Reworking Coyote 1973 fj55 (1 Viewer)

[scrapdaddy]

9 times out of 10, assembly is reverse of disassembly. These are such simple machines though, you’ll probably be ok if your order gets out of whack a little!

Until you get to that tailgate that you took apart three years ago.

 

[RUSH55]

Yeah, haven’t been there yet

 

[61twpw]

Rolled Coyote outside for first time in 21 months. Plan to pressure wash and see what’s left. Jmack, I’ve got a couple of primo doors to trade for that body . Not the doors on Coyote, but some better ones.

 

[61twpw]

Pressure washed some today. A lot of old undercoating was blown off revealing some nastiness. A PO patch for driver side door is in first pic. There was a piece of 1 x 4 boatd 6” long scabbed in to keep the fender pushed out to line up with drivers door. Other pic is driver side as well, up by air intake vent. Third pic is passenger side where the undercoating blew off.

 

[61twpw]

Beginning to think Jmack’s suggestion about another body might be spot on. Both a pillars looking pretty bad. Not even sure how to start on a repair.

 

[RUSH55]

Rust in the A-Pillars? How far up? Can you get some pics or have you already started drinking?

Realistically though, might be further ahead to buy a nice, turn-key Pig (Coyote II?), and use this one for parts.

 

[61twpw]

Wife’s stroke made it necessary to stop drinking in order to do 24/7 care. Bottoms up to door hinges have some significant delaminating going on. Will try to get pics later.

 

[61twpw]

Looking closer, the A pillars aren’t too bad. It’s the part where the fenders bolt on to. I guess it is a part of the fire wall.The firewall also has issues. Drivers and passenger side pretty much the same.. Time to go buy some sheet metal? My wife is voting to just do the ‘78 and save Coyote until later. She IS the smart one of the couple, so.....

 

[scrapdaddy]

She's right! One at a time.

 

[61twpw]

I could pull the body on Coyote and replace with the ‘78 body. Like so many it would become a frankencruiser, but would be on the road. Interesting how these projects change.

 

[61twpw]

Thank you all for the support and knowledge. Going to step away from these projects and re-assess. The stroke and recovery have drained my spirit a bit. This site has helped me through some dark, scary times. Thanks.

 

[riderjgs]

Thank you all for the support and knowledge. Going to step away from these projects and re-assess. The stroke and recovery have drained my spirit a bit. This site has helped me through some dark, scary times. Thanks.

I could pull the body on Coyote and replace with the ‘78 body. Like so many it would become a frankencruiser, but would be on the road. Interesting how these projects change.

I could pull the body on Coyote and replace with the ‘78 body. Like so many it would become a frankencruiser, but would be on the road. Interesting how these projects change.

Body swap is not all that difficult. We did mine and had it running and driving over a weekend. Had the benefit of a lift but others have done it without. Disconnect lines and wires and about a dozen bolts, then reverse for reassembly.
I'd definitely consider it if you have a better body available. Much easier that extensive body work. Would also leave you with parts to sell to help finance the build.

 

[scrapdaddy]

61twpw,

The doghouse (inner fender) is yours if or when you need it. I'll leave it as is until I hear from you. Good luck with things.

 

[61twpw]

Been awhile since I’ve posted about this build. Good thing about down time is an opportunity to get a better picture of the project. My wife continues to improve. This allows me some garage time. We did a road trip to Springfield and picked up a 1969 55 roller. Mostly good shell. Pulled my om617 Mercedes diesel out of storage and got it to the shop. Plan to put the hf55 /split case combo behind the Benz engine. Hope all have a great holiday season.

 

[scrapdaddy]

That's some great news! Tell her from us to keep going, the Pig Party is getting closer.

 

[61twpw]

I have 2 om617 engines. One I have had since 2011 the other longer than that. Both have been stored inside since removed from cars. Both turn freely with a socket on the crankshaft bolt. Hooked a battery up and each one turns over nicely. Waiting on some return lines for the injectors. Been Utubing starting on the stand. Hope to fire these up before much longer. The one in the picture with the transmission has under 100k, the other has 105k. Came across a site called doomsday diesel out of Nebraska. They make a lot of components for the om617 to adapt to Toyota. Starting to pick up build excitement again. With bobm rockers, front support and front floor pans who wouldn’t be?

 

[61twpw]

Got a little garage time today. Started the disassembly of Coyote’s carcass. Plan to use doors and anything else I need to complete the body swap of the 1969 onto the 73 running gear. A shot of a flying pig.