Builds FJ80 "Thing 4" Build

[jasonc]

No pictures, but today I got some wiring out and away from the rear of the truck. I don't really want to start cutting quite yet, but my MIG machine should be coming in the mail tomorrow. 220v outlet will hopefully be installed next week, too, but hopefully my MIG can get some of the work done.

 

[CRSHR]

What Mig did you get?


Sent from my iPhone

 

[jasonc]

What Mig did you get?


Sent from my iPhone

It's just a little 110v from eBay. I didn't want to spend a ton of money on something that's only going to be used for a few tack welds, and I use my Lincoln for pretty much everything else.

 

[CRSHR]

You did an amazing job with that fender. Wish I could do that.


Sent from my iPhone

 

[jasonc]

You did an amazing job with that fender. Wish I could do that.


Sent from my iPhone

I used a hammer and a sleeping pad to remove that dent, so I bet you could do it without any trouble!

 

[CRSHR]

My LF fender looks like that one right now. I'll give it a shot.


Sent from my iPhone

 

[jasonc]

This MIG welder finally came in, and for less than $200 I'm pretty pleased. It has everything I need, and came with a spool of solid copper-ish wire. I couldn't resist trying it out to make sure it worked, and I'm happy to report that it works quite well.

Here's a picture of the horrible welds from when I was testing it out, obviously run without gas. These are my roof rack mounts by the way.

I made a trip to the local welding supply store two minutes before they closed today (Christmas eve) and bought some flux cored wire. I considered buying a cylinder of gas, but decided I wouldn't make the store owner wait around for me to fill out the paperwork after hours.

 

[jasonc]

I welded up a fender flare hole in this truck to try welding body panels, and it went pretty much how I expected. I just need a lot more practice, but this welder is definitely capable of doing it with flux cored wire. If I had a backing plate it would have been a heck of a lot easier, but I got it done.

 

[yohavos]

Sub'd for the chop! Looking forward to seeing this come together (apart?).

 

[jasonc]

I continued on with the welding today, and I'm definitely improving. Here's the most recent one:

I didn't have the chance to complete everything I had planned today due to a trip to Harbor Freight. My dad and I picked up a few new air tools though.

 

[jasonc]

School started back up, so I haven't had a lot of time to do stuff. We also got several inches of snow, so working on this truck has been very difficult. I managed to start draining the fluids, and I've been researching a lot about engines and swaps. At the moment, I am considering building a 2FE, and if I can find a 2F for the right price, that's what I'll be doing.

 

[jasonc]

First step of removing the head is to drain coolant, so that's what I did. I'm just going to work on under-hood stuff until this snow melts.

 

[jasonc]

I think I'm about 1/3 of the way done with the head removal... I got all sorts of stuff off today, and I have a heck of a lot to do tomorrow.

Here's how it sits tonight. I couldn't avoid taking off the hood, so on went another free Harbor Freight tarp.

 

[jasonc]

Day two of pulling the head went quite well. I spent about three hours working on it today, and should hopefully finish in the next two days if everything goes as planned.

Most important thing I took off today was intake and exhaust manifolds. Engine bay is starting to look even more spacious

 

[leonard_nemoy]

Your welds look like you could use a little more heat. A good rule of thumb for choosing your amperage setting is to take the rod size you are welding with and divide it. For instance if you are using a 1/8 rod, divide 1 by 8 to get 0.125 so you would set your machine to 125 amps.

 

[jasonc]

Your welds look like you could use a little more heat. A good rule of thumb for choosing your amperage setting is to take the rod size you are welding with and divide it. For instance if you are using a 1/8 rod, divide 1 by 8 to get 0.125 so you would set your machine to 125 amps.

I hadn't heard that before, thanks. I started out running really cold, but now I think I have the hang of it. I think the welds I posted previously were 6011 ran at 85 amps DC+, so they were way cold. I'll work on it though. Thanks!

 

[jasonc]

Today after I got home from school I had about two hours to work on this truck, and I managed to get everything else off. I started with the water pump, then a few brackets, the valve cover, rocker panel, my 8 push rods (yes, really only 8), and then my 15 head bolts.

Tomorrow I'm planning on having my dad help me lift the head up and out, which is why I didn't finish tonight. After seeing the condition of everything I'm really hoping the head is going to be usable so I can actually have the chance to build a 2FE. If not, I'll probably just drop in a complete 3FE.

Here's how it looked this evening:

 

[jasonc]

I tried taking the head off today with no success... I'm not sure exactly what is going on with you it, but it seems like it's stuck to the block. I put some penetrating oil on and around the head gasket area, and I'm hoping I can break it loose tomorrow. If you have any advice I'd appreciate it.

 

[jasonc]

Well the penetrating oil did its job, and I used a tiny flathead to break the head loose today. My dad helped me lift it up and off, and I'm pretty excited I got it done. Today is also my 17th birthday, so hopefully I can purchase a few Cruiser related items (possibly engine or steel)

Here's the head

Kinda beat up, but I think it can be fixed up

Here's my six coolant swimming pools

I'm not a mechanic, but this doesn't look quite right to me... [emoji23]

Hopefully I can go check out a few things tomorrow and get together a shopping list so I can continue working on this truck

 

[jasonc]

And now for the part we've all been waiting for: THE CHOP!!!!!!

Taking the advice of a few Mud members, I cut everything using a $19.99 reciprocating saw from Harbor Freight. The cutting ended up actually going pretty smooth, and my friends and I had a lot of fun. We did all of this yesterday, 3/20/16, starting around noon and stopping before 9:00, but most of the time was spent eating, cleaning, or playing soccer and football.

The first thing we did was take off the rear doors, tailgate, and rear hatch. I had already stripped everything out of the interior, so taking the doors off was a breeze.

The first incision I made was to cut off the rear of the truck, in case I decide to reuse any of it.

The only problem we encountered was some hidden trailer wiring that got caught up on the frame, and besides that, everything just came straight off.

The second cut I made was about two feet behind the seats. This cut was mostly to get the middle section out of the way, and I probably could have started out with this one.

Here's my massive collection of body parts sitting in my yard:

So far this has definitely been interesting! We're on spring break right now, which is two weeks long. With lacrosse starting up, I'm not sure how much I'll get to work on this, but hopefully I can get a lot done during the break.