Builds Rescuing a Basket Case '72 FJ40 (2 Viewers)

[diesellibrarian]

What are your plans for the B-pillar part? Fasten to the door B-pillar?

Yes, that's what I'm thinking. I have the hacked-up stock B-pillars that I think i could quite easily adapt to work like the later FST bows in this photo from the thread that @CruiserTrash shared:

The one thing I'm missing is the third crossbar, but I'm thinking I might be able to bend up some steel conduit to match...or, maybe two crossbars will be enough? I'll also need to figure out a way to anchor the front of the soft top to the windscreen frame, since that's the piece that's missing from my Bestop kit. But I don't think that will be too much of a challenge.

 

[CondeCruiser]

I think you will definitely need the hoop for the B-pillars. I have the windshield track from a bestop bikini top. I would imagine it's the same?? You are welcome to it if you want it. It's brand new still in the bag. It's two pieces.

 

[diesellibrarian]

I think you will definitely need the hoop for the B-pillars. I have the windshield track from a bestop bikini top. I would imagine it's the same?? You are welcome to it if you want it. It's brand new still in the bag. It's two pieces.

Yes, I'll definitely mount the front hoop to the B-pillars, and the other hoop will be at the rear. I'm just wondering if I really need a third hoop in the middle? Without it, I guess the fabric might get flappy at higher speeds, but perhaps I could overcome that with a couple of additional straight bars running lengthwise between the hoops.

I really appreciate your offer of the windshield track! I might take you up on it, but before you go to the trouble, I should make sure that I can actually pull this off, haha.

 

[CondeCruiser]

You could always add the middle hoop later if you find you need it. Keep up the good work. Its a good build!

 

[diesellibrarian]

Last night I set about repairing the damaged tub rail on the passenger side. I did the driver's side a while ago but didn't take many photos. This time I tried to document it a little more thoroughly, just for @RevISK.

Here's the spot where a PO hacked through the tub in order to install the shortened cab. Top-level work, to be sure:

They made such a mess that my first move was to cut the whole thing out. You can see that even this area of the truck is somehow bent out of shape. This poor old 40 has seen some pretty hard years...but thankfully those days are done.

With the damage cut away, I was able to measure the opening and cut a section of square tubing to fit the inner part of the rail. The edge of the tubing matches the corner radius on the original steel, which is a bonus. Here I'm still refining the fit-up:

After grinding and filing, the piece is starting to fit well. My next step was to cut a small piece of 18ga and tack it to the outer edge of the tubing.

I then removed the patch and fully welded the vertical piece to the tubing. It's welded on the back side as well.

After grinding the welds (mostly) flush, I welded it in and ground the welds as flat as I could, given the pre-existing distortion in that area.

The next step was to measure and cut another piece of 18 gauge, shaping it with hammer and vice to match the profile of the outer tub rail:

Here's the piece set in place and ready for welding. The 90* flange at the top is folded over once the patch is mostly welded in: to do that I just use a hammer and dolly to fold it until it pinches the inner piece.

I forgot to snag a pic of the finished product, but I'll do that next time I'm at the shop. It'll need a bit of filler, but at least it's strong now, and looks a hundred times better!

 

[RevISK]

Last night I set about repairing the damaged tub rail on the passenger side. I did the driver's side a while ago but didn't take many photos. This time I tried to document it a little more thoroughly, just for @RevISK.

Here's the spot where a PO hacked through the tub in order to install the shortened cab. Top-level work, to be sure:

View attachment 3570889

They made such a mess that my first move was to cut the whole thing out. You can see that even this area of the truck is somehow bent out of shape. This poor old 40 has seen some pretty hard years...but thankfully those days are done.

View attachment 3570893

With the damage cut away, I was able to measure the opening and cut a section of square tubing to fit the inner part of the rail. The edge of the tubing matches the corner radius on the original steel, which is a bonus. Here I'm still refining the fit-up:

View attachment 3570897

After grinding and filing, the piece is starting to fit well. My next step was to cut a small piece of 18ga and tack it to the outer edge of the tubing.

View attachment 3570902

I then removed the patch and fully welded the vertical piece to the tubing. It's welded on the back side as well.

View attachment 3570904

After grinding the welds (mostly) flush, I welded it in and ground the welds as flat as I could, given the pre-existing distortion in that area.

View attachment 3570905

The next step was to measure and cut another piece of 18 gauge, shaping it with hammer and vice to match the profile of the outer tub rail:

View attachment 3570909

Here's the piece set in place and ready for welding. The 90* flange at the top is folded over once the patch is mostly welded in: to do that I just use a hammer and dolly to fold it until it pinches the inner piece.

View attachment 3570914

I forgot to snag a pic of the finished product, but I'll do that next time I'm at the shop. It'll need a bit of filler, but at least it's strong now, and looks a hundred times better!

Awe, thanks brother.
Need to get back to the welder, I’ve taken a few wandering trips into knuckles, suspension, trying to get the damn rain gutter off the roof…

Appreciate it!

 

[diesellibrarian]

Just for fun, and since I spend most of my time at the garage tripping over this thing, I thought I'd post a pic of the other "rustoration" project I'm slowly picking away at: a 1984 Ritchey mountain bike that I rescued from a roadside giveaway pile up in the Kootenays. It's rough and missing a seat post, but otherwise pretty straight and original.

 

[RevISK]

Just for fun, and since I spend most of my time at the garage tripping over this thing, I thought I'd post a pic of the other "rustoration" project I'm slowly picking away at: a 1984 Ritchey mountain bike that I rescued from a roadside giveaway pile up in the Kootenays. It's rough and missing a seat post, but otherwise pretty straight and original.

View attachment 3571034

If you ever visited me you’d never leave.
It’s like the project Olympic Games around here.

 

[CruiserTrash]

Just for fun, and since I spend most of my time at the garage tripping over this thing, I thought I'd post a pic of the other "rustoration" project I'm slowly picking away at: a 1984 Ritchey mountain bike that I rescued from a roadside giveaway pile up in the Kootenays. It's rough and missing a seat post, but otherwise pretty straight and original.

View attachment 3571034

Bull moose bars and a lugged fork crown? Yes please. Looks like all Shimano components, and maybe even Biopace cranks?

 

[cruisermatt]

Why are you moving the tire carrier to the other side? Also, the reverse lights are readily available new OEM inexpensively

 

[diesellibrarian]

Bull moose bars and a lugged fork crown? Yes please. Looks like all Shimano components, and maybe even Biopace cranks?

Yep, they're OG bullmoose bars with the MountainBikes stamping, from when Tom Ritchey and Gary Fisher were still in business together.

The components are the full first-gen Shimano Deore "Deerhead" group, and yes, Biopace chainrings. It's a pretty early mountain bike! Unfortunately it's a little too big for me, so I'll probably end up selling it.

 

[diesellibrarian]

Why are you moving the tire carrier to the other side? Also, the reverse lights are readily available new OEM inexpensively

I moved the tire carrier to the other side because I wanted to, and because it's fun, and because I don't have the time or the $$ to hunt down the correct one. Where I live, up here in rural Canada, the supply of used Cruiser parts is dismal. As far as I know, I'm the only Land Cruiser guy within 150+ miles. I had to drive a hundred miles just to get that "wrong" tire carrier. This truck will never be anything but a mongrel, so I'm not fussy about keeping it period correct. The signal lights are wrong also, but I'm running them because they were free. That's just the vibe of this whole build. By the time it's done, I hope to be into this thing for less than $3,000, excluding wheels and tires of course.

Good info about the reverse light. I should know by now that not every factoid I read on Mud is the gospel truth, haha.

 

[CruiserTrash]

Yep, they're OG bullmoose bars with the MountainBikes stamping, from when Tom Ritchey and Gary Fisher were still in business together.

The components are the full first-gen Shimano Deore "Deerhead" group, and yes, Biopace chainrings. It's a pretty early mountain bike! Unfortunately it's a little too big for me, so I'll probably end up selling it.

I have a set of Deerhead derailleurs on my 1983 Trek 800! The rest of that build is a mutt though - Dia Compe canti brakes, unknown brake levers, Soma handlebars, Shimano bar-end shifters, etc. Years ago I had an old road bike with Biopace chainrings and actually really liked them. A cool piece of forgotten kit.

 

[diesellibrarian]

It's been a busy week and I've been away from the garage long enough for this thread to get all the way to page 4 in the 40/55 forum! Unacceptable.

Anyway, last night I spent a few hours working on the floor area behind the front seats. This area is really rusty, so when I'm done there won't actually be much factory steel left, even though I'm trying to preserve as much of it as possible.

Once again, out came the bead roller. I'm using 1/8" step dies to reproduce the factory beads as closely as possible. It's hard to do precision work with such a garbage tool, but it's what I've got. This time I was super careful in setting it up, taking my time to keep the beads as straight and consistent as possible. Here's the panel in the process of being shaped:

Step dies don't really stretch the metal, so this process doesn't create a whole lot of tension in the panel. However, it does make one side of the panel effectively shorter than the other, creating a bowed edge along one side. To counter that, I cut the steel slightly larger than the area I'm patching, and then cut the bowed edge off once the beads have been added. The bowing effect is less pronounced on a wider panel like this one, but it's still a factor.

Once the bead rolling was done, I marked the location of the seat belt anchor, and plug welded the support bracket, which I made out of some heavier plate.

After a quick coat of primer, the panel is ready to be welded in. Here it's pretty much fully burned in and ready for grinding. It's at this point that I tapped out and headed home. All in all, the fit-up was much better than the last panel I installed in this area. It's nice to see some progression in one's skills.

One more piece to repair in this area, and I can move on to bigger things, like getting the fuel tank and/or cargo floor installed.

 

[120mm]

It's not the arrow, it's the Indian....

 

[archie73]

I have a set of Deerhead derailleurs on my 1983 Trek 800! The rest of that build is a mutt though - Dia Compe canti brakes, unknown brake levers, Soma handlebars, Shimano bar-end shifters, etc. Years ago I had an old road bike with Biopace chainrings and actually really liked them. A cool piece of forgotten kit.

Funny thing is there back- I just bought my kid a Transition Sentinel and they have new version of biopace. I can’t say I ever really felt any difference when Shimano made them, but what’s old is new again…

 

[diesellibrarian]

This area behind the seats is almost done. Dressed the welds yesterday, and fabbed up the last patch panel, though I ran out of time to weld it in.

With a little filler to smooth the weld joints and some high-build primer and then paint, this area should look pretty much original, as long as you're at least 20 feet away.

 

[peesalot]

Dang thoose look good, well done.

 

[6f40j9]

This area behind the seats is almost done. Dressed the welds yesterday, and fabbed up the last patch panel, though I ran out of time to weld it in.

With a little filler to smooth the weld joints and some high-build primer and then paint, this area should look pretty much original, as long as you're at least 20 feet away.

View attachment 3581748

Are the (2) new holes shown for the seatbelts? I’m trying to install some in my 69 that had aftermarket ones mounted to the seat rails.

 

[diesellibrarian]

Are the (2) new holes shown for the seatbelts? I’m trying to install some in my 69 that had aftermarket ones mounted to the seat rails.

Yes, they're seatbelt anchors. The locations don't really make sense to me, but I put them where the original anchors were. I think I used 8.8 or 10-grade nuts that I welded to a 1/8" backing plate. I think it would be possible to add something similar to your truck, as long as it was far enough back to be behind the boxed-in section that runs behind the front seats. I hope that makes sense?