After owning my rig for more than 3 years, I'm beginning my FJ40 build/refresh/restofresh whatever the proper term is. It's a '76 with a SBC 350... so the "factory original ship" has long sailed. I want a nice looking, low-maintenance, fun rig that will hold its value reasonably well. I don't do a lot of wheeling (that's what my J**p TJ is for).
A PO installed a herculiner bedliner in it, which I couldn't hate more. He did a crappy job, and it was coming up in a few places. So I got ambitious over the last few weekends and I have about 90% of it removed. Sharp chisels and an angle grinder with a wire wheel were my weapons of choice. What a PITA.
I uncovered more rust than I expected. There was a surprising amount of surface rust hidden underneath areas where the bedliner looked perfect... There's a hole on one of the rear wheel wells (where the fender support is), a fair amount of pitting here and there, really bad pitting on the front floors on both sides, a few holes in the front floors, etc. The PO's solution to the deep pitting was bondo. There's also a lot of rust in the seams where some panels are spot welded together... for example, where the front floors are welded to the rocker panels, etc.
The rear fenders have been cut, and I want to restore them to the factory look. Also, the rear sill was replaced-hillbilly style with square tube, and the cover was very poorly welded on (he didn't even bother to grind all of the welds down!
).
I've priced out the cost of all of the patch panels from real steel and CCOT. Long story short, to get the tub as nice as I want it, I'm looking at about $2,200 worth of patch panels and tons of labor. I'll need to scrape all of the undercoating off before sandblasting- I'd rather stab my own eyes out.
I'm considering just buying an Aqualu 3/4 tub. Financially it's roughly a wash- my tub is in good enough shape that I could sell it for probably $500-$1,000, and buying a new tub would save me from having to pay to get the tub sand blasted.... not to mention the massive labor savings:
Keep tub and repair it:
Patch panels: $2,200
Sand Blasting: $500
Total: $2,700
Labor (rust repair, scraping undercoating off, filler and sanding): ~200-300 hours?
PROs: closer to original
Cons: tons of labor; rust is an ongoing concern based on the design of the original tub
Buy Aqualu 3/4 tub:
Tub: $3,200
Shipping: $500
Sell old tub: <$500 -$1,000>
Total: $3,200 - $2,700
Labor: ~40 hours?
PROs: major labor savings, won't have to worry about rust, "brand new", highly recommended quality and customer service, etc
Cons: doesn't look original on the inside, doesn't appear to have the captive nuts/etc I would need for things like the seats, etc so lots of drilling etc and self-tapping screws (yuck!); potential corrosion due to dissimilar metals. I've read some negative comments about hard top fitment.
I know nobody can make this decision for me... But I'm curious about everyone's thoughts.
For example,
-Do you think the Aqualu 3/4 tubs are ugly?
-Would it be better for resale to keep the original look, or do people like the rust free aluminum tubs?
-Is fitment a pain?
etc
Thanks in advance for your input!
Peter
A PO installed a herculiner bedliner in it, which I couldn't hate more. He did a crappy job, and it was coming up in a few places. So I got ambitious over the last few weekends and I have about 90% of it removed. Sharp chisels and an angle grinder with a wire wheel were my weapons of choice. What a PITA.
I uncovered more rust than I expected. There was a surprising amount of surface rust hidden underneath areas where the bedliner looked perfect... There's a hole on one of the rear wheel wells (where the fender support is), a fair amount of pitting here and there, really bad pitting on the front floors on both sides, a few holes in the front floors, etc. The PO's solution to the deep pitting was bondo. There's also a lot of rust in the seams where some panels are spot welded together... for example, where the front floors are welded to the rocker panels, etc.
The rear fenders have been cut, and I want to restore them to the factory look. Also, the rear sill was replaced-hillbilly style with square tube, and the cover was very poorly welded on (he didn't even bother to grind all of the welds down!
).I've priced out the cost of all of the patch panels from real steel and CCOT. Long story short, to get the tub as nice as I want it, I'm looking at about $2,200 worth of patch panels and tons of labor. I'll need to scrape all of the undercoating off before sandblasting- I'd rather stab my own eyes out.
I'm considering just buying an Aqualu 3/4 tub. Financially it's roughly a wash- my tub is in good enough shape that I could sell it for probably $500-$1,000, and buying a new tub would save me from having to pay to get the tub sand blasted.... not to mention the massive labor savings:
Keep tub and repair it:
Patch panels: $2,200
Sand Blasting: $500
Total: $2,700
Labor (rust repair, scraping undercoating off, filler and sanding): ~200-300 hours?
PROs: closer to original
Cons: tons of labor; rust is an ongoing concern based on the design of the original tub
Buy Aqualu 3/4 tub:
Tub: $3,200
Shipping: $500
Sell old tub: <$500 -$1,000>
Total: $3,200 - $2,700
Labor: ~40 hours?
PROs: major labor savings, won't have to worry about rust, "brand new", highly recommended quality and customer service, etc
Cons: doesn't look original on the inside, doesn't appear to have the captive nuts/etc I would need for things like the seats, etc so lots of drilling etc and self-tapping screws (yuck!); potential corrosion due to dissimilar metals. I've read some negative comments about hard top fitment.
I know nobody can make this decision for me... But I'm curious about everyone's thoughts.
For example,
-Do you think the Aqualu 3/4 tubs are ugly?
-Would it be better for resale to keep the original look, or do people like the rust free aluminum tubs?
-Is fitment a pain?
etc
Thanks in advance for your input!
Peter
