Toyota. Not that these are bad, but I needed to re wire them for the bj42. Not quite sure if these would be plug and play for a fj40, but they definitely weren't for the 42.

Took the better part of 2 hours just to sort it out. Now the turn signals are acting wonky but I wont trouble shoot it until I get a replacement bulb.

and another part on for good:

Wonky:

http://s141.photobucket.com/user/ihatepickingausername/media/MAH00140_zps072db66d.mp4.html

I had the same lights. caused a massive short and killed my ammeter.
Park/side marker i spliced together. turn signal on its own. ground wire from signal bucket to ground wire .

 

[Ambrew]

Yeah, They are ok but not "high quality". The new bulb worked, and all is good now.

 

[Ambrew]

After reading about putting a high lift jack in the door frame, I came up with a lighter version door opening stretcher. I did get a small dent where the door catch is but it's way better than the alternatives! It will not be visible with the door closed.

I also had to slim down the door catches, so I sent them off with a few other parts to be plated again.

I tied everything up since I was alone and did not want to ruin the paint from heavy steel falling. I also tweaked the driver's side a little for a better fit.

The top looks wonky but what you cant see is that the door sticks out quite a bit due to where the new weatherstriping sits in the opening. Looks fine to me, I just cant risk breaking things to get it "perfect". I'm also guessing that the weatherstripping will squish a bit with time.

 

[Awl_TEQ]

Without reading back in the thread..... Was that weather strip OEM or reproduction? I used the CCOT "best" stuff knowing everyone who had done so suggested OEM. The ambulance door gaskets were pretty good but the side door gaskets were less than good and made the doors stick out quite a bit.

 

[jdb3]

Looks like a better fit than my 1974 FJ40 when it was new. Jim

 

[Ambrew]

I used all Toyota weatehrstrip. Just plain easier, and the fit thus far was excellent. I had CCOT stuff but it seems "firmer". I'll let you know about the ambi doors soon.

Thanks Jim!

 

[Ambrew]

now I know what the worst job of the rebuild is

Slowly getting it done. Got the rear doors on and aligned, including some rear handle rehab. I also brought a bunch of parts and 99 bolts to get zinc plated. First thing out of their mouth: "Oh.... that's going to be a lot of work.... *sigh*" I find it bizarre since I sandblasted them all and I'm paying them. no favors being done here.

Anyways, Turns out piking out the old sealant on the roof panel is indeed the worst gig so far. Totally sucks. BUT...... I found out late in the game that if you use a pressure washer, and are careful, it goes much quicker!! I even did a sandblast in the crack so it's going to be pretty clean for the sealant.

Kevin C. : I'm ready to borrow your sealer gun!

 

[Ambrew]

and some more

 

[kcustom73]

Looking good Andy. You should be running that thing without the hardtop so you enjoy it a little bit this summer

As for the sealant gun, just send me an email when you're ready for it. I'm going to try to finish the hardtop before winter roles in but I've still got some bodywork to do.

 

[Ambrew]

I've been plugging away at it for the past few days hoping to get the roof off to paint with the bezel. Since last time, I painted the inside of the gutter with por15 so if ever the seam sealer has a leak, it may help prevent total carnage.

I picked up 2 tubes of sem self leveling seam sealer from AB warehouse. As good a price as on the interweb, and in town. So the plan is to fill the gutter to just above the rivets and send the whole shebang to paint. I also did a first sanding at 220, just to save some labor at the paint shop.

On to the bumper! I've been looking at several bumpers and decided that for a quality unit, it's just easier to make one. Going for a simple design, but I like the sweep back and up at the tips. Kinda like AwlTeq's.

3 weeks now and parts are still not plated.... Not the best shop to deal with.

Oh yeah, and I'm making reproduction "ventilators" since they seem to be unobtainium. I'm thinking of selling a few pairs since it's been quite expesive thus far to reproduce them.... The pic is of the start of the mold. Thanks to my buddy Brian for lending me his close to perfect vent!

 

[Awl_TEQ]

What are you making the vents from? I broke one recently and haven't tried looking for a replacement yet. Might need a couple sets.

 

[Ambrew]

It's going to be a resin pour. I'm hoping the finish will be close enough, I'm going to embed a "silver dust" in the resin. Mold should be done tomorrow. Resin is UV stable and tintable, should be good to 86 Celcius which I think will be enough for outside a vehicle.

You may have better luck than me... the only available listing I found was Amayama, and they never got back to me. I even tried a Japanese friend with them but no luck.

 

[Ambrew]

Got the roof and bezel off to paint today. What a relief. you wouldn't think it but the roof took the better parts of a week to prep. I used sem high build self levelling seam sealer and it worked well. I had to move it around a bit but it flowed out pretty smooth. 2 tubes will do it with some leftover. After a half hours, hard as epoxy. It does flow out better in the sun however. a big thanks to kcustom for lending me the expensive double caulking gun!

 

[Ambrew]

I've also been plugging at the bumper. I started with a piece of 1/4" that I had bent at the local metal shop. I then proceeded to look at every fj40 bumper I could find on the net, and decided that I like the swept back look with a taper on the end.

I started with the relief cuts for the bend toward the rear. I then stuck the whole thing in my super bender 5000 and gave it a pull. It was actually easier than I thought.

Then the relief cut for the taper. I wanted to keep the round edge so I took a little thinking to get it bang on. I used a c wrench to get the "twist" that resulted from bending. Measure bend measure bend measure bend to get it all just right then tack it up. It left me with some gaps to fill so I have a fair share of grinding to do.

Next step it to figure out the winch plate! Don't know if I will make it myself or have one laser cut.... time (and price) will tell. The itch to be this thing is quite motivating..

 

[Ambrew]

more of the bumper

 

[Toshi38]

What do you have in mind for winch plate that requires laser cutting? I just used a piece of 1/4 inch and then put a bit of angle on it... 4 holes drilled ... pretty easy?

So far after a few years and lots of usage, I've had more trouble with the winch then the plate! (stolen, then broken connector)

I suggest putting Tack welds on the bolts that hold in your winch/Winch plate to make it slightly harder to steal.

 

[Ambrew]

I want rounded corners, and I'm sick of grinding.

thanks for the tip, I might tack a couple bolts after the install.