FJ40 series body and body parts are available!! (1 Viewer)

[OGKev]

OGKev,

Respectfully, the saying “You never get a second chance to make a first impression comes to mind”.

It wasn’t that long ago Topnault came on scene and said they wanted to offer a comprehensive list of accurate, high quality FJ40 sheetmetal parts. For many enthusiasts, it appeared Topnault was the answer to our prayers.

Except the quality wasn’t nearly what was advertised, or expected. That was especially true for assembled components such as tubs.

People gave you (Topnault) the benefit of the doubt the first time… and Topnault (in my opinion) failed. The first impression that I referenced in my first sentence... was poor.

My response now is you’re talking a good game, but you need to prove it before you EARN any trust.

This "our parts quality and fitting standards are very high” did not prove to be true the first time. But rather than take my word for it, here’s a thread that illustrates very well what I’m saying:

Topnault complete 1978 tub-first impression

I just took delivery of the complete tub, front fenders, hood, and windshield frame. I thought I would share some pictures of the tub and first impressions. The tub arrived bolted to a welded frame with the other parts inside of it. It was wrapped in cardboard. No shipping damage. I looked over...

forum.ih8mud.com

And here are some more

And again sorry for the inconveincence that had made to you in the past. Thank you for your precious advice, we will do better in the future.

 

[wimberosa]

I am in fact still rooting for you. I had an excellent experience with your floor pans for the 1979. The quality of what I received
was top notch and nothing from another vendor even closely compared. I can't say much about anything else...but it sounds like
you can close some expectation, quality, delivery gaps with other mud members. Please do. Please stay in business and be a "go to" vendor.

 

[RevISK]

I am in fact still rooting for you. I had an excellent experience with your floor pans for the 1979. The quality of what I received
was top notch and nothing from another vendor even closely compared. I can't say much about anything else...but it sounds like
you can close some expectation, quality, delivery gaps with other mud members. Please do. Please stay in business and be a "go to" vendor.

You must’ve gotten the later, thicker floor pans, as the initial ones were quite frankly garbage. What was key and gave me hope, was that they made the effort and took the steps to change that set of parts based on my, and I have to believe, others, feedback. Of course, this was early on.

I think many of us are rooting for vendors to succeed, especially in the shallow pool of body panels.

 

[wimberosa]

Yes. Mine were 14 gauge. Which is really (in my low-skill body work opinion) is a bit TOO thick. I think the original 18 gauge is way
too thin. But re-tooling everything for new pressings of different gauges...is probably...a PITA. Anyway..the 14 gauge was well done and
workable.

 

[RevISK]

Hi,

Sorry for the inconvenience. This had to be a long story but I'll make it short.

Tim is one of the founders of our US retailer. But he was quit at the beginning of the year 2024. Now James (CEO) and I with a few other co-workers of my are running Topnault right now. When Tim left, he left a lot of problems to us plus we moved our warehouse too so we had a lot of problems and customer reports that we had to deal with. We already improved our parts and fitment quality a lot at the end of last year. I will post some pictures of some improvements.

And yes we are trying to do better and to service the community.

Kevin.

Kevin,

Please don’t resort to the “sorry for the inconvenience” customer service platitude, it shows you didn’t really read my comment.

Blaming someone else who is no longer with the company doesn’t necessarily make you look any better either.

I suggest you do your homework and read all the threads about folks experience with your products.

Also, calling this an FJ community (family) just shows your ignorance.

Also also, is this really “tech”? Seems pretty retail.

 

[dmaddox]

I'm also rooting for you as a company that is working hard to correct and provide exceptional body parts for these trucks.

I also was a customer that fought through some fitment issues and ended up having to abandon a Topnault hood and spend the resources to correct an OEM hood. My notes here.

I commend you for what you are doing! Good luck

 

[jayp2]

The two piece quarter panels with the massive vertical seam in the corner is a show stopper for me along with the bubble gum welds on the tub.

Solve those two issues along with some of the dimensional issues and people will have more confidence

I purchased an aluminum tub and cowl recently instead of one of your tubs because of the above issues.

 

[sleepycruiser]

Side note: does anyone know where you can get replacement wheel wells for the rear interior? The front of mine have rust on them. They could probably be cut and fixed, but may as well try to find some that are ribbed the same.

 

[charliemeyer007]

google search

High Quality CCOT FJ40 Wheel Wells ~ 1967 thru 1984

Body Wheel Wells - The FJ40 wheel well is made in two panels, top and side. Both pieces "Die Stamped" with original rib patterns. Wheel well ribs vary in number, length and in pattern (depending on the year). CCOT configures / stamps wheel well rib patterns correctly for your year. New side-well...

www.coolcruisers.com

https://shop.cruiserparts.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=67169

lots of mud threads too

 

[RevISK]

Also:

Quarter Panel with Wheel Well FJ40/FJ42 L&R S&H

www.citroa.com

 

[Land Shark]

Kevin,

Please don’t resort to the “sorry for the inconvenience” customer service platitude, it shows you didn’t really read my comment.

Blaming someone else who is no longer with the company doesn’t necessarily make you look any better either.

I suggest you do your homework and read all the threads about folks experience with your products.

Also, calling this an FJ community (family) just shows your ignorance.

Also also, is this really “tech”? Seems pretty retail.

I was looking for the "two" thumbs up to like this

 

[65swb45]

I was looking for the "two" thumbs up to like this

Agree! @RevISK put exactly the right tone on his comments.

OGKev, there is a HUGE difference between having the technical proficiency to run a company and handling the Public Relations of that company, especially on a well-established Internet forum like this. Almost every word that you have posted in this thread demonstrates that you do not have a firm grasp of the language, or the best way to deliver your message. Word choices are often filled with nuances; those can be tricky even for people for whom the language is their native tongue.

When you are pursuing an uphill battle to re-establish a company that already has a tarnished reputation, it is even more critical to have someone who can interface smoothly with your target market.

If you go back though the older threads as suggested, you will find that I was considering myself for that role. I had some preliminary conversations with Tim both at my shop and in Temecula. Unfortunately, I am a bit of a daydreamer. Eventually I woke up from my daydream and realized that I don’t have enough time to run what’s left of my retirement-age business, much less give another business the attention it needs, so I didn’t pursue it.

Bottom line: you need to have quantifiable proof that the tolerances for your products have improved, AND you need to hire someone from outside your current command and control structure to promote what you have to offer today and tomorrow.

The second part of the equation is hard for some people to accept, especially when they have an attitude that the parts and the pricepoint will sell themselves. You no longer have the right to make that assumption, given that Topnault now has a ‘reputation.’

FTR, I am on the fence about whether this should be in tech. Posting technical specifications for changes that have been made in your products over the last year, as opposed to just changes in command/control, would serve a thread here. Otherwise, it’s just chat.

 

[Grayscale]

?

 

[FullyLitLED]

Bought 3 shells now from Topnault! Happy with the first two we are putting together for a couple of SEMA builds and the third is for a local customer (green one pictured).

As mentioned there are some fitment issues as photo’d in the post above this one but its body work…even when you buy oem parts you have to fit and align stuff

My .02 cents and if Topnault would like to send me some I’d appreciate it…if not then no sweat because these are priced great…when selling the assembled bodies…if Topnault could install the gaskets already so the panels dont scratch each other during shipping it will definitely make the whole process sooner

Also…they sell windshields among other cool things

@OGKev can you guys do floors for the 70 series variants soon?

 

[OGBeno]

Floors are readily available for the 70 series.

 

[FullyLitLED]

Floors are readily available for the 70 series.

@OGBeno sorry for my ignorance…but in North America they are available? I thought only from other continents? thanks in advance for the info!