Aftermarket FJ40 Dash Pad

[fjgoober]

All right enough shipping talk lets talk about roll bar pads and a one piece lower dash pad for later model 40s!

I am really trying to get back to that, I really am. I am swamped!! Since July 2nd I have spent every night down here till 9 pm. I've hired additional employees but I am apprehensive to hire more as I don't know what is going to happen in this economy! The last thing I want to do is hire a guy and then 30-45 days later lay them off. (THAT SUCKS!)

I will get to them shortly. I will make headway and keep you posted.

 

[RWBeringer4x4]

I'm in!

I will most definitely be interested in any dash pieces you wind up making for my '75! Right now I have a warped dash cover over a cracked dash, and the PO had removed the lower pads ages ago. Still working on getting the 40 mechanically sound but the dash will be one of the first replacements I do!

 

[fjgoober]

Roll bar Pads

I finally had time to play last night on the roll bar pads. Cranked out a prototype. Still need to texture the molds and work on porting, mold flow etc. Also need to play with the reaction as this prototype was way too dense. If your head hit this it would be like hitting steel! But all in all was very pleased with the results. Holes match up perfectly to my stock "show"/roll bar.

1st picture is back side of pad the other two are mounted. I should have these tool ready for production next week and hopefully on the website by the end of the week. Lots of irons in the fire though.

 

[fjgoober]

Oh, By the way....

The prototype did not have the Inmold coating for UV thus the reason for the dull finish. Production parts will be UV finished.

 

[SSCR]

Looks FANTASTIC!

 

[longbow]

Great to see these coming to fruition! Definitely a market, I need some.

Don

 

[fjgoober]

Great to see these coming to fruition! Definitely a market, I need some.

Don

Thanks Longbow,

I am hoping to have them available for sale towards middle to end of next week.

Will probably sell in sets first as I will texture tool similiar to dash. I won't be able to match texture of OEM part. But then again looking at how the tool texture turned out on the prototype I may not futher texture the tool. Just Kicking some ideas around.

 

[fjgoober]

Looks FANTASTIC!

Thanks SSCR, I meant to thank you and longbow in one post.

 

[Pighead]

If your head hit this it would be like hitting steel!

Same with the OEM rollbar "Pads"...

 

[fjgoober]

Pighead,

Yeah the OEM are pretty stiff.

The OEM weighs 0.7 lbs and our prototype weighs 1.3 lbs. It's darn near twice as dense and a heck of a lot harder (That's the scientific word for higher durometer). I'll jack with it Monday and get the properties closer to OEM.

 

[fjgoober]

Wanted to put an update on here.

(As usual this late at night the scotch is flowing so it will get wordy/lengthy)

I had a couple of hours to play today regarding pads and chemistry. Textured tools, not too much texturing however I think they turned out pretty good. There are a couple of spots that the driver's side tool needs to be worked on but it should only take a couple of hours. I softened up the chemistry somewhat and dropped the density of the pads a little. OEM's are 0.7lbs and last one I ran was 1.15lbs.

I wouldn't mind softening them up some more but I started to think about the longevity of the OEM pads. My pads on my '78 are now 34 years old and seem pretty rigid or stiff. These pads have lasted how many idiot owners I have no idea, the elements and age and look better for wear of 34 years than I do!

If I soften them up tooooooo much it will take away from their longevity/life. I want to manufacture a product that is aesthetically pleasing yet will survive, therefore I am going to stop where we are at on softening and throw out a question.

That being said, is there anyone out there on IH8MUD that remembers the pads being softer 20 to 30 years ago than they are today? Meaning did they stiffen over the years? Or, were they always this hard? I would really like to know what some of the guys who have had a 40 for 20 to 30 yrs think on this as I have room to play on softening them up and still provide longevity of life.

Kayaker.....Sea Knight...anyone else...... I would love to know what your thoughts are.

The reason I ask this is that I personally would like a softer pad for the purposes of the pad. To keep somone's head from smacking into something really hard. The OEM's are pretty hard (at 34 yrs of age). I have room to play with on softening while not hurting the product and was working on this when I asked myself, is this what you want or is this what the customer wants. Thus, the question posed above. I would greatly value everyone's input.

The roll bar pads that I have made tools for are: the driver's and passenger side arch as well as the straight pad for the back horizontal bars. I do not have the bracket pads.

Does anyone out there have the bracket pads? I was unaware of these prior to jacking around with this project. I have a buddy at a toyota dealership in the parts dept. and as suspected he said that he cannot get them.

I thought about offering the arch and straight pads as a roller bar pad kit. Is there much interest in the left and right bracket pad?

Let me know your thoughts. As always enjoy hearing what everyone has to say even the guys that aren't so nice.

 

[fjgoober]

Read my post. Looks like a darn idiot wrote it.

Even though I posted it in "Aftermarket Dash Pad" the title of the post should have been roll bar pads. You have to get 3/4 of the way down to figure out what I'm talking about.......Darn Scotch does it every time!

 

[gcrump01]

I would like to have the bracket pads made along with the 2 you have completed. I have an extra one for one side or the other, don't remember which. Send me your address & I'll mail it to you. My donation to the project. I assume you could simply reverse the mold & be able to produce both sides, right?

 

[fjgoober]

I would like to have the bracket pads made along with the 2 you have completed. I have an extra one for one side or the other, don't remember which. Send me your address & I'll mail it to you. My donation to the project. I assume you could simply reverse the mold & be able to produce both sides, right?

Thanks gcrump01.

Does anyone have a set that they would sell?

 

[ntsaint]

Thanks gcrump01.

Does anyone have a set that they would sell?

I have a complete set, yes. What exactly do you need?

Would you be interested in trading for a dash pad setup?

Sent from my iPhone using IH8MUD

 

[Sea Knight]

If I soften them up tooooooo much it will take away from their longevity/life. I want to manufacture a product that is aesthetically pleasing yet will survive, therefore I am going to stop where we are at on softening and throw out a question.

That being said, is there anyone out there on IH8MUD that remembers the pads being softer 20 to 30 years ago than they are today? Meaning did they stiffen over the years? Or, were they always this hard? I would really like to know what some of the guys who have had a 40 for 20 to 30 yrs think on this as I have room to play on softening them up and still provide longevity of life.

Kayaker.....Sea Knight...anyone else...... I would love to know what your thoughts are.

The reason I ask this is that I personally would like a softer pad for the purposes of the pad. To keep somone's head from smacking into something really hard. The OEM's are pretty hard (at 34 yrs of age). I have room to play with on softening while not hurting the product and was working on this when I asked myself, is this what you want or is this what the customer wants. Thus, the question posed above. I would greatly value everyone's input.

I thought about offering the arch and straight pads as a roller bar pad kit. Is there much interest in the left and right bracket pad?

Let me know your thoughts. As always enjoy hearing what everyone has to say even the guys that aren't so nice.

Yo, I'm here. Replied to your PM. I bought a new 40 in '79 and as I recall the roll bar pads were very firm. I've owned my '82 for 7 years and the pads have always been rock hard, or were until they disintegrated last year.

If you're asking for votes, and the choice is between a harder pad with a longer life, versus a softer pad that isn't as durable, I'd vote for harder.

Your package deal sounds like a winner. I'd probably want the bracket pads to be part of the kit, or at least an option, so that everything would look the same.

And thanks for taking on this project.

 

[Fast Eddy]

If you're going to do those pads, you should find a set of the '79-later junction pads and repro those too. (48 and 49)

 

[fjgoober]

Thanks for replying Sea Knight.

As stated in the pm the Roll Bar Pads are now approx. 1.7 times denser than OEM. OEM curve pad weighs 0.7lb with our weighing 1.2lb. The pads will exhibit greater Tensile and Tear strength and higher abrasion resistance.

Before anyone asks.....No I am not going to run tests to give exact data on these properties so please don't ask. I'm not trying to be an arrogant jerk. The reason is that there is not that big of a market out there for these, I am hoping to break even on these FJ40 aftermarket products as tooling is very expensive. They are tough.

Maybe I need to do another video to demonstrate our NASA like testing procedures!!!!

I got all the tooling finished for the Roll Bar Pads last night and have them being set up for production today. Should have some out on web-site for sale hopefully by this weekend. However, it just occurred to me that I don't have boxes that small for shipping. We usually ship out of here by the pallet or very large boxes on pallets. We might do shipping initially through USPS flat rate to remedy that.

I will tell you this. I have had more fun making these FJ40 aftermarket products than anything else we've manufactured. It's very pleasing to interact directly with the customers and to hear their feedback. This also is no doubt tempered with the fact that I love FJ40's and enjoy the community.


Thanks

 

[fjgoober]

If you're going to do those pads, you should find a set of the '79-later junction pads and repro those too. (48 and 49)

Thanks Fast Eddy,

I do want to manufacture them. That's what I was referring to in a couple of posts earlier but I was calling them a bracket pad. The left and right pad seem to be mirror images of each other therefore I would need two tools.

I am looking to purchase some. Does anyone have a set they would sell that I could use? I guess I could check the classifieds. I've been googling for them and man o man can you waste a bunch of time chasing down one link after another. Before long your whole day is shot!

 

[FJsnoozer]

I am really looking forward to the lower dash pads. That would be a nice kit with the upper dash pad.