Build Project Dumpster Fire - Building my 1972 FJ40 with my Dad

[msapers]

Had a similar situation 20 yrs ago when I was an active motorcycle rider. My newest bike was 1947…the guys on the new fuel injected FLHTCU-I did not believe I would ever keep up on group rides…

It’s a good feeling to know !

Nice! I'm still riding but so much gets in the way these days.

 

[msapers]

The deed is done. Quick 700 mile round trip from L.A. to Stockton and back and the transmission and transfer case were dropped off at Valley Hybrids yesterday. Still working on stripping everything off the body and waiting to hear back from the sandblaster with a ballpark quote.

 

[msapers]

Meanwhile, I've spent several hours over the last few days peeling/scraping the bedliner off of the inside of the tub. It's actually not that bad. So far, the area under the gas tank is the only place I've been able to see any daylight after I scraped the rust. I'm considering cutting out the whole tank drop down area since I won't be using an interior tank and replacing it with flat sheet. I'll be building custom seat frames with storage drawers underneath so this space would have been inaccessible anyway and not much more than a place for water and grime to collect.

 

[msapers]

Made some good progress on the 40 this week. Tire carrier, hood, windshield frame, and fender flares are off. The tub in the rear fender area looks solid as does the cowl under the windshield frame/hinges, so that's a win. Also stripped the dash and that's where the failure set in. The gauge cluster is in rough shape. Also, I really wanted to save the original knobs and rebuild the original switches but the knobs as well as the retaining bezels pretty much disintegrated as soon as I touched them. I believe that I can still disassemble the headlight and wiper switches and rebuild them but I may be better off just replacing them with new. Also, how the $%^ do you remove the cigarette lighter socket from the dash? New video coming in the next few days. @65swb45 , I haven't forgotten about you. I'm compiling a list of the things I need and then I'll be reaching out. I'd hate to be calling you every day with another item that I'd forgotten about. Also, I'm honored to say that @mtn biker has invited Dad and I to be on the Classic Land Cruisers podcast. How cool is that?
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[pb4ugo]

its a tube in a tube. The outside of it from behind the dash unscrews.

 

[msapers]

Talked to Valley Hybrids this week. Georg is planning to start my Orion build next week! Also here's the new episode. Nothing earth shattering, although I did make my dad laugh and I discovered that the lighting in the garage is better for filming with the garage door closed, so that's what we'll do moving forward. I'm still learning the whole camera thing. Big news on my old Con-Ferr tank - I apparently don't have it anymore. No idea where or when it went but I dug through all my Land Cruiser goodies and it's not there. Great.

 

[msapers]

More progress! I spent the day scraping the bedliner out of the entire interior while Dad disassembled the doors. The doors are perfect and the interior is not as bad as I thought although there are a few trouble spots. So much bondo.

 

[msapers]

 

[msapers]

MAJOR UPDATE: We've decided not to remove the body and will proceed with the mechanical end of things as driving and enjoying the rig is far more important to us than shiny paint. This turns the project from a multi-year frame off to a 6 month "rolling restomod", meaning that It'll be a mechanically 10/10 daily driver with a nice flat rattle can paint job that I can touch up as I work on panel repair. When all of the panels are ready, I'll eventually strip it and paint it with a nice glossy automotive paint unless the flat look has grown on me by then.

To that end, I bought a Surface Conditioning tool from Harbor Freight and tried it on the bondo/rust.

Surface Conditioning Tool

This thing ROCKS. I would 100% recommend it. It quickly chewed through everything, leaving a nice smooth surface. This was with the 40 grit wheel. There are many grits and even a wire wheel available. That's the good news. The bad news is that it seems Helen Keller welded my tub with her feet. Ugh. This truck is not getting shiny paint any time soon. Hopefully, rattle can flat paint will hide some of the sins as the plan is to get he mechanical end of things done and enjoy the truck. That will let me slowly fix/replace one panel at a time while driving it and still have it looking decent. Nice paint will come later.

I'm going to leave the body alone for now and focus on the mechanicals. This means that I'll be ordering some bolts and a new welding helmet and we'll be swinging the engine/trans/transfer case in, tacking the mounts where we want them, removing the engine /trans/t-case, finish burning in the mounts, clean and paint the frame/welds and swing the motor/trans/t-case back in one last time and bolt it down. Then it's just the 842,693 little things that need doing and we'll be on the road.

 

[msapers]

Hi All,

I know it's been a while since I last updated. The reason is that Dad is having some medical problems, specifically he's been diagnosed with Chronic Ischemic Small Vessel Disease in the brain. That's a fancy way of saying that the blood vessels in his brain are narrowing and not giving him the blood flow he needs, leading to brain damage and dementia symptoms that are progressing at a terrifying rate. Also, it puts him at an an extreme risk for strokes. It's incurable and largely untreatable. Six months ago, he was fine and the last time we worked on the Land Cruiser, he had a hard time finding my house, which is the house that he grew up in. So, I asked him to stop driving and I had to sell some stuff in order to buy a car that he can get into since all my garbage is either an ancient 4X4 or a motorcycle, both of which are no go's for him. So I bought a 2007 Mustang that he can get in and out of ok. Tomorrow, I'm going to pick him up and bring him over here to continue working on the 40 as he is still very much wanting to finish it. I'm on the fence about continuing to film though as I don't want him to be embarrassed in any way if he's hunting for words or if he needs me to explain something to him that he would have known a few months ago. This is hard but the build is going to continue because that's what he wants. Tomorrow, we're going to prep the frame to receive the engine and hopefully we'll swing it into place on Wednesday.

If your parents are still around, go see them. You never know.

 

[MOTOV8R]

Hi All,

I know it's been a while since I last updated. The reason is that Dad is having some medical problems, specifically he's been diagnosed with Chronic Ischemic Small Vessel Disease in the brain. That's a fancy way of saying that the blood vessels in his brain are narrowing and not giving him the blood flow he needs, leading to brain damage and dementia symptoms that are progressing at a terrifying rate. Also, it puts him at an an extreme risk for strokes. It's incurable and largely untreatable. Six months ago, he was fine and the last time we worked on the Land Cruiser, he had a hard time finding my house, which is the house that he grew up in. So, I asked him to stop driving and I had to sell some stuff in order to buy a car that he can get into since all my garbage is either an ancient 4X4 or a motorcycle, both of which are no go's for him. So I bought a 2007 Mustang that he can get in and out of ok. Tomorrow, I'm going to pick him up and bring him over here to continue working on the 40 as he is still very much wanting to finish it. I'm on the fence about continuing to film though as I don't want him to be embarrassed in any way if he's hunting for words or if he needs me to explain something to him that he would have known a few months ago. This is hard but the build is going to continue because that's what he wants. Tomorrow, we're going to prep the frame to receive the engine and hopefully we'll swing it into place on Wednesday.

If your parents are still around, go see them. You never know.

Very sorry to hear of your dad’s health issues. My dad suffered from the same disease. He lived with it for a number of years but the dementia symptoms continued to progress. It is really great that you chose to do this project together and document it like you have.

 

[msapers]

My garage is full of Land Cruiser parts. My shed is full of Land Cruiser parts. This is getting out of hand. So, this weekend I ordered some more parts. Slowly filling up the kitchen now. I am very lucky that my wife is patient and understanding. I also ordered a wet blasting setup for a pressure washer and a pressure washer. Do you know how damn hard it is to buy a 4gpm/4000psi pressure washer in California? Due to new laws, no more gas powered equipment can be shipped to CA. However, stores are still allowed to sell what's on the shelves. I finally found one. I don't want to turn this political but damn I hate that my state makes everything difficult. I talked to a guy at one of the pressure washer manufacturing companies and he told me that the only difference between the 49 state machines and the CARB (California Air Resources Board) ones are that the company pays the state a fee for the CARB sticker. The machine is identical in every way. I can't wait to move to Spokane. Anyway, I'll be taking lots of pictures/video of the blasting setup once I get everything. We will be mocking up the drivetrain this week. Also, I made an independent handle for the valve on my Harbor Freight engine hoist that will give Dad a lot more control over lowering the engine in than the original arrangement which utilized the end of the jack handle. This means fewer trips to the ER for me, since I'll be underneath while he's lowering it.

 

[msapers]

Progress! Engine and trans went in, location established and pulled back out so that I can weld everything up and paint the front of the frame. Lefty loosey is over and righty tighty has begun.

 

[msapers]

I painted the original hood and the one that will be replacing it so that Dad and I could see the colors in real life. Both are spray cans. The left one is Rustoleum Smoke Grey gloss from the turbo can and the right one is Rustoleum satin Fossil. I didn't prep either hood, just shot over peelin paint, rust, dirt etc. The final paint job will have proper prep and if we go with the gloss grey, it will have a 2k clearcoat. Also got my clutch, pressure plate, flywheel and pilot bearing and the rollbar kit from Metaltech.

 

[msapers]

Anyway, none of that is the big news. The big news is that I'm going to be a dad! My wife is about 10 weeks pregnant with our first child. Hopefully I can get the 40 done in time for them to ride in it before college.

 

[knuckle47]

Well that’s a surprise….congratulations dad.

I like the gray. I ve seen enough sand color Land Cruisers for a while. Not that I don’t like them, but I’ve seen lots of them. I had two over the years. When you say “turbo” is that their new 20” can that sprays like a 3’ fan?

 

[msapers]

Well that’s a surprise….congratulations dad.

I like the gray. I ve seen enough sand color Land Cruisers for a while. Not that I don’t like them, but I’ve seen lots of them. I had two over the years. When you say “turbo” is that their new 20” can that sprays like a 3’ fan?

Thanks! Yep, it's the comedy size can with a 10 inch fan pattern. The coverage is insane and the paint is thick so it doesn't run like regular spray paint.

 

[knuckle47]

Hahaha…you’re right but mine must have been defective. That fan spray had to cover 16” …thank goodness I had the part laying on a piece of plywood on the ground. If I’d have followed my original plan the overspray would have hit the wall of the building.
given the new circumstances you’re either gonna be moving along quickly or finishing it a few years from now… I love following along. It’s gotta be time consuming filming and then editing… but you’ll have some GREAT stuff 25 years from now