Is it possible to do a $0 2F--3B swap in a 40? Follow along and see! (1 Viewer)

[MrMoMo]

Yep, galvanizing cleaned off... Well... Kind of.. Before I tacked the first seam (the top of the notch) I made sure to grind back the galvanizing from the edges. But in the excitement of putting the second part in (from the notch down) I totally forgot.... So I hit what I could this morning when I went out - thanks for the reminder! I do also have a fan right beside me, and it's cold as hell in my shop so the smoke and fume that does come off is pretty eager to go straight up.

I welded galvanized I-beams to the bottom of a bridge near here for 6 weeks about 12 years ago... I was the only person on the crew who would wear a respirator. All the "old timers" would keep saying "just drink a glass of milk in the morning". I never bought that. I think they just went out drinking every night and woke up with enough of a hangover that they didn't realize it was fume poisoning.

Got the seams all welded and ground down with my flap disc. Not perfect, but if I was that picky I would have bought one pre-made. Next step is to make the outer sections, and the body mount points, and tie it back into the corner posts.

Man I can't wait for spring and some warmer temps... I had to stop and warm my fingers up, and I'm wearing thinsulate mechanics gloves!!

Hard to get a good picture of this...

 

[White Stripe]

Are u going to galvanize the tub too?

 

[MrMoMo]

Are u going to galvanize the tub too?

No, though it would be cool to do that, it seems that trying to galvanize thin metals often results in warping of the panels - I'm happy with a good layer or 5 of paint. Hopefully I can weld and seam seal the small cracks so there is no-where for moisture to get trapped, and get a few good layers of paint on the rest.

 

[MrMoMo]

Decided to start today off in a different direction. The drivers side rocker has been stating at me every time I walk by, taunting me. I knew there was nasty rust under the aluminum because I had seen it from underneath - and I knew the hole in the back of the DS floor was pretty serious. So - since it was a Saturday and that meant more available time - I figure why not get a jump on it.

Looks like a nice tread plate rocker.... Right?

Surprise!!! (Well, not really - but a good reason to climb under a truck if you see these on it and you're thinking of buying!)

A quick zip with the grinder and I had most of it off (well, what didn't fall off on its own). Chopped the outer edge of the floor off, as well as the inside edge below the door sill down to where the floor used to be. Undid the bolt that holds it to the front and then had a nice clean blank place to start!

Cut a fresh panel from my sheet, welded a flange to the front and temporarily clamped it in place at the front, with a few tacks to hold it in line - so I could line up the new floor section for the back, to be able to attach the floor to the outer skin. (Once everything is fit the outer skin will come off so I can paint the inside, then weld the outer skin back on)

Still need to shape the back radius and weld on the rear flange, and lower flange.

Cut and fit the floor section, floor flanges down to match what was there before. Upper inner piece will flange in and land on top of the floor. Still need to put some patches in the mid section of the floor, and the front.

 

[MrMoMo]

Floor from above. Back lip of the floor is going to be replaced further in as a separate piece, as is the lower portion of the main beam.... But that's another day...

Quite the pile of "OEM" steel on the floor... Any bidders? Think I might put it on eBay with the OEM rear sill, and the contents of my shop vac when I'm all done.

Just noticed that in the pic above it's hard to tell the difference between the rocker and the frame in the background.... Just to clarify, the red circled below is what was completely missing from the rocker, most of the rest was just made of/held together with bondo!

 

[winnie]

lol re the rust and eBay thing ... put a big price on it and see what happens ... there's 60's vintage, almost complete, tool-roll on there right now .. current bid of nearly $600 (wow) and still a couple days to go ...

I replaced both rockers (inner and outer) last summer ... surprised to find the main tub cross-member needed work which before the project I thought looked pretty good ... rotted at the end on each side of the tub ...

 

[joyRidaz]

I'm late to the party... SUBSCRIBED

This is the kind of know-how, can-do type of stuff that gets me inspired to take on my own rust projects I've been putting off.

Great job!

 

[MrMoMo]

Know how? Crap, if you found that in this thread it wasn't posted by me!

 

[MrMoMo]

Well, had a pretty interrupted day today - but all good interruptions. Still managed to get some work done. Not as much as I had hoped, but progress none the less.

Decided to take a bigger chunk out of the drivers side floor in the front outer side. Still needs the very front taken out, but I now have enough to finish the inner sill - which is what I was originally hoping to get done today.. New meat is from the C-clamp forward, from the sill, and in as far as the first "hump". Left about an inch at the front as I am going to run a new piece across the entire front. I drilled out the spot welds to the channel below (still in perfectly acceptable shape?) and welded the new patch back down to it.

The angle clamped to the floor is the start of the inner sill - need to weld some meat to it to make it taller to reach the top. Can also see it from the outside, as I have now removed the outer sill I temporarily attached so I could get the floor flange in the right location... Clamp is just holding the angle to the floor, at the support channel.

From the inside:

Incase anyone is wondering - I have been cutting all of these parts with a cutting disc on my angle grinder - makes nice straight cuts. I have a plasma cutter, just too lazy to get it out. (That and my air lines keep freezing!)

Still needs one more patch in the floor where the seat mount goes, but that's a nice simple rectangle, so won't take long.

 

[handcannon]

Thank you for the pics. I have something similar to contend with, but not as extensive as what you picture on the drivers side. Although, it is both outside and inside just like yours. Your pics help me visualize what I want to do to fix mine.

Don

 

[MrMoMo]

Glad the pics can help! My advice, buy a good spot weld driller, a bunch of cutting discs for your grinder, and some sheet steel. After that it's just about cutting, measuring and welding!

 

[joyRidaz]

I'm intrigued as to how u deal with the crossbeam. Looks great so far!

What does the bottom edge of you rocker look like? Is a fold/break necessary?

 

[MrMoMo]

Crossbeam doesn't appear that complicated. I am awaiting a few dimensions from @Senior who has been doing amazing work here:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/one-owner-bj40-rebuild.828738/

Bottom edge of the outer rocker has a lip inward, as well as one on the front and back - as it did from the factory. Inner rocker has a lip facing in to tie into the floor, floor has a lip going down to tie into the outer rocker, as well as a lip on the back going down to tie into the main beam.

 

[MrMoMo]

Hey @joyRidaz, found a bunch of useful reference pics for the sill on page 4 of this rebuild thread by @broth9640 so glad people post pics!

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/operation-olive-my-1975-fj40-ground-up-restoration.482240/page-4

 

[MrMoMo]

Got an hour in tonight and managed to fab up a quick inside sill to floor section. It's actually made up of two parts stitched together, an angle and a strip of sheet to make up the height. I have a bunch if this angle stock but it has a rolled lip on one edge, so I had to trim it off prior to fitting the finished part.

Hit the bottom of the angle and the floor with some Eastwood self etching weld through primer so it's not a rust sandwich in 6 months. Got the part in place and tacked it along the top edge for now. Hopefully will get it welded up, and spot welded to the floor tomorrow

Again, hard to get a pic showing it properly.... But here are a few crappy pics....

 

[MrMoMo]

Well another day goes by with little progress, but progress none the less. Managed to get most of the inner sill welded up and buffed down - need to go over a few spots a little more but running out of decent flap discs.

Next step is to drill a few spots and tack it to the floor pan, then coat the inside of it all with paint. Pop a few "OEM" located access holes for the wiring in, and then weld the outer panel in place.

Starting to look like a floor again!

Mikes driveshaft hardware showed up so I spun the 40 and moved it off to the side so we could get his HJ60 on the hoist - he worked on getting the front shaft out of his truck and replacing the U-joints while I welded up my truck. We only had to break out my torches for one stubborn shaft nut - but it made no argument once heated to cherry and hit with the impact!

 

[seatosummit]

Subscribed!

Realize I am a little late to the party also, but great thread thus far.

Working on H55 and 3B swap into my 78 BJ40, haven't had to contend with winter conditions quite like you, though. Giving me inspiration to do some body restorations while I'm at it.

Keep it up.

Austin

 

[MrMoMo]

Right on. In a bit of a lull right now, won't be much progress for a few weeks, but expect a hard core jump on things in April. Stocking up parts and sorting out plans right now... Weather should be conducive to outdoor work soon!

Got my new corner channels and amby door catches from CCOT, as well as a used bikini top from the mud classifieds.

Thinking seriously about staying green, or maybe going desert tan?

 

[seatosummit]

I am in a bit of a lull myself. Waiting on parts, and breaks in work.

I vote green! My stock color was green, painted tan by PO. Every now and again, when I find parts that were missed in the paint job, I get to thinking about going back to the original.

When do you guys see temperatures that won't make you hate yourself when you throw on the bikini top?

 

[MrMoMo]

I am in a bit of a lull myself. Waiting on parts, and breaks in work.

I vote green! My stock color was green, painted tan by PO. Every now and again, when I find parts that were missed in the paint job, I get to thinking about going back to the original.

When do you guys see temperatures that won't make you hate yourself when you throw on the bikini top?

Sorry for the delay in my reply - I've been out of country, out of continent, and out of WiFi for the past two weeks... (Which also means out of the shop!).

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'll stick with green - I've just always had a thing for tan. Maybe I'll do the 45 tan.

Temps for bikini top? Geez, after a long winter a sunny day that hits 10C would do the ticket!

But seriously - probably fine from late May to mid October for a bikini top here.

Saw this beaut on my trip, it appears to have had a rough life, but was still driving around - drove past me down the road!