Builds My first FJ60 (2 Viewers)

[FJ Noob]

Something else i want to do one day! Looks excellent, brand new.

You know as well as I do...you can always find something else to want to do!

 

[FJ Noob]

The weather was unusually warm this weekend so I continued “de-chroming” Chloe. The PO had a re-spray done in the original color and clear coat. Based on the up close quality of the re-spray, I’m guessing the painter was paid a 12-pack for the job up front and possibly drank half of it before starting.

Since the all black non-US spec outer window felts are a different shape than the original chrome parts, I had to get creative to hide old paint because I didn’t want to go through the entire process for properly blending the silver and then clear coating all the panels. I’ll tackle that one day when she takes a rest for a full on body work and paint job.

Today’s goal was to pull the last of the chrome, get all the rusty rock chips fixed, and have her look half-way decent for daily driving for the next year or so. I was actually impressed by the finish I was able to get with rattle can paint and clear coat.

Now I just gotta put her back together....by tomorrow morning

 

[OG SUV]

That looks really good!

 

[FJ Noob]

5 MINUTE FIX...

I had the dash apart and decided to go the extra mile. I replaced the material that goes on the gauge bezel to fill the gap between it and the steering column. If you even want to be this level of nerd, here’s what I did.

An $0.89 sheet of craft foam and a razor blade is all you need.

Roughly cut to shape and press it against the little attachment posts on the back of the bezel.

Cut small “x’s” at the marked spots, slip over the posts, trim to size, done. I ended up trimming just a little bit more on the final install.

 

[Scro]

Great build!

Do you remember how you blacked out the sill plates? Paint or powder coat? Has it held up?

Thanks

 

[FJ Noob]

Great build!

Do you remember how you blacked out the sill plates? Paint or powder coat? Has it held up?

Thanks

Thanks! So far, the only powder coated parts are the rock sliders, so the answer is paint. Everything is holding up well so far. I’d love to powder coat what I can, but I refuse to pay the overinflated prices I see locally. I could do it myself for a fraction of the price if I had a large enough oven ...one day hopefully!

 

[FJ Noob]

Not much in the way of building going on lately. I’ve been more focused on helping my wife out with the 80-series she unceremoniously took from me. Chloe’s been doing really good, getting driven daily and generally just being enjoyed by everybody.

We recently had the kid’s spring break here and we made a semi-last minute decision to take off on a week long camping road trip. We did a 1,300 mile loop throughout western NC, into KY, down through TN, and the back home. We hit the Great Smokey Mountains National Park, Mammoth Cave National Park, and Roan Mountain State Park. Along the way I got to visit an old Army buddy and spend some time with him and his family.

Once again, Chloe endured and got us home. She was nice enough to wait 24 hours after we got back before the rear u-joint gave up and the alternator crapped out ! Luckily I had some spare u-joints stashed away and the alternator from a parts truck I had last year. She was back up and running after a few minutes of attention

 

[BadReligion]

Just read the whole thread. Great work and nice looking 60! Very cool that you went from limited mechanical experience to removing the interior and welding in patches in the first month of ownership. Sometimes you just have to dive into things and figure it out as you go.

 

[FJ Noob]

Just read the whole thread. Great work and nice looking 60! Very cool that you went from limited mechanical experience to removing the interior and welding in patches in the first month of ownership. Sometimes you just have to dive into things and figure it out as you go.

Thanks...it’s been an overall fun learning experience. Since I’ve had my hands on literally everything except the clutch and the pistons, I’ve gained enough understanding to go from freaking out and imagining worst case scenarios when something acts up...to “eh, no oil gushing and she’s still running; I’ll get her home and take a look”. It’s a pretty good feeling to be able to be so self sufficient with my truck.

Now I just need to learn how to read the electrical diagrams! What I see in the FSM vs. what I see in real life doesn’t make sense yet.

 

[Hojack]

The weather was unusually warm this weekend so I continued “de-chroming” Chloe. The PO had a re-spray done in the original color and clear coat. Based on the up close quality of the re-spray, I’m guessing the painter was paid a 12-pack for the job up front and possibly drank half of it before starting.

Since the all black non-US spec outer window felts are a different shape than the original chrome parts, I had to get creative to hide old paint because I didn’t want to go through the entire process for properly blending the silver and then clear coating all the panels. I’ll tackle that one day when she takes a rest for a full on body work and paint job.

Today’s goal was to pull the last of the chrome, get all the rusty rock chips fixed, and have her look half-way decent for daily driving for the next year or so. I was actually impressed by the finish I was able to get with rattle can paint and clear coat.

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Now I just gotta put her back together....by tomorrow morning

If only the Deloreon was a Landcruiser...
I feel like I’m back in 1985
great work man!