Duffontap's 9/76 FJ40: From Here to Daily Driver in Two Weeks?

[duffontap]

Duffontap's 9/76 FJ40: From Here to Daily Driver in Two Years?

Pic taken ten minutes ago:


Well, it's worth a try.

The disassembly is the hardest part right? Now all I have to do is weld the tub up and paint it.

Joking aside, I'm hoping to have everything but the top and doors back on the road in about two weeks. Failure is an option.

Edit at 2 weeks 6 days: 'Failure was inevitable.' At any rate, this is a high speed refresh. Enjoy.

Edit at three months: Changed the title to save face. Ha, ha. Went a different direction with this build including pulling the tub off, sandblasting, swapping the engine, etc.

 

[Rock Island]

Good luck, can't wait to see how it goes!

When you spin that wheel on the shifter what happens? The booster rockets engage?

 

[thecrazygreek]

When you spin that wheel on the shifter what happens? The booster rockets engage?

LOL!!!!

 

[duffontap]

When you spin that wheel on the shifter what happens? The booster rockets engage?

I'll ask my 3-year-old boy what that does. He put that there and said, 'I fixed it.'

 

[matchan420]

Ambitious, exciting!

 

[Dirt Bomb]

nice air conditioning.

 

[duffontap]

nice air conditioning.

Yeah, this AC isn't even street legal.


Well, off to a good start:





The rear sill and cargo floor are in! I got the rear sill used, but I think it's CCOT. I fabricated the cargo floor; you can read about that here:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-seri...ters-if-fabricator-can-do-how-hard-can-2.html

Well, there's more to do.

 

[duffontap]

Fitment

Finished the day off fiddling with fitment issues between the top rails, wheel wells, corner channels and inner rear sill. It's starting to line up. The primer is Masterseries Mastercoat Silver; interesting stuff.

http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q35/duffontap/fitment.jpg

 

[duffontap]

Fiddle, fiddle, fiddle . . .

Well, I'm not sure where I would have to be in order to be 'on schedule,' but things are moving along. Yesterday I got a couple hours of fitment/fiddling in after church and then spent the rest of the day out hiking with the fam.

Today I got a few very productive hours in after work and before milking the goats, etc. The quarters are tacked in now and they lined up nicely. They're my first attempt at fabrication and you can read about that process in the thread linked above.



I was extremely careful to get the metal flush-flush-flush on the outside. It was slow around the rear corner radius.



It's so gratifying to see this straight panel after living with what it's replacing for a couple years.



I'm forced (economically) to do my welding with flux core wire. Thank goodness it's 16 gauge!



I'm hoping to have the welding and grinding on the 1/2 tub portion by Wednesday. Still hoping to have it on the road the Saturday after next. Very Best, JD

 

[FJsnoozer]

subscribed!

are you going grey or black with those stock wheels in the background?

 

[duffontap]

subscribed!

are you going grey or black with those stock wheels in the background?

Good question. The truck is getting its stock color--653--so I think dark gray would look best. Thoughts welcome.

 

[thecrazygreek]

Those welds are sick for flux core. I see no splatter. What welder are you using??

 

[mydogpea]

Very nice work Josh! From making your own jig to make the bends to fitment and welding it up...VERY NICE WORK!!!
It's gonna be purdy!

 

[duffontap]

Those welds are sick for flux core. I see no splatter. What welder are you using??

Thank you; they are much improved. The welds in the pics have been lightly wire brushed, but there is some slag and splatter before cleaning of course. I'm using an older Napa 135 set up with reversed polarity and Lincoln Innershield .030 NR211 wire. My welder is set up for gas, but I'm just not at a place to buy into the bottle exchange right now.

I'll admit that my abilities and standards are much lower than others here, but I do think this is a reasonable system for the 16-18 gauge joints I'm doing.

 

[duffontap]

Very nice work Josh! From making your own jig to make the bends to fitment and welding it up...VERY NICE WORK!!!
It's gonna be purdy!

Thanks Stephen! As you know from seeing my truck clunking up and down 101--it can't get any worse than it was!

 

[mydogpea]

When it's ready for paint, Are you going with a single or 2 stage paint? I going with single on mine because I like the way it gives it a semi-aged look.

 

[duffontap]

When it's ready for paint, Are you going with a single or 2 stage paint? I going with single on mine because I like the way it gives it a semi-aged look.

That is the question. Acrylic enamel looks more authentic and my body work NEEDS orange peel. Also, my wife has forbidden me from destroying the '40's utilitarian charm with a high gloss finish. On the other hand, bc/cc system would be the ticket for a DD on the coast. Kerry at Napa says there's no comparison in terms of durability. If I could get orange peel and medium gloss with a bc/cc system, that would be my choice. Still going

 

[skully3]

subscribed....been waiting for this.

 

[mydogpea]

You'll want to talk to Ron. He's the paint guru there. I think he's off on Tuesday's and Wednesday's.

 

[FJsnoozer]

You can use a matte clear coat.