Builds Billy's excellent FJ73-12HT - resto-modded - n that

[ozcrusier]

Are luxury now mate sweating your arse off in the shed this summer hope you got air con better still hope the cruiser has it.

 

[Billyfj7312ht]

Oz,

I know I still have some work to do on the gravel, because its easier to do the dirty work and clean up, but I'd rather be working on concrete.....winter or summer. I designed the shed to take a tall boat i had at the time so the walls are taller, also lifted the pitch. Its in the shade of 2 huge camphor laurel trees from about 12.30 onwards so its quite cool. The cruiser will have aircon, I'm hoping to re-use most of the old one.

Locked,

Thanks....... I'm not sure the purists will agree by the end of this build.

 

[Billyfj7312ht]

Thought I was going to have a break from metal work and do something else until I realised I can't go any further without the front fenders and window surround etc.
Engines still needs detailing and ??.... but there's no real point without a dash, wiring loom, maybe fenders?
This means body needs panel work and top coat so might as well prep remainder and drop it all off to my mate Ken to do his thing.

I replaced my wheel arches (one had rusty hole where battery leaked) with some in much better condition. Other than that I was happy with the rest of the panels. I was surprised actually and it goes to show how well fisholine or a cavity wax works as the only body parts of my original body that survived were places they were sprayed.

 

[Billyfj7312ht]

WOW…how much fun is this stripping paint and sanding stuff!!!!!!! I just can’t get enough.

Bit of advice……don’t wear open shoes when paint stripping.

If it’s not burning forearms from accidentally touching the stripper, your feet will swell when old paint drenched in stripper gets caught in your crocs for a couple of hours, it actually makes the wire fragments that spear into my forehead or cheekbones when I'm wire wheeling feel like an exfoliation.

All disassembled:

Paint stripper:

 

[chappohj47]

I did the same with paint stripper in thongs bloody burns and I also painted in thongs took about a week to come off

 

[Billyfj7312ht]

I had to use the paint stripper twice to get it all off. This was the first go at it.

And after the second go:

 

[Billyfj7312ht]

I made sure all the paint was removed from the seen side of the panels and on the back side I cleaned all the joints, around the nuts and anywhere there was a crease or change in direction and scuffed the original paint.

Sanded right up under all the panels, then applied some rust converter to some surface rust spots and seams.

 

[Billyfj7312ht]

Oh yeh..............still going.

I then degreased and high pressure hosed the newer wheel arches first.

Before:

After:

Wire wheel

 

[61Mk+]

Hello Billyfj7312ht,
Nice job you've got there. I hope you never give up.

 

[61Mk+]

By the way, Mr. Billy, i had the 12HT in my old 61, a much larger and heavier car than a 73; i believe you'll find it provides plenty of power for your Toy. With cruise control, i even got well over 30mpg with it (once, with a wind pushing me, 47mpg!). Unfortunately i no longer recall whether that was imperial miles or US; i do remember the metric numbers, less than 10l/100km, even below 9 at times (sorry, i don't feel like converting to mpg just now).

 

[Billyfj7312ht]

By the way, Mr. Billy, i had the 12HT in my old 61, a much larger and heavier car than a 73; i believe you'll find it provides plenty of power for your Toy. With cruise control, i even got well over 30mpg with it (once, with a wind pushing me, 47mpg!). Unfortunately i no longer recall whether that was imperial miles or US; i do remember the metric numbers, less than 10l/100km, even below 9 at times (sorry, i don't feel like converting to mpg just now).

Hi 61Mk+

Thanks for the encouragement.
Can't wait t see how the 12HT performs and if I get anything like 10l/100km I'll be very happy. ( we talk in Km here )

I'm hoping to move on to something more entertaining than pages of unfinished panels.
Could be worse............At least I prefer photos over text.
Last thing anybody wants is for my thread to have more waffle than a Belgian street vendor.

 

[61Mk+]

Mr. Billy, Don't give up. Bodywork is painstaking and time-consuming, however you will disappoint yourself if you cut corners; when you get tired of it, give yourself a break, and shoot some pool across the street from the previous owner, drink beer, enjoy your wife and family. When you have had a good smoko, get stuck back into it. Trust me, you'll never regret it in the long run. I am biased, i hate rust, and rust scares my panties off; do be thankful salts are not spread all over your roads in the winter, with moisture coming out your ears at the same time (of course, you've got salty beaches not too far away, so you know the score).
I tend not to push my cars (they're bloody tractors more than cars, and i am reminded of that whenever i drive a modern), so the mileage i got was due to that as well as having my tires at 60psi (and the cruise control had an influence too). A big thing is the significantly lower weight of your vehicle compared to my old 61.
Give it your best, Mud bro. And, if you don't mind, it's magic that your wife got you the ute.

 

[Billyfj7312ht]

@61Mk+ Thanks for the kind words.

My wife is a very special lady, a keeper...................mind you she can be a bit noisy in the afternoons on her mower.

I agree totally about the disappointment I would be setting myself up for if I was to start cutting corners.
I won't be giving up, I am OK with my progress and learnt alot along the way and I'm still within my budget. (The secret is to over estimate)
Things have taken a bit longer than first thought but it has to be right.......right!

 

[Billyfj7312ht]

After the Paint stripper, wire wheeling, rust converter, light sand and a wipe over with some dewaxer the panels were ready for etch primer.

Both sides and the inner cavities were sprayed and required only a light scuff in prep of the 2 pac primer.

 

[Billyfj7312ht]

There was one spot on the drivers side upper fender where rust needed to be removed.

So I removed the top layer, cleaned it up and put some rust converter on.

Fitted a new piece, drilled some spot welds.

Applied some weld through primer.

Now I know alot of you guys like close ups of gooooood welds.............so we'll go straight to the finish product.

 

[Billyfj7312ht]

I haven't bothered patching anything yet, Ken is going to prep the body and panels himself at a proper workshop before spraying it in an enclosed booth. I will now be re-assembling the panels, bonnet, doors etc, I had to purchased a radiator surround as mine was too far gone, it left the snowy mountains today for its 1350KM trip.Wonder if I'll get it for Xmas?
Still not sourced a drivers door or windscreen surround. Might end up having to go new for the windscreen surround.

 

[Billyfj7312ht]

The only dint was in the passenger side lower guard. It had a couple of small 5mm holes punched in the panel for the filler to key to by the PO, which was all removed with the paint stripper. This and any other imperfections will have the filler applied over the top of my 2k primer at the body shop.

All of the bolts that are not high tensile for this build are stainless steel, seeings I have a fastener shop www.boltin.com.au it would be silly for me not to. I used "duralac" - an anti corrosive compound for disimilar metals between the steel and stainless steel.

I haven't bothered with JIS heads for the high tensile, although I do have access to them it is not high on my priorities.

 

[28 tid]

I think a job like yours is rare ! Congratulations from one who knows something ... But this is perfection , you even used the " special grease " for galvanic corrosion between dissimilar metals that show! When I restored my BJ73 , among the new screws in stainless steel and sheet I used vaseline to get your result . You know , in Italy , for private DIY it is not all ... Some chemicals are reserved for professionals and hard to find for one not industry

 

[Billyfj7312ht]

Thanks 28 tid,
I've seen the benefits of this product for many years as my shop is very close to the City marina where there is a lot of retrofitting and maintenance.


I cleaned the nylon and rubber spacers that go between the upper and lower panel.
Then put every 2nd bolt in so I could mock up my guards to see how far a set of tyres I am looking at will stick out.

I"ll get new genuine rubbers later, not much can be done till after Xmas now so I"ll probably get bored and mock up the other fenders and...
I am unsure at this stage whether Ken wants me to fully assemble everything or supply it "flat pack" so to speak.

 

[Billyfj7312ht]

The inner guards have yet to have the ute liner applied but some decisions have to be made about my wheels.

I may be able to purchase these wheels but apart from them sticking out 11/2" minimum past the factory fibreglass flares, the steering knuckles/TREs hit the back of the rims by maybe 5-10mm.
I think spacers are illegal in Qld so I am wondering if moving the steering knuckles is an option ???
or should I just let these beautiful, deep dished polished pieces of art go!!!...............Not that it bothers me.

I can get 4" moulded flares on Ebay.