Dora the 1977 FJ40 Buildup (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Joined
May 31, 2011
Threads
10
Messages
188
Location
Darwin, Australia
Buildup

Dear All,
Last week I picked up my new trusty steed (get rid of the first "t" in trusty and you get...).
 
Last edited:
Meanwhile, it was time to explore what lies below the little bits of spot rust I found.:doh:

What I found was a good few millimetres of bog covering some very dodgy metal work. But hey, at least there is still metalwork! Got out the chisel and hammer and got the bog out of the way.
 
Meanwhile, it was time to explore what lies below the little bits of spot rust I found.:doh:

What I found was a good few millimetres of bog covering some very dodgy metal work. But hey, at least there is still metalwork! Got out the chisel and hammer and got the bog out of the way.

Looks like fun to me!!! I never knew that about old window tint... Thanks for sharing the info. Best site ever for info. I am in the Philippines and some how I have the Aussie Fj40 owners site on my FaceBook lol. Cool pics on there. Oh I have posted on there before too about parts. And welcome to MUD it is an addiction!

Have a blast or maybe a sand blast mate lol:cheers:
 
Rust below the filler, and black rust that I hit with converter just because I had some handy. It will all be cut out soon:
 
Last edited:
It looks like there's some dodgy old home-welding hidden below the rust. That needs to be fixed because the rust is attacking the welded section. It looks like the car has been dinged up badly on both sides and repaired a long time ago with body filler.

I am guessing the original colour was the "spring green" that is inside the car, not the darker green on the outside.

I'm freaking out a little bit :crybaby: but thanks to your great forum here I am inspired to give this my best shot.
 
Last edited:
ps. Thanks Rooboos! I'm very happy to be welcomed onto such a knowledgeable site!

You are quite welcome. I had some rust in my rig on the kick vent passenger side. I had to cut it out and weld a new piece in and fab the vent hole. That was fun lol. I also have the corner inside the top eaten away. I have to find a good tin smith here to make me a new gutter, I have several in mind that come highly recommended by the 4x4 community here as well. Lots of work but makes a guy feel good in te end. Over all my floor pans are in great shape considering where I am. Biggest problem I have encountered is the gutter channel, and the door bottoms and the kick vent at the cowl.
 
I feel your rusty pain Rooboos. I found a whole new panel full of body filler with rusty bits below it this afternoon. Looks like there will be some metal fabrication involved in my on-frame rebuild, but it's less work in the long run than patching bits here and there! Some of the body filler I am removing is 1cm thick, good grief!!
 
I feel your rusty pain Rooboos. I found a whole new panel full of body filler with rusty bits below it this afternoon. Looks like there will be some metal fabrication involved in my on-frame rebuild, but it's less work in the long run than patching bits here and there! Some of the body filler I am removing is 1cm thick, good grief!!

Wow 1cm.. Oh well but I know you will make it right. PO's can create a lot of work for us however if we sold ours the next owner would say the same I'm sure. BTW just call me Rob:cheers:
 
Hey sorry Rob, I've beer calling you the wrong bloody name, I should learn to read properly, even with my beer goggles on:beer: :whoops:

Yep, 1cm of filler over very dinged-up old panels. The damage matches on both sides. Looks like she might have rolled over once upon a time.


I'll take some pics sometime when I get home from work before dark! Short days here in Oz, being winter and all.
 
Last edited:
You are quite welcome. I had some rust in my rig on the kick vent passenger side. I had to cut it out and weld a new piece in and fab the vent hole. That was fun lol. I also have the corner inside the top eaten away. I have to find a good tin smith here to make me a new gutter, I have several in mind that come highly recommended by the 4x4 community here as well. Lots of work but makes a guy feel good in te end. Over all my floor pans are in great shape considering where I am. Biggest problem I have encountered is the gutter channel, and the door bottoms and the kick vent at the cowl.

I have a few FJ40 projects coming up, that are tempting me to take up MIG welding. Is this hard to do? The online videos make it look pretty reasonable. I don't need pretty welds, just strong and functional.

And I'm thinking, maybe MUCH later.. if I have rust to deal with, I can cut it out and weld? This is a dumb question, but what kind of metal do you use to repair panels? I'm assuming some kind of sheet metal? But thickness? I see terms like cold-rolled, or something like that. Anyways, sorry to hijack..

Welcome to Mud Gruntled!! At least your bezel is correct.. :flipoff2:
 
I have a few FJ40 projects coming up, that are tempting me to take up MIG welding. Is this hard to do? The online videos make it look pretty reasonable. I don't need pretty welds, just strong and functional.

And I'm thinking, maybe MUCH later.. if I have rust to deal with, I can cut it out and weld? This is a dumb question, but what kind of metal do you use to repair panels? I'm assuming some kind of sheet metal? But thickness? I see terms like cold-rolled, or something like that. Anyways, sorry to hijack..

Welcome to Mud Gruntled!! At least your bezel is correct.. ************

Welding is a simple process really, it is controlling your weld that gets tough at times. I started learning as a freshman in High School in Vacaville, Ca. in my Ag Mechanics class and worked at a pipe fitter blah blah blah. Anyway I weld mine with a stick welder and 2mm 6013 welding rods with no problems with warping or nothing. Others say it cannot be done but hmmmm. A wire welder however is the easiest and cleanest to use once you learn to control your wire speed and your amperage. Beware of the cheap wire welders that use flux cored wire. Flux core is ok in the right machine but Argon is the way to go depending how much money you wnt to put in welder nd how often you use it. Miller 180's are nice and easy to use. For now I would rent beg or borrow a welder from somewhere and get some scrap steel and go to town on it. Sheet metal? Some use 16 ga, some 18 up to 22 ga depending how stout you want. The higher the number the thinner the sheet metal. Personally I find used automotive parts to cut out of for small parts. Its thick, welds good etc. Others have a 100 different methods and it is to each his own. But I would be more than happy to answer any questions to the best of my ability and note, I am no expert ok? lol. Just PM here if you like. Nothing better than sharing knowledge without being a smart ass or being sarcastic and I am neither.

Rob:wrench:
 
Lots of work done today. I moved it to my neighbours garage to get out of the weather. Doors off, windows out here and there, lights out and getting ready for a respray in the near future. The original colour is "SPring Green" and I'll go back to that.

The rust isn't too bad now that the body filler and surface rust is out, but I'm astounded at how much body filler is in this thing :eek:. It seems like no matter where you grind there is at least a few mm of body filler! But it's almost gone...:cool: There are only a couple of spots to cut out and re-weld:
 
Last edited:
Notice that big dirty, ugly, messy weld line in the picture above. Some dodgy panel work there. It was very uneven but we've got it bashed bad into a straight panel thanks to my neighbour Rob (above) and his awesome skills. All that needs to be filled before priming now is the welded trench, and she will have straight panels again, but this time not hidden below filler on top of rust!
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the tip on the tint! Useful for a non-40 project.

That redbone alarm system looks cool too. How is he on pigs?
 
Thanks Rob and 3DogHouse. The "alarm system" is a big sissy :flamingo:, to be honest, and probably wouldn't know what to do with a pig ;)
 
Last edited:
Today was another exercise in removing panels and grinding out rust. But the best part is that we've now got her into construction phase, rather than deconstruction phase.
 
Last edited:
The last few days have seen new spring bushes (new springs to come eventually) and the last of the rust cut out. A little it of body filler was needed to cover over the weld lines from the PO and this will be sanded back to a minimum as I really want steel, not bog!
 
Last edited:
I should explain that the yellow stuff is spay putty with primer, the pink stuff is the filler and the reddish stuff is spot-putty that will be 95% sanded out. It's best to have a big smear that is sanded off to ensure a proper fill of any old paint dings and sanded-out surface rust. Or so I'm told :)
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom