Building out the 78' Pig (1 Viewer)

[Showerhammer]

Rokon originally made in Vermont now made in N.H. that one have the extra fuel cell wheels??

Yep it does.

 

[PabloCruise]

Rokon originally made in Vermont now made in N.H. that one have the extra fuel cell wheels??

Ride free or die?

 

[bobm]

LIVE FREE OR DIE

 

[Showerhammer]

The Pigs have been low priority lately.
Started the reconfiguration of the dash for Old Man Tan.

Blue Belle, well she still runs and will get some electrical love this week.

 

[bobm]

Is dat fibagrass @RUSH55

 

[RUSH55]

Is dat fibagrass @RUSH55

Cup holder

 

[RUSH55]

While you’re doing some redesigning, check out this dash.

The work starts somewhere around page 30 -

Target carrier

Seems like daily I’m discovering parts I need for wiring this pig, the guys at Wire Care have been a huge help dealing with my questions and helping me find the correct parts. FYI they have and are able to get stuff that’s not listed on their site. http://www.wirecare.com/index.asp?

forum.ih8mud.com

 

[Showerhammer]

While you’re doing some redesigning, check out this dash.

The work starts somewhere around page 30 -

Target carrier

Seems like daily I’m discovering parts I need for wiring this pig, the guys at Wire Care have been a huge help dealing with my questions and helping me find the correct parts. FYI they have and are able to get stuff that’s not listed on their site. http://www.wirecare.com/index.asp?

forum.ih8mud.com

View attachment 3636610

Thanks for the link @RUSH55 definitely something to work towards. Beautifully done.

Also, the cup holders are still there, once I start driving it more I may need to upgrade.

 

[Showerhammer]

Work on Blue Belle today. Got a temporary wiring harness in place and working lights. That my friends is a win for today.

Now to tackle that damn rear window and motor. The motor tries to work but something is seized.

And a picture of the sunset because it was beautiful.

 

[WarDamnEagle]

Work on Blue Belle today. Got a temporary wiring harness in place and working lights. That my friends is a win for today.

Now to tackle that damn rear window and motor. The motor tries to work but something is seized.
View attachment 3636851View attachment 3636854
View attachment 3636852
And a picture of the sunset because it was beautiful.
View attachment 3636853

Guessing the gear is cracked which binds the motor.

 

[Showerhammer]

Big win today. I woke up determined to remove the rear glass in one piece. Metal can be fabricated again, not so much glass.
Well after only minor cutting I was able to slowly get the glass down so I could open the rear door.
Oh man the rear door was a f'ng nightmare. Finally got it cracked open enough with crowbars to pull the glass out.

 

[Ol Yeller]

Worlds beefiest speaker mount
By the looks of the tailgate no big deal cutting some metal.

 

[bobm]

Those Bose speakers?? Had a set in my 40 mounted to rollbar

 

[bobm]

My brackets were 1 x1/4 " stainless flatbar

 

[Showerhammer]

Worlds beefiest speaker mount
By the looks of the tailgate no big deal cutting some metal.

No joke on the speaker mounts. If Blue Belle went over a cliff the only thing remaining would have been the speaker mounts.

 

[Showerhammer]

Those Bose speakers?? Had a set in my 40 mounted to rollbar

Clos, ADS L200C. They had the quality of Bose but lost to marketing.
I will be restoring to speakers and putting them back.

 

[Showerhammer]

Alright my fellow enthusiasts of everything old and beautiful.
I am going to take on the task of refabricating the rearcorner panel. I plan on doing it all via hammer and hand cutting.
I have spent the last six months watching videos on people doing similar so I figure why not give it a shot, I have to start somewhere and after developing software all day I prefer to use my hands over machinery.

I have never taken on a project like these before I just wanted something to get me into the mountains. The two FJ-55's have become my zone to decompress from my day to day. Love the community as well. I am hoping to get Old Man Tan off-road worthy this summer to hit some easier test trails this fall in Northern Utah. Just need to get the e-brake installed and adjust the carburetor.

Back to the rear corner panel. The first of which will be many questions is, what gauge steel should I use?

 

[bobm]

18 gauge

 

[YukonCruisers]

I'm not going to disagree, but I'd offer this, I think I recall the original metal sitting somewhere between 18 and 20. You can't buy 19, so you have a choice of slightly heavier and slightly lighter. Now the steel you have will be lighter and weaker than original which means if you do go heavier for the obvious advantage of stronger corners, you will have to get used to almost folding your weld pool over. I.e. start on the new metal with each tack and then go to the old - that way you can get penetration on both with limited burn through on the old stuff. Another option if you are having to do the backside is to use 16 there, little more crush resistance is you bump it on a rock - I ran 16 behind my rockers for example.

Last, if you are not able to straighten and shrink the steel in that PS rear crush and end up with a long seam in a flat area, consider modern epoxies as opposed to welding. Arguably just as strong, no risk of further warping and oil cannning the steel - clieco fasteners are your friend here.

 

[Showerhammer]

I'm not going to disagree, but I'd offer this, I think I recall the original metal sitting somewhere between 18 and 20. You can't buy 19, so you have a choice of slightly heavier and slightly lighter. Now the steel you have will be lighter and weaker than original which means if you do go heavier for the obvious advantage of stronger corners, you will have to get used to almost folding your weld pool over. I.e. start on the new metal with each tack and then go to the old - that way you can get penetration on both with limited burn through on the old stuff. Another option if you are having to do the backside is to use 16 there, little more crush resistance is you bump it on a rock - I ran 16 behind my rockers for example.

Last, if you are not able to straighten and shrink the steel in that PS rear crush and end up with a long seam in a flat area, consider modern epoxies as opposed to welding. Arguably just as strong, no risk of further warping and oil cannning the steel - clieco fasteners are your friend here.

Thanks for the reply, heading down to pick up some sheets of steel this afternoon. I think I will get a few different gauges to experiment with as I am learning the ropes. Most of the wall will need to be cut out. I will keep folks updated on the progress. Hopefully faster this time than my last break where life and work got in the way.