I can see lots of light at the end of the tunnel.
Builds Doc's 1978 FJ40 Rebuild (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter TractorDoc
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
- Thread starter
- #342
That light is definitely getting brighter as each week goes by. I hate seeing the 40 sit all by itself in the shop when we are doing other things around the farm but you have to make hay when the sun shines, right? Speaking of which, Dad and I were out until 10pm last night loading the last bales on the wagon to try and get everything in before today's rain showers. He may had been a little excited on the drive back as these two bales bounced off along the way -- a little rain will not hurt a round bale too badly and he will just use these first before the 30 or so others that made it into the barn.
Not sure how ominous the sky looks in the picture but we had several periods of heavy downpours today.
During one of those showers I reassembled and installed the carburetor cooling fan -- Id advise installing before the fender, brake lines, etc. to make life easier but it just barely squeaked in place.
I also took a minute to take a couple pictures of the products that will be used to prep/prime the tub. Ive used various types of body filler over the years; fiberglass most commonly. My grandpa Joe showed my how to work with lead (the way he used to do it in his body shop days) and we still have a lot of lead bars/shaping spoons/etc. stashed around the place. As Ive mentioned previously I went with USC's All Metal Filler for the 40. It has Aluminum incorporated into the filler; it goes on smooth, sands easy enough, and seems like it will be more durable than fiberglass would be -- but what do I know. If nothing else aluminum filler for an aluminum tub, right?
To flatten everything out I take a piece of 80 grit and wrap it around a foam sanding block to try and achieve a flat surface. My initial application has been sanded down and I applied some secondary touch ups today.
For primers my paint mentor recommended I use a two component acid etch primer to "bite" the aluminum. He said an epoxy primer also has an acid component to etch but the metal etch primer would provide a better foundation. I like the name of the product: Viper Grip II. I am not sure what kind of grip a viper has (Constrictor grip didnt sound as cool?) but at least its Viper Grip II vs. Viper Grip I.
On top of the etch primer goes the urethane primer. I was able to get a high build formula to save me the extra step of having to spray an extra build primer over the body panels.
A word of caution to those taking on their own painting -- First, I am no expert. I am using the guidance of others (as usual) to help me along the way. It is possible I may not repeat their guidance exactly as it was given to me so do not use my approach as any sort of standard. Second, many of the products I am using have some nasty stuff in the activator components (isocyanates) and can make the user very sick if proper safety practices are not used. One of the reasons I spray outside is for good ventilation. Covering exposed skin, eyes, etc. is good practice. Most importantly a respirator rated for such paint or better yet a self contained breathing hood are essential. No sense in having a nice finish on your vehicle if you are too sick to enjoy it.
The picture also shows the Defender Pro (another USC product) that I chose to use on the floor. I like the fact that it is an epoxy and I am able to paint it should I not like the black color (even though I think I will).
Another time consuming activity this past week involved my accumulations of 40 parts and was somewhat bittersweet. I am getting closer to the end of the 40 tunnel in terms of having my current project running, driving, and suitable to bounce up to the local Dairy Queen. I know I still have a lot of work in front of me when it comes to the doors, hood, and hardtop restoration. In fact the hardtop may be something that gets tackled over winter 2017-2018. I had several large extra pieces (including an entire truck) outside protected as best I was able, but I knew the weather was going to have its way and cause deterioration to good workable parts. I half heartedly put my collection of extra stuff up for sale and within a couple days I had people fighting over the rights to haul it all home. I lost a little money on the lot but priced it high enough that I was surprised by the number of inquiries. Of course I have the dream of fixing up a second 40 in the future but I need to focus on my current build and give the other pieces a chance to live again. I loaded everything I could up for a father/son team that drove over from Pennsylvania; they actually have to come back to get what did not fit on this first load!
The back of their truck was filled to the top with all the extra parts I hope I no longer need. Picture is a little rough because I took it with my flip phone. I hope they will give new life to the '75 and I will feel better knowing it is not slowly rusting away in my possession.
Now that Ive wiped the tear from my eye for parts that I can no longer call my own the focus is back on the task at hand. More sanding this week and should have a picture of the tub off the frame/upside down soon. That will also be a good time to finish up the rear wiring connections and weld in a couple exhaust hanging brackets -- something else I realized I was lacking. The 40 tunnel is getting shorter but the to do list is not. . . every time I cross something off I tend to add something else on!
- Thread starter
- #343
The tub was lifted off the frame this week and flipped belly up to deal with the PO's mystery paint/coating. I set the tub on the same two wheel garden cart that was used to move the frame around back in the days of drive train refurbishment -- works great!.
Given how easily the black paint was removed with the scraper I doubt any prep work was done to the aluminum before it was applied. I decided it was best to remove as much of it as possible before applying the etch primer.
I employed the wire wheel to do most of the removal. It was not a difficult job but very messy. Combine that with the dangers that come with the wire wheel reaching the end of its life (next picture) puts it on a list of things Id rather not do again. Glad I had the thicker pants on!
Today I was able to get the aluminum bits outside and prepped. I had a rather late start -- the plan was to start early but after helping out at the office, helping a buddy get his lawnmower started, helping dad getting a new calf up and going, and visiting with the nephews who stopped out at the farm for father's day painting time was cut short.
That did not stop me from getting the etch primer sprayed though. Originally my plan was to only work on the underside -- etch, urethane, USC Defender in the fender wells, then blue. The etch primer dried quickly enough in the days heat though that I decided to give the tub a flip and finish off the can.
I did follow with a couple quick coats of the urethane primer on the outside. I will give that a quick sand tomorrow to see if there are any major areas that need attention/filler. If tomorrow's weather cooperates Id like to get the Defender and blue sprayed on the bottom. . . unless I decide to spray the Defender on the tub floor at the same time/before the bottom blue. . . decisions, decisions. I am sure I will commit to something tonight only to do something different tomorrow -- either way I let you know how it turns out!
Given how easily the black paint was removed with the scraper I doubt any prep work was done to the aluminum before it was applied. I decided it was best to remove as much of it as possible before applying the etch primer.
I employed the wire wheel to do most of the removal. It was not a difficult job but very messy. Combine that with the dangers that come with the wire wheel reaching the end of its life (next picture) puts it on a list of things Id rather not do again. Glad I had the thicker pants on!
Today I was able to get the aluminum bits outside and prepped. I had a rather late start -- the plan was to start early but after helping out at the office, helping a buddy get his lawnmower started, helping dad getting a new calf up and going, and visiting with the nephews who stopped out at the farm for father's day painting time was cut short.
That did not stop me from getting the etch primer sprayed though. Originally my plan was to only work on the underside -- etch, urethane, USC Defender in the fender wells, then blue. The etch primer dried quickly enough in the days heat though that I decided to give the tub a flip and finish off the can.
I did follow with a couple quick coats of the urethane primer on the outside. I will give that a quick sand tomorrow to see if there are any major areas that need attention/filler. If tomorrow's weather cooperates Id like to get the Defender and blue sprayed on the bottom. . . unless I decide to spray the Defender on the tub floor at the same time/before the bottom blue. . . decisions, decisions. I am sure I will commit to something tonight only to do something different tomorrow -- either way I let you know how it turns out!
- Thread starter
- #344
A quick follow up to yesterday's post.
I decided to focus on the underside of the tub today. I started by knocking down the rough areas of yesterday's primer with some 220 grit and sprayed the bottom of the tub/trans cover with a couple coats of sealer primer.
The sealer has a working window of 12 hours -- one of the reasons I decided to focus on the bottom only. The next step was to spray the Defender bedliner to the fender wells. The kit provided four bottles of liner and four bottles of activator resin -- I only needed one set to cover the desired areas plus some.
I had to wait two hours after the bed liner application (per the directions) before I could topcoat with color so I spent some time helping dad clean up and put away the hay equipment. Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there!
After those couple hours I had to rush to get the color coat on as the skies were clouding up and rain was imminent. The garden cart came in very handy as I had to roll the body back into the shop several times to avoid a potential shower. I wanted the job done today though to take advantage of my sealer/bed liner paint windows without needing to rough surfaces up again. I was able to get three coats of blue on the bottom with barely enough time to roll the tub back into the shop before a downpour started -- hence the indoor picture.
I break it down as being 1/3 done -- (1/3 for the interior and 1/3 for the exterior). I need to look into acquiring a better water/oil filter combo for my compressor as the high humidity is testing the limits of my current setup. Not such a big deal on the bottom or when covering the bed liner, but I will have much higher standards for areas with greater visibility. Looking forward to having the tub right side up for the final time later this week. . . next step is lining/painting the inside.
I decided to focus on the underside of the tub today. I started by knocking down the rough areas of yesterday's primer with some 220 grit and sprayed the bottom of the tub/trans cover with a couple coats of sealer primer.
The sealer has a working window of 12 hours -- one of the reasons I decided to focus on the bottom only. The next step was to spray the Defender bedliner to the fender wells. The kit provided four bottles of liner and four bottles of activator resin -- I only needed one set to cover the desired areas plus some.
I had to wait two hours after the bed liner application (per the directions) before I could topcoat with color so I spent some time helping dad clean up and put away the hay equipment. Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there!
After those couple hours I had to rush to get the color coat on as the skies were clouding up and rain was imminent. The garden cart came in very handy as I had to roll the body back into the shop several times to avoid a potential shower. I wanted the job done today though to take advantage of my sealer/bed liner paint windows without needing to rough surfaces up again. I was able to get three coats of blue on the bottom with barely enough time to roll the tub back into the shop before a downpour started -- hence the indoor picture.
I break it down as being 1/3 done -- (1/3 for the interior and 1/3 for the exterior). I need to look into acquiring a better water/oil filter combo for my compressor as the high humidity is testing the limits of my current setup. Not such a big deal on the bottom or when covering the bed liner, but I will have much higher standards for areas with greater visibility. Looking forward to having the tub right side up for the final time later this week. . . next step is lining/painting the inside.
Painting outside just after a rain poor is the best timing, no dust just a little humidity.
Looking good doc.
Looking good doc.
- Thread starter
- #347
Thanks Jesse.
I'm sure we will get there one day this year -- I just hope the weather will still be warm enough by then to enjoy an ice cream cone! Dad keeps telling me I need to hurry up and have the 40 ready for our town's annual car show -- its really a nice event that shuts down the main streets and lines them up with cars/trucks of all shapes and sizes. It happens mid July and its a nice target idea but a little more optimistic than I am willing to aim for. He must think I can stop the passage of time because his next sentence is usually "Come help me with (put project of your choice here)" and next thing you know the several hours I had to work in the shop turn into minutes.
Don't you know it Michael!
Yesterday and today have been perfect days for painting. Very frustrating when I am inside looking out a window. I have not yet figured out how to convince Mother Nature to coordinate perfect weather on the days I have available to paint. . . at this point I do not think constructing an indoor paint booth is worth the investment based on how often I take on these sort of projects. I have painted indoors in the past and even with a HVLP setup/exhaust fan/etc. overspray still finds a way to cover most exposed surfaces; in this situation it was not worth getting blue speckles all over the other treasures contained within the shop. I remember the green floor (from painting the JD Green Tractors) in the garage of my first house and wonder if the next owner ever did anything about it after I had sold it/moved back closer to home.
The outdoors have been good to me on this project for the most part -- hopefully that trend continues. Plan on flipping the tub later today and starting to prep for bed liner on the floor. The more I look at the liner painted blue on the under side the more I think I might look good painted blue on the inside. . .
I like the tubs that only use bedliner on the front and rear floors, not the complete inside. It looks like a mat if you leave it black or gray.
- Thread starter
- #349
All taped up and nowhere to spray. . .
Mother Nature wins again today (its raining outside in case the picture does not do the precipitation justice).
That was my thought as well Michael. I have backed away from the idea of painting the floor blue and will go with the original plan of leaving it black. Should be a nice contrast with blue interior walls. I do think I will paint the transmission cover blue after the liner is applied though. . .
Indoor time was spent drilling a few more holes in the tub for the fuel door and stopper/lock catch. I had somehow forgotten about those pieces until now (probably because I just found them in a box) and they will need to be mounted before the interior cover can be installed. I also worked on rear harness wiring. Not the best picture but the tail lights and reverse lights are functional.
I also finished putting the pieces of the interior heater unit back together after painting everything awhile back. I had delayed reassembly because the paint retained a tackiness on the plastic for days after even though it was designed for plastic. I had left a big thumbprint on the top of the upper cover (will be out of sight under the dash). . . wonder if I should put my initials by it?
Hmmm. . . I see the slots of one of the screws are not perfectly horizontal/vertical. Will have to do something about that. . .
A lot of this week's free time was spent moving things from one building on the farm to the shop. Without getting into boring details Ill mention that before the farm was purchased it was a church camp. Poor management resulted in financial troubles for the camp prompting the sale of the property to Mom/Dad. We converted the large building that was used as the church into indoor storage for the bigger toys. Every now and again the building gets used for a wedding, our church picnic in the fall, or other community event and we have to move everything out for a day or two. The FJ40 has another 40 for a neighbor for a little while. . . although a completely different species.
Perhaps the sun will come out tomorrow. . .
If it does I hope to be spraying some bed liner!
Mother Nature wins again today (its raining outside in case the picture does not do the precipitation justice).
That was my thought as well Michael. I have backed away from the idea of painting the floor blue and will go with the original plan of leaving it black. Should be a nice contrast with blue interior walls. I do think I will paint the transmission cover blue after the liner is applied though. . .
Indoor time was spent drilling a few more holes in the tub for the fuel door and stopper/lock catch. I had somehow forgotten about those pieces until now (probably because I just found them in a box) and they will need to be mounted before the interior cover can be installed. I also worked on rear harness wiring. Not the best picture but the tail lights and reverse lights are functional.
I also finished putting the pieces of the interior heater unit back together after painting everything awhile back. I had delayed reassembly because the paint retained a tackiness on the plastic for days after even though it was designed for plastic. I had left a big thumbprint on the top of the upper cover (will be out of sight under the dash). . . wonder if I should put my initials by it?
Hmmm. . . I see the slots of one of the screws are not perfectly horizontal/vertical. Will have to do something about that. . .
A lot of this week's free time was spent moving things from one building on the farm to the shop. Without getting into boring details Ill mention that before the farm was purchased it was a church camp. Poor management resulted in financial troubles for the camp prompting the sale of the property to Mom/Dad. We converted the large building that was used as the church into indoor storage for the bigger toys. Every now and again the building gets used for a wedding, our church picnic in the fall, or other community event and we have to move everything out for a day or two. The FJ40 has another 40 for a neighbor for a little while. . . although a completely different species.
Perhaps the sun will come out tomorrow. . .
If it does I hope to be spraying some bed liner!
Heater looks awesome! What about applying bed liner to the sides of the trans tunnel in black but just painting the top of it and not applying bedliner to the top of the tunnel? The sides will likely get a lot of foot scuffs but probably not the top of it. Just throwing ideas out their.
No need to. FBI will have no trouble finding you.
DSB345
SILVER Star
Everything looks great! Thumb print? That's unacceptable 
DSB345
SILVER Star
That John Deer looks nice
That color blue always makes me feel happy; especially on a 40 series. First time I've seen an alloy tub.
- Thread starter
- #355
Well, I made things a little easier for the FBI. Figured they were going to find me anyway so I might as well take credit for my work!
Thanks Dave! While Ive enjoyed my time restoring the tractors I wanted to bring something back to life that I could take out on the road without needing an orange triangle on the back. Hope to have the 40 there someday. . .
Thanks Stripe. I may steal part of your idea. . . I agree the sides of the trans cover are likely to see more action than the top. I like the part about keeping the sides black and may give that a try -- it may be easier to touch up the occasional wear point (like near the gas pedal). I will (and did) cover the top with liner for uniformity/tying in with the floor.
In fact, the sun did come out today and after my morning appointments at the office I rolled the tub/trans cover out for liner application.
The liner had not dried enough today to tape it off to paint the blue on the interior today. . . so the interior (1/3 of the tub) is 1/2 done and when combined with the finished 1/3 underside that puts me at halfway done on the entire tub. Not the most logical thought process but I find if I can break the project down into little projects and cross them off one at at time I stay motivated.
As of now I think the floor looks great. The Mrs. has a to do list that needs attention tomorrow so my time in the shop will be limited. I have a 48 hour window to paint the top of the transmission cover before needing to sand it; hopefully I can cross the little projects off her list one by one and still have some time to apply some color.
I feel the same way. . . to my eye it just looks right on a 40!
As if I did not have enough to do on the 40. . .
I have been on the waiting list of a local Amish crew to do some work to the big bank barn over at my house. . .
Amish Dan called me in the middle of applying bed liner today to say I was now at the top of the list. The current plan is to pull the wood siding off and recover in steel. The siding is bringing a good price from cabinet makers right now and it has seen its better days when it comes to protecting the interior from the weather.
Hopefully it will not be too much of a distraction when it comes to 40 completion but it will be nice to finally have the barn looking sharp and eligible for more secure storage.
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #356
Mrs. TractorDoc's To Do list this weekend varied from the typical list of tasks she usually gives me. Yesterday she wanted to start out with brunch and follow that with a bicycle ride thru the Cuyahoga Valley National Park on the Towpath Trail. This was a much better agenda than painting porch posts or installing a paver path to the front steps (items on the real to do list) so I was a willing participant even though I have not ridden a bicycle in over a year. Brunch started out at the Mustard Seed Cafe -- normally I would not admit going to a place frequented by granola crunchers and hippster types but the buffet was excellent and Id highly recommend it to any one in the area (Montrose, OH). Weather was perfect for a bike ride; you can ride a distance of your choosing one way and the park offers train rides for you and your bike back to certain station parking areas. I like trains and have always been fascinated by them. The standard people/bike hauling train is powered by a diesel electric locomotive like you would see on most modern railways. A couple times a year they bring in a Steam Locomotive though and offer rides thru the park on it. I was lucky enough one year (2014) to be biking down the path when the steam train chugged along. . . had enough time to take this picture:
I thought we'd be gone most of the day but were back home by 6 pm. Thinking I had enough time to paint the transmission cover I was over at the shop as soon as the bikes were unloaded. I had the cover masked off and sprayed in no time. I am not yet sold on the two tone look but I think I need to see it with everything in place before making a change.
At this point it was 7ish. The weather was perfect. . . no humidity, no wind, no bugs. I pushed forward with masking off the tub floor and had a quick coat of sealer then color on the tub interior.
And in case you could not tell from the previous picture I went all in and did the same for the outside. I did not want to go thru the process of masking everything off again and I cannot remember painting conditions being better.
I actually took these pictures over my lunch break today -- did not think Id get this involved so I left the camera at home yesterday. It was better that I focused on the job anyhow as I was losing daylight quickly toward the end -- the Mrs. had long been asleep by the time I made it home after cleanup.
Is the paint job perfect? No. As much as I tried to eliminate the weld seams from view on the outside they still show up in the right light. It has some orange peel but I will try to sand and buff that out as much as possible. Yes, I painted the door catches but they are set in the perfect spot right now and were covered in paint by the PO anyway.
My coverage was good and my lines are sharp between the floor/sidewalls. I am happy. As long as I do not sand thru the color during paint correction I will be ecstatic. Had to order a tube of Sikaflex 291 sealant to be used where the cowl and tub meet -- seems the PO forgot to include it or perhaps that is what he used to modify and bond the rear sill. All in all a good full day. . . sooner or later I need to learn how to relax and not burn the candle from both ends; just difficult to justify when I can get this kind of result!
I thought we'd be gone most of the day but were back home by 6 pm. Thinking I had enough time to paint the transmission cover I was over at the shop as soon as the bikes were unloaded. I had the cover masked off and sprayed in no time. I am not yet sold on the two tone look but I think I need to see it with everything in place before making a change.
At this point it was 7ish. The weather was perfect. . . no humidity, no wind, no bugs. I pushed forward with masking off the tub floor and had a quick coat of sealer then color on the tub interior.
And in case you could not tell from the previous picture I went all in and did the same for the outside. I did not want to go thru the process of masking everything off again and I cannot remember painting conditions being better.
I actually took these pictures over my lunch break today -- did not think Id get this involved so I left the camera at home yesterday. It was better that I focused on the job anyhow as I was losing daylight quickly toward the end -- the Mrs. had long been asleep by the time I made it home after cleanup.
Is the paint job perfect? No. As much as I tried to eliminate the weld seams from view on the outside they still show up in the right light. It has some orange peel but I will try to sand and buff that out as much as possible. Yes, I painted the door catches but they are set in the perfect spot right now and were covered in paint by the PO anyway.
My coverage was good and my lines are sharp between the floor/sidewalls. I am happy. As long as I do not sand thru the color during paint correction I will be ecstatic. Had to order a tube of Sikaflex 291 sealant to be used where the cowl and tub meet -- seems the PO forgot to include it or perhaps that is what he used to modify and bond the rear sill. All in all a good full day. . . sooner or later I need to learn how to relax and not burn the candle from both ends; just difficult to justify when I can get this kind of result!
I'm mixed on the two-tone hump too - but, you will be much less likely to mar it, with the dark sides.
Of course, you will probably have it covered with a full mat anyway...
Regardless, you are doing great work!!
Of course, you will probably have it covered with a full mat anyway...
Regardless, you are doing great work!!
hmmm. you had me till you went to the dark side
What if you did the firewall up to where it goes to 90 degrees in black as well? The angled part behind the pedals. Im having a tough time picturing what it will look like in my head when its all assembled.
Whats the dark side???
