Nut & Bolt Frame-Off 1978 FJ40 Restoration (2 Viewers)

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Anybody have any idea what the hell is supposed to go in this oval hole?

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southff4 said:
Nice work Andrew. Can't wait to see the progress.
How did you paint the knobs?
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No paint. Did peanut butter. Let sit for a day. Buffed out.

For lettering, I laid a fat layer of Testors paint down. Allowed to dry for a few hours, then came back with laquer thinner and rag and buffed the excess away, leaving the letters.
 
Hopefully gas doesn't leak through the handle holes... that's an odd place to put a handle.
The dash grab bars are nice if you want an ole s*** bar
 
I think the screws only fasten to the gas tank shroud.
 
The oval hole/plug: All pre 75 FJ40's had the windshield wiper motor in that location. Toyota never changed that side of the windshield frame in the manufacturing process I guess. easier to produce a rubber plug than change it.
 
I need to find me one of those plugs then. Thanks @Bodean
 
So decided to fix the driver's seat sliding mechanism today. First thing I did was remove the seat then spray the sliders with PB blaster. They were not moving a bit before. I worked them back and forth with a BFH, and eventually got them to slide freely. 40 years of grime, mud, and surface rust had welded them in place.

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I then decided while I had the seat out, I'd remove the mounting bracket and repaint it.
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Got my first oh s*** moment when the bracket came out. I found a huge spider crack in the sheetmetal. Bummer!
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I started removing the old liner, saw that the crack was even bigger than I had first thought. I then put a floor jack under the crack to help close the gaps, and then started grinding it down to bare metal.
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I then put a few stitch welds in place. That's where I left off today.
 
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I have I have no plans of flipping this truck. I'd like to hang on to this one.

That being said (as I learned with my 1968) it's only a machine, and when someone approaches me on the street and offers $40k, I'll take it. I can always get another one.

Again though, I am planning on keeping it long term.
 
I did have a little trouble getting good penetration on my welds. I am pretty new to welding, so it's a slow learning process.

Anyone with some experience care to give me a few pointers for getting good penetration?

I'm using a 0.030 flux core wire
 
Well, when you take it out of context like that...
 
I would say if your new to welding, I would go to a hardware store and buy some small pieces of 14 gauge metal and do a little practicing. Burn through can be a bitch. You can use a copper spoon to draw the the heat away, but practicing on small inexpensive pieces will let you really dial in your heat and speed of your welder. Do you have a 110 or 220 welder?
 
fjl40 said:
I would say if your new to welding, I would go to a hardware store and buy some small pieces of 14 gauge metal and do a little practicing. Burn through can be a bitch. You can use a copper spoon to draw the the heat away, but practicing on small inexpensive pieces will let you really dial in your heat and speed of your welder. Do you have a 110 or 220 welder?
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110V, and again, I'm using flux core, so I realize I am a bit limited. I'm doing stitch welds to try and keep heat down.
 
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