Builds Let's not call it a restoration... Chopped down FJ40 to 45ish on an FZJ80 chassis BUILD!

[HandForged]

It's looking good, what is your cab length, stock or did you stretch it a little for legroom? I went back thru your thread but couldn't find where you mentioned the cab length. I have a rusted spare tub that would make a good candidate and have been thinking of doing a 40 to 45/45.5-ish conversion...been following your build and Skips for inspiration!

I cut mine with a stretch of 12" over the stock FJ45 cab. My intention was to have at least a small side window in the hard top when it is cut down. I can lay out where I cut for you if you like. The tub was cut 2" behind where the tub steps up to clear the crossmember at that location. The rear I just sort of guessed, drew a line, squared it up and cut. I don't remember what it ended up at. I did leave the small "humps" from the rear wheel wells in there as they were solid. When finished out it will be a nice little tool box on each side or maybe just a place to mount a small subwoofer, not sure yet. When I put the floor in back there it will fully enclose that area.

 

[rustED71]

I cut mine with a stretch of 12" over the stock FJ45 cab. My intention was to have at least a small side window in the hard top when it is cut down. I can lay out where I cut for you if you like. The tub was cut 2" behind where the tub steps up to clear the crossmember at that location. The rear I just sort of guessed, drew a line, squared it up and cut. I don't remember what it ended up at. I did leave the small "humps" from the rear wheel wells in there as they were solid. When finished out it will be a nice little tool box on each side or maybe just a place to mount a small subwoofer, not sure yet. When I put the floor in back there it will fully enclose that area.

Thanks for the info, I think I have a pretty good idea of what you did now. I could see where you cut, but it was still a little hard to picture how much room you were going to have without my FJ40 nearby to look at lol. I like the storage/toolbox/ speaker enclosure idea, looks like it would work well for either of those! I like how you reused the rear corners of the tub and just had to fill in for the tailgate and a little below the corners. I might have to build the whole rear of the cab from scratch, mines only solid from the cowl to the hump behind the doors where you made your cut, I think my corners are pretty rusted out and full of bondo.

 

[HandForged]

Thanks for the info, I think I have a pretty good idea of what you did now. I could see where you cut, but it was still a little hard to picture how much room you were going to have without my FJ40 nearby to look at lol. I like the storage/toolbox/ speaker enclosure idea, looks like it would work well for either of those! I like how you reused the rear corners of the tub and just had to fill in for the tailgate and a little below the corners. I might have to build the whole rear of the cab from scratch, mines only solid from the cowl to the hump behind the doors where you made your cut, I think my corners are pretty rusted out and full of bondo.

If it were me doing what you're taling about, I would call the guy who makes the 3/8" steel tub corners and order those. I think his corners go all the way to the door frame and would be VERY stout. Save a LOT of fab time and come out stronger than you could build it. They are preformed. There are a lot of possibilities for sure. The area I am working on now will be double walled when it is done. For strength and to have an area to fill with insulation. The 1" square in there will be the structural members, sheeted with plate steel.

 

[rustED71]

If it were me doing what you're taling about, I would call the guy who makes the 3/8" steel tub corners and order those. I think his corners go all the way to the door frame and would be VERY stout. Save a LOT of fab time and come out stronger than you could build it. They are preformed. There are a lot of possibilities for sure. The area I am working on now will be double walled when it is done. For strength and to have an area to fill with insulation. The 1" square in there will be the structural members, sheeted with plate steel.

That's a good idea, I thought of using those too, I think they're made out of 3/16 thick steel so should be really strong. I look forward to seeing how yours turns out, your making some good progress!

 

[HandForged]

I look forward to seeing how yours turns out, your making some good progress!

ME TOO!

 

[HandForged]

Last picture of the day. Floor for the rear of the tub cut and tacked in. This will go from side to side and tie all of the sheet metal together. I'll have to brake a corner for the front to tie it into the actual floor unless I decide to get creative there. Then the slow process of welding it all out starts. After that I can finish the tailgate structure and the front panel.

 

[HandForged]

I have been laying on my belly stitch welding all those sheet metal seams and I have about had enough of that. Decided to do something standing up for a while. Cut one of the hard top sides up to fit the new tub dimensions. Looks like I will end up with a small side window, which is what I wanted! My conflict is with laying out the back of the hard top. Wondering if I should bother making a place for a rear window. I will not be able to see behind the truck with the bed I am planning. I don't really see any reason to have one back there to just look at steel through it. I guess it would end up letting more light into the cab? Not sure why I need to go to the trouble of fitting one that doesn't have a use.

 

[HandForged]

Knees and back are shot finishing out the stitch welding on the sheet metal, so I decided to mock up the seat and place the hard top pieces for an idea of what I was working with space wise. With the factory 80 seat mounted 7" from the floor pan, it felt like it should. The steering column placement was spot on. Tilted right where I wanted it. Behind the seat, with the seat laid back a little but comfortable I have 9" before it contacts the hard top in the rear. I LIKE IT! There's still a good amount of sheet metal work that needs to be done. I will most likely get it all stitched together in the next few days. Shoot some primer on it so that I can set it all aside as one piece to start on finishing up the harder work on the frame. Looking at all the half- A$$ mock up stuff that I did down there is killing me.

 

[HandForged]

Here's a gratuitous weld shot for you bead Nazis. This is a vertical weld on 16g sheet steel with .035 wire. Don't let anyone fool you, doing it correctly, even as this is going to be covered up with another panel is important.

 

[47coeman]

Last picture of the day. Floor for the rear of the tub cut and tacked in. This will go from side to side and tie all of the sheet metal together. I'll have to brake a corner for the front to tie it into the actual floor unless I decide to get creative there. Then the slow process of welding it all out starts. After that I can finish the tailgate structure and the front panel.

View attachment 2193534

Looks nice and will be very serviceable, you got go slow to go fast.

 

[HandForged]

Looks nice and will be very serviceable, you got go slow to go fast.

Very true and it will take a few more hours to get what I have tacked welded out. I'm trying to bounce around on the pieces to keep the warping to a minimum. I already got carried away and warped one section. So took a break to play with other things. At least most of this will only need to be shot with primer before covering it up with another sheet of steel. I have some outside beads to grind and I'm sure I will be creating many more.

 

[87BJ74]

Your making pretty good progress. Interested in seeing what you are gonna come up with for a bed on this truck. I was and still am going back and forth on the bed for my truck.

 

[HandForged]

Your making pretty good progress. Interested in seeing what you are gonna come up with for a bed on this truck. I was and still am going back and forth on the bed for my truck.

The bed will be a combination of the Aussie Ute canopy and a service body. Essentially an enclosed canopy in aluminum or light gauge steel. Most likely square tube structure with doors and drawers that are accessible. It will just take a while to accumulate that much aluminum... that stuff ain't cheap.

 

[87BJ74]

Aluminum is never cheap, but is nice because lightweight and rust free. Should be a very useful design with lots of room for gear. I have an 75 series bed sitting in my shop that i might end up bobbing on both sides to fit up on my truck. I want the bed length to be in the 5' to 5.5' range, so im not getting hung up on the back end in the rocks. I haven't decided fully on the 75 series bed or just making a nice removable side flatbed...

 

[HandForged]

I am certainly a fan of a flatbed. I think it's the most useful bed you can have on a truck bar none. If I weren't needing to haul a bunch of gear/tools/supplies and potentially sleep in my project truck it would be getting a flat bed for sure. Add a couple tool boxes and rock on. I am trying my best to get everything I need in my bed on this rig. If I can't, I'm going to build a small trailer for it but I really don't want to do that. I think saving weight, saving space and carrying no more than what i need I can get this truck in under 3500 pounds fully equipped. At least that is the goal.

 

[87BJ74]

A trailer is nice as a camping unit, hook up an go. But get a little long and hard to turn around. Nice behind an fj40 but any bigger they become a nuance. Keeping it all on one truck is the best i tend to pack more useless stuff i dont use when i have the trailer on. More minimalist, the less weight overall.

 

[jim land]

A flat bed with a removable enclosed canopy could be nice

 

[HandForged]

A trailer is nice as a camping unit, hook up an go. But get a little long and hard to turn around. Nice behind an fj40 but any bigger they become a nuance. Keeping it all on one truck is the best i tend to pack more useless stuff i dont use when i have the trailer on. More minimalist, the less weight overall.

For me in years past I have always ended up tail gunner on trail rides. Mostly because I can field repair anything and usually have a truck full of tools and the know how to use them. Recovery equipment to get about anything done. So i bring up the rear and keep the "dudes" moving along...HA! I tend to carry everything. This might be the last truck I build for quite a long time, might be the last one so I am working on organizing and having a place for everything more than just space. I really want this truck to essentially be a 30 mpg swiss army knife.

 

[rustED71]

It's nice to get a visual of your seat placement and how much space you still have. I'm still in the planning stages and trying to decide on how much of a stretch I want to do.
I like how your hardtop is coming along, it's looking really good.

 

[HandForged]

It's nice to get a visual of your seat placement and how much space you still have. I'm still in the planning stages and trying to decide on how much of a stretch I want to do.
I like how your hardtop is coming along, it's looking really good.

ON the 80 chassis I was concerned with the room left over for a bed without having to stretch the frame. Initially I figured It would be essential to do but I didn't want to make any decisions until the tub was sitting on the frame. I was pleasantly surprised that my minimalistic approach to the cab left a nice area for the bed without any stretch.

In the end you can make it as long as you want but there comes a breakover point of diminishing returns with just building a crew cab. As it will just be me on the trails, perhaps a friend as co-pilot the need for two more doors was non-existent. Add to that it didn't fit into the design I had in my head. I wanted a comfortable pickup with lots of leg room and storage behind the seats. I feel like I got exactly what I wanted there.