Builds Fj40 Daily and Wheeler build

[Cruiserdrew]

Wow-these last pictures represent a metric s*** ton of work. Good going and persistence! Disappointing about the tub, but that should work out in the end. Flipping springs, body on and off, you must be sore. Keep the pics coming!

 

[White Stripe]

Man I am totally wiped out. My pedometer registered almost 17000 steps the day I put the tub on. I will drive up to the shop tonight and take some measurements of the aqualu vs a stock fj40. And I will toss the hard top sides on and take pics to show aqualu how things sit.

 

[jim land]

we also want to see those pics to comment about it
it look like the rear of the tub need to be lift a little , the gap (quarter to door ) look off judging by the pic.

the distance from the quarter to the joint on pilar A is 34 5/8" on my 42 , its a glass tub but the doors fit nice , so the openning is probably the same as a stock body .

 

[darwink1]

How do the tub mounts line up with the frame when the door gaps are bad and are all of the body mount bushings installed? I second it looking a little tilty in the pic but it may be just the pic.

Good luck with Aqualu, hope you get this figured out!

D

 

[White Stripe]

we also want to see those pics to comment about it
it look like the rear of the tub need to be lift a little , the gap (quarter to door ) look off judging by the pic.

the distance from the quarter to the joint on pilar A is 34 5/8" on my 42 , its a glass tub but the doors fit nice , so the openning is probably the same as a stock body .

View attachment 1430133

View attachment 1430134

I measured from the where the dash is welded to the a pillar straight across to the b pillar where the door striker would go. The aqualu distance does measure 1/2" longer (32 13/16" vs. 32 5/16")than stock. I have my 77 next to a totally stock fj40, so I measured both. Thus I think the rockers are 1/2" too long, and thats why I had so much trouble getting the body bolted on the frame.

 

[White Stripe]

How do the tub mounts line up with the frame when the door gaps are bad and are all of the body mount bushings installed? I second it looking a little tilty in the pic but it may be just the pic.

Good luck with Aqualu, hope you get this figured out!

D

I loosened up the cowl mounts and slid it forward 1/2". Then I could get the bolts in, but I had a feeling I shouldn't have to do that.

 

[ryanwk628]

Following. I am looking into a 3/4 tub, any info on your issues and how they are ultimately addressed is appreciated!

 

[White Stripe]

Talked to aqualu. They think my cowl is tilted and that's why I have a 1/2" gap. I honestly don't know if I buy that but I'll take some more measurements and see for sure. To me it looks like the gap runs all the way down. I'll go up to the shop tomorrow.

 

[White Stripe]

So I measured for any tilt in the cowl tonight. It's dead straight. So the b pillar is indeed 1/2" off. Interestingly the space between the A pillar and the very edge of the B pillar where the weatherstripping surface starts is the same as stock. But that distance isn't as critical as the striker surface distance which is critical in soft/hard top mounting and such. I took a video and sent it to them.

 

[White Stripe]

Ok so I think the aqualu is going to work. I really tried hard to get it to work. Todd at aqualu was getting fairly pissed at me because I didn't think pulling on the cowl would work-but it did. Here is what happened:

First today I cut off the wrap around outer kick panel flange and ground everything totally flat. The installation video is like 20 years old and isn't clear if this should be cut.

Notice the size of the trannys cutout. Way to small and thus why I'm going to use the old trans tunnel and cut the floor out more.

I used ratchet straps going from underneath the a pillar below the dash that hooked to the rear corner of the tub. I also loosened the cowl to frame mounts, front fender to frame bolts, and front grill to frame bolts. I installed 2 rear sill to frame bolts loosely. I installed some old doors so I could see what the gaps were doing. This worked well for me.

The hard top sides were a battle to get straight. I cut most of the pole, but notched what was left so it would still kinda go into the aqualu b pillar.I also cut a 30 degree cut on the hardtop flange so it would sit closer to the b pillar on the aqualu.

 

[White Stripe]

The hard top sides overhung into the rear door opening. They needed to move outward about 1/4". I cut a relief in the flange of each flange in the corner. I will weld this back up. Then I set them on the tub with 1/4" spacers on the tub to mimic weatherstripping.

I took a aluminum punch and beat on the corner lip to move it outward a little. Their is some little dents on the hardtop sides but with paint will be barely noticed if at all.

Doing that moved the lip outwards a little on the tub. This will be covered either by the hardtop, or the soft top rails. In person it really looks not too bad.

This made it line up. I used a bunch of c clamps to hold them and marked the mounting holes on the tub rails. The first hardtop side took me about 2 or 3 hours. The second side took like 30 minutes. None of this is in the aqualu installation video.

This is as good as I'm going to get it as far as door seams. I'm actually pretty satisfied. It took a lot of time to get it to this.

 

[Jdc1]

Ok so I think the aqualu is going to work. I really tried hard to get it to work. Todd at aqualu was getting fairly pissed at me because I didn't think pulling on the cowl would work-but it did. Here is what happened:
View attachment 1433010
First today I cut off the wrap around outer kick panel flange and ground everything totally flat. The installation video is like 20 years old and isn't clear if this should be cut.
View attachment 1433013
Notice the size of the trannys cutout. Way to small and thus why I'm going to use the old trans tunnel and cut the floor out Moore.
View attachment 1433016
I used ratchet straps going from underneath the a pillar below the dash that hooked to the rear corner of the tub. I also loosened the cowl to frame mounts, front gender to frame bolts, and front grill to frame bolts. I installed 2 rear sill to frame bolts loosely. I installed some old doors so I could see what the gaps were doing. This worked well for me.
View attachment 1433018
The hard top sides were a battle to get straight. I cut most of the pole, but notched what was left so it would still kinda go into the aqualu b pillar.I also cut a 30 degree cut on the hardtop flange so it would sit closer to the b pillar on the aqualu.

Looks good. If it makes you feel better, our paint/body shop has a few hundred hours of metalwork and panel alignment in prior to sandblasting. None of this stuff is plug and play. It looks like you are on the right track. I am excited to see more progress on your end.

 

[White Stripe]

Here is the first hardtop side bolted down on its own.

Also got the front roll cage in.

 

[White Stripe]

Looks good. If it makes you feel better, our paint/body shop has a few hundred hours of metalwork and panel alignment in prior to sandblasting. None of this stuff is plug and play. It looks like you are on the right track. I am excited to see more progress on your end.

Thanks man. A few hundred? I'm glad this didn't take that long. I'm wiped out as it is lol.

 

[Jdc1]

Thanks man. A few hundred? I'm glad this didn't take that long. I'm wiped out as it is lol.

Yes, a few hundred. That's including rust repair, correcting another shops work and mocking up every panel. At one point they had a hydraulic ram out to square up the b pillars as the drivers door wasn't hanging right.

 

[White Stripe]

Yes, a few hundred. That's including rust repair, correcting another shops work and mocking up every panel. At one point they had a hydraulic ram out to square up the b pillars as the drivers door wasn't hanging right.

Wow I'm sure the bill for that wasn't cheap.

 

[Jdc1]

Wow I'm sure the bill for that wasn't cheap.

Not cheap, their rate is fair and work is top notch. We definitely fell down the rabbit hole on this build.

 

[MOTOV8R]

Nice work! I dropped a few different stock tops on different year stock cruiser tubs and they all fit pretty well. Disappointing to hear that aquala isn't more receptive to your feedback and questions considering the cost of their products and how tight knit a lot of the cruiser community is.

 

[White Stripe]

Nice work! I dropped a few different stock tops on different year stock cruiser tubs and they all fit pretty well. Disappointing to hear that aquala isn't more receptive to your feedback and questions considering the cost of their products and how tight knit a lot of the cruiser community is.

Thanks man. Ya I was pretty blown away by his attitude. I almost returned the tub just because of that. I only talked to him on the phone twice about it about 15minutes each. I remained calm and polite. I told him I had no intention of pissing him off. I sent him two videos of the issues. The install video skips how to get things lined up. Anyway, I'm happy with the tub now.

 

[White Stripe]

Cowl braces are done. Since I have cut rockers I needed these to keep the cowl from flexing.

I am also narrowing the trans tunnel. These details are slowing me down a bit. But will be nice.