One owner BJ40 rebuild

[Senior]

I am normally on the 70 series forum but a customer ask me to rebuild his BJ40 so here some of the work todate.
Its a 1978 BJ40 with one owner from new. There has been some parts and work carried out on it over the last few years but we will be replacing anything that needs doing as we work our way through the build.

The list so far
Complete bare rebuild
Overhaul axles
Overhaul brake system
New clutch kit
New shocks
New lower rear tub
Refurbish fuel tank

 

[Indestructible 47]

Very nice progress, keep it up. BTW, You'll be sick of rust by the time you've finished, the chassis doesn't look to bad though?

 

[lostmarbles]

Ever so rare to see a 40-series that's only ever had the one owner!!!!

Glad to see it's being restored/repaired...

Ireland's climate must be similar to ours for encouraging rust...

It must hold a lot of fond memories for the owner..

Thanks for sharing and I look forward to seeing your updates

 

[Senior]

Very nice progress, keep it up. BTW, You'll be sick of rust by the time you've finished, the chassis doesn't look to bad though?

Cheers
I am working on BJs since 1979 so nothing will surprise me. The chassis is in very good condition except for some metal fatigue in the rear cross member because of a badly fitted tow hitch.

 

[Senior]

Ever so rare to see a 40-series that's only ever had the one owner!!!!

Glad to see it's being restored/repaired...

Ireland's climate must be similar to ours for encouraging rust...

It must hold a lot of fond memories for the owner..

Thanks for sharing and I look forward to seeing your updates

Cheers
Yes the panel work doesn't need much encouragement to rust but its been in dry storage for years which helped.

 

[winnie]

is he's repainting it the same colour ...hope so, don't see many 40s that colour ... are you getting the replacement tub from Teseven in France ... their stuff looks really good ... I for one am hoping they eventually sell over here ...

 

[Senior]

is he's repainting it the same colour ...hope so, don't see many 40s that colour ... are you getting the replacement tub from Teseven in France ... their stuff looks really good ... I for one am hoping they eventually sell over here ...

Yes it will be repainted in its original color which was probably the most popular color in Ireland. Teseven's work is top class from what I have seen but we fabricate all our panel work ourselves. This customer has opted for Zinc coated panels which I think is the best choice.

 

[AussieHJCruza]

Wow, those replacement panels are top-quality. If you felt like it, you could probably find a market selling them to other mudders.

 

[winnie]

nice panels and I agree with AussieHJ there's likely a market for them here ... shipping would likely be the deal breaker ... I've subscribed to watch your build ...

 

[Ken White]

Also subscribe to watch this build. x2 on those panels.

 

[Senior]

Thanks Gents for the comments.

We managed to get a lot done on the chassis before the Christmas break. As it was dry stored for years we decided to clean the chassis and running gear by hand before blasting even though this was very slow cleaning process it meant we could blast and paint knowing there was no moisture anywhere left over from hi pressure steam cleaning.

Leafs were replace a few years ago and with little mileage since then, the customer decided to leave axles in place to keep cost down.

Because all seals, bearings and brake system will be replaced we were able to blast all remaining running gear without fear of contamination.

It will get 3 coats of epoxy chassis paint. We always use a red or grey for the 1st coat so we can be sure of good coverage as it is easier to paint black over red than black on black.

The rear cross member was not painted because it needs replacing but by painting the main frame we can continue with the mechanical work whilst working on new rear section.

 

[shawnfj40]

Sweet build!

 

[lostmarbles]

..... we can continue with the maniacal work ....

Good choice of words there Senior

 

[yotafj]

Nice job so far what other panels you make

 

[Senior]

Good choice of words there Senior

Predictive text, I love it but I have had many maniacal mechanical moments late at night

 

[Senior]

Nice job so far what other panels you make

Cheers
We have been fabricating panel work for over 30 years. Its all down to how complex the panel is for templates and tooling. We are currently working on upper quarter panels and pickup tubs for some customers.

 

[Indestructible 47]

Phew, your flying along! Professional work there... lost of words at how good it looks...

 

[Senior]

We have been busy on the body work because we are waiting on a delivery from Toyota of mechanical parts. Whilst the bulk head is in very good condition we decided to strip and blast.

With the rear tub panels ready for assembly, we were hoping to use the original front floor but the tin worm was worst than we expected.

The pic below shows with a sharpie marker the sections which would need replacing. Its faster and makes for a better finish just to replace the floor and sill sections.

Out with the old and in with the new

 

[Senior]

We got most of the tub fabricated and assembled during the month. 90% of the new body is fabricated in zinc coated steel and the remainder was blasted and primed with an epoxy paint so hopefully we wont see any more tin worm.

 

[MrMoMo]

Wow, that is amazing work!