LOL, I thought I was the only one that had little regard for where I place my food and then continue to eat it. I figure the dog eats it and is still alive....why not?
Builds New here, no idea where to start.
- Thread starter Nader
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- #182
I've mentioned a few times how I didn't feel like I had it in me to do another restoration. So I'm having my neighbor down the street do the heavy lifting with all the measuring and cutting. I've asked him to tack the panels in place so I could do the final welding and grinding. Rear sill is in, now doing the quarters and rockers.
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- #183
Neighbor is making progress. The welding gap for the rear quarter is wide because it's not in final position. Will take one person to hold it up while the other tack welds it in place. Hopefully the other side will go faster.
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- #184
More progress. Here's the kind of peek-a-boo view I don't like. Freakin straight-thru. This is where the wheel well supports are located. Or as I call them, the "rust accelerators."
Shoot, I should make this my avatar. Done.
So I tried to put in a call to Patches-R-Us, but realized they don't exist. Which meant I had to work with electric shears and some 16g sheet steel. I tacked in through the undercoating, but then went back with a wire wheel and got down to bare metal for final welding.
Shoot, I should make this my avatar. Done.
So I tried to put in a call to Patches-R-Us, but realized they don't exist. Which meant I had to work with electric shears and some 16g sheet steel. I tacked in through the undercoating, but then went back with a wire wheel and got down to bare metal for final welding.
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- #185
Weather here sucks a lot of the time. But these aren't fair-weather trucks, nor should be the owners. So we put up the canopy, and carry on. Notice the right side of the canopy being weighed down by a couple gallons of lousy rainwater, I mean, liquid sunshine.
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- #186
Making progress in the rain. Patch panels and quarters are welded. Still need to go back and get the pin holes, and do the final grinding/smoothing of the welds. Still need to do the right wheel well, the "rust accelerators" and rockers.
Looks great!
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- #188
Continuing to make progress. I painstakingly measured and cut the auxiliary fuel tank's filler hole to match the original, and carefully bent the lip to match. Only realized after I was done that I could have cut the original one out of the rusted quarter and transplanted it and it would have looked better. Meh.
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- #189
Got the truck up on jack stands to level the body as we proceed to weld on more panels. Prolly should have done this at the start. I used a clear tube filled with water to level the truck corner to corner. I was reassured to see the corner measurements were dead-on equal at 70.25" from hard top hole to the edge of quarter panel.
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- #190
As you can see in the second pic above, that auxiliary filler will need pass through the fender well. So more cutting of sheet metal is required. I'm pleased with the progress, but like most projects, there is also creep. I'm finding more and more rust that needs to be fixed. Just put in an order for a new passenger footwell pan. That, and the passenger side rocker are all that's left for major metal repair. I'm hoping my neighbors don't run out of patience with this eyesore and all the power/air tool noise it generates.
matt.mcinnes
2F-ETI
Welcome.
It’s an addiction. My 2c do it once and do it right. Looked after it will out live you and be handed down generations.
Mac
It’s an addiction. My 2c do it once and do it right. Looked after it will out live you and be handed down generations.
Mac
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- #192
This fender has been bothering me since I've had the truck. Finally got around to fixing it, and got to use the plasma cutter, which is kind of fun (but sloppy). Still needs a skim of Bondo.
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- #193
Not sure how to handle the auxiliary fuel filler that is partway in the cargo area. I'm going to weld the wheel well to the filler housing, but what should I do with the filler tube? Weld it as well? I feel like it should be able to be disassembled, so maybe just put a gasket around it to seal it off?
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- #194
That fender is looking good after some Bondo and primer. Had my 9 year old kid do it to earn some money for video games. Could use a a little more finishing.
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- #195
Pink drink makes welding better. If you're going to do it in close proximity to a gas tank that still has some gas in it, I recommend wrapping the tank in a fiberglass blanket, doubled up, and using said drink to hold it down. Look at those sparks bouncing off it. Dicey! Though the pic doesn't show it, there's a fire extinguisher and garden hose close by.
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- #196
Speaking of drinks, this project led me to discover that one of life's little pleasures is taking a motorcycle on a beer run, so that I could continue working on the truck in my driveway. This is my happy place.
Do you by chance have any more photos of you removing the old rockers and quarter panels? I am hoping to tackle this project sometime in the future and have no idea where to start or how to get the old off. How did you separate the outer sheet metal from the inner tub where its connected? Where did you get your body panels from? I have to do both my rockers and both my quarter panels. Never done body work before, any help is greatly appreciated! Great build!
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- #198
Thanks for following!
Sorry, I don't have pictures of the removal process. The quarters were cut off about an inch below the seam line, and the wheel well tops were taken off with them since they were so rusty. Side panels on the wheel wells were kept in place, so the tops had the spot welds between them and the sides all drilled to pull them off. Sides were also patched where the well supports go. If I had to do it over, I'd have just gotten the complete wells, tops and sides. No, if I had to do it over, I'd have gotten an Aqualu tub. But that's the project fatigue speaking. Setting out on this project, I wanted to keep things kind of original. In the end, I'll be glad I did. Until the first new signs of rust start bubbling up in few years...
Speaking of which, if your quarters and rockers are rusted, then there's a good chance the rear sill is as well. And that's a deep piece that should probably be done first, then do everything else working forward. The problem is, and I'm sure many others have experienced this as well, the more you look, the more rot you'll find. So you cut, patch, weld, grind... then say screw it, I'll just get the whole replacement panel. Before you know it, you've done the whole tub.
I got all my panels from CCOT (Cool Cruisers of Texas). Mainly because when you place an order, they offer a free poster of scantily clad women posing next to FJ40s, probably originally shot in the late '90's. Wife's not thrilled, so I started requesting less provocative posters. Oh, and panel quality and prices seems pretty good, too.
Awesome! I really appreciate the explanation! So Ironically, Im not repairing rust. Theres actually not really any REAL rust anywhere on my 40. Its all rock rash from offroading. The previous owner has a lot more balls than I do and really wheeled the 40 and it has the battle scars to prove it. Here is a photo.
Its just rock rash on each side quarter panel and rocker. I was hoping to eventually replace those panels, install some stronger fenders and maybe make some steel tubing that goes over the fender to protect the panels
Its just rock rash on each side quarter panel and rocker. I was hoping to eventually replace those panels, install some stronger fenders and maybe make some steel tubing that goes over the fender to protect the panels
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- #200
Ahh, I see. In that case, if it's still going crawling, I'd just go at it with a hammer+dolly, dent puller, and a bucket-o-Bondo. Or just cut out the crumpled metal and weld in patches, since you'll have good margins without rust.
