Bought my FJ in Durango Colorado on May 2nd and drove it back to Denver. Here are a few pics from the drive.
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Operation Olive, My 1975 FJ40 Ground Up Restoration
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Here is some close ups of the rust situation. After asking around on the forums I have decided to salvage the tub despite zero experience with a welder.
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and more rust
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I thought I would just drive this thing around for the summer before starting the restoration, but reading this forum got the best of me. The break down has begun!
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Day 1
At least you will put Money back into the economy. mike
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Day 2
A little bit of rust under the gas tank, but not too deep. Hoping that it comes back from the sand blaster looking good with no holes in the floor.
A little bit of rust under the gas tank, but not too deep. Hoping that it comes back from the sand blaster looking good with no holes in the floor.
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Day 3: wiring harness,brakes,clutch, fenders, grill,hood,heater, steering, almost ready to pull the tub.
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Wiring Harness.....I am surprised that it is in such great shape. I am considering reusing it. Any thoughts on reusing V.S. a Painless Harness?
Nice to see Wolf Creek, was there during spring break. Good luck with the build!
As long as you enjoy welding you should have fun. I am going through the same steps with my 2/75. Looks like you'll have a lot of patching to do. If you need any tips for removing any panels, let me know. Most of this is still fresh in my mind. I would definitely recommend getting some good spot weld bits or pilot point bits and an air chisel for separating panels. It looks like you have original paint, so at least nothing is being hidden.
Good luck!!
Good luck!!
i vote reuse the harness! mine looked like that with no cuts and missing connectors.. hell even if you have some missing ones you can get new ones from coolerman...
take it apart section by section clean the wires rewrap them and make sure to clean the fusebox connections and you're good to go!
keep it up!
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LSUfj: Yes I will need a few tips on getting these panels apart. Enjoy welding? Well I am a newbie at it, but I have always wanted to learn. That is actually a big reason I decided to just go for it.
antfj: I agree about reusing the harness. It is in great shape! I was totally shocked at how well this thing was wired. I used to own a jeep and that thing was a F&^%$ing rats nest. Coolerman? Is Coolerman a person or a website? Haven't heard of it. I will google it.
I need some more input. I should have the tub off today. I plan on having the frame blasted and powder coated along with the leaf springs. I also plan on rebuilding the axles and painting them. Should I send the frame and springs off to powder coat before I have the tub blasted? I just hear a lot about flash rust and I would like the frame done before I put the tub back on for welding work. Dealing with the chassis could take a bit. Thoughts on the order of things?
antfj: I agree about reusing the harness. It is in great shape! I was totally shocked at how well this thing was wired. I used to own a jeep and that thing was a F&^%$ing rats nest. Coolerman? Is Coolerman a person or a website? Haven't heard of it. I will google it.
I need some more input. I should have the tub off today. I plan on having the frame blasted and powder coated along with the leaf springs. I also plan on rebuilding the axles and painting them. Should I send the frame and springs off to powder coat before I have the tub blasted? I just hear a lot about flash rust and I would like the frame done before I put the tub back on for welding work. Dealing with the chassis could take a bit. Thoughts on the order of things?
nice start keep up with the pictures!
panels arnt too hard, get your air chisel/hammer and put one of the chisel bits on the grinder and get it sharp so it can get in between. get a drill bit just a little bigger than the spot welds and drill the spotweld from the nastiest side trying to drill only through the nasty piece leaving the good peice intact w/ only some grinder clean up. I also used a air needle scaler to get off old undercoating just chunks that stuff right off. A 1-in carpenter chisel and hammer works good too for separation w/o destruction
hope this helps. good luck. oh yes..stitch weld!! save yourself alot of burn throughs. and make yourself a welding spoon from a peice of copper tube smashed flat on one end. use behind sheetmetal to fill unwanted holes (or burn throughs) the steel will not redily stick to the copper. have fun!
hope this helps. good luck. oh yes..stitch weld!! save yourself alot of burn throughs. and make yourself a welding spoon from a peice of copper tube smashed flat on one end. use behind sheetmetal to fill unwanted holes (or burn throughs) the steel will not redily stick to the copper. have fun!
I built a cart for the tub so that I could work on the frame at the same time. If you dont have the space, I would wait to do the frame until you are done with all of your tub work. Then pull the tub off and do the frame right before reassembly. FYI, I paid about $600 for complete body and frame blast.
Also, good welding tips from froggigger above. I would add that you need to go easy on the weld grinding as well. Any heat build up on a panel with cause problems and probably some rework.
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Sounds like a plan. I was thinking that this might be a good place to learn welding. When I replace these panels and flooring I want the tub back on the frame right? That way everything lines up.
Oh and what exactly is stitch welding?
Stitch welding is just a series of tac welds. I usually will do 3 or 4 tac welds right next to each other then move to a spot at least 6 inches away. Wait long enough between each tac for the weld to stop glowing, usually just a second or two. There are a lot of variables, but this is what has worked for me. before you start cutting out any big panels, you'll want to brace the tub. I braced each front door opening before pulling the tub off the frame. I didnt brace the rear opening initially, but now I have started working on the rear bed and will be doing the sill and quarter panel, so I went ahead and added a brace there. Once you get going, its really pretty fun. Check out my build thread in my signature below.
