HJ45 flatdeck restoration

[lostmarbles]

Yuck! No I do have a guard on my grinder
Tom, I use 125mm discs and they can blow out but not often. Mainly if they get pinched if you get too much heat in the work. They can lose a chunk and still cut. At work I have a cordless grinder with 1mm discs and I haven't touched my hacksaw in years
I'll be back in the shed this weekend and hopefully get the guards finished up ready for the painter . I picked up the doors and steps last night but they can wait till later to go on.

Thanks. I might buy some and see how they work for me.

To be honest, I didn't know you could buy those discs in that thin sizing before now.

 

[diogenese]

Thanks. I might buy some and see how they work for me.

To be honest, I didn't know you could buy those discs in that thin sizing before now.

You won't use another 3mm cutting disc again

 

[Weber Sarge]

Just be really wary of cheap disks - the reinforcing strands in them can vary as well as the composition of the abrasive itself , cheap disks can literally explode if pushed at all . I use Camel brand or CGW disks here , usually in the .045" version and they last a very long time despite a pretty fast cutting rate . If you do much fab or demo work , these things are almost mandatory . For cutting small parts , look into getting a portaband saw and using a stand or build your own - saves a lot of headaches and is a lot safer than cutting disks .
SWAG V3.0 Portaband Table
Sarge

 

[diogenese]

I didn't know you could turn those into a mini table saw, that looks pretty handy. I do have a small bandsaw with a metal blade but it is very slow cutting.
I have been toying with the idea of a small plasma cutter, Lincoln do one with a built-in compressor.
Lincoln Electric

 

[Weber Sarge]

The biggest use my portaband table gets is making small parts , cutting speed is dependent upon what blades you use and material type . Plasma has it's benefits as well .
Sarge

 

[west aussie]

nice project; nice thread. just found and read it all. needs to be on the 45 page!

 

[diogenese]

nice project; nice thread. just found and read it all. needs to be on the 45 page!

It's all FJ's on there and I don't do petrol

 

[diogenese]

I've finally got back into the shed to do some more work on the '45. I have finished adding fresh metal to the rusty guard but it has been so bent in the past and straightened again that I'm having trouble getting the flat bits flat. This worried me about cutting them up more and adding a strip to widen them si I had another go at getting the fibreglass guards to fit.
After some time and many new holes the drivers one does fit nicely enough for me. Now I have to consider flares again, or narrower tyres, or carry on with the steel guards....

 

[diogenese]

I've got the front end fitted up now apart from the bonnet wich still hasn't been painted. The front markers need connectors fitting as I need three way ones instead of two as I have modified them as indicators and marker lights.
The passenger door is built up and fitted apart from trim and the drivers is waiting for its new weatherstrip.
I glued the strips on with contact adhesive that I thinned down with acetone so I could brush it on cleanly but it was still a difficult task to keep the seal pressed right into the corner of the door frame. I'm getting another pair of hands tomorrow so hopefully it will go on easier I hope the seals settle in, the passenger side is really hard to close now even with the catch plate as far out as it will go!

 

[diogenese]

To get the panel fit right with the fibreglass front guards I have ended up with a gap between the front of the old inner guards and the radiator panel. I think I will make up some 12mm spacer blocks to keep the panels parallel and fit some led strip light to the front of it to use as day running lights. I'm in two minds about the LEDs I'm not sure if it will look too odd or not.
I have decided to not fit the 33 12.5 15 tyres on the alloy rims and get some 235 85 16 AT's on silver steel rims instead.

 

[lostmarbles]

I've got the front end fitted up now apart from the bonnet wich still hasn't been painted. The front markers need connectors fitting as I need three way ones instead of two as I have modified them as indicators and marker lights.
The passenger door is built up and fitted apart from trim and the drivers is waiting for its new weatherstrip.
I glued the strips on with contact adhesive that I thinned down with acetone so I could brush it on cleanly but it was still a difficult task to keep the seal pressed right into the corner of the door frame. I'm getting another pair of hands tomorrow so hopefully it will go on easier I hope the seals settle in, the passenger side is really hard to close now even with the catch plate as far out as it will go!

To get the panel fit right with the fibreglass front guards I have ended up with a gap between the front of the old inner guards and the radiator panel. I think I will make up some 12mm spacer blocks to keep the panels parallel and fit some led strip light to the front of it to use as day running lights. I'm in two minds about the LEDs I'm not sure if it will look too odd or not.
I have decided to not fit the 33 12.5 15 tyres on the alloy rims and get some 235 85 16 AT's on silver steel rims instead.

Looking real nice there ....

Those early-style blinkers look great on your 76 and I think it's a good idea to use them as marker-lights as well. (When you indicate at night, will that marker turn off and start blinking as an indicator instead? The LED markers on quite a few of our Wellington buses do that.)

I'm guessing you used Rare Spares for your weatherstripping. If so, years on (after I used it), my doors still require a good solid push to close and my adjustment is still "out to the max". But having said that, I still prefer it to OEM (which is too soft and flimsy for my liking and much more prone to deterioration and to allowing door-squeaks while driving on rough roads).

Did you use F2 contact adhesive? That's what I used and I have the feeling that a more specialist product (such as the "IC-2000 20-45 second rubber-toughened glue with Insta-set accelerator" sold by Cruiser Corps) would have been more reliable and easier to use (although it is an eye irritant and probably more "nasty").

I'm not sure about LED strip lighting either..

235/85 R16 are the same tyres I run but I prefer MT rather than AT. BFG-brand MTs are still quiet on sealed roads but they give better grip for most off-road driving. And the ATs wear out far too slowly for my liking because the last set I had were suffering sidewall-perishing while they were only half worn (so I sold them off because sidewall perishing is no good for airing-down).

 

[diogenese]

I have used a few suppliers for parts but the door seals came from www.allfourx4.com.au They were Terrain Tamer parts.
The glue I used was Ados H2, yesterday when it was hot I thinned it with some acetone but today I used it neat.

 

[sadam_husain]

I'm guessing those guards (fenders for the other side of the world) you got were from 4wd fibreglass in Hamilton, they are good for what they are but sometimes their parts fit well and sometimes they don't I think it depends on the individual batchs they make how good they come out, I've got fibreglass guards on my FJ40 and they are a really nice finish and fit, the fibreglass bonnet (hood also for the other side of the world) doesn't sit square or line up properly like the steel bonnet did and it was cut too short, the roof and windscreen frame on my FJ75 are also a really poor fit but I had little other choice in replica parts when I put that truck back together. I've had a couple of other FJ40s/Fj45s I've put fibreglass windscreen frames and front bibs onto and they have fitted well, I've also got a set of fibreglass half doors I'm about to fit to my fj40 so I guess I'll soon see how well they fit. Nice work on your fj45 mate its come up really well in a short period of time

 

[diogenese]

Thanks Sadam, I keep thinking it's taking ages but I'm used to working on other folks stuff during the day and some weeks I don't make it to the shed at all. Being on call helps as you can't do much else!
Plenty done in the last two days but tomorrow is race truck turbo setup for a mad Aussie as I'm sure I won't get time next week.
The glass guards came with the truck and they are only the outer bit so it has the original inners fitted.
Let me know how the half doors go, I want some for my mud truck

 

[diogenese]

That's enough for one night, got the seat frames painted and reassembled, fitted them to the cab and got the seatbelts finished. retrimming may happen next winter

 

[diogenese]

Lostmarbles, I have added a ring of leds to the lamp and left the bulb in for the indicator, I'm not sure if I'll get away with it for WoF or not

 

[lostmarbles]

Lostmarbles, I have added a ring of leds to the lamp and left the bulb in for the indicator, I'm not sure if I'll get away with it for WoF or not.....

Wow. Nice job.

Common sense would say they should pass.

Good luck.

BTW- Are your plates "live with a current WOF" or "on hold without a current WOF" or ?

 

[diogenese]

Plates are live, no WoF for 14 years!

 

[diogenese]

I'm fast running out of bits to bolt back on, bonnet, Rear lights, tyres, door cards and mirrors, none of which are here yet. There is probably a big list that I've forgotten isn't there too

I've thought of more already. .. Rear mud flaps, headboard planks and stereo.

 

[diogenese]

Rear lights and reflectors are on, not much more will get done this weekend as race trucks are in town. This afternoon was spent scrutineering, testing tomorrow and racing on the weekend.