November ROTM

[friel01]

Okay, I tried to get out of this by switching to a later month, but nobody let me. So here goes with my not yet completed build… the typical old story of an 18 month build that is just now hitting the 3 yr mark. But, ready for paint this month!

Background on me:
I have had a few fj-40s over the last 20 years, and as such have tinkered with them (brakes, fuel pumps and the likes), but am not a motor-head and have never done a lot of the things I was about to do. For example, I had never repacked a bearing, let alone rebuilt an axle. I had never welded, I had never done bodywork of any kind, I had never painted. That was all about to change.

The Truck:
I gave up my old 40s a few years back in favor of a more civilized 80 series. I had had enough of the special joys that come with an old 40 (drum brake failure, having your arms ripped off by the steering, having your spine crushed by the worn out seats and stiff springs, sweating your tail off; etc.). I love the 80 and it’s a great truck, but I missed the styling of the old-school cruisers. After a trip to Moab in 2005 where I saw an awesome fj45 SWB, I decided I needed one, but with most of the comforts of the 80 series added. So my requirements going in were:

FJ45
Power Steering
Disc Brakes on all 4 wheels
Lockers front and rear
Comfy seats
Air conditioning
Automatic transmission
And, while I was at it, a more powerful engine than the 80 so that I could actually tow something!

Over the next few months I looked around and thought about it (including watching the auction for the truck that last months ride of the month was built from; only his is done and on the road, and mine is still sitting in the garage… ARGH!!!). Finally I was ready to start accumulating parts. I say “parts” because that is all it was. I got a 45 short wheel base frame and a 45 long wheel base body from Jonathan at TLC in CA as a start. Good deal, and compared to much of what I have seen on mud, not much rust at all. The only rust-through was a little in the floor, and rockers; a bit in the corners of the roof, and just one spot in the bed.

 

[friel01]

cont.

Next I bought a donor FJ40. This was a rust bucket (by Arizona standards) that had a couple goodies I wanted… namely power steering, front discs from a ’78 fj40, and an ARB locker. I ended up scavenging more parts off of it and a friend of mine used some of the others, but those were the main ones I wanted.

I started from the bottom up, had the frame sandblasted (the only thing I outsourced that I could have done myself). I decided to box the frame and weld the seams on the already boxed part. I did this in order to stiffen it, and perhaps more importantly to give me experience welding. I took off old brackets I wouldn’t need anymore, boxed it up, and then started on the front shackle reversal; both to remove those rock-catcher shackles up front and because I hear it improves handling - although compared to other 40s I have had with worn out steering it will be hard to tell since just new tie rod ends and such will have to help it steer better. The frame was then POR-15 coated (a great product, but very messy to work with).

The axles off of the donor truck were then stripped down to bare metal, completely disassembled, POR coated and reassembled using new gaskets and bearings and such. I moved the ARB locker to the front axle, and added a lock-rite to the rear. I also added rear disc brakes at this time (the front already had them). I decided to go spring over axle as well, so new perches were placed on top of the axles; would figure out the anti-wrap bar later. Also, I decided not to do a cut and turn on the axles. I had read discussions that said always cut and turn, and others that said not needed. That being the case, and since I was about to move the transfer case back several inches from stock due to the auto transmission, I figured I might get away with it. Easy enough to fix it later if not happy with it.

 

[friel01]

cont

The engine/tranny combo for this is a Chevy LS1 8-cylinder engine (5.7 liter, fuel injection), mated to a 4L60E automatic transmission. They came from a ‘98 Pontiac firebird, complete with harness and computer; they were then mounted to Advance Adapters and into a 3spd transfer case that I rebuilt. I have to say that the adapters and tranny cross-member that I got from Advance Adapters were troublesome. The hardware was incorrect across the board, the speed indicating reluctor ring was incorrect, and even the mounting holes on the cross member were incorrect and needed adjusting. In their defense, I will say that I did not call on them to make it right, so don’t know how their customer service would have been, I just adapted and went on.

My buddy Tim and I spent a lot of time adjusting and discussing where exactly to mount the engine up. We finally committed and welded in the engine mounts. Turns out that we ended up about 2” forward of where we intended for whatever reason, but it turned out fortuitous (as described later).[/COLOR

So now there was a pretty good looking chassis, just waiting for a truck to sit on it. I started on the tub. Took it to bare metal (all pieces went to bare metal in this build, usually with a sandblaster, but occasionally with a 3m fiber disc) repaired the rust, and a replaced a piece of floor that the PO had chopped out for some reason. Cut a section out behind the tranny tunnel to accommodate the transfer case being pushed back by the automatic transmission and adapters. I welded up the firewall holes where the heater blower came through and also the air intake part of the cowl that went with it. My donor truck was a no-heater version, so I used its firewall sections and grafted them in for a factory look there. I also welded up the dash holes that would not be used, including the gauge opening and ash tray holes. Then cut new holes for new gauges and also air conditioning vents and controls.

 

[friel01]

cont

My original concept was to mount the AC unit below the dash and build a console to cover it. But with the center part of the firewall curved in above the tranny hump, it was too tight a fit, there would not be room to route the vents up and into the dash where I wanted them. But fortunately I had accidentally placed the engine forward of where I intended, so had the clearance to flatten out the firewall where it had curved into the cab. So some cutting and welding, and I had a notched firewall and room for the AC. It looked so unobtrusive there that I didn’t feel the need to build a console to hide it.

One problem people encounter with this old style firewall is the ribs on the engine side interfering with brake boosters. Many people chop the rib, I went with a hydro-boost system from a Chevy Astrovan, with minor cutting on its bracket, it fits right up without modifying the rib (but you will be doing some grinding under the dash to make it mount).

 

[friel01]

booster

here is the hydroboost

 

[friel01]

cont

While I was welding, I also took care of the extra holes in the cab back from previous CB antenna installs, fixed the roof rust in the front corners, filled a couple spare holes in the fenders, bib, etc. My doors and hood were perfect (again, thanks Jonathan at TLC!).

With the cab-forward body panels now in decent shape, up next was the bed.

 

[friel01]

cont

I had been dreading the chop on the bed since the day I got it, but like most things, once I got started it was no big deal. I drilled out the spot welds, took 13” off of the front, and took another 17” off of the back. This gave me a short bed fit with long bed styling and I think keeps a visually pleasing aspect ratio. I made sure to transfer over the details, like the ends of the rib that runs the length of the side. The tailgate came from Paul Pilgrim in Panama; it is beautiful! The headache rack from Ehsan in Pakistan; also beautiful.

 

[friel01]

more

more bed chopping

 

[friel01]

cont

Lots and lots of sandblasting and priming and sanding and more priming and more sanding later, it is now just about time to paint. Original plans were to go with the horizon blue that the truck body had originally been, but along the build I fell in love with the “sandstorm” color that they are using on the 2008 FJ cruisers. So that is what I am going with. First I will be using color matched SEM bed liner on the floor and firewall both inside and out, also the inside and underside of the bed; both for rust prevention (although this is not much of an issue in Arizona) and for heat and noise insulation; plus it should be durable and resist scratches from normal use. The rest will get paint and clearcoat, applied by me in a local paintbooth I am able to rent out.

As of this point, the engine has never been test fired in the cruiser. Still some garage time ahead on the LS1 getting that ready, modifying the gas tank to accept a fuel return line, installing an electric fuel pump and safety cut out switch, moving the alternator and AC compressor to the engine top, installing the aluminum radiator and electric fan, plumbing fuel and brake lines, exhaust, and doing some final mechanical preparations.

 

[friel01]

cont

To meet my original requirement of comfy seats, I found these nice high-back seats from a GMC delivery truck (saw them in a U-Haul I rented, and then tracked down a set on e-bay). They are a 60/40 bench, just like factory 45, but with a high back and a fold down center console. They even have a cutout that fits around the fuel filler. I mounted them to the stock seat bottom frames and put speakers in the headrest (like a Miata) to make it easy to hear at speed, and also because there are just not many places to mount anything.

 

[friel01]

cont

Tires are currently 35” on 80 series rims (with spacers). But even before it has hit the road, I have changed directions on that and have 12 bolt military beadlock wheels that I will re-center and run 37” Goodyears on. But currently waiting on the new wheel centers to arrive to start that bit.[/COLOR][/SIZE

All of the work was/is being done in my home garage, with the exception of painting in a rented spray booth, and the sandblasting which I did at a piece of property we own nearby. My wife and neighbors have been very tolerant of my hammering and grinding and welding and swearing throughout the whole ordeal. I am not usually one to name vehicles, but after being routinely subjected to stories of my progress, one of my friends said: “I wouldn’t work that hard if I were building an Angelina Jolie in my garage.” I laughed and decided the truck would be called ‘Angelina’.

I could not have done it without a ton of stuff I learned from Mud, and inspiration and reference I took from many build threads. Also several vendors that were great: TLC4x4, CruiserOutfitters, Poser, Proffitts, Foxfab and others I am sure I am forgetting. Some vendors I also thank but not as happily; SOR (they have what you need, but it costs way too much in shipping), Advance Adapters (whose parts never seem to fit quite right), and JT Outfitters (you get what you ordered… eventually

My recommendations/advice for anyone considering major mods on a truck… 1) it takes longer than you plan (over 3 yrs, when I was shooting for 18 months). 2) it costs more than you expect (I was shooting for ~$15k, it cost upwards of $20k, not including any labor, since I did it all myself; still not a bad price for a great truck). 3) think before you do, think while you do, think after you are done (and while you are re-doing it because you screwed it up). 4) don’t be afraid to try things you haven’t done before like welding, or painting. The worst that can happen is you screw it up and have to pay someone to fix it; and you probably won’t, so go for it. And finally, 5) use the IH8MUD forum and other forums for the experience that is out there already. Thanks to everyone!

There it is… bring on the comments good or bad!
Brian

 

[Eco 45]

Seats

The build is looking great. What year GMC seats are those? Do the seats take away from headroom/ cab room compared to the original seats? Can't wait to see the truck in color.

 

[friel01]

Seats

The seats are 2006 I think. They do ever so slightly take away head-room, probably 1-1.5" higher than stock. Part of that is that the old seats were so darn flat; no telling what they would compare to brand new 1965 seats. But I'm 5'10", so still have plenty of room.

 

[BinaryDude]

Who's AC are you running? I like the idea of the ducts in the dash...

 

[friel01]

air

The AC unit is from CLassic Auto Air. Here is the website...
Street Rod | OEM Factory Air Conditioning Parts & Restoration Services

 

[Awl_TEQ]

Those seats are very interesting... so they came out of a GMC U-Haul truck circa 2006? They look like a perfect fit and still give the 60/40 stock like look but a fold down center arm rest. I even like the color...

 

[friel01]

seats

yep, they really do fit nice. And the high-back will keep your head out of hte back window if you ever get rear-ended. The center section folding down gives you a little storage room (since I am filling my glove box with stereo and stuff). I think they will work out great.

 

[orangefj45]

thanks for posting all the pics and keep up the great work! having build-up pics makes me appreciate how much work goes into these rigs everytime i see a thread like this, eventhough i do this stuff everyday.


looking forward to watching this rig come together!

 

[merbesfield]

Very nice work and as usual, inspiring. Can you give me some details on your welding equipment and the tricks to getting sheet metal welded without blowing thru it, which I have been doing a lot of .

 

[friel01]

welding

I used my buddy Tim's welder, just your run of the mill 110V welder, but with gas. The gas is key, I had so do some of the frame stuff and a little body work using flux core wire without gas; its like night and day, the gas is so much smoother to work with. I very much prefer using gas on anything body panel. Would still use flux wire if I had to on frames or sliders.

I had my share of burn-through problems, but once you get it dialed, it is pretty sweet. Also, switched to the thinner wire .025 i think instead of .035, it made a big difference in controlability.

Also read in the hot-rod magazines to get a big thick block of brass and clamp it behind where you are welding, it helps spread out some of the heat, and the weld wont stick to it.