This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
- Thread starter
- #2
I will try to put up some pictures often. If you need to see any specific details please let me know. Tim
What gauge steel are these?
- Thread starter
- #4
The same as the OEM. I believe the stock one was gauge 19.
- Thread starter
- #5
I’m
- Thread starter
- #6
tlaporte
SILVER Star
I love what I’m seeing in your threads. I think it would be a nice gesture if you became a Supporting Vendor on the forum.
Others can summarize the benefits better than I.
Others can summarize the benefits better than I.
wimberosa
SILVER Star
I have this feeling you're going to get more traction with your body tubs and complete assemblies. PARTICULARLY if you can deliver them in
a timely manner. We are constantly getting new fj40 converts that want to take some of the vagaries out of removing rust and full or
near complete assemblies might be the answer. You've got some good looking product in that area.
I am less sure about individual patch panels. The fitment on those can be somewhat finicky and we've come to
expect a stronger gauge (16 gauge) in those panels. In general 16 gauge for everything may have been the way to go from the start but
retooling for that at this point might be a non-starter.
Clearly you've spent a lot of time, effort and money on jump starting this effort and I certainly applaud it.
a timely manner. We are constantly getting new fj40 converts that want to take some of the vagaries out of removing rust and full or
near complete assemblies might be the answer. You've got some good looking product in that area.
I am less sure about individual patch panels. The fitment on those can be somewhat finicky and we've come to
expect a stronger gauge (16 gauge) in those panels. In general 16 gauge for everything may have been the way to go from the start but
retooling for that at this point might be a non-starter.
Clearly you've spent a lot of time, effort and money on jump starting this effort and I certainly applaud it.
JohnnyC
Long ago TLCA# 2231
@topnault
You may want to consider the fj55 as part of your body offerings … and fenders … patch panels … tailgate
There are absolutely no body tubs for 55 series guys except for patch panel repairs
You can start up a thread in the pig society section here on mud:
forum.ih8mud.com
In the past we used to supply a part for copy and then you would get a new part as a “thank you” …but then you would have your pattern to mass produce and profit from
Same could be said for any of the cruiser parts that are in need … there are a LOT of members that most likely would
We did (a few mud guys) get kinda screwed over sending a part … never getting original back … not getting anything in return but frustration… hope that wouldn’t happen here
Just thinking out loud
You may want to consider the fj55 as part of your body offerings … and fenders … patch panels … tailgate
There are absolutely no body tubs for 55 series guys except for patch panel repairs
You can start up a thread in the pig society section here on mud:
FJ55 Iron Pig Preservation Society
Home for the "Knights" to discuss restoration items unique to the FJ55 Series wagons.
forum.ih8mud.com
In the past we used to supply a part for copy and then you would get a new part as a “thank you” …but then you would have your pattern to mass produce and profit from
Same could be said for any of the cruiser parts that are in need … there are a LOT of members that most likely would
We did (a few mud guys) get kinda screwed over sending a part … never getting original back … not getting anything in return but frustration… hope that wouldn’t happen here
Just thinking out loud
JohnnyC
Long ago TLCA# 2231
Oh and don’t bite off more than your guys can chew … that has been the downfall of many mudder and businesses before
Your less likely to have issues the more your upfront and honest about the product … we are a very tight knit group and word travels VERY fast you don’t want to be the next mushro
I wouldn’t even capitalize his name as the reputation is that bad
Your less likely to have issues the more your upfront and honest about the product … we are a very tight knit group and word travels VERY fast you don’t want to be the next mushro
I wouldn’t even capitalize his name as the reputation is that bad
- Thread starter
- #11
I already got in touch with Woody. Will do
- Thread starter
- #12
On the contrary, using thicker metal is not that difficult since its just material change, and the dies and tooling should be able to handle it. However our goal is to revitalize the old FJs and replicate as much as possible the original, we are reluctant to change much unless there is enough requests for a certain parts. Thank you for your feedback and we will keep listening.
- Thread starter
- #13
Thank you for the suggestion and thank you for the reminder! Its a good idea to collect original parts this way, I never thought about it.@topnault
You may want to consider the fj55 as part of your body offerings … and fenders … patch panels … tailgate
There are absolutely no body tubs for 55 series guys except for patch panel repairs
You can start up a thread in the pig society section here on mud:
FJ55 Iron Pig Preservation Society
Home for the "Knights" to discuss restoration items unique to the FJ55 Series wagons.
In the past we used to supply a part for copy and then you would get a new part as a “thank you” …but then you would have your pattern to mass produce and profit from
Same could be said for any of the cruiser parts that are in need … there are a LOT of members that most likely would
We did (a few mud guys) get kinda screwed over sending a part … never getting original back … not getting anything in return but frustration… hope that wouldn’t happen here
Just thinking out loud
For FJ55, we did pay some attention to it. We know there are demand but don't know the scale. If I am correct, there were only 113,000 FJ55s were ever produced and only about 20-30% ever imported in US. Its not a simple decision but if we have one order of 50 or more on any level of parts, we will have no hesitation to jump in.
- Thread starter
- #14
What about Mushro? I don't know anything and would like to hear about.
JohnnyC
Long ago TLCA# 2231
On this forum and a few others his name is synonyms with swindler … miss-representing a product
Here’s just one of many threads on the guy:
Greg Mushro - Vintage Offroad
forum.ih8mud.com
mud is a world wide community… starting out as a USA only group but have expanded quickly (just as TLCA has) … when posting here your literally reaching every continent (maybe not Antarctica lol don’t know of any cruiser heads there)
Our Australian (Oz) brothers make up a large chunk of the 55 imports as well and land cruiser imports in general
Once a reputable brand you’ll have steady growth … world wide
wimberosa
SILVER Star
Just as a clarification here on perhaps why people have asked about gauge of material and why we often end up using 16 gauge on patches....
The reason for the patch in the first place is almost 100% because the area has rusted out. The 40 has lots of older design quirks that
allowed moisture to be trapped in areas. For instance the wheel wells (front and back) have ribs underneath that are excellent candidates
for trapping moisture...road salts...etc between the parts. Older 40s (pre late 70s) suffer from the same maladies but they had thicker gauge materials
and survived in better conditions (sometimes debatable
than the late 70s versions. The design issues for trapping moisture etc got compounded by the use of this thinner gauge material in the late 70s. I've heard the steel quality is also poorer ibut I
cannot judge that by visual inspection now.
So back to the patches.... Most of use are obviously not redesigning these structural areas of the 40 at this point when we go about fixing the rust.
So what do we do? We patch, use seam sealers, use specialized and more modern coatings and use thicker gauge materials in the areas. The thicker
gauge has thus become one of the weapons in helping protect against future rust.
Now...I'm probably not telling you anything you don't know. Material science has come a LONG way since the late 70s and you may be solving this
in other ways that we don't necessarily have available to us. I'm interested to know about your dipping processes, zinc coatings etc.
Just replicating a design from the 70s with all its quirks is sincerely laudable...and buys us another few decades....but if you want to catch the
attention of some mudders....design better integrity than the OEM and perhaps consider gauge as a factor.
- Thread starter
- #18
Just as a clarification here on perhaps why people have asked about gauge of material and why we often end up using 16 gauge on patches....
The reason for the patch in the first place is almost 100% because the area has rusted out. The 40 has lots of older design quirks that
allowed moisture to be trapped in areas. For instance the wheel wells (front and back) have ribs underneath that are excellent candidates
for trapping moisture...road salts...etc between the parts. Older 40s (pre late 70s) suffer from the same maladies but they had thicker gauge materials
and survived in better conditions (sometimes debatable
compounded by the use of this thinner gauge material in the late 70s. I've heard the steel quality is also poorer ibut I
cannot judge that by visual inspection now.
So back to the patches.... Most of use are obviously not redesigning these structural areas of the 40 at this point when we go about fixing the rust.
So what do we do? We patch, use seam sealers, use specialized and more modern coatings and use thicker gauge materials in the areas. The thicker
gauge has thus become one of the weapons in helping protect against future rust.
Now...I'm probably not telling you anything you don't know. Material science has come a LONG way since the late 70s and you may be solving this
in other ways that we don't necessarily have available to us. I'm interested to know about your dipping processes, zinc coatings etc.
Just replicating a design from the 70s with all its quirks is sincerely laudable...and buys us another few decades....but if you want to catch the
attention of some mudders....design better integrity than the OEM and perhaps consider gauge as a factor.
Just as a clarification here on perhaps why people have asked about gauge of material and why we often end up using 16 gauge on patches....
The reason for the patch in the first place is almost 100% because the area has rusted out. The 40 has lots of older design quirks that
allowed moisture to be trapped in areas. For instance the wheel wells (front and back) have ribs underneath that are excellent candidates
for trapping moisture...road salts...etc between the parts. Older 40s (pre late 70s) suffer from the same maladies but they had thicker gauge materials
and survived in better conditions (sometimes debatable
compounded by the use of this thinner gauge material in the late 70s. I've heard the steel quality is also poorer ibut I
cannot judge that by visual inspection now.
So back to the patches.... Most of use are obviously not redesigning these structural areas of the 40 at this point when we go about fixing the rust.
So what do we do? We patch, use seam sealers, use specialized and more modern coatings and use thicker gauge materials in the areas. The thicker
gauge has thus become one of the weapons in helping protect against future rust.
Now...I'm probably not telling you anything you don't know. Material science has come a LONG way since the late 70s and you may be solving this
in other ways that we don't necessarily have available to us. I'm interested to know about your dipping processes, zinc coatings etc.
Just replicating a design from the 70s with all its quirks is sincerely laudable...and buys us another few decades....but if you want to catch the
attention of some mudders....design better integrity than the OEM and perhaps consider gauge as a factor.
Thank you for clarification. We definitely can bring in some patching parts with thicker gauges to let you guys try. Any way you can help to list out those you believe need thicker gauge the most?
We are not using zinc coating due to the poisoning vapor it produces during laser trimming and welding. The labor protection and environment protection regulation is harsh there and we can not afford production being halted. The e-coating process is the exact same process for all the car industry today. After the body is welded, the whole cab is submerged and electrically charged then the paint elements are absorbed to the metal material by electricity, thus form a complete coverage to protect from moisture. Here is one of the articles on e-coating: E-coating — Hartford Finishing, Inc. - http://www.hartfordfinishing.com/e-coating#:~:text=Electro%20coating%20applications%20use%20paint,film%20over%20the%20entire%20surface.
Lola333
SILVER Star
wimberosa
SILVER Star
In regard to "what patches should be 16 gauge?" Who is your favorite child?
As previously mentioned. You have access to tech that we don't necessarily have. After having read the e-coating article you posted....I am inclined to think that this could indeed produce a product with better integrity. Is it sufficient? I suppose only time will tell.
Many thanks for the e-coating pointer.
As previously mentioned. You have access to tech that we don't necessarily have. After having read the e-coating article you posted....I am inclined to think that this could indeed produce a product with better integrity. Is it sufficient? I suppose only time will tell.
Many thanks for the e-coating pointer.
