Builds My introduction...

[AcroSteve]

on to the bodywork and dealing with the rust. Surprising how little there is, but I'll show what I've delt with, maybe it will help others.

Biggest trouble spots were the rear fenderwell/seat mounting areas. Right side was definitely trash, so I sourced a cutout from jonas at barnyard cruisers. I spliced it in best I could, which was pretty well. The 3 layer "sandwich" remained together.

But at around $300, I wanted to save the left side. So I cut it out. Seperated the 3 layers and fabricated the middle piece from a FJ80 body I have. Not perfect, but it worked out

I've been applying a rust converter primer from kimball midwest, and some weld through primer in hopes of stopping the rust.

 

[AcroSteve]

Some other areas in the rear fenders. In addition to some patches, I've been separating the layers best I can to clean out tge rust and debris, and also applying the rust converter.

 

[AcroSteve]

might not look like mutch at a casual glance.

But rust works silently in between the layers.

That area was the same on the other side. Although not quite as bad.

 

[AcroSteve]

Contest for the most tools involved with the smallest repair area?


Left inner quarter panel area.

Just to get rid of a little rust.

Here was the outside of the quarter...

 

[AcroSteve]

Finally! Bottom is painted. Gonna seam seal a bunch, and probably spray some raptor liner or lizard skin on the bottom before declaring that part "finished".

That's two coats of Eastwood on top of metal prep from POR I had on hand.

 

[AcroSteve]

Heck of an improvement. Lots and lots of work removing the old undercoating and getting the limited amount rust cut out.

 

[AcroSteve]

Got lizard skin?

 

[AcroSteve]

Finally, some visible progress. This is just base. Clear in a few minutes.

 

[AcroSteve]

Yep, this will do, I believe.

 

[AcroSteve]

Last of the paint pics for a while. Haven't really started bodywork on the doors, fenders etc yet.

This pic was under florescent lights. Color match is pretty close. The area inside the vent is oem paint.

 

[AcroSteve]

Headliner is in!

3/4 boom mat might be a little too thick. The ribs of the headliner push on it hard, which makes the ends a little hard to seat. But on the other hand, it certainly holds the foam in place very well.

That foam is on top of both lizard skin products. The sound control and the ceramic insulation. This gap was as shown and filled with foam before I decided on the boom mat. I was careful that the foam not push on the roof. Looking back, I should have taken that brace back out and bent a little more bow into it.

 

[AcroSteve]

BMW 328i seats installed and working, and I've got the dash and engine harness wiring done, so next on the list was mounting the shifter. But we also needed/wanted a console of some sort.

Here's what I'm going with.

Shifter supplied with the engine harness kit is from a 19-23 Ford ranger. So, to simplify the cosmetics, I'm just going with the whole console from the same vehicle.

 

[AcroSteve]

Bonus question...

Why would I need extra switches on the front doors?

Here's a hint

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

So no sliders?

 

[AcroSteve]

So no sliders?

Sliders AND steps

Check post 113. Was an earlier progress report.

I did move past that with some more modifications.

What I ended up with at first was that when standing on the step, it wasn't convenient due to the outer slider pipe. So I modified them

I'm not totally convinced that I won't need to fabricate a little more protection .

 

[AcroSteve]

I'm done with the console and shifter mounting. Still will need to figure out what to do with the levers for the atlas transfer case, but they are cable actuated, so I have flexibility.

What I didn't have flexibility on was the park brake location in the new console. I had centered the console between the seats, which basically centered it in the heater box. I decided it was best to just change the mounting location of the lever to better center it on the console. So I shifted it forwards about an inch, and to the right an inch. I also raised it an inch in the front and almost 2 in the back. The FJ60 brake lever is quite low as compared to the FJ80 model.

That angle is using the original mounting holes. So you can see the change in location.

There's a boot to neaten up the lever area, but this is final location. I'll have to further modify the area where the cable attaches, and seal it up some, but it should work

And some pictures of the mounts which will remain unseen.

This area gets a cover so this won't be seen.

 

[AcroSteve]

Atlas shifters. 90% done...

 

[AcroSteve]

Wont be as long as it has been.

Doors and quarters got nearly full coverage of this "hybrid" sound control. It 2 layers.

 

[ceylonfj40nut]

Nice work man!!! Where did you get this dash piece?

 

[tmxmotorsports]

BMW 328i seats installed and working, and I've got the dash and engine harness wiring done, so next on the list was mounting the shifter. But we also needed/wanted a console of some sort.

Here's what I'm going with.

Shifter supplied with the engine harness kit is from a 19-23 Ford ranger. So, to simplify the cosmetics, I'm just going with the whole console from the same vehicle.

View attachment 3731005View attachment 3731006View attachment 3731007View attachment 3731008

This looks pretty sweet