HZJ40 RestoMod v3.0 (New, improved, and now with fewer sparkplugs) (1 Viewer)

[lelandEOD]

Got a couple patch panels fab'ed up to replace the rotted metal on the rear top sill/hard top joint.



Cut out:



Construction paper template:



Transferred to sheet metal and bent to match:



Welded in and blended to match... 'ish:



Also,
I've never really liked the FJ40 barn doors and would love to know why Toyota went with split doors over a simple tailgate in the first place.

When I bought the truck I really wanted Ambi doors, but later found out the swap was not possible because my '73 doesn't have the correct sill (among other things) for the later style doors to lay flush. So, a tailgate is the next best thing!

The PLAN: I want to take two barn doors and cut them apart, weld a frame out of 1" square tubing/angle iron and weld the outer door skins to the frame. I can reuse the barn door hinges (3x along the bottom) but I really got wrapped around the axle on the latch mechanism. At first, I just thought I'd use the same latch from the barn door/spare tire carrier... but that's not gangster.

I've got a pair of top and bottom FJ40 ambi door latches that, with some creative thinking and a bit of work, should work well to make a more modern latch system.

Intrigued, I hit the chalkboard...

... or rather... MS Paint.



I decided to see if this hair brained idea would work using a spare set of trashed barn doors. Hopefully, I'll make my mistakes on this set of doors and if I can manage to get it work work to my satisfaction, I'll cut apart my nicer doors for the actual tailgate.

15 minutes and 25 spot welds later and I had the halves separated. I measured 41" of distance between the quarter panels and I want at least .5" of overlap on each side so I get a decent seal with the weatherstripping. So, I welded the two door skins together at 42". I didn't bother removing the overlap "hump for the purposed of mock-up. I will on the final tailgate.

I used a piece of 1.25"x1/8" angle iron as a temporary brace to form the top of the tailgate.

So far so good:



Then I started playing with the ambi door latch:




I used the same door striker that the rear hatch uses and I think it'll work pretty well.

The handle mechanism is also off an ambi door:



Again, please forgive the crudeness, this is only to prove a theory... the real deal will be done with more care. Right now I'm just going for functional.




The outside handle is going to be tricky. The Ambi door handle (interior one) is a bit small and is not intended to be used as a tailgate handle (there's not much to grab onto) so I'd like to use a rear hatch interior handle like this...



I cut a relief into the tubing where the latch needs to be positioned to clear the striker.



This is roughly where the latch will be positioned:





I also started working on the frame:



Once it was tacked together I did a test fit for a sanity check:



... plenty of room to clear the strikers:


Filled in the milled recesses:



Then cut a hole for the latch to sit in:



I think this will work fine:




...zang.

 

[lelandEOD]

I'm also mounting a swing out tire carrier mount on the driver's side so I drilled out the license plate bracket and swapped it to the passenger side door.

 

[UZJ40]

Looks amazing! What color are you going with?

 

[UZJ40]

Also, what front fenders are those? OEM?

 

[lelandEOD]

Haven't settled on a color yet but it's down to a factory shade of green: Fashion, Breathe or Nebula. Olive Grey or Sulphur Yellow.

The fenders are original to the truck too.

I've been playing with the tailgate the last couple days and have made some progress.

I got the nice doors disassembled, cut apart and old holes welded up. I don't know who was on the Toyota assembly line the day this set of doors were made but they apparently loved using the spot welder. The fist set I disassembled probably had a total of 10 welds per door. This new set I'm using easily has 30 per door. What a PITA!

Anyway, I spent a lot of time laying the doors out under the frame to make sure everything was perfectly square... well... "cruiser square", at least:







Then I cut a piece of scrap metal and trimmed it to fit in the gap left by removing the old door overlap.

Shaped and welded:




Then I drilled the hole for the ambi door lever mechanism and got that sucker mounted up. I also mounted the two strikers to the tailgate frame.

A little bit of measuring and crossed fingers yielded a pair of connecting rods and a working latch system!








I'm going to add a 1/4" spacer/reinforcing plate to the back of the handle mechanism. This will add support to an area I fear may fatigue as well as position the handle 1/4" closer to the tailgate which I think will look better. I've got an order placed for an assortment of body plugs and grommets. I'm using a 5/8" OD, 3/8" ID grommet to seal the gap between the tailgate and the handle shaft.





Not too shabby!



I got the hinges located and drilled. I made sure that the holes are centered with the 1" box tubing so I've got a good anchor for the riv-nuts:



Then, got it mounted to the tub:



Here it is folded down:




Another shot:




I had a spare set of rear hatch strikers and modified them to work with the tailgate. I just had to machine them down a bit to fit the tailgate:

 

[UZJ40]

Cool! We have very similar builds... many of the same features and aspects. When do you think you'll have it painted?

 

[73tlcv8]

Nice work. Good choice on the 3fe. Please tell us how you interfaced with the motor mounts. Did you use the mounts from the 62? Obviously the original F mounts were long gone with the V8 you had in there. Also, are you using a trans cross member or sticking with the bellhousing mounts? Please show a couple of pictures of what you did if you can. Thanks.

 

[lelandEOD]

I'll be able to take some photos when I get the frame rolled back in in a month or so.

Basically, I found a set of frame mounted engine brackets on 'mud and used Grade 8 hardware to reattach it to the frame rails. I used the FJ62 front engine mount ears and 2F bellhousing ears for the rear. I did notch the front mounts and brackets in order to move the engine to the right (passenger side) about an inch. I also used a 3/4" spacer between the bracket and the mount on the front driver's side attachment point to level the engine.

It was not a difficult process. Just a lot of trial and error.

Also, I worked on the strikers tonight.

Since there's going to need to be some adjustment once the weatherstripping is added, I needed to add some adjustment range to the positioning of the strikers. I accomplished this by taking some bits of flat stock and threading it for the M6 striker bolts to make floating striker mounting plates, similar to what the factory used.



The real trick was getting to the area where these striker plates needed to be positioned. I had to open up the boxed section in order to make a hole in the bottom to get the plate in position:



Peeled it open like a can:





Sweet!





On a related note. Does anyone have any input as to what position the handle looks best? I can mount it horizontal or vertical.





Here's a short video of all the exciting tailgate action!

 

[lelandEOD]

Today I stopped by a local paint shop and had them mix up three paint samples for me to choose from. The problem I had is that they could not find several of the PPG numbers I had for the Toyota paint codes.

So, the finalists are:

Fashion Green (left)

Olive Grey (center)

Light Olive (right)









I've all but eliminated Olive grey so the real choices are between the two lighter greens.

 

[DAD2SIX]

That's to bad. Olive was my favorite!

 

[lelandEOD]

That's to bad. Olive was my favorite!

I really like all three... but the wife nixed the Olive Gray. She said it looks too much like an Army Jeep.

Also, the outside of the tailgate is finished now.



I put the hatch back on and checked for fit. It looks good.
I think I'm going to cut out this bulge and replace it with a flat filler piece:

I just love making more work for myself.

 

[ColoradoFJ40]

Double too bad your wife nixed the olive gray....mine is the color 6H9 and it looks like a army olive drab but it is sure cool in person. Some times the photos don't do the color justice. Any of your other choices are classic 40 colors and you can't go wrong. Good job on your build. You are doing a superb job.

 

[cnosek]

Great work and way to stick with it! Definitely subscribed.

 

[lelandEOD]

Got some more work done on the truck. I flipped the tub over (not an easy task by yourself) and began work on Project Sound Deadening.

I applied one layer of Dynamat Xtreme to the underside of the tub, then used brush-able seam sealer to seal all the edges. Then I got it scuffed with a scotchbrite pad and shot two heavy coats of primer over it. Next will be to spray a good coat of Rock-it Liner to the undersides to cover the Dynamat. Hopefully it makes a difference in engine heat/noise.

 

[RAYJON]

That looks good after the primer you can't really see the dymat.. Looks great

 

[Chamba]

Here's the 6L4 (Light Olive) you've got on the left side of the hood. I love it and people comment on it regularly, though I nearly went 6H9 myself.

The light olive is very, very close to that green the new Danglers are painted, though it is perhaps one shade lighter.

 

[Chamba]

Found a dangler for comparison

 

[Chamba]

Sunny side

 

[Volley]

That's one sick FJ

Sent from my Galaxy Note II

 

[lelandEOD]

Light Olive won the color contest. I just can't resist it.

On another note, I've been working on the Gunner again. I somehow managed to accidentally purchase an uber rare FJ25 filler neck sheet metal and since I'm not likely to find a FJ25 filler neck and gas cap anytime soon, I decided now is the time to figure out a solution. I just went with the easiest fix. I scabbed over the opening with a new piece cut from 18 gauge steel.





I'll get it tacked in the next time I've got the tub upside down. The edges will just be sealed with seam sealer.


Speaking of upside down... last time I had the tub inverted to lay the Dynamat, I took advantage of the ease of access to the wheel wells to add the Factory roll bar gussets.



My '73 didn't come with a roll bar and although I know the factory bar is somewhat wimpy in a rollover situation, I'm really just after the 3 point seat belt attachment right now.