Project - Not so Nice

[jfz80]

Good work! Need a hand? Im heading to RDU later, but if I can get out of here early enough I'll give you a call.

 

[S4Cruiser]

Cage all tacked together just need to finish weld!

Pics...

 

[krzyabncanuck]

Jon, How hard was the cage to build ? Doing one next week for mine.

Looks great though man.

 

[S4Cruiser]

Jon, How hard was the cage to build ? Doing one next week for mine.

Looks great though man.

Not bad at all and I've never notched tube before. Started out with a harbor freight notched and it was worthless. Ended up coping the tube with a cutoff wheel and flapper disc.

You doing the Metaltech cage? Any frame tie-ins?

 

[krzyabncanuck]

Metal tech and frame tie ins both front and rear.

 

[southerncruiser62]

Looking great Jon, glad to see you are getting back to piecing this thing together.

 

[lt1fire]

Looking good Jon can't wait to see this thing when it is all done.


Where can I get some of those jack stands ;p

 

[S4Cruiser]

Where can I get some of those jack stands ;p

Those are highend stands...very rare and compliments of leftovers at the house we are leasing.

 

[SFROMAN]

John,
I have a question about the quarter panel skins.

Did yuo weld them over the original body panel or did you cut out the original panel first then weld the thicker ones on?

Also, are those Jeep panels or specificaly FJ40 ones?

I am thinking I want to add these to mine since the original panels are not to thick. hate the thought of cutting up a perfectly good tub but I think it will be better in the long run.

If you dont want to clutter up your build thread can you pm me the info.

Thanks
Del

 

[S4Cruiser]

John,
I have a question about the quarter panel skins.

Did yuo weld them over the original body panel or did you cut out the original panel first then weld the thicker ones on?

Also, are those Jeep panels or specificaly FJ40 ones?

I am thinking I want to add these to mine since the original panels are not to thick. hate the thought of cutting up a perfectly good tub but I think it will be better in the long run.

If you dont want to clutter up your build thread can you pm me the info.

Thanks
Del

They are welded over the existing qtrs. Also widened the opening for fj55 springs. They are fj40 panels offered by BUdBuilt 3/16" thick. Very beefy.

I've read of others bolting them to the existing fenders too.

 

[S4Cruiser]

Test fitted the paki top so I could mount the additional footman loops and twist lock fasteners. Looks like I'll need to do some bow massaging and let the canvas stretch before it fits right.

I can already foresee having the hardware on the top needing to be replaced and it's never seen water (been stored sealed in the closet). A couple of the pieces are already showing corrosion .

 

[S4Cruiser]

Got a litle more done over the past week.

New clutch, pilot bearing (thanks Ramon!), sm465 and orion installed. I was surprised ho easy everything went together. Maybe it was the year plus of prep .



I also sanded and painted the Paki bows. These will sit inside until time to put everything back together. The Paki bows are a great alternative to OEM for the price but if you look close its easy to find not so quality work.



Seat frames, adapters and sliders are welded. Still need to weld on tabs for 4pt Corbeau harnesses. Plan to get that done and painted today. I'm not that happy with the height but I'm not tall so it might work out fine. Not much more I could do running the stock tank. I do like the feel of the seats.

 

[southerncruiser62]

Looking good Jon, keep up the good work...you gonna have this thing ready by Harlan?

 

[fourtrax]

making progress.... Is coke a sponsor?

 

[S4Cruiser]

making progress.... Is coke a sponsor?

As much as I drink they should be

 

[mtweller]

Jon, looking good man. The cross bar for the harnesses is too low though. The conncetion for the shoulder restraints can't be more than 45* from horizontal.

• It is strongly recommended that the shoulder harnesses be fitted as close to horizontal as possible. It is
a must that the angle of the shoulder harness does not exceed 45 degrees in relation to the theoretical horizontal axis of the mounting points. Never anchor straight down behind the back. (See diagram for recommended anchorage points)

Just looking out for your safety - not trying to be critical!

R


 

[S4Cruiser]

Yeah I read that. It's only a shy more than 45 so I'm not gonna sweat it.

 

[S4Cruiser]

Updates

While I feel like there has been a lot of forward progress I don't really have many pics to share.

I had some muscle come to place the tub back on the frame so I can build MT front fenders and work on the spring over. Figured it was best to put as much weight as necessary to set pinion angles, etc.

Built a pair of transfer case mounts and got them welded to the frame. I decided to keep the AA propeller mount as that's the way the orion came to me. I don't think I should have an issue with leaks as studs were used versus bolts to attach it to the case.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8452/8021391718_ac3e275e1e_b.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8030/8021389805_1eb65617f9_b.jpg

Also have been busy with body work. Skim coat, block, repeat. My arms are gonna be ripped by the time I'm finished .

Mounted up an Iron Pig skid plate...two of the stock skid plate bolts broke off at some point in PO tenure so those had to be drilled and tapped. FUN stuff right there.

Finally, I picked up a pair of Kicker KMT60 speaker pods from a fellow MUD member. I mounted them real quick to see if I like placement on the MT cage.


Thoughts? If this doesn't work then I'll need to fab up something different.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8305/8021393352_f615e08b30_b.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8320/8021388173_acffe30b43_b.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8459/8021388665_7a0c9cb11d_b.jpg

Well...tub got placed on the frame and found out the advance adapters sm465 to Orion case adapter is no bueno with my 1970 tub. Tub support channel hit the shift mount on rear of the case and tunnel of the tub hit too.

So trans and case got dropped, trans and case separated, trans off to the machine shop for drilling and tapping. Plan is to use a plate adapter I had instead. This is really the better route for sake of the rear drive shaft length.

Here you can see where the tub rib and shift rail plug would hit (the tub is raised up on two 2x4s in this pic.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8172/8041093854_08530849a3_b.jpg

When I pulled the AA trans to transfer case adapter I found out that my Orion input gear is 16 versus 10...10 spline input gear should be here tomorrow.

It's only $$ right???

Couple of updates.

I've been taking care of small things and putting off starting my metal tech fenders...

Modified the outer/lower front frame horns to work with the shackle reversal. They fit but aren't that pretty.*

Also worked on front fenders. Got one side tacked together and part of the other side together. These suckers are tough with only two hands. Two people would make them ALOT easier.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8180/8051860232_a5745dc85b_b.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8181/8051860978_26165ac3d5_b.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8177/8051863220_0de12d0e47_b.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8312/8051856581_21b8295a34_b.jpg

More progress...

Shells of both sides done and passenger side with the skin tacked on. Hope to finish up both this weekend.

I'll be using the inner fender liners off of the stock set with these.

Took a break from the fenders and painted the winch remote box/cover. My garage helper somehow sneaked into a pic.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8310/8055325097_4b532f5f85_b.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8313/8055325545_516ab9785c_b.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8450/8055326856_cc3aab005f_b.jpg

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8453/8055325254_60b8897bd8_b.jpg
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[FJinTegaCay]

Looking great Jon! So glad you are making progress and taking the time to post pics!

 

[1974FJ]

very nice. enjoy the sheetmetal work on the fenders.......