Build Clifford is home again- a 1965 FJ40 FST

[red66toy]

It’s always something and you just have to laugh. I went to the back to loosen 5 and 6 and I guess I never looked deep enough at my 40 butt….. but I never noticed these extra plates a PO welded on that are perfectly blocking the body mounts! Look at those welds!

Fun times

 

[RevISK]

Looks like someone got happy with a new “skill” back in the day.

To be fair, the welds held.

Do you have access to an air chisel?

 

[rainingagain]

It’s always something and you just have to laugh. I went to the back to loosen 5 and 6 and I guess I never looked deep enough at my 40 butt….. but I never noticed these extra plates a PO welded on that are perfectly blocking the body mounts! Look at those welds!
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Fun times

I wonder what they were used for.

 

[middlecalf]

Wonder if the PO was maybe strengthening for towing?

 

[red66toy]

I wonder what they were used for.

When I first got the 40 in 2000, it had a custom diamond plate rear bumper on it. I am guessing this was added for that?

 

[red66toy]

Wonder if the PO was maybe strengthening for towing?

I think this was the reason.

 

[red66toy]

I was doing some cleaning this past week and found a picture I haven’t seen in decades. Fun to find old photos of your rig.
This photo was taken around 2002/2003. Looks like I was still rocking 32x11.5 BFGs and the best top.

 

[red66toy]

Finally busted through on both sides. Need to finish cleaning up the remnants of the welding. I’ll clean and paint after. At least I can now access those bolts! Onward

 

[red66toy]

Alright! Project done. Now onto the many others.
Once I got those steel plates cut out it went fast thankfully.

One thing I didn’t share before was that I went a bit mad and sorta made up my own version of the energy suspension kit. I used their rubber bushings, but I didn’t like the idea of the SAE hardware. Picky I know. So I had some new steel plates cut, I welded on M10 nuts, had them plated and used OEM Toyota bolts instead. Happy with how it all turned out in the end!

Getting the running boards mounted is next on the list now that things are sorted with the body mounts and I know nothing will change with mounting measurements.

 

[Andrew S]

One thing I didn’t share before was that I went a bit mad and sorta made up my own version of the energy suspension kit. I used their rubber bushings, but I didn’t like the idea of the SAE hardware. Picky I know. So I had some new steel plates cut, I welded on M10 nuts, had them plated and used OEM Toyota bolts instead. Happy with how it all turned out in the end!

So glad to hear that I am not the only one who thought this was the correct solution!

 

[red66toy]

So glad to hear that I am not the only one who thought this was the correct solution!

Ha! Im so glad we can always count on the good people of mud to validate our over the top endeavors.

 

[cruisermatt]

100% Validated. Nice job

 

[firemanj92]

Chase, Please sell that kit on your store front/website

 

[red66toy]

Chase, Please sell that kit on your store front/website

If people are interested I can certainly work up a batch. I wouldn’t be able to match the price of the available energy suspension kit though of course. Let me put together some numbers and we can see if people are still interested.

 

[peesalot]

That truck is in good shape, mine has lived in Cali forever and the inside thin piece of the rear sill mounts were just foil, your truck is clean IMO.

 

[red66toy]

That truck is in good shape, mine has lived in Cali forever and the inside thin piece of the rear sill mounts were just foil, your truck is clean IMO.

It is definitely pretty good for its age! I do have some classic rust cancer on the rear sill and the front floor boards that will need to get addressed in the future. But it’s a solid enough rig for sure. It spent its whole life in Arizona and CA from what I have learned over the years.

 

[HelloKitty65]

Now for a little redemption =)

I went ahead and cut/hammered a 4-speed cover, brand new, from Topnault (Chinese manufacture). This was a 1 banana job so far. All I needed was a BFH (big fuggin' hammer) and an angle grinder.

My transfer case saver now has the proper clearance as well as the transmission itself. As discussed earlier, the 4 speed cover is 1.5 inches taller than a 3 speed cover. This 4 speed cover is also a wider on both sides, so clearance issues for the colum shift adapter "should" be non-existent (hopefully).

You have to cut the rear part of the tunnel since it's too long. I traced out the pattern using my orginal 3 speed cover.

I had to hammer in the corner where the gas tank goes. On a brand new 4-speed cover, it bulges out and prevents the early 3-speed gas tank from sitting all the way down. Several hard hits with a hammer and that bulging part of metal disappears. I did a s*** job, but it can't be seen once the gas tank and passengers seat get put on.

Also needed to cut where the hump sits ontop of the ribbing of the floor boards. This happened on the passenger side toward the top. It makes direct contact and stops the tunnel from sitting flat on the floor.

I then hammered on the driver side. That part of the tunnel sits on one of the "ribbing" on the floor but easily takes shape.

I had to hammer down the rear corners as well, for whatever reason, there's bulging metal there as well and won't sit flush.


Lastly, I will need to fill in a gap by welding in some metal. This will be on the passengers side under the gas tank. It will just require a small "rectangular" section of newly welded metal.

The last photo is looking down from above the gas tank. The metal bulge is gone and now the gas tank sits nicely. Awful to look at the quality work I did, but I don't care at this point =p

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I'm going the @DesertFJ40 route with a 1962 tub.

 

[red66toy]

I'm going the @DesertFJ40 route with a 1962 tub.View attachment 4099944

Excellent! Curious how this all turns out. Doesn’t look too difficult to modify to fit.

 

[HelloKitty65]

Yes, not too hard. The Topnault metal is relatively soft compared to Toyota's. I'm thinking of a rib shaped form to hammer on. Maybe covers to fit the two big holes utilizing the capture nuts.

 

[red66toy]

Tiny update as I’m working on other items. Needed a new gasket for the Clutch MC reservoir cap. This McMaster part was a perfect fit! Hopefully this is helpful to others. Cheers!