I have a 73 FJ40 with a newer top and ambulance doors. I found the reason for the gap at the top of the front doors between the windshield. I also found the rear sill on an older tub needs to be modified with a step if you are running a later top with ambulance doors. I apologize if this is posted somewhere, but for all the searching I have done I have not been able to find any measurements for the step that needs to be in the rear sill. The closest I have come I read where one guy used a 1/4 plate to make the step. Can someone either point me in the right direction or post up the measurements? How far does it step down from the bed 1/4? and how far from the edge of the bed? How much is the area recessed where the latch is? Also, I have read several posts where some say to make the ambulance doors fit right on an older tub, you need to recess or step the sides of the tub where the doors go. Others say there is no need to mess with the tub the doors overlap it. What are the pro's and cons of doing it either way? I want to make this a semi daily driver and would like the doors to seal at least as well as expected with these old rigs. Thanks for any assistance you can offer.
Rear Sill Measurements
- Thread starter vortoy
- Start date
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If you put on the driver-side amby door and swing it shut, the bottom latch will mark the center of where the indentation needs to be. If you have an amby door catch (top and bottom are the same), you can center it on the center mark and trace it. The dent needs to be as deep as the height of the base of the catch.
You can make a little metal box out of 1/8" sheet metal that's the right size, cut a hole for it with a die grinder, weld it in and smooth the whole thing out. Bonus points for making it like OEM with a floating backing plate that has captive nuts attached. Then you have about 1/4" of adjustment for the catch.
I'm pretty sure that in the original, the sill has the dent and the holes and floating backing plate are part of the bracing beneath, which also has the indent.
You can make a little metal box out of 1/8" sheet metal that's the right size, cut a hole for it with a die grinder, weld it in and smooth the whole thing out. Bonus points for making it like OEM with a floating backing plate that has captive nuts attached. Then you have about 1/4" of adjustment for the catch.
I'm pretty sure that in the original, the sill has the dent and the holes and floating backing plate are part of the bracing beneath, which also has the indent.
Real Steel sells the weld in sill that you are talking about. They have better pictures on their ebay auction than their website.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toyota-Land...Parts_Accessories&hash=item53ef7f44a4&vxp=mtr
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toyota-Land...Parts_Accessories&hash=item53ef7f44a4&vxp=mtr
That's just the cover. The whole thing is here:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toyota-Land...d=100005&prg=8427&rk=1&rkt=5&sd=360500380836&
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Toyota-Land...d=100005&prg=8427&rk=1&rkt=5&sd=360500380836&
- Thread starter
- #5
Thanks guys. I must be one of the very few but my rear sill is in great shape. From the pics it looks like the notch is about 1/4 by 1/4 with the approximate 1/8 indentation where the bottom latch goes. Can someone give me some input on the tub and whether or not it will need to be notched as well? If the doors are left at overlapping the tub will there be any seal issues or paint rubbing? Thanks again for the info.
Huh?
The flat portion of the indent is 1" x 2.75" and 2mm deep. The OEM catch base is 5mm thick. The sill not indented. It's flat on top.
The sill cover is indented all the way across (as shown in the ebay pics) where it meets the bottom of the doors. The tub is not. The doors fit inside the sides of the tub and into the indentation all the way across the sill. If you really want it to work perfectly, get the right sill cover on there. It's cheap enough...
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not sure if this helps, but....
- Thread starter
- #10
That helps a bunch, thanks guys. My cruiser is at a friends house where I work on it and after looking at it this weekend I should be able to more or less copy the measurements from the top sill. Thanks for the measurements, they will make sure I get it right and thanks for the pic should make bolting it up a lot easier. I really appreciate all the input.
