Builds Blender, My LX450/FZJ80 + FJ45esk + GM + Land Rover crazy concoction

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Why not plasma out the aluminum?
 
Mieser said:
.......I don't have a plasma?
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Gotcha.... Best tool I ever purchased. Paid for itself in time saved and cutting wheels.
 
2fpower said:
Gotcha.... Best tool I ever purchased. Paid for itself in time saved and cutting wheels.
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It's on my wishlist, but honestly I really like a good jigsaw for stuff like this. Cut all the window openings in 3/16 aluminum with near perfect corners and limited cleanup on the same blade.

A plasma....with a cnc table....would be nice for repeated parts for sure though.
 
More big holes...





I was able to get the inner 'tongue' panel for the doors cut out for the matching window panel on both sides and do a test fit.

Now I need to figure out this panel adhesive thing and stick them together. Once that is done I can transfer the pin locations and work on making the mechanism that will hold them together. And a few more details....

Overall I am really digging how this door concept is coming together.
 
GLTHFJ60 said:
The door looks really flimsy, but I'm sure it'll be rigid once you're done with it.
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It is 3/16 aluminum plate. So far so good. It will only get better with the other parts I am adding. It would work fine right now tough honestly. It feels like a normal soft door with a rod frame to me.
 
Slacking a little on updates....





I got the MAF bung welded in the intake tube.

I also started gluing the upper door panels together with some 3M panel adhesive. I ran a few tests. I was pretty happy with how the panel to panel lap joints performed. I think this stuff works great for that.

My test for bonding the tapered head fastener into a panel didn't go as well. That popped out very easily in my opinion. I just don't think there is enough surface area. I am going to plan B for that. I think I will tap the door panel directly for a shallow 3/8-16 thread and red loctite the crap out of a button head fastener. Aesthetically, that will leave a few pumps on the outside, but I don't think it will be a huge deal on this build. It may actually blend in a little better with the rear window panels I need to make.
 




This is how the door works. Overall, I am pretty happy with how it functions. The stumble that I ran into is that I basically wanted a pin in the door for the knobs. I originally thought I could glue a tapered head fastener in place using panel adhesive, but that didn't work. I ended up tapping the door panel directly and threading in a fastener from the outside. When I final assemble things I will red loctite it also. The pins don't really take any load except clamping forces, but they can get banged when installing the upper door.

I may refine the details in the future, but overall I really like the concept. It only takes a few seconds to pull the upper door off. I think it will be really nice to have a 2pc hard lockable door with a glass window.
 
Love the execution. Your plan is to keep it more or less like that, not to create a frame and internal structure, correct?
 
GLTHFJ60 said:
Love the execution. Your plan is to keep it more or less like that, not to create a frame and internal structure, correct?
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Yes. That is why I used thicker plate. I will be adding an arm rest with a door handle. I will probably relocate the door handle also. I think a big net on the inside of the door would be nice too....
 
Updates....



Passenger side upper door that holds itself together now.









I needed to add something to the top of the door seal to push against on the body side. I will finish welding/brazing the seams after I blow things apart. Details. The list is getting shorter...
 
Jumping in late in this but 27 pages I don’t have time to go through(wish I did, love this stuff).. What are you doing for axles? I’m asking because I had a similar undertaking as yours, here as “Ultimate Cruisers FZJ40”, that I just sold. Now thinking auto, 115 wb, 40’s.. so I picked up D60/D70 combo and still thinking on the proj...
 
GEspo said:
Jumping in late in this but 27 pages I don’t have time to go through(wish I did, love this stuff).. What are you doing for axles? I’m asking because I had a similar undertaking as yours, here as “Ultimate Cruisers FZJ40”, that I just sold. Now thinking auto, 115 wb, 40’s.. so I picked up D60/D70 combo and still thinking on the proj...
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I am using the complete FZJ80/LX450 chassis.
 
Been slacking a bit....



I finally got the bed sides mounted to the bed frame. This involved a lot of drilling and tapping. That drill/tap/contersink bit for the 1/4" impact really speeds things up when doing multiple holes.

Shop tip...





I found that you can use cheap set screws ( about 8 cents each by the bag ) as a hole transfer device. They also make pointed versions for a bit more. I use cup point and they seem to work fine for me with a sharp center punch. I used these to transfer the pattern off the bed frame to the body panel. The same idea should work for the bed floor pattern in the near future....
 
Any concern how stock 80 axles will hold up to 40’s and an LS? I ask because the few people I’ve discused with, guys at Slee re short bus, note things may break, obviously depending on use. This will no doubt be a total beauty, mine was too pretty to get ugly with it too.
 
GEspo said:
Any concern how stock 80 axles will hold up to 40’s and an LS? I ask because the few people I’ve discused with, guys at Slee re short bus, note things may break, obviously depending on use. This will no doubt be a total beauty, mine was too pretty to get ugly with it too.
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GEspo said:
Up to 37’s I hear stock 80 axles are great..
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Yup, they aren't tons. I'm not trying to build a buggy though. This thing is only going to be about ~4000lbs when done though. I'll give the axles a bit of a tune up with alloy shafts and go through the diffs. I'm not too hard on stuff typically. I made my little old flat fender work with a little old Dana 30 and heavy 35s. It runs all over the place.

This chassis was so cheap I couldn't pass on it. It needed a new home.
 
Little stuff.....



Made some diagonal gas tank straps on the bed frame and tig welded them into the frame on the top. The tank will get some closed cell foam under the straps after tear down

I also spent a lot of time under the car looking a few things....





I think these big bulky electric actuators need to be swapped out for some compact air cylinders....
 
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