Builds Putting the rust demon at bay (1 Viewer)

[JAFO2014]

Boltdepot.com sells bulk. I have bought several different orders of various bolts from them.

 

[AdamKFarmer]

I like belmetric.com every order I place with them gets shipped that day, very fast. Prices seem pretty good, yellow zinc looks great.

 

[RAYJON]

Back to your tub, my local powdercoater will blast for us reasonable $$$, check arround try some of the commercial guys.. i would blast it and see what you have to work with. X brace the doors and rear gate. Much easier to start with clean metal and see what you need, pleanty of suppliers for the panels. As said before not hard just time consuming, but when you are done you know what you have..

 

[MJM]

When I installed my Aqualu tub many years ago It came with all of the bolts needed to install.
The seat frames bolted directly into a 1/2" plate that was welded to the tub. I only run an OEM soft top so I am sure the hard top takes a few more holes. My 3/4 Tub looks great ohh and the price back then was $2,100 they also provided a video of how to install it.

 

[archie73]

It's an eventful day:
talked to metricbolt.com: he's putting together a quote, but he would rather do a big orders. Oh well. I'll try some of these other sites.
And then I saw the NPT truck show up at work. Yeah. New metal. Pretty welds...

 

[archie73]

Yesterday was a good day. After taking the tub off and getting a better look at the underside, I'm super glad I bought the new tub. As I see it, my fledgling welding skills would have been improved greatly from all the practice I would have gotten. The downside would have been how long it would have taken me to get satisfactory results. Now I can work on the running gear and not worry to much about the tub. It's still not mounted, but this felt like victory.

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

WOW, that looks pretty gnarly!

 

[archie73]

WOW, that looks pretty gnarly!

So that is two of the worst spots. A realistic appraisal would of had me replacing everything but the door sill and top edge of the tub. I was hoping to sell off the rest good parts, but unless someone needs just the lip of the tub and gas filler pocket, the rest is trash. It could maybe used for some patch panels. Maybe I'll make an art project out of it. Or learn to weld properly. We'll see...
On a semi related note, I was pleasently surprised at the heft of the nut bolt bundle they sent with the tub. I had expected it to just be the tub to frame hardware. I'm thinking I should watch the DVD that came with it. I should be covered, after I bought bunch from belmetric.com.

 

[archie73]

I've been working on the fit of the new tub, almost there. The figment with a non stock drivetrain is most of the joy. Grind, test fit, repeat. Getting close now- just need to do some more grinding to bring the door fit a little closer. Unfortunately, the lower portion of the drivers side of the cowl is worse than I thought, so I'll add this to the repair list.
Plugging away at the engine swap. Having never worked on a Chevy and really being a 1-2 banana mechanic is a bit frustrating. I'm working my way through it. I need to figure out what vacuum lines I need and which ones to plug. Quadrajet joy!!!

 

[archie73]

So I wish I could say I've gotten more done but life is getting in the way. Fortunately, I continue to spend money, lots of little stuff. Recent purchase though got my son excited and the seal of approval from the wife- just need to do something about the color:

 

[archie73]

So instead of finishing one part of the build at a time, my a.d.d. kicks in... So I decided to mock up the fj80 steering box. From the reading I've done, there isn't a magic perfect spot to mount it. If some has one, let me know. If I recall, the pitarm should have a flat arc, so the sector shaft should be perpendicular to the floor?
I have the intermediate shaft from the '80 w/one ujoint. I was thinking of finding another ujoint with a splined end and a double D end. If I cut the rag joint coupler off, it looks like I'll be able to make it all fit. Anybody have a part number for a ujoint with matching spline and double "D" ends?

 

[archie73]

Found the spline count for the fj80 intermediate shaft and the stock shaft is 3/4", so if I get a 11/16-36x3/4DD unjointed I should be good to go. Any reason this won't work? Assuming that's right, I was a little surprised of the cost of these joints. Borgenson and Flaming Rive seem to be the heavy hitters in the searches at $75-100, while CCP and Trail Gear are coming in at $30-50. Is there a reason to buy the more expensive unit?

 

[Ken White]

Love that tub. Wish we could buy stuff over here in Aust. What did it cost you for the tub.

 

[archie73]

Love that tub. Wish we could buy stuff over here in Aust. What did it cost you for the tub.

It's $4k to my door. I'm really happy with it (I haven't driven it yet), fit is good and it seems beefy. It's not factory- smooth floor, b pillar is a bit different and the tunnel is angular looking instead of the smooth looking factory. I'm not doing a nut and bolt restoration, so most of that isn't a concern to me. I haven't started mounting seats and such yet, but I don't expect any issues.

 

[Varty Yo]

Any pics of how it meets up to the cowl?

 

[archie73]

I only have it roughed in right now. Spring is coming I'll be more motivated when the snow isn't so good. If your still looking for pics let me know.

 

[archie73]

So this is where I'm at on the tub installation. I still need to tweak the alignment so the door gaps even out and do some rust repair on the cowl. I'm not a experienced in anything along these lines, but so far it's pretty straight forward. This is the basic way it'll look, unless some one has a suggestions.

 

[ryanwk628]

Following. 3/4 tub is probably what I will end up doing with mine next year. Being in CT with a truck that spent its life in Maine and Mass I have a lot of the same rust as you. The last picture in post #46 could be my truck!

 

[archie73]

I gotta say it was a relief to cut the old 3/4
Tub portion off. Once I had it standing on the rear corners, I got a better look at the bottom. All the neglect and starting life in New England showed itself. Now every time I go in the garage I see the gleaming aluminum and forget about how much work I still have ahead of me...

 

[Varty Yo]

Hmmm looks good.