Project Duragoat: My 1974 FJ40 Build Thread

[FJsnoozer]

That looks great I really like yoru clean repair and install of the liner.

I have to do this to my hardtop tomorrow, though I am going to spray enamel and I went with white monstaliner on the inside.

I lover your Patina. Are you or have you thought about clearcoating the truck with a satin clear to seal in that look?

 

[BenZZilla]

I would've kept the patina on mine but the rust was to bad. I guess after pushing a snowplow in Colorado for 32 years I knew there was no saving it. I say keep the patina it doesn't hurt when it gets scratched. By the way nice job on the build.

 

[Bsquared]

Patina

Fortunately I live in a relatively dry climate, just inland from San Diego, I have been periodically hitting the rusty spots with some rubbing compound and wax to try and keep the rust somewhat at bay.

When I first got the rig it looked horrible, I was 100% sure I would blast it and repaint. But after hitting it with some compound and wax, it's amazing how the lacquer paint comes back to life. The look had really grown on me. The current plan is to leave it as is, keep it garaged when raining and focus some attention on the interior.

 

[Bsquared]

Center Console in a day

Had some time over the holidays to work on the center console. About choked when i saw what the tuffy's are going for. decided to fab one up out of sheet metal. OK, so it was a long day to get this done. wiring and install on day 2.


mock up with cardboard


checking the basic shape/location



worked out to be exactly 7.25 od side to side. happens to be same as most cd deck's. more pics coming.

 

[Bsquared]

Center Console in a day

needed to add some length for the cd deck.



Got lucky on the width, the holder fit just right



decided to mount the CB externally so the bottom firing speaker could be heard. Turns out that the length of the CB was longer than the short section of the console, so it worked out well.

 

[Bsquared]

Center Console in a day

Top and mid plate for the cup holder.



3" hole-saw on the drill press worked nicely.



cut the upper section back to have a better angle. Was able to find some steel hinges at hardware store that i could weld in.

 

[Bsquared]

Center Console in a day

About done. the short edges on the lid were a bear to bend over. tried it on a small SM break and it didn't work well. finished up with torch, hammer and a vice. at this point, i was getting tired and was about 3 beers in! Good enough.

 

[Bsquared]

center Console in a day

Few more details. just made some brackets to bolt onto the seat frame.



Added a contact switch and an LED pod to have some light when opened.

 

[Bsquared]

Center Console in a day

Done. need to add a pad for the top one of these days, and decide to paint it or leave it natural. i found a spray that will keep it from rusting, for now, have that on it. eventually i will relocate the interior and exterior aux light switches to the front part of the console. for now, good enough. Not including the stereo, have about $45.00 in materials in it, sure beats 300+ for CCOT or SOR.

 

[Bsquared]

Switches

Had a little time today to relocate the switches from the dash into the center console.





The 4 switches will control
1. Dome lights
2. Fog lights
3. compressor (future)
4. Air Locker (future)

 

[Bsquared]

odds and ends

Have not had a dash for some time. after lots of research, decided to go with an aftermarket dash. FJ40 dash.com I have to say, for 1/2 the price, this is awesome.

Its 100% polyurethane and super stout.

 

[Bsquared]

First Trip after Rebuild

A year later, finally was able to get it ready for its maiden trip off road. Overall it was fairly light trip, mostly to see if everything was going to work.

When it was all said and done, few issues to resolve.

1. steering is all over the place at highway speed.
2. external electric fuel pump is so damn noisy, it almost dove me crazy. something is definitely not right.
3. got into the rear fenders a bit, need to put the 1 leaf back in that i took out to make the ride better w/o the top.

With that said, 300+ HP and gobs of torque sure is fun in the sand/dirt. almost fel guilty...

no wait, I'm over it!

 

[Bsquared]

more pics






2nd gear, 1/3 rd of the throttle, no problem!

 

[scrapdaddy]

Very good job! One year, to get where you are, is fantastic. A year has gone by on my wagon and i'm no where near finishing.

 

[orangefj45]

lookin good brian! i'll pm you back in a minute.


georg

 

[eek45]

Great update! I want to do this to my 67 real bad. This swap is one of the best I have seen on mud. Thanks for sharing .

 

[64Rotorhead]

Fuel System

Started working on the fuel system. The first pic is the 3/8 fuel in line (top) and the 5/16 return line. I converted both to 6AN

View attachment 621498


This pic shows a small custom bracket to manage the lines. Hopefully this will keep the lines from moving around too much, also I located the fuel filter in a handy spot. all std 6an fittings. The bracket was located on some existing firewall through holes with captured nuts.

View attachment 621499

This was my first time using the braided hose and fittings, it was easier than i thought it would be. i cut the line with a chop saw and metal abrasive blade, blew it out with compressed air. i will do a final flush on the system before firing the engine. These lines flow straight into the frame rail, pretty much protected all the way to the pump/tank.

View attachment 621500
View attachment 621498View attachment 621499View attachment 621500

Any more detail on connecting the 6AN fittings to the engine lines? Not sure how the connection is actually made after you cut the original lines. Part numbers?

 

[Yamabalu]

went through the thread, awesome.