old school 80 series

[Waggoner5]

Very cool build. Lots of work ahead of you. It took me a year to build mine working everyday.

 

[Radd Cruisers]

The fj40 tub i had already had cut fenders, so I had to rebuild the front of the fenders if I wanted it to look something close to stock. So I decided to cut the rear of the fenders to fit the tires and start over with the front section of the fenders. I had a friend bend up a section of 18 gauge steel - zinc plated, so I had to sand the welded sections to avoid the toxic fumes produced from welding zinc.

Good use for the dirt bike stand, nice build.


Rob

 

[crash]

Good use for the dirt bike stand, nice build.


Rob

thanks

Well the bikes are parked until my knee surgery is all healed up. I figured I would spend some time working on the cruiser instead.

 

[crash]

Thanks for all the support

Gary - Your 45 build was what convinced me to use the 80 frame. If you had detailed the amount of grinding wheels, cut off wheels, and sanding discs you burned through I may have had second thoughts.

 

[crash]

I wasnt really talking about the weight of the tires, ability to move around at speed, etc. I was talking about the feasibility of driving a vehicle around town/city that is that large. To each his own when it comes to what is DDable and whats not. If you have kids or a wife or one who is pregnant or will be, etc it make you take things a little more into effect.

I think that the concept of this turning into a fj43 on a 80 chassis is sweet. Just dont think its as cool when you start making it huge. The perk for me would be the comfort and drivability of the 80 drivetrain. But the same could be said for the offroadability in stock form.

I hope this will end up much lighter, at least much less top-heavy than my 80 with Js and 35s. My wife doesn't mind driving the 80 now, so I think I am ok with that as a starting point. I don't want this thing lifted too much, just need to fill the fenders...

 

[Flank]

Very cool build. Lots of work ahead of you. It took me a year to build mine working everyday.

Gary,
about 1/3 way through reading your FZJ45 build, what toolage did you used to chop the sheet metal? PM me if you like.

 

[Waggoner5]

The only real cutting of sheet metal I did was opening up the rear fenders and bobbing the bed. Both of which was done primitively with a sawzall.

 

[crash]

body mounts

You saw the 6 body mounts earlier. These were welded to the frame under the ribs that cross the fj40 tub. The remaining body mounts for the tub are the 4 bolts across the rear, into the frame/rear bumper. My rear bumper/frame crossmember is a 3/16 thick 2x4 rectangle tube. I drilled and tapped 4 holes in this for these 4 body mount bolts.

I really struggled with how much body lift to give it. I didn't want the frame to show much more than the original 40, but the 80 frame is at least 2 inches taller. I also want this to fit in my garage. So I decided to fit the body as tight as I could to the frame. THis meant channelling the tub in a few places - 2 ribbed support sections and the gas tank all hung below the main floor level. Once again the cutoff wheel and sawzall come into play...

 

[crash]

Gas tank hole got filled - but this will come back out later and be replaced with a more sturdy solution. And a shot of the frame/body from the side.

 

[crash]

Once the body was bolted on the front clip had to be aligned and bolted down. As you all know (or should) the fj40 front clip bolts on with a center cast iron hinge at the base of the bib. The fenders mount to the frame to stabilize the rest of the front sheetmetal. I don't have fenders yet, so I needed a bit more strength in the bib mount, so I went with one on each side. This took forever to get lined up but I think it turned out well. I had to clearance the bib to fit the frame, but the bib fits nicely down against the crossmember. I will probably add a lip to the bib piece I cut to get rid of the sharp edge and increase the strength of the bib.

 

[Waggoner5]

Wow, you did lower the body on the frame. It appears close to 3" lower than mine. That should look great.

 

[crash]

I like the way it turned out but the drawback is that there is very little room for the exhaust or fuel tank and the transmission and transfer case are up in the cab.

 

[bobdhead39]

Has anything more been done with this project?