Builds GRNMCHN starting over from the floor (3 Viewers)

[Rainman]

First go ‘round was to get it running and stopping. We did that. Then Neil ( @74FJ40newbie ) asks: “What would it take for this truck (GRNMCHN) to look like THAT truck? (STPCHLD)”
“Most of the year and a lot of free lunches!”.. or something like that.

What’s happening here is one of two things:

A) Pull the truck apart and redo the engine, recondition the frame and everything related. New suspension, new wheels and tires, new brake system (the lines are mostly done), all cleaned and new surfaces. (powder coating the heavy stuff and plating the hardware.) New seat upholstery. Put it back together and drive it for a year or so.

or

B) Do the entire truck. Frame up. All of "A” and body repair and paint. It’s just more money this year.

That decision will be made in the coming weeks or so. He just needs to know by when we’re putting the frame back together. He’s headed to Arkansas this weekend and is taking the engine to @FJ60Cam to get a new Cop Motor. It’ll be Cameron’s first 1.5F conversion.


So. Here's the truck when we started:

Here’s the truck after the first day of a new attack at the truck.

 

[Rainman]

Dug in again today with @74FJ40newbie on his truck. We knew we'd find some rot due to a few years of being parked under a leaking roof on the right rear corner. Sure enough. It looks bad enough that he said, "I won't be able to drive it knowing what's under the top. So let's do the whole thing!" And we're off!

So a few hours of clanking wrenches and we're well on the way to exposing the frame to do a clean ground up resto-mod Cruiser. Very similar to the STPCHLD. At least we figure that we won't have to worry about an engine lock up this time. Engine is gone to be "copped" up. Thanks @FJ60Cam .

I've never removed an FJ40 top for it's very first time. 46 years ago, the top was installed. Today, we have to use a floor jack and a long 4x4 in a few choice places, jump on the running board a few times, and then slowly but surely, it... peeeeaaaled itself off the tub. The rubber seal under the top had petrified in some places. Glued itself to most of the ridge, and even looked like broken black glass in others. Not to mention all the rust. Check out the heart breaking damage. But also note the threads in the bolts removed for the first time. It's got some issues but over all, the truck is a nice start.

 

[MOTOV8R]

I have some South American tub top rails you can have for the cost of shipping. I used the quarters for patches in the rear corners and around the wheel wells

 

[74FJ40newbie]

I have some South American tub top rails you can have for the cost of shipping. I used the quarters for patches in the rear corners and around the wheel wells

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What do you think it would cost to ship to Tenn? Very interested!!!

 

[MOTOV8R]

What do you think it would cost to ship to Tenn? Very interested!!!

About $60 if I cut it so it's like just the upper 4 inches. If I do that and then cut them in half length-wise it drops to about half that. They are about 4 ft long which drives up the cost.

I used zip 37010, it's at least in the right state.

 

[Rainman]

Neil will respond. If he pulls the trigger, don't cut them in half. $30 isn't worth the trouble to re-weld the pieces back together.

 

[Vandal FJ]

I have some South American tub top rails you can have for the cost of shipping. I used the quarters for patches in the rear corners and around the wheel wells

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If he doesn't take them, I might just swing by and grab them?

 

[74FJ40newbie]

I’ll take t

About $60 if I cut it so it's like just the upper 4 inches. If I do that and then cut them in half length-wise it drops to about half that. They are about 4 ft long which drives up the cost.

I used zip 37010, it's at least in the right state.

 

[74FJ40newbie]

I’ll take t

I appreciate the offer, but I’m going to need the lower half as well eventually, so might as well do the whole quarter at one time. Thanks again. Hope the other guy can use them

 

[MOTOV8R]

I appreciate the offer, but I’m going to need the lower half as well eventually, so might as well do the whole quarter at one time. Thanks again. Hope the other guy can use them

Makes sense. Your inner fenders look way better then mine did so thought maybe you could get by with just the rails. I had these in the classifieds for $20 for like a year and no takers. Good luck with your build!

 

[Rainman]

@74FJ40newbie , They may be out there now but I've never seen rear fender skins with the top rail as one piece. If you're passing these up, I hope you know where they are.

 

[Rainman]

Okay. Milestone.

After 30 hours of work, Neil and I have reached the first milestone of having a bare frame... Almost. Ran out of time today to remove the axles and springs but came close. Front passenger side u-bolts wouldn't budge even with a breaker bar. We should be ready for my powder coating buddy next week though. Next on the list is ordering the new suspension and getting the axles all cleaned up for the shiny return of the frame. Will get the first large plating batch done at the same time. Going black on this truck instead of yellow zinc. Neil's color choice will look much better with black. I don't think there has been any wrenching on this truck in the last 46 years. ANY. I'm serious.

Love getting to this point and look forward to the next step. A clean and brand new rolling chassis.

 

[Varty Yo]

This is gonna turn out amazing!!!

Sub'd

 

[74FJ40newbie]

Makes sense. Your inner fenders look way better then mine did so thought maybe you could get by with just the rails. I had these in the classifieds for $20 for like a year and no takers. Good luck with your build!

Thank you! I really do appreciate the offer, and hope you find someone that can use them.

 

[Rainman]

This may not be as bad as some on Mud but one thing special about this shot is that other than a mistake of parking the truck for years under a leaky roof and ruining the hard top channel, the PO must've loved mild wheeling and never thought to clean up under the truck. I wonder how long this crud has been parked covering up the entire junction of brake lines. Makes the fact that the fenders being as clean as they are is mind blowing to me. Just glad @74FJ40newbie is taking the time and cash to fix this before it rots where it sits.

 

[Rainman]

Damned frame crawled out of the garage and I found it hiking a leg on my tree. My dog didn't care for that too much.

On another note: The frame looks like it's off a 45 when standing up like that. It's crazy how different tall it seems. I've never seen a 40 frame on end.

Oh, and it's not that nice of a frame. It's solid and all but it's still wet in the picture and makes it look black. It's not.

 

[Rainman]

MAN there were so many leaks on this truck that I'm guessing never got fixed or cleaned up. Had to be 10 pounds of hardened crap on the housings in the way of the wind. Rear diff had a leaking pinion seal for years. Steering leak for at least as long. And whatever else was puking under there. Not to mention the PO never cleaned under the truck after wheeling. The frame rails were full of dirt. Some areas though were still factory black because of the neglect.

First round on cleaning up the axles. Wire brushed and blasted to battle all the grime. First coat of primer on.

 

[Rainman]

Finally bought a tumbler...

Why is the hell didn't I do this years ago?! I've done a few batches now and I'm impressed. 46 year old bolts never removed from the FJ40 and it cleans everything off but original paint. And that's just with plastic media and water. My next try is going to be plastic and Metal Rescue. That should be the ticket. No wire wheel, no blast cabinet, and all the work done while I'm working on something else. It's late and I don't have pictures yet. I'll take some tomorrow and show the difference it makes.

I purchased polishing media but won't give that a try until I have a pile fo some items that need it. Hope to get all the hardware to the plating shop in about a week.

 

[tstepp920]

Which tumbler did you use?

 

[Rainman]

Eastwood 18lb tumbler.

Here's a sample of blasted on the left and tumbled on the right. Similar success. Cleaner finish on the tumbler. Take s a lot longer to tumble the stuff but it doesn't take much labor time. Let's say for example, 10 pounds of hardware. Blasting it would take hours. More than a few. Tumbling might take all day or even over night considering how crappy the hardware is. Difference is, it works while you're sleeping or while you're doing something else. Big bonus. By the time I put the tumbler and two small bags of extra media, it was right at 300 bucks. It'll pay for itself in no time.