Best of the season to everyone in toyotalandia. Quick question for you customisers, I wanna pop the top and cut my rear ambulance door to a gate, moving the latch down a foot or so. Is this feasible, or am I entering a world of pain trying to refit everything..?
Ambulance door latch reposition
- Thread starter Rochfort
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Mike Shull
Let’s go…
I suppose this depends on your skill and patience. I will be doing this to mine. You can follow along if you would like though I may not get to this for another 6-8 months. The link to my thread is in my signature.
Although my plans may change, I am planning to take my left ambulance door latch mechanisms and rotate them 90 degrees and flip them around so that the lever is on the outside, then box the linkage in on the inside, leaving a few access panels in place. I haven’t figured out how I will add a lock but I envision using the factory lock from the right door.
- Thread starter
- #3
Ok cool thanks, I have a single right to left swing door so it's a lot less complicated. Good luck, can't wait to see how it turns out.
pb4ugo
SILVER Star
I've not seen anybody alter a door like that. I'll be making a drop down tailgate out of a pair of barn doors that I picked up for a reasonable price. I seems several folks have done this in the past.
- Thread starter
- #5
You may have never seen a door like that. These FJs came to Colombia without tops or back doors, they were manufactured here and fitted by one of two companies in Bogota. Mine's an MPR, with a single door that swings out horizontally,. you can see the brand in the photo. The spare's on a rack bolted to the frame and hooked to a runner at the bottom of the door and swings out with it.
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pb4ugo
SILVER Star
I'm a aware of what type of top that is, Ive just not seen someone turning it into a tailgate. I think you'll need 2 latches, one for each side. This link might be helpful. He made/adapted a latch mechanism for his tailgate.
forum.ih8mud.com
Poor Boy FJ40 tailgate
I've never really liked the FJ40 barn doors and would love to know why Toyota went with split doors over a simple tailgate in the first place. When I bought the truck I really wanted Ambi doors, but later found out the swap was not possible because my '73 doesn't have the correct sill (among...
forum.ih8mud.com
- Thread starter
- #7
I'm a aware of what type of top that is, Ive just not seen someone turning it into a tailgate. I think you'll need 2 latches, one for each side. This link might be helpful. He made/adapted a latch mechanism for his tailgate.
Poor Boy FJ40 tailgate
I've never really liked the FJ40 barn doors and would love to know why Toyota went with split doors over a simple tailgate in the first place. When I bought the truck I really wanted Ambi doors, but later found out the swap was not possible because my '73 doesn't have the correct sill (among...
Is your rear door steel or Fiberglas?
Below, in my signature line I’ve got a thread with all the details of installing a hatch into a top that didn’t come with one. Some of that information may help.
- Thread starter
- #9
Mike Shull
Let’s go…
I misunderstood. I thought that you were asking about factory ambulance doors. I didn’t see the picture of your MPR top when I posted. I agree that your setup looks a lot less complicated. I’ll be following along if this thread turns into a build thread.
- Thread starter
- #11
Engine first, getting started on that in Jan
If I was doing it I’d probably do something similar to this…
The pictures are from Aqualu’s site. The hinges they use would likely be easier to source than original Fj40 hinges. Alternatively, you could keep your one piece door and build a custom tailgate. I’ve always thought the one big door would be convenient. I do, however, like having a tailgate/tire carrier and a hatch. Unfortunately, I’ve never quite got to designing weatherstripping/hardware to seal the hatch to the tailgate. Over the last 20+ years I’ve had several different ideas. Hopefully 2025 will be the be the year to fix all the weatherstripping on my 40. Even the foam in the heater is worn out. After decades of a breezy 40, I don’t know what I’d do if it was no longer a wind tunnel inside my 40.
The pictures are from Aqualu’s site. The hinges they use would likely be easier to source than original Fj40 hinges. Alternatively, you could keep your one piece door and build a custom tailgate. I’ve always thought the one big door would be convenient. I do, however, like having a tailgate/tire carrier and a hatch. Unfortunately, I’ve never quite got to designing weatherstripping/hardware to seal the hatch to the tailgate. Over the last 20+ years I’ve had several different ideas. Hopefully 2025 will be the be the year to fix all the weatherstripping on my 40. Even the foam in the heater is worn out. After decades of a breezy 40, I don’t know what I’d do if it was no longer a wind tunnel inside my 40.
- Thread starter
- #13
...interesting. It brings back childhood memories of sitting on the tailgate of my dad's 1963 Dodge station wagon.If I was doing it I’d probably do something similar to this…
View attachment 3802880View attachment 3802881
The pictures are from Aqualu’s site. The hinges they use would likely be easier to source than original Fj40 hinges. Alternatively, you could keep your one piece door and build a custom tailgate. I’ve always thought the one big door would be convenient. I do, however, like having a tailgate/tire carrier and a hatch. Unfortunately, I’ve never quite got to designing weatherstripping/hardware to seal the hatch to the tailgate. Over the last 20+ years I’ve had several different ideas. Hopefully 2025 will be the be the year to fix all the weatherstripping on my 40. Even the foam in the heater is worn out. After decades of a breezy 40, I don’t know what I’d do if it was no longer a wind tunnel inside my 40.
