Operation Olive, My 1975 FJ40 Ground Up Restoration

[broth9640]

I tore down all the panels and finished removing the glass out of the front and amby doors. I found a bit of the cancer in one of the amby doors after removing the 36 year old door seal. A quick patch and she is as good as new. Today I am headed to the blaster to drop off all the parts for blasting and powder coating.

 

[SSCR]

Looking really good! After hearing your issues about the fenders, I'm very glad I was able to find two OEM fenders for my project. Should be assembling in the next couple of weeks.

 

[broth9640]

I got some parts back from the powder coater. Fuel tank and seat brackets included. After some fiddling I got the seat brackets back together. Now I need to get the tank installed.

What the Truck?

 

[broth9640]

Passenger side was easy. The captains sliders were a different story. Getting the roller bearings in the sliders correctly were a PITA!

 

[SSCR]

Lookin good! That kit from tlcmetric looks great.

 

[ColoradoCarlisle]

Great job
Impressive !

 

[broth9640]

I guess he's trying to tell me something. I got about half my remaining parts from the painter on Monday, but no pics until I get back into town. The rest should be done by Monday. Pics to follow, stay tuned.

Trying to rotate the pic.

 

[Auggies'Blu]

Looks like you're just about done. Keep at it brother, it's inspiration for a lot of us! I'm pretty close to biting the bullet on buying a welder and doing my own work like you did. I looked though the thread but didn't see what brand or size of welder you're using. Any issues with it? As many others have said, thanks for taking the time to document your work.

 

[broth9640]

Finally back on this project! The warm weather has inspired me to get this thing done. I bolted up the front end today and installed the seats. Still trying to sort out an electrical issue with the ignition circuit, but it's close to going for a test run.

 

[broth9640]

I couldn't resist some bling!

 

[SSCR]

Painted hooks look great! It all looks great!

 

[TCSTARK]

Beautiful work my friend...

 

[broth9640]

Front signals

 

[broth9640]

Headlight retainers installed. Somehow I lost a headlight in my pile of parts. Perhaps an upgrade???

 

[broth9640]

Thanks for the compliments guys. I am getting really pumped for a test drive. I still need to get my steering connected with new tie rod ends and fix a leaking nose cone on my transfer case before I go for a joy ride.

 

[broth9640]

BTW 5/11/2014 will be my 3 yr mark on this restoration. Hoping I can get a drive in by then. Done by summer!

 

[RyanCostaRica]

Wow awesome color. Who did the paint?


Proud owner of Beast. 77 BJ40

 

[Pierps]

So awesome. Congratulations. Lots of hard work and perseverance to get to this point!

 

[broth9640]

Thanks, I painted the tub, but sent out the rest of the parts to a shop. Trying to build a booth and manage all the little parts and prep without creating a ton of dust was just to much for a two car garage that had one half taken up with the tub and frame.

 

[broth9640]

If you look closely at my hood latches and windshield latches you can see where the paint ends. I want to touch this up, but have never done the method described by my paint guy. He said mix up a batch of paint and a batch of clear with the hardener, then mix them. He said it works like a charm for small dings and such. Has anyone ever done this? I am kinda wishing That I just powder coated the latches for a little contrast. My other thought would be to just wire wheel the paint off of the part that is spring loaded. What do you all think?