Building A Four Door FJ40

[FouadHafeez]

Thanks for the side shot. I am curious where you got the rear doors. I can see remaking the bottom rear for the fender, but the window part is what intrigues me the most. The top front would have slanted back on a stock FJ40 door. Is it from something else?

I really like what you are doing. You have inspired me for the next project

My pleasure. And I'm super-pleased to hear that it serves as an inspiration of sorts for others.

Well spotted on the construction of the rear doors. They're completely unique, and hand-built from scratch and sheet-metal. I wasn't joking when I mentioned that the sheet metal artisans in Pakistan are absolutely astonishing, when they're challenged to perform. During the course of the thread, I'll try to show you how the Maestro who fabbed the doors went about it.

 

[FouadHafeez]

Awesome build, can't wait to see more

Tucker

Once I get everything in order, you'll be getting to see a whole lot more of this rebuild, along with a ton of pictures. Probably, you'll also be getting to see some "live" action, since the rebuild is still very much in progress

I think this is my favorite rig I have ever seen. I was wanting to find a nice stock FJ40 for a daily driver but now I want a quad cab like yours. That is a true work of art. I cant wait to see more. Thank You

Those are very kind words. Thanks mate!

As far as getting a similar rebuild is concerned, I faced a huge number of difficulties in getting this rig made, because there weren't too many "templates" or mental blueprints available for ready reference. I'd seen big-rig builds, four-door builds, pickup builds...but nothing which combined ALL of the above. In some ways, I hope that this thread serves to be a template of sorts for similar builds that others might want to undertake. As well as inspiration, too, of course.

 

[tmarx]

Gobsmacked ! !

 

[FouadHafeez]

Nice aesthetics on the rear doors, Fouad.
They look very much as the factory would've done, similar to the Brasilian Bandeirante.

You might want to look at reshaping the rear fenders with more of a drop towards the bottoms, so that they don't appear as so very wide.

I admire your impeccable English skills--bravo !

Good work !

Thanks mate.

Again...well spotted on the rear fenders. The fender flares actually add to the illusion of the rear being extra wide, because of the incorporated mud-flaps you see at the end of the flares. I'd nicked this idea from one I'd used on my FZJ79. A picture will show you what I'd originally set about doing. I also noticed the fenders seemed kind of...wayward...so we lopped off the bottom mud-flaps. Plus, shifting the rear wheels backwards made the extra width look more proportional. I'll try and find a picture of the re-fabbed stuff.

What I'd tried to emulate!



What we finally ended up with...

 

[twoyotas]

Holy Smokestack Batman! Now that is one beefy exhaust pipe! Marvelously insane build my friend, I can't wait to see more. I agree with the others about those rear doors, real artwork there. I also would like to say the tube doors are awesome, as well. I am assuming that is a carrier for the mammoth size spare tire in the back. Can't wait to see more!

 

[FouadHafeez]

Holy Smokestack Batman! Now that is one beefy exhaust pipe! Marvelously insane build my friend, I can't wait to see more. I agree with the others about those rear doors, real artwork there. I also would like to say the tube doors are awesome, as well. I am assuming that is a carrier for the mammoth size spare tire in the back. Can't wait to see more!

Would you believe me if I told you the exhaust sounds better than it looks?

But I'm guilty of jumping the gun, in outlining the chronology of this build. For now, let it suffice to say that the tube doors in that picture have gone under the knife, too. And are a little more refined, and far more sensible to use than the ones you see.

 

[boozewz]

Bravo

 

[FouadHafeez]

Fabricating The Rear Doors

After getting the front doors affixed to the front half of the body, the obvious challenge was in crafting the rear doors to go along with them. In order to do this, we decided to make a visual "model" for reference. One, that could be replicated in terms of dimensions and positioning, after we'd tinkered around with it, and adjusted it to our liking. To this end, we hacked an old, rusted door into two pieces, by slicing away approximately 6 inches from the very centre of the door frame. This was necessary, since we wanted to retain the basic shape of the door - keeping it identical to the front one - and also, because it'd save us from the bother of getting the ends and curves and contours just right, on one made from fresh sheet metal. Besides, body mods that go wrong, can be expensive and time-consuming, when you're fabricating from scratch. Always a good idea to develop a template/blueprint of sorts, from expendable items.

After getting the basic size and shape right, we dwelt upon the taper towards the bottom...which would give it a more "natural" look, rather than it appearing as if this was a photoshop transplant. A necessity, since we wanted it to look like something straight out of the Toyota plant, rather than something that'd appear as if it were an aftermarket add-on. A taper angle of 45 degrees was chosen. Close to the taper of the front mudguards, but a little more gentle, so as to add shape to it. This was bolted onto the hinges (which we'd loose-welded to the B pillar), and after visual inspection, a bit of adjustment, and much hemming and hawing...we decided it was just about right.

Pictures!

 

[FouadHafeez]

Sorry about the poor picture quality! Most shots were taken at night...using a cellphone.

 

[Hogan]

Nice work, I like it a lot, more build pics please.

 

[TOBASH]

I think what you have done is quite remarkable.

The fact that it looks factory is even more impressive.

I love the tire/tyre and wheel combination too.

I applaud you sir.

Best,

TOBASH

 

[My71FJ40]

YUMMY! That is a sweet rig. This should also be in the hardcore section because that is what those guys do and might not see it over here. Nice work, I have thought of doing the same, but probably just going to do a 45 extended cab instead...someday Thanks for the great pics!

 

[79fj40moneypit]

Very nice job on the 4 door, now that you have infected the group with the pics you have to show more of the build! The rear door was a great touch,those guys realy did a good job on the size of the door.

 

[FouadHafeez]

Gobsmacked ! !

Ta.

Bravo

Thanks.

Nice work, I like it a lot, more build pics please.

Believe me...I'm sorting through thousands of them to get the pertinent ones to you!

I think what you have done is quite remarkable.

The fact that it looks factory is even more impressive.

I love the tire/tyre and wheel combination too.

I applaud you sir.

Best,

TOBASH

Thank you for the appreciative words.

YUMMY! That is a sweet rig. This should also be in the hardcore section because that is what those guys do and might not see it over here. Nice work, I have thought of doing the same, but probably just going to do a 45 extended cab instead...someday Thanks for the great pics!

My pleasure. Initially, this project started off as a king-cab project, too. Funny how that didn't last too long

Best of luck with your impending build, too.

 

[FouadHafeez]

Replication

With our "template" prepared, it became a relatively easy affair for us to bang the rest of the stuff into shape. These included the doors themselves, the sills, the part of the wheel arch extending towards the (still non-existent) tub, and the rear of the cabin. We employed the services of a press to get the basic sizes and shapes right...following which, they were beaten into exact shape to give that true "OEM" look, with all those quirky little things that are so distinctive of the stock FJ.

At this point in time, we were struck by another dilemma with regards to choices. The easier solution would've been to have simply picked up chopped panels from a hardtop FJ40 skeleton and welded them into place. Personally though, I never did like the idea of the hardtop's too-small (imho) rear screen...since it'd allow little/no light inside, and would also look somewhat disproportional when compared to the much taller, curved corner windows of the FJ40. Clearly, fabrication was the way to go! Which is what we did...crafting the entire rear from sheet metal, and incorporating a window that was exactly as tall as the corner windows. Pictures of those, later, though.

For now, though...pictures of the fabbed rear doors, in sheet metal.

Another picture that gives the viewer an idea of the ridiculous ride height / dimensions, too. The young man pictured next to the vehicle stands about 6 ft tall.

 

[FouadHafeez]

Very nice job on the 4 door, now that you have infected the group with the pics you have to show more of the build! The rear door was a great touch,those guys realy did a good job on the size of the door.

Yes, sir. More pics (well...as many as I can) coming right up!

I agree, re: the doors. What hasn't turned up in the photos is how we agonised over the exact placement of the hinges, the exact breadth/width to allow easy entry of passengers, the proposed size of the window glasses, and an endless debate of how good they should / would look in terms of aesthetics and ergonomics. When you factor in that the Maestro who was creating all of this out of gleaming new sheet metal, did so with nothing more than his bare hands, his fine eye, a couple of hammers / mallets, a blowtorch, and a ruler / compass...the sheer artistry becomes even more pronounced.

All this time, I was simply hanging on for the ride, as an observer / critic, at best...watching a photoshopped drawing coming to life before my very eyes. Humbling stuff, certainly!

 

[FouadHafeez]

Fabbing The Rear (a.k.a. "Does My Arse Look Fat In This Sheet Metal?")

Now, we all know that the FJ rear is one the most delicious sights to behold (and yeah...I know, that sounded kinda perverse). The beautiful, sweeping curves...the smooth roundness...the way it beautifully fuses the front to the absolute rear (and yeah...this is progressively sounding ever more perverse. Harrumph).

Trying to replicate / capture that look with an additional set of doors, was one of the most daunting mental challenges we faced. Were we to create the entire rear end rounded, and taper it off towards the corner windows in extension, the pickup tub would not only have looked disjointed, but the wheel-arch flares (which were intrinsic to the basic design), would've become sort of unwieldy if they would've needed to conform to all the curves. A back without the signature curves and rear-corner windows would've been anathema to the basic design philosophy of it having to look like an FJ40, first and foremost.

The proposed solution was to create a "lower back" portion that was bereft of any curves...against which the rear tub would sit flush. This would make it appear from the side, as if the leading edge of the pickup tub was a seamless extension of the rear of the cabin, and would enable the flares to sit easily against the almost one-piece panel(s). The "top back" of the rig (especially the corners), would rely on stock panel from donor vehicles, to give it the immediately recognisable FJ40 look...while the gap for the much-larger rear screen would be fabricated by hand.

These snaps should show exactly what I mean by "bottom rear" and "top rear" hopefully. Fortunately, the stock "top rear" panels are coloured white, for easy distinction.

 

[FouadHafeez]

Fabbing The Rear Part II (a.k.a. "No Darling, Your Arse Looks Just Fine")

For the tub, we again had a few options.

We could've picked up one from a 45. We could fabricate something one-off and unique. Lastly, we could use the chopped away rear-half of the original donor FJ, to create a removeable tub that'd look exactly like it were that of a factory-crafted 40 (which, in a way, it indeed was. And is. ).

There were several things that went in favour of the last option. First and foremost...dough. This was a readily available part, which needed no extra money being spent on donor panels. Second, the curves at the rear of the tub would perfectly complement the curves of the corner glasses of the cabin. Third, we didn't want a huge, long tub...since this wasn't meant to be a hauler, anyways. The concept of this tub being something lightweight, easily-removable, stock(ish), and easy to modify immediately made the rest of the options seem like no-brainers.

There were several options again, for the tailgate. Custom-fabbed? Lifted off a 45? Nah...we decided to stick to a genuine FJ40 drop-down tailgate (which I was told, has appeared on some versions, although I'm not too sure about it. More knowledgeable gentlemen are requested to put me wise on the subject).

Slowly, the rear end of the Phantom was starting to come into shape. It was at this point, when a lot of people started wondering why on earth I'd chosen "Phantom" for such a brazen, in-your-face, ostentatious vehicle, when the choice of "Phantom" by Rolls-Royce was because it was so quiet, and sedate, and eerily unruffled. Well...let me reproduce some stuff from Wikipedia here...

"Phantom may refer to:

Ghost, in traditional belief, a physical manifestation of the soul or spirit of a deceased person
Illusion, a distortion of the senses"

To my mind, this was the perfect name. The vehicle was certainly being rebirthed, as a physical manifestation of the essence and spirit of the "deceased" FJ40 it was being crafted from.

It was certainly illusionary...since people would stop by and say "oh...well, that's an FJ40. No wait...it isn't. It's too @#$%ing big to be one. No wait...it is, after all. It has all the FJ40's styling cues. Nah...but it can't be...40s don't have four doors. Ok...what the @#$% IS that?"

So...Phantom, it is. Hopefully, in some coming posts, you'll get to see how that name figures out, in its actual design. For now, though...some pictures of the rear, again (and yeah...that still sounds kinda perverse).

 

[FouadHafeez]

That's all for now. Hope to post up some more, later on.

By the way, I realise that this thread runs like a story, rather than it being full of technical details. This is quite intentional, since I can't really pinpoint which technical details pertaining to the build might be most required by which reader. However, if anyone does have any queries regarding such points...please feel free to ask away. I'll do my best to answer, even though I'm certainly no expert on them.

Cheers.

Fouad.

 

[Curtice]

So freakin cool.