Tube looks great!--but there are sure a lot of extra holes in it----maybe those are just spots?
Father Son 1977 Fj40 Resto
- Thread starter cahoove7
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
78fj40mg
TLCA #23510
They look like spot welds for the underside supporting brackets.
- Thread starter
- #23
Man-a-fre 4" lift w/shackle reversal; 350 sbc or Ls swap; 33 or 35 inch tires; bucket seats.
That's the general direction.
Yeah they are just spot welds.
- Thread starter
- #24
We also placed an order about a week ago to buy a front and rear bumper from Jason at Trail Tailors. I know it is very early to buy bumpers for our build, but I found out that he will be done making bumpers after he sells all of his supply. So lucky us, we got the very last fj40 rear bumper
I think that his bumpers are the best looking ones I have seen. The axles will soon be under the knife. The plan with those are to just freshen them up. New seals, new bearings, refurbished hubs, ect. New front disc brakes, and freshen up the rear drums. We also need to coat the axles in something. We are thinking POR 15, but are open to suggestions, as we haven't done this before. We also need to coat the frame. POR 15 on that as well?
I think that his bumpers are the best looking ones I have seen. The axles will soon be under the knife. The plan with those are to just freshen them up. New seals, new bearings, refurbished hubs, ect. New front disc brakes, and freshen up the rear drums. We also need to coat the axles in something. We are thinking POR 15, but are open to suggestions, as we haven't done this before. We also need to coat the frame. POR 15 on that as well?
Consider using fj60 4" lift rear springs on the front and rear of your 40. U may have to add or remove a leaf or 2 in the packs-but it will ride and flex great.
- Thread starter
- #26
A little update here. Axles have been stripped down and we took them in to get all the gears and axles looked at. They were very impressed with how good of condition the insides are in. We ordered a knuckle rebuild kit with wheel bearings form Bryce at Cruiser Outfitters along with a rear axle rebuild kit. Great people at Cruiser Outfitters! Also ordered some new Warn locking hubs off of ebay. Picked up the axle housings and other miscellaneous parts to take to go get blasted and painted with a heavy duty epoxy. The frame will go at the same time to get blasted and painted as well. We also decided to get in on some black Friday deals. I researched quite a bit and found a company called West Coast Engines. They sell remanufactured engines. We ordered a turn key 350 sbc. Comes with 5 year 50,000 mile warranty, which is the best I found. No fine print either. Very good service. Should be here before Christmas or just shortly after. Also ordered a Man-a-fre 4" lift w/shackle reversal a couple weeks ago. He is waiting on his order to come in. Should get it anywhere from Christmas to a couple weeks after. Jason at Trail Tailor just sent me progress pictures of the rear bumper. The front is done and he is going to finish up the rear and ship them both out this week.
I wanna see the frame done with new brake lines and the axles back under it with lift, shocks, new rotors and rebuilt brakes. You are spending lots of cash on things you can't install for some time until you get to the point you can install them. For some folks that time lag is so long they change their mind about the already purchased parts.
I went through this process a few years back on my restoration. If I can give you any advice it would be to complete one system or item at a time. I had to give myself many a pep talk when I was sitting inside reading mud and my truck was in the garage in parts. I kept saying....this truck isn't going to put itself back together. Set little goals and before you know it things will be getting done.
I went through this process a few years back on my restoration. If I can give you any advice it would be to complete one system or item at a time. I had to give myself many a pep talk when I was sitting inside reading mud and my truck was in the garage in parts. I kept saying....this truck isn't going to put itself back together. Set little goals and before you know it things will be getting done.
- Thread starter
- #28
Thanks for the advice. That's what we will be doing from here on out. We ordered the tub early because they said it could take a good 4 months till we get it, but they ended up having one in stock. So that was by accident. The bumpers we bought because Jason will no longer be making bumpers anymore. We really liked his design and didn't want to miss out on them. The engine we bought because we knew we were going to go with it and we save a few hundred dollars buy ordering it on Black Friday. buy the time we get the lift, the axles, brakes, and frame, will be done and ready to put together. After that we will need the engine in order to lock up engine mounts.
Is the 350 stroked? The torque curve will be different than a 2F. A stroker engine may be a nice option if you are not going with the original I6. Looks like a fun project
Going to be nice, those folks in town with Jeeps will be checking your rig out!!!!!!
- Thread starter
- #31
Is the 350 stroked? The torque curve will be different than a 2F. A stroker engine may be a nice option if you are not going with the original I6. Looks like a fun project
It's a 350 bored .030 over. It has been a blast working on it so far. I have learned quite a bit. It should be pretty sweet IMO when it's done.
nice project (Freeborn Red, my favourite 40 colour even though I have the rare Dune Beige lol) and nice that you're doing it with your dad ... who knows, maybe someday you'll be tinkering with it, with your son/daughter ... enjoy ... whatever you do, what matters is doing it right ...
- Thread starter
- #34
That's the plan. Should get it running and driving by next summer. After that it will just be the odds and in's that need to me done. Once it's time, it will get passed down to me. I don't think i will ever sell it.
- Thread starter
- #35
Another update here. Canceled the spring order with Man-A-Fre because we wouldn't get them for at least another 2 months. This is due to them changing to a different company to manufacture the springs. Would have loved to stay with them, but we just don't want to wait 2+ months for springs. We still are getting the shackle reversal kit though. As for springs, we ordered some Alcan springs. They are a great company. Bill Ford (the owner) is very knowledgable and one of the nicest guys I have talked to. Should get the springs before Christmas. Axle rebuild parts came in the other day along with the new Warn hubs. Axles are all stripped and we are making wood covers to go over the various opening so we can try to keep the same out. We will also run a line of silicon around the edge of the wood. This is what the sandblaster guy recommended. We also bought a cheap little parts washer. It has helped out a lot. Once I have another update I will post.
- Thread starter
- #36
Well a few things have happened since I posted last. The axles and all of its components have been sandblasted and painted. The frame was sandblasted with 2 coats of primer on it since we still need to weld engine mounts, crossmembers, power steering mounts, and do shackle reversal. The engine came in and it looks absolutely amazing (probably not to the purists though). Bumpers also came in, and all I can say is that Jason's work is absolutely amazing! The attention to detail is phenomenal. Can't wait to see how they look on it when it is done. The springs from alcan should be in on Friday. I just ordered new u-bolts, u-bolt skid plates (because I couldn't find new OEM looking ones), and the rear disc brake conversion kit from Man-a-fre. Need to order shackles soon, but will wait till we have the springs in to see what size. Hopefully I have another update soon.
Nice bumpers!
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2011
- Threads
- 233
- Messages
- 21,827
- Location
- Redding, California
- Website
- trail-tailor.com
- Thread starter
- #40
Very glad I found that out before someone else got them! Thanks again!
