Builds My DreamCar & Worst nightmare - HJ45 RestoMod (1 Viewer)

[jacubillo]

What engine / transmission do you plan on installing?

Plan is to go with a 2UZ-FE and a A750F auto transmission.

 

[jacubillo]

Roof is now removed. And the rim / edge is completely rusted

Luckily... The top of the rear section is in perfect condition. Solid metal all around!>


I was then able to also remove the rear section and now the tub is pretty much ready to be lifted from the chassis.

I'll try to remove the tub during the weekend...

- Juan.

 

[airon23]

There, I'm all caught up with your progress. It's pretty impressive so far. Keep up the good work.

 

[jacubillo]

Some work work around these stay@home days...

Driver side door and windshield have been removed>

I was able to remove the nuts from 3 of the body mounts but the front/drive one just spun the whole bolt. I have no idea what could be done so I just bought a reciprocating saw and cut the whole bolt off>

Welded some cab bracing>

And FINALLY the body is lifted from the frame>

- Juan

 

[jacubillo]

Frame is in even worst condition than thought... previous owner welded plates to cover up rusted spots and even used body filler in the frame to smooth out some areas and pass visual inspections.
Here's a video showing how thick the filler is in some areas. There is a spot in which filler is so thick... when I cut it open... the core was still soft and wet! I could even smell the filler that hadn't cured after months or even years!


I also used the pressure washer to remove some of the rust flakes on the rear of the frame... this left a huge gap were the 2 plates had expanded>

Similar issues appeared all aroundthe frame. The inner and external C channels have been expanded and will require some fixing...

I'm currently removing the rivets to dissasemble the frame and had ever individual piece sandblasted, fixed, reinforced, and re-assemble everything.
I tried cutting slots in an x pattern and then chiseling the heads but it was too much work:

Next method was drilling them... and chiseling the heads. This worked MUCH better. Center punch, pilot hole, big drillbit and a couple taps with the chisel and 4lbs hammer:

I'll continue this tomorrow. Don't want to bother too much the neighbors with all the hammering.

- Juan

 

[jacubillo]

Horror show>

-- Juan

 

[jacubillo]

Horror show part2>

My idea is to remove the inner C Channel, sandblast the frame rails... and fix all these issues in the outer channel. Leaving it kind off like this:

With access to the inner part of the channel.. I'll then add reinforcement plates like this one.. but on the inside of the frame:

I still need to remove all of the rivets and still need to get some 3/16ths sheet to fabricate the stiffening plates.

- Juan

 

[jacubillo]

Question>

What's the current consensus regarding completely welding frame pieces together vs joining them with rivets/bolts? What's better for a daily driver?

 

[Travis 76]

Personally I would bolt pieces back together using grade 5-8 hardware where the rivets were. And also weld in the damaged spots and weld on your reinforcement pieces.

 

[et3surge]

I have my 79 HJ45 troopy that I am starting to think of what to start rebuilding and your thread has been an inspiration. Thanks

 

[FJ404345]

Question>

What's the current consensus regarding completely welding frame pieces together vs joining them with rivets/bolts? What's better for a daily driver?

@jacubillo , as you are asking for advice, not nice to say but I wouldn't continue with this frame at all, this frame is shot !!
As you are in Costa Rica I would:
--look for another Fj45 frame or
--find maybe two 40 frames and maybe piece that together if possible or
--let a metal shop or master welder build one or
--if you have the "knowledge" build yourself a complete new frame

Don't build a house on a bad foundation.

 

[jacubillo]

@jacubillo , as you are asking for advice, not nice to say but I wouldn't continue with this frame at all, this frame is shot !!

Thanks for the suggestion. And you are 100% correct.
I don't want to be one of those new members always going against the advice of more experienced builders... but this time I'll have to.
Thing is... I HAVE to keep this frame due to the chassis VIN number. This is what identifies a car here in CR and it cannot be transferred to another chassis or car. It sucks I know... But I'm taking this as an opportunity to learn (the hard way) and improve some skills while fixing this frame. I'm taking it slow and making sure everything is completed appropriately and safely.

Here's some more progress so far... I've been removing all of different "mounts" attached to the frame... leaf springs, body, steering box mounts.. all gone.
There are so many exterior reinforcement plates!!! And most of them have also been welded top/bottom and not diagonally

It has been a tough job but its moving forward. Once the thick plates have been cut out and the ugly welds grinded and sanded down... it's all begining to look way better>

The real horror is still waiting to be shown when I pull apart the inner C channels. I'm STILL removing some leftover rivets holding everything in place... Then.. it will be time to properly reinforce the frame but on the inner walls so nothing is shown from the outside.

- Juan

 

[jacubillo]

Soooooo.... after more than a year since the last post... here I am again! . Project was on hold but its back on track!

Started to remove some of the old "reinforcement" plates and found more nastyness under them:

Fishplate removed... and found these gems:

This is one of the bigger plates:

And whats under it??? ....

NOTHING!!! A huge hole!!

This is going to take a while to fix...

-- Juan

 

[jacubillo]

That big plate took me about 1 hour to remove... had to be really carefull not to cut through it and into the frame.
Why would someone use a 3/8 plate to cover a hole?!?!?!

And Im guessing the previous "mechanic" decided to chew into the frame to remove the section:

Here's a quick vid of the whole mess:


I only have about 1 hour every day to work on the car so future updates will be constant but slooooow...

-- Juan

 

[animaldevictor]

hola,
en Censolsa venden una varillas muy buenas para soldar chassis, estos pickups han trabajado mucho!!! yo comienzo con el mio en diciembre.

Saludos,

 

[astr]

Look into getting a wrecked FZJ80. With a 4" stretch of the frame, it is an almost perfect fit for a 45. With it you you get a good frame, coil suspension, A442 or A343 automatic transmission, a 1FZ-FE engine and power steering. It appears to be a quite popular swap in Australia and there is a company there that makes the required body mounts to mount a HJ/FJ45 body on a 80 series frame. With the HJ45 frame and suspension, you will never achieve the quality ride that I believe you are striving for.

Check out this thread: HJ45 Body on FZJ80 Frame - Your thoughts please - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/hj45-body-on-fzj80-frame-your-thoughts-please.1236763/#post-13580108