Builds Amateur Franken40 Build

[DirtSniffer]

One Issue I will need to deal with is stretching the body. I have 3/16 BudBuilt quarters already welded to the B pillars. The gas cap door hole and the fact I welded the mid cross member/floor step already will make this a bit more complicated. I wuould like to keep the clean laser cut hole in stock location...

I may cut something like this:

or see if I can cut the weld and do this:

 

[DirtSniffer]

Alternatively, I move the fuel door back with the quarter, cut along the B pillar to stretch, and extend the fuel filler hose to stock tank. I will also have a bulkhead of some sort to split the lines for the aux tank and could utilize the extra space for this.

 

[White Stripe]

You can't weld sliders to the body that i know of. The frame will flex some no matter what. The sliders will flex about 1/4" or more. I usually leave 3/8 gap between sliders/body.

 

[DirtSniffer]

You can't weld sliders to the body that i know of. The frame will flex some no matter what. The sliders will flex about 1/4" or more. I usually leave 3/8 gap between sliders/body.

I will be swapping the mount pads isolators/whatever you want to call them for poly pads so there will be some squish. Sliders are really just part of the body. More mount flex between body and frame would probably be ideal but this frame won't be flexing as much as a regular 40. I imagine the mount legs will allow some flex as well. I have seen others do more solid mounts than this, waggoner5's project X comes to mind. I have time to reconsider.

 

[DirtSniffer]

Something like this wouldn't be too hard to add to the mount arms but I would be concerned it wouldn't support the weight of the body as well and just swing down and sag.

I see mixed opinions on how bodies should be mounted with full cages tied into frame. Many run solid body mount pucks when adding a cage tied into frame.

 

[DirtSniffer]

I now notice that I will need to redo the rear mount anyways with the stretched frame, so I may end up adding bushings something like this:

or this:

I still think it would be fine solid mounted. This will not be a stock sheet metal bodied 40. The cage I will be making will tie into the frame with the body and stiffen things up. I have a 3x5x1/4 body cross member at the B pillar with its own mounts, a 2x3x3/16 rear sill, and 3/16 quarter panels that will probably have square tube framing for wheel wells. I will also have bolt in cross members between the wheel wells as it will have a semi permanent sleeping platform/drawers in the back. Rear frame will be boxed in. May stitch weld the frame. May add an additional frame cross member with stretch. These mounts are also in the middle of the frame and will see the least amount of deflection.

Thoughts?

 

[DirtSniffer]

I have a line on a set of unlocked 80 axles and potentially a short shaft FJ60 H42 in state. If my 40 axles don't sell, I'll keep em and use for an excuse to do a patina build down the road.

Still waiting for winter to end here to get going again. Few other projects to finish up as well.

 

[White Stripe]

I now notice that I will need to redo the rear mount anyways with the stretched frame, so I may end up adding bushings something like this:

View attachment 3292688

or this:

View attachment 3292725

I still think it would be fine solid mounted. This will not be a stock sheet metal bodied 40. The cage I will be making will tie into the frame with the body and stiffen things up. I have a 3x5x1/4 body cross member at the B pillar with its own mounts, a 2x3x3/16 rear sill, and 3/16 quarter panels that will probably have square tube framing for wheel wells. I will also have bolt in cross members between the wheel wells as it will have a semi permanent sleeping platform/drawers in the back. Rear frame will be boxed in. May stitch weld the frame. May add an additional frame cross member with stretch. These mounts are also in the middle of the frame and will see the least amount of deflection.

Thoughts?

Fj40 bodies move a lot offroad because of frame flex. I would just stick to the conventional slider setup most use. That's my 2cents anyway

 

[DirtSniffer]

Fj40 bodies move a lot offroad because of frame flex. I would just stick to the conventional slider setup most use. That's my 2cents anyway

Appreciate the input (this is one reason I am doing this build thread) and am still reconsidering the whole body mount situation.

The seam you see between the "slider" and rocker was going to be welded the whole length and smoothed to a contour with a curved flap disk. So an integral part of the body, using the slider mounts as the body mounts. They are just tacked right now, and when I eventually drop the body on the stretched frame, I could separate them and drop the slider part down for a gap. Looking something like this:

I do however believe the frame flex on the 40s can be excessive and should be stiffened up some. I imagine this here is just as bad or worse for the body than solid body mounts.

 

[White Stripe]

Sliders flex a lot too unless welded to the frame when against the rocks. I don't think a roll cage mounted to a frame will significantly increase rigidity either because round tube tends to torsion slightly. A lot of frame flex I think is caused by the high stress leaf springs put on the frame during articulation. This transfers through the weak front frame horns, the somewhat weak/flexible stock crossmembers/torque tube, and unboxed rear c channel in which each of these components allows some flex. I would imagine linked suspension would cause less frame flex. The body mount bushings allow the body some relief from the frame flex and reduce chances of sheet metal cracking. Keep in mind that lower picture pic you sent doesn't seem to have bump stops. So the tires contacting the fenders look like they are making the front body clip to move.

 

[DirtSniffer]

Sliders flex a lot too unless welded to the frame when against the rocks. I don't think a roll cage mounted to a frame will significantly increase rigidity either because round tube tends to torsion slightly. A lot of frame flex I think is caused by the high stress leaf springs put on the frame during articulation. This transfers through the weak front frame horns, the somewhat weak/flexible stock crossmembers/torque tube, and unboxed rear c channel in which each of these components allows some flex. I would imagine linked suspension would cause less frame flex. The body mount bushings allow the body some relief from the frame flex and reduce chances of sheet metal cracking. Keep in mind that lower picture pic you sent doesn't seem to have bump stops. So the tires contacting the fenders look like they are making the front body clip to move.

Alright, fine... I'll probably end up changing things around. I wish the IPOR FZJ40 thread was still up, interested in how he did his.

 

[White Stripe]

Alright, fine... I'll probably end up changing things around. I wish the IPOR FZJ40 thread was still up, interested in how he did his.

View attachment 3304341

View attachment 3304340

I'm not trying to be a jerk, I just don't want to see you fail or mess it up. I want your cruiser to turn out great. I'm not always right, and I'm just giving my opinion hoping it helps and no one else is chiming in. That 40 I believe from ipor is on a cut down 80 series frame. There are a few similar builds on mud. It's a lot of fabrication. But can turn out nice if done well.

 

[DirtSniffer]

I'm not trying to be a jerk, I just don't want to see you fail or mess it up. I want your cruiser to turn out great. I'm not always right, and I'm just giving my opinion hoping it helps and no one else is chiming in. That 40 I believe from ipor is on a cut down 80 series frame. There are a few similar builds on mud. It's a lot of fabrication. But can turn out nice if done well.

Didn't take it that way at all, always open to constructive criticism and critiques of my welds

Yeah it was an 80 frame but the sliders have to be supported by frame somehow I would think, I don't think I'd trust em just welded to the sheet metal body.

 

[DirtSniffer]

These GenRight 4" TJ tube flares look like they might just work, would cover the wider 80 axles nicely I think. May get a 1.5" die for my bender and make my own (as well as the fronts) but it may be worth the time savings to just buy them. They also look nice.

 

[White Stripe]

Didn't take it that way at all, always open to constructive criticism and critiques of my welds

Yeah it was an 80 frame but the sliders have to be supported by frame somehow I would think, I don't think I'd trust em just welded to the sheet metal body.

I think those are welded to the body only. They should hold up to mild to medium rock contact. But if they hit a rock hard enough they would probably cause the body to buckle. Some people do mount sliders to the body only. If the body is reinforced that can help to a point. The gen right flare style would look good I think.

 

[DirtSniffer]

Picked up a set of unlocked 80 axles locally. Should be ready to tear into this thing soon.

 

[DirtSniffer]

Reading through @DangerNoodle 's build thread has me concidering having a go at linking this thing. I had originally decided against it as it seemed as if the ones I had seen had trouble getting good geometry without some extensive frame modifications for the front, but I may be wrong. Flipped radius arms could be another option, since I got them with the 80 axles. But I still like the idea of keeping this thing old school with leaves. Got some time to think about it.

 

[DirtSniffer]

Some inspiration for the hard top. I have 3 hard tops, 2 with popouts and one with solid glass. I like the simplicity of just adding in the popout window section to stretch the solid glass sides. No custom glass or seals. Otherwise, I could chop one popout set at the b pllar and add on the front section of the other. but would need custom glass and I believe seals, unless I could piece them together from 2 sets. The last picture on an aqualu tub appears to have been done this way. Need to make a decision as I may have a buyer for a top next weekend.

 

[Mike Shull]

Cool build! I missed this one. Link it.

 

[DirtSniffer]

Worked on welding up the rockers tonight, was going back and forth between the driver and passenger side and of course, started to run out of gas with the driver's side 90% done. Don't want crappy welds with poor shielding from low gas, so I guess I'll be waiting till next week... Time for a tank upsize. Had been hoping to do rockers and hard top rails this weekend so I can cut and pull the body. Oh well.