Builds DADs Landmark (restomod) (1 Viewer)

[Eric H]

Things got crazy again. I finished my atlas support. Pulled the tub off and the engine out. Then started welding.

The steering box was a chore. And my history with them has not been good. Hopefully my past experiances helped me get it right the first time. I sleved between plates and added spacers on the inside plate.

As you can see i mounted my shock towers also. I had to do some clearancing on the back to clear the steering shaft. I made it so the other side will match. Also added caps to the radiator brackets.

Here is how everything landed. Can only fit one oroject at a time in this little building.

If work stays calmish i should get some welding done after work on weeknights. Ill keep plugging away till its time to sandblast.

 

[Eric H]

noting major but i am fairly happy with how the motor mounts turned out. I wish they were one piece but thats the best i can do. Im starting to wish i had a plasma cutter and a brake press. (not that i would use them very often) Im ok with oxy/acc but it seems like i spend so much time grinding it smooth i could have just used the death wheel from the start.

any way here is the before and after motor mounts and filling small holes on the frame.

I finished the other side just no picture. I spent all of yesterday evening cutting out gussets for the sliders/steps. Ill get a picture of them welded in soon.

anyone have pictures of steering stabilizer mounts on the front cross-member? i need to weld that on too.

 

[Eric H]

Finished slider gussets, bolted on my rear diff cover, removed rear xmember (for future box) and now its off to the blaster.

I cant wait to paint it. Its been a long time coming.

 

[Eric H]

I got the frame back from the sandblaster it looks really good.

started working on finishing the last of the welding. Boxed the frame. I spaced out the welds to keep it from getting too hot.

also finished welding the axle brackets on and started paint.

Im just using rustolium gloss for all the removable parts. For the frame i will be using KBS rust encapsulating paint and their chassis black top coat.

 

[Eric H]

Wanted to share that i finished painting the axle last night. Along with the rad aluminum nitro diff cover.

Also finished stripping the frame. If everything goes well today i should have some paint on everything else.

 

[Eric H]

As promised kbs rustseal base coat applied. Looks good. I thinned it out a little and sprayed it on. It was my first experience using my cheap harbor freight gun. It went easier than i expected and the paint went farther than i thought. I will have plenty leftover to coat the underside of the tub.

Tomorrow ill spray the topcoat. Its the same color/finish just uv protected.

 

[Rustic76]

Nice work , Eric. It was cool to be able to check out your project in person last week, I wish I had a fraction of your skill.
Cant wait to see the finished product, its going to be a beast.
-Justin

 

[mdsims]

That's just the frame number. 40 series frame numbers began with the year of manufacture until 1964, then they began with the model designation in 1965. 1-FJ40-1234 = 1961 model; FJ40-44639 = 1965 onwards. It wasn't until the late 70' that the frame numbers had six digits.

Bumping an earlier post, but there is a subtlety I couldn't resist pointing out. While the extra digit wasn't needed until frames passed 99,999 in early 71 produced vehicles, Toyota added the space for the 6th digit a bit earlier than that, by placing a zero ahead of the pack. I don't know when exactly they started doing this, but my 11/70 is wearing frame number FJ40-093001.

Irrevalent to your thread. /endhijack

Keep up the good work! I'm getting married fall 2018, I need the inspiration!

 

[Eric H]

Nice work , Eric. It was cool to be able to check out your project in person last week, I wish I had a fraction of your skill.
Cant wait to see the finished product, its going to be a beast.
-Justin

Thank you. It was really cool checking out your ride. Thats the first troopy ive seen in person. Very nice. I cant wait till i can drive my project around.

 

[Eric H]

Got a quick question for you guys. As i was welding brackets on the front axle it was necessary to take the knuckles off to grind off a gusset i put on a year ago and weld on a trail gear shock mount style one. Anyway i noticed that i did not put shims under the steering arms last time i assembled. The steering preload feels fine. Probably around 15lbs. (just going by feel)

Will not running shims damage anything? Does the shim act as a gasket?

Im thinking i should maybe try to use some of the thinnest shims at the very least. That way there is something to take out if the knucles develop any play.

Thanks guys. Hopefully i will have pictures of the pretty painted axles and springs under there in a couple days.

 

[blossett]

Nice Build! keep it coming!

 

[cruisermatt]

Just seeing this. What an awesome build so far. Great job incorporating dual cases and keeping a decent amount of rear driveline.

 

[Scott Parsley]

This is awesome! Nice work.

 

[Eric H]

Little progress. Got the axles back under there. Next is skid plates then i can start plumbing cooler lines and stuff. All while i work on the body and hopefully get it undercoated and primed.

The deadline is creeping up. 5 months and counting. Its been rough since ive been working 80 hour weeks to pay for parts and the upcoming wedding.

 

[mdsims]

Little progress. Got the axles back under there. Next is skid plates then i can start plumbing cooler lines and stuff. All while i work on the body and hopefully get it undercoated and primed.

The deadline is creeping up. 5 months and counting. Its been rough since ive been working 80 hour weeks to pay for parts and the upcoming wedding.

Is it just the camera, or is the rear axle angled with the pinion pointing upward? Stock perches?

 

[Eric H]

Is it just the camera, or is the rear axle angled with the pinion pointing upward? Stock perches?

Yes the pinion is angled up to point at the rear output. Im planning to use a cv style rear driveline. It should work well for good highway manners.

The rear axle housing is custom with fj80 center section centered and toyota mini truck ifs lenth axle shafts.

 

[Eric H]

Well its been almost a year! Not much has been done sadly. Still fighting the good fight. Small battles wone.

finally finished the cross-members and skid plate. there is a tranny mount and one on the end of the transfer case. the crossemebers also have bushings so hopefully it will help with vibrations. Used allan head screws to bolt on a 1/4 skid plate to the bottom of all three cross-members.

The drive line you see in the background is going to be for the front. going to use a carrier baring and a double cardigan joint.

also finally finalized the wrap bar. i have a heim joint on one end for articulation/ adjust-ability. (i may still move the rear end back) Also welded a tube skid from ruff stuff to the bottom for extra strength. The axle bracket is also from ruffstuff.

Looks too nice now but i finally painted all the bolts for the bumper and bolted it all together for the last time. Also a guy in the neighborhood sold me some aftermarket never used fenders. Not entirely sure i will use them over tube fenders but they are a great option to have.

Aftermath from painting today

All of the atlas cable shifters are hooked up. Hopefully this makes my tunnel work easier.

I got the tub back inside!

LOOKING FOR A LITTLE ADVICE HERE

Ive been thinking about splitting the rear tub and firewall so that i can prep the firewall and mock stuff up. Such as steering brakes heater hoses ect.. It might make it easier to work on those things and be able to do the rear section of the vehicle last. (roll bar, seats, fuel tank, rear quarter) Also there is some rust in the seam between the two. Nothing bad but it def has surface rust.

is this a good course of action? it looks like the welds in the door jam may be problematic to remove without damaging either side of the tub. If i do split them id plan on making them bolt together similar to the aluminum tubs.

Has anyone done this without replacing the rear tub?

 

[White Stripe]

It's tough to split the tub clean. The floor welds are very stubborn. Once its split, the rear tub is pretty flimsy. I would first setup some good bracing that keeps the rear tub from flexing or warping. Especially doing panel replacement the rear tub will want to warp. The underside floor supports will likely have rust in between spot welds. May need to separate, clean rust, and weld back in. Dont forget to coat enclosed channels with something as well as coat seams b4 welding up.

 

[Downey]

Eric, I just looked at this thread today, and I noticed a couple concerns (perhaps not a problem at all though).
1. Concerned about your rear end pinion bearings getting enough oil due to steep angle???
2. Concerned about your rear traction bar ripping out it's front crossmember, especially considering the tall mount/moment arm the front heim joint is mounted on ???

 

[Eric H]

It's tough to split the tub clean. The floor welds are very stubborn. Once its split, the rear tub is pretty flimsy. I would first setup some good bracing that keeps the rear tub from flexing or warping. Especially doing panel replacement the rear tub will want to warp. The underside floor supports will likely have rust in between spot welds. May need to separate, clean rust, and weld back in. Dont forget to coat enclosed channels with something as well as coat seams b4 welding up.

So would you recomend splitting it? Or leave it together and sealing the seams?

Eric, I just looked at this thread today, and I noticed a couple concerns (perhaps not a problem at all though).
1. Concerned about your rear end pinion bearings getting enough oil due to steep angle???
2. Concerned about your rear traction bar ripping out it's front crossmember, especially considering the tall mount/moment arm the front heim joint is mounted on ???

The pinion angle may have an oiling issue. Thats a good point. I imagine at a high rate of speed oil will be flying everywhere, but slow speeds it could be an issue. It is adjusted that way to help with my short driveline and ujoint angles. I suppose i will see how it goes.

As far as the track bar, the pictures may be misleading there is a bushing close to the crosmember and a shackle from there to the heim.

Ive set some up like this before, allows for movement while suspension is articulating. Altho ive never put one on anything with close to as much horsepower. Hopefully it holds up.