Builds ‘82 FJ45 build thread..... no name yet (1 Viewer)

[sloanstavern]

A light day today but removed an aftermarket shock mount finished painting up the U bolts, love that little Black & Decker workmate fits everything you need.

And received the donor crossmember in the mail today so got it stripped clean and ready for final fitting quite an improvement from the old pretzel !

 

[sloanstavern]

Started the day by removing the radiator brackets from the donor crossmember, a little more work than I expected could not get out the rivets easily had a chop it up. Got them out and then quick coat of rust inhibitor on the crossmember and then started to fit into the frame rail.

Had to pry the rails a part slightly to get it in place and then coaxed the holes to lineup 11 of the 12 holes I was able to line up without drilling the last one just needed a little touch up with the three eights inch bit.

I know it’s not factory but I’m quite happy with those button screws to replace the rivets.

The driver side bumper bracket was loose and bent so I removed those rivets and replaced with bolts as well and was able to straighten it in the bench vice quick coat of paint before I called it a day hopefully have the frame done by tomorrow

 

[sloanstavern]

So the frame is all stripped and painted with the Eastwood rust encapsulator. So far very impressed with that product we’ll see how it holds up
The wire wheels on a cheap little grinder worked great. I’d like that size grinder because it’s powerful enough to clean but if it grabs a hold of an edge it won’t break your wrist. It also removes greasy residue with no trouble at all. All Together I probably invested 6-7 hours in actual stripping .

I will keep the frame flat black but everything with bolts onto it will have a satin finish. Next up the axles

 

[Michael B]

The shop floor is looking much better!

Your frame is looking great. I used similar cap screws when I replaced my front cross member. You will never notice them after everything is in place. You might consider painting the frame satin black also. The flat will hold dirt and dust where the satin will rinse clean.

 

[sloanstavern]

Thanks MB, a valid concern about the flat-v-satin

Just did a lil clean up on that beautiful new floor......

I’m gonna head out of town for a little R&R so want to come home to a clean shop

 

[sloanstavern]

Spent sometime with the wire wheel and cleaned up some of the bits and pieces. It’s a lot easier on the back working on these little guys in the frame plus you can do it in bite-size chunks .

 

[sloanstavern]

I made a nice station for cleaning the small bits, either the bench grinder or the hand grinder with the part held in a vice

plus I dug out my old clean room suit which helps keep the grime and dirt off.

If possible I’m going to reuse the factory formed brake lines they clean up real nice and when I disconnected them all the brake fluid was clear I’ll check them all to make sure they’re not blocked but unless I see a problem I’ll just clean them up and reuse them.

 

[sloanstavern]

I would not go so far as to say I enjoy grinding with the wire wheel, but it truly is satisfying to see how quickly it cleans up and gets ready for paint.

I have a question for the crew, Will media blasting clean up the oil and crud in addition to the rust or do you have to strip the oily mess off first before you can media blast?

I finally got a decent shop compressor and a nice black Friday sale so I’ll finally have enough CFM if I decide to go with a media blaster. I’m definitely going to get a blast cabinet for the little bits I welcome your opinion, thanks

 

[Michael B]

You can media blast caked on grease and oil but it is usually best to scrape the big stuff first. Congratulations on the compressor!

 

[sloanstavern]

So here’s my next decision point, I really like the flat black look of that rust encapsulator. But I do know it might not look so good once it’s in service. I win ahead and painted the rear bumper satin black since that’s gonna be so visible.

My biggest dilemma is that the satin really shows all the imperfections and the underlying metal maybe I’m making too big a deal out of there since it’s going to be buried under a vehicle but just scratching my head about it

 

[Michael B]

Your imperfections of the frame will not be noticed in the shadow of the body.

 

[Living in the Past]

A light day today but removed an aftermarket shock mount finished painting up the U bolts, love that little Black & Decker workmate fits everything you need.

And received the donor crossmember in the mail today so got it stripped clean and ready for final fitting quite an improvement from the old pretzel !View attachment 2146205View attachment 2146206View attachment 2146207View attachment 2146208View attachment 2146209

I grabbed the axles off a 84 HJ47RV and while I was at it pulled all the brake lines. Figured would make it easier upgrading the brake system on my 65 FJ45LP-B. Like yours they are in good condition and couldn't see any reason not to use them. Have the firewall lines from a late LHD 40 series for that part.

Do you know what year your front crossmember is from. From 8/80 on I no longer see it was ever available as a separate part. I do see a number of part number changes the last shown being 1/80-7/80. I have a 3/79 FJ40 in another location and a 3/82 frame and tub here. What I trying to figure out is when the left radiator support that was riveted to the front crossmember changed location. Thinking it was 1/79. Earlier years the left bracket was centered over the opening for the PTO driveshaft. The bracket had two tabs used to support a pillow block bearing.

The reason I've paid attention is the 3/82 frame came from Florida. Other minor pitting on the front it's in good shape. The radiator support bracket rusted away under the radiator support. While it was a pain I used a cordless drill at the wrecking to get the two brackets off 84 HJ47RV to use on the 82.

 

[sloanstavern]

I think satin topcoat is the way to go you’re right, when I had scuffled it all up and then applied some nice black satin. I really like that Eastwood rust encapsulator dries smooth and hard.

Saw this sweet old beatle at the store.

 

[sloanstavern]

I grabbed the axles off a 84 HJ47RV and while I was at it pulled all the brake lines. Figured would make it easier upgrading the brake system on my 65 FJ45LP-B. Like yours they are in good condition and couldn't see any reason not to use them. Have the firewall lines from a late LHD 40 series for that part.

Do you know what year your front crossmember is from. From 8/80 on I no longer see it was ever available as a separate part. I do see a number of part number changes the last shown being 1/80-7/80. I have a 3/79 FJ40 in another location and a 3/82 frame and tub here. What I trying to figure out is when the left radiator support that was riveted to the front crossmember changed location. Thinking it was 1/79. Earlier years the left bracket was centered over the opening for the PTO driveshaft. The bracket had two tabs used to support a pillow block bearing.

The reason I've paid attention is the 3/82 frame came from Florida. Other minor pitting on the front it's in good shape. The radiator support bracket rusted away under the radiator support. While it was a pain I used a cordless drill at the wrecking to get the two brackets off 84 HJ47RV to use on the 82.

Got it- After cleaning the brake lines exterior, I gave them a good blast a break cleaning fluid with a little red straw, then last of it with the high-pressure air everything came out nice and clean and no blockage also while I was cleaning them up I didn’t feel any weak points that wanted to kink so I think I’m in good shape.

after cleaning the brake lines exterior, I gave them a good blast of brake cleaning fluid with a little red straw, then last of it with the high-pressure air everything came out nice and clean and no blockage also while I was cleaning them up I didn’t feel any weak points that wanted to kink so I think I’m in good shape.

I don’t know what year the donor crossmember came from. On my vehicle the radiator supports were asymmetric passenger-side was over the opening driver side was more towards the center. I’m going to have to drill some new holes in the transplant crossmember to make the radiator support fit
However my radiator bracket is quite a basket case and all buggered up so I might just replace it with one that fits the more traditional mounting points

 

[Living in the Past]

Got it- After cleaning the brake lines exterior, I gave them a good blast a break cleaning fluid with a little red straw, then last of it with the high-pressure air everything came out nice and clean and no blockage also while I was cleaning them up I didn’t feel any weak points that wanted to kink so I think I’m in good shape.

after cleaning the brake lines exterior, I gave them a good blast of brake cleaning fluid with a little red straw, then last of it with the high-pressure air everything came out nice and clean and no blockage also while I was cleaning them up I didn’t feel any weak points that wanted to kink so I think I’m in good shape.

I don’t know what year the donor crossmember came from. On my vehicle the radiator supports were asymmetric passenger-side was over the opening driver side was more towards the center. I’m going to have to drill some new holes in the transplant crossmember to make the radiator support fit
However my radiator bracket is quite a basket case and all buggered up so I might just replace it with one that fits the more traditional mounting points

From what I could tell removing the 84 HJ47RV brake they all looked in really good shape. The the coating of grease on the outside helped. From some stickers on the windshield think the troopy was from Queensland Australia. Stickers were from a park in the Northeast part of Queensland. Not many opportunities to find LWB 40 series brake lines in the Phoenix area. The rear harness was in pretty good shape as well which will make it easier to update my 65 FJ45LP-B to later tail lights with a separate turn signal and reverse light.

I figured your crossmember was from a pre 79. Import number of FJ40s dropped off starting in 79 with most the seventies seeing much larger numbers imported. I could not find a separate part number for the radiator support brackets that were riveted to the crossmember and not sure if they changed in 79. The bib got thinner to help make room for the A/C condenser coil when a optional A/C was installed. Not sure if the radiator was relocated or not.

 

[sloanstavern]

I could not be happier with that satin finish really turned out nice.

As I wind down for my trip I didn’t wanna start anything major so I thought I’d go back and remove a couple busted bolts that I missed before I finish the frame.

Here’s the first one right out of the shoot...........Haven’t broken a drill bit in years forgot how much fun that is after that they all came out pretty decently now I just need to chase some threads.

I did lose a couple captive nuts but luckily I can reach In

and replace them with normal nuts and bolts

 

[sloanstavern]

OK back from vacation. Had a great time up in Idaho Wyoming and Utah sightseeing and skiing. Came upon this massive elk bed on my property which is always a good sign, I saw a couple rams butting heads and the national elk refuge.

 

[sloanstavern]

First day back at work in the shop took things easy and just started tearing down the rear axle. Plus my Christmas present arrived!

 

[sloanstavern]

Why do I always wait till it’s too late to put out the proper PPE. A nice little blow dart to the forehead.

Got the rear axle cleaned up and the first coat of paint on, now getting started on the front axle while things dry out. Found a good quick masking for the axle shaft using an old paper towel tube

 

[Michael B]

Yeah, you gotta watch those wire wheels! They will blitzkrieg the operator every chance it gets.