Builds Scraps, My Slow 45/80 Build (1 Viewer)

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This is nice , perfect for expedition .
it could be nice with a tube rack , with a foldable over the cab section if you need acces to remove the top

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Jim,

I had not considered extending the rack over the cab because I want to be able to remove the top. I will have to consider an attachment that can be retracted, hadn't thought of that. I am planning a rack over the box to support a hard sided Roof Top Tent. Although the box offers a lot of storage already so I am not sure if I need the additional room over the cab. I will keep the idea in mind as the build progresses. Thanks for taking the time to illustrate the idea.
 
I am waiting on 37s before I start fitting the box. I went back to the front and tacked the fj40 cross member in place. I like the way it turned out.

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I have always been planning to paint this project a slate blue color. I don't want a glossy paint finish and definitely not with a utility box on the back of it. I have been thinking an industrial flat paint would be the way to go but I am now considering a fine textured polyurea finish. What I am worried about going with the polyurea is how tough it would be to remove if I wanted to make modifications or repairs to it down the road. I have never had to remove polyurea before, has anyone else delt with it?
 
I have always been planning to paint this project a slate blue color. I don't want a glossy paint finish and definitely not with a utility box on the back of it. I have been thinking an industrial flat paint would be the way to go but I am now considering a fine textured polyurea finish. What I am worried about going with the polyurea is how tough it would be to remove if I wanted to make modifications or repairs to it down the road. I have never had to remove polyurea before, has anyone else delt with it?
Is Raptor polyurea? I sprayed the Raptor on my floor of my 40 only to realize I forgot the metal etching primer. I used a composite cup brush on my buffer to remove the Raptor. Took me 4 to 5 hours of pretty intense nonstop labor. If u wanted to do a repair, you would have to strip a whole panel then respray. Paint is way easier in my opinion to work with. You have to get the surface smoother and flatter to paint, but on a 40 that's not hard.
 
Is Raptor polyurea? I sprayed the Raptor on my floor of my 40 only to realize I forgot the metal etching primer. I used a composite cup brush on my buffer to remove the Raptor. Took me 4 to 5 hours of pretty intense nonstop labor. If u wanted to do a repair, you would have to strip a whole panel then respray. Paint is way easier in my opinion to work with. You have to get the surface smoother and flatter to paint, but on a 40 that's not hard.

I have decided to go with an industrial paint finish rather than any type of bed liner product. I appreciate the experience that was shared.
 
Since I have more time to think about this project than work on it I have been pondering the best way to fit the box. Originally I was just going to cut the fender wells and move them forward about 5 inches centered over the axle but this would require me to significantly alter the utility box door on the passenger side and I would lose the lower drawer use in that compartment.

I am now considering extending the frame five inches to center the rear wheel under the wheel well. The frame extension would also reduce the amount of over hang from the rear utility box. I would prefer to cut and extend it at the front of the rear control arms so I can keep the factory suspension the same. If I go this route I would have it done by a professional shop. The frame would get extended about 5-6 inches.

What are the draw backs you experienced forum members have seen from frame extension modifications? Has it created any issues when getting it inspected for road worthiness, so it can be titled? This is not just a trail rig, I want to be able to drive it where ever I want to go.

Thanks in advance
 
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Long time without any updates, I have been working on other projects but have squeaked a little work into this here and there.

I decided to lengthen the frame 7 inches to accommodate the box.

I didn't want two cuts with a splice piece in the middle so I sourced a second 80 frame.
I had to part this out to get to the frame. Most all of it has lived on in another cruiser even the body.

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Got down to the frame and made my cuts in the flat strait section at the rear long control arms. I offset the cuts a little but tried to keep one set of the control arm mounts intact. I had a machine shop build a set of 14 inch heavy duty sleaves boxed sleeves that were welded in on each side with large rosset welds and then around splices.

Test fitting the sleeves.

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Joining the two pieces. I bartered some professional welding skills for this job. I have no doubts it is stronger than factory with the sleeves inside it. We did a lot of measuring and rechecking as we welded it up. The measurements are nice and square.

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Here is where it is sitting now. Just need to fit the box mounts. The box factory fenders mount very cleanly to the box so I am planning to use them. I will end up altering/fitting the front side of the fender some but I think they will work out nicely.

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I have now pushed this back into it's corner while I get some other projects done that I have been working on that don't belong to me. They help support the obsession though.

This project has been so slow going that I was feeling a void without a cruiser to drive, so I made a purchase. I picked up this very modified FJ45 SWB from another forum member. There is a lot to like about it and a little that is not appealing but overall I am happy with it. I have some plans for it but they will have to wait. I just want to drive it for now. I didn't like the Iroks, so sadly the first think the little 45 did was steal it's big brothers shoes. That is just temporary until I figure out what wheels to put on it.

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Awesome work :cheers: Love the look of that old service body.

I agree I like that it seems to fit with early style of the 45. I could not have gone the service body route using a newer box, it wouldn't have looked right to me. Thanks for the nice comments.
 
I am going to push this project out of the garage for while as I have some other work taking priority over it. Since I picked up the new 45 and can drive it I don't feel pressed to get this together in the near future. I am sharing this because I am considering selling this project, so I am just putting out there if anyone thinks they might be interested send me a pm.
 
Well life happens and I am selling this project. I have listed the Drivetrain and SC for sale in the Engine parts section. I will be listing the chassis and body in the vehicle section. If anyone is interested in the whole thing though send me a message. I would love to see someone finish it.
 
Well life happens and I am selling this project. I have listed the Drivetrain and SC for sale in the Engine parts section. I will be listing the chassis and body in the vehicle section. If anyone is interested in the whole thing though send me a message. I would love to see someone finish it.

Very excited to pick up where @Tank5 left off on this project. This project fit exactly into what I want to do next, so stay tuned for a new thread.
 

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