Builds Shipwreck

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thanks!

so painting happened... and now I'm waiting for paint to dry....
holes plugged with golf tees


taped


and start spraying the sound deadener/insulation




just a stock toyota fj40, nothing to see here :)


underside will get a undercoating, then tape comes off and the entire body gets primered...


but that's as far as I can go on this for a bit... needs to dry... but I'll get onto the under-stuff (hopefully) in a bit.
 
Which product are you using for insulation and sound deadening? Have you used them before? One of the first things I did to my LJ was remove the carpet. Almost two years later, I would like to cut down on heat and noise.....
 
Which product are you using for insulation and sound deadening?
Lizard skin

Have you used them before?
no

One of the first things I did to my LJ was remove the carpet. Almost two years later, I would like to cut down on heat and noise.....

the caveat about the lizard skin is you need something over the top of it because it isn't durable enough for everyday use. I'm putting durabak over the top - and I used durabak once on a top of a Jeep - they claim it isn't bedliner tough and I guess I agree with them, but it still seems pretty durable after several years (now) on the top of the Jeep. And to answer the question I bet you're wondering - why - because it's 1/3rd the cost of bedliner and about 1/2 as thick. Ask me after next summer how it worked to keep the heat out and noise down. My initial impressions about the Lizard skin is it's really easy to put on, is pretty easy to sand off, can be applied without a mask (water based), smells like latex, and the color (as said by them) of black sure looks like white to me. I was going to be clever and mix the black and white together to get grey.... uh, no - they're both white. That said, this stuff is supposed to be paintable, so you can (rather then durabak) simply spray the coating with automotive paint and get a durable finish as well.... not bedliner tough, but in a passenger space I'm not sure it's needed (opinion).

it does flow nicely, and the 80 grit scratches in the firewall don't exist anymore.

and finally, temps, my shop was 45 degrees yesterday morning. I fired up my heater and got the shop and surface temp to about 65. It was dry 4 hours after I put it on.
 
alrighty, other then doing a full drop suspension test when the frame slid off the lift... it was an uneventful night (it missed me)


pulled the transmission and transfer case to finish welding and paint the various bits that needed such


and put it back together


this is after the drop - the only damage was the mufflers caught the lift arms and popped out. I was not thrilled with the ball-and-socket design and this just confirmed it. I'll do straight, flat panels and blow-proof gaskets between...

and the next pick of things to do... air compressor


I know it seems like not a lot, but getting the plate to line up and get to this point took a bit of time
 
Glad you weren't under it when it fell! I've yet to have anything hugely heavy slide on me...but the thought freaks me out. Also glad to hear there wasn't any ultra significant damage to the rig. Drop test complete!
 
I think I will design lift-pads for this... but what's stopped me is they'd have to be removable because for the lift to grab them, the pads would be in the way of the tire.... alternatively, I suppose, I could make straps that hook to the axle and lift from there... oh well, I'm getting to the end of where this would even be possible - once the body is on, my normal lift points will work fine; just at this moment the weight is too biased to the front....
 
as everyone knows, I tend to bounce around on what I'm working on.... tonight was a classic case of this
oil pan damage


bfh and block of wood and things are looking better


I don't think there was a hole, but I brazed it to be certain


then bent up a shield (planned to do this before the drop test)


paint


brake line brackets welded


the start of clamps


now in my defense, I was planning on finishing the reservoir clamps - but realized I don't have any stainless strap.... but I do have stainless for the skid plate... yeah, you guessed it

time to yack out the skid plate


anyway, tomorrow I'll continue with more of the same - it's a day off (thank you Veterans!!!!)
 
got one of two batteries today - which is good, it means I can start on the battery box.... but first, decide what to do....






I like this position because it will have a flat plate that is even with the bottom of the bumper.... nothing hanging down and access to it will be through the floor

oil pan is fixed, skid plated and reinstalled


and one skid plate is in place, eventually I'll replace the bolts with button head bolts
 
my goal is to have the painted body on the chassis next week....
that means
1) undercoat applied (arrives Friday)
2) primer applied and last of body work done
3) create paint booth
on the frame that means
1) battery box built and installed
2) air tank purchased and installed
3) brake lines done

ugh, that's a lot.

but once I get that portion done, I'll really start closing in on making this mobile... there is a billion other things that need doing - but once it's able to drive, turn, stop it goes pretty quickly.

of course, all of that may hurry the surprise of how the suspension works - more specifically, whether or not the cross-steer and panhard bars are at too much of an angle. If they are, it's not a tough fix, but it's still a fix....

my updated finish date is before the New Year. That does not include refinishing the top or the doors.... but all else done.
 
Great progress mate loving it
 
A brief recap of what you're seen so far

3 link front, dana 44 high pinion, loc-rite, 4.56 gears. narrowed to 57" and moved forward 2 1/2" I also swapped sides on the pumpkin so I have a "super rare GM high pinion 44"
wink.png

king 14" travel coil overs with a 4" up/10" down travel arrangement (you wouldn't believe how much trouble it was to get the seller to understand this)
scout 2 steering box
1998 vortec chevy motor with a howell's efi tbi system on it
custom, stainless fender headers that are wrapped to preserve heat
Cats to keep me from getting a migraine while driving it and to give a nod towards mother nature (along with the bird that comes from squishing her with 38s)
5 speed AR5 - which is a beefy ax15 transmission
Dana 300 transfer case, stock gears, short 30spline output from Novak
tom woods drive shafts
dana 60 rear moved back 2 1/2" (I believe) If I remember correctly the wheelbase is now 95" instead of the stock 90.... honestly, the only reason I moved it was for tire clearance
gm disk brakes on the rear
king shocks on the rear are 10" travel, and the springs are stock JK Jeep.
I boxed the frame and recessed the springs as well along with custom fab'd the bracket and mounts or modified brackets from a couple different companies.
the front axles are from nitro gear and are 30 spline inners and outers... they are custom length, and the u-joints don't have roll pins in them - they're guaranteed for life and are 4340 steel
rear axles are nitro gear as well, 35 spline, custom width
the covers are welded steel the rear is from someone as is the front - but the front I cut down to clear the cross shaft.
you see the tail lights
12,000 lb winch on the front (superwinch)

Inside
suspension seats
dakota digital analog dash (and electronic speedo)
the dash I modified to allow placement of the computers behind the center and I will put a double din stereo with gps behind a protective cover. I also will have ham radios and race radios as well (I do search and rescue so radios are important).
6 point roll cage
tube fenders are from a custom shop in Newberg Oregon, the rear are from a TJ Jeep.

The whole point of this is to keep a low center of gravity but to have enough drop on the suspension to allow it to drop into holes
the tires are 38 super swampers and will, eventually be beadlocked 40" tires. I do a lot of snow wheeling and flotation is king in that.

and the overall theme is stone-cold-reliable rig that you can drive cross country without dying but take a right or left anywhere your heart desires.

Once I've completely finished with coatings; I'll do a post about that... I was asked about the ceramic coating... yesterday I had to do a bit of "fitting" on the trans tunnel and the coating kind of cracked off... to be honest, I'm not sure I'd use it again - but we'll see once I get the durabak over the top and the undercoating under the floor - it make make it into a pretty robust, silent, and well-insulated compartment.
 
there will be a power stud on the firewall and likely a plug-in jump port (though I have issues with them so I may just run with the stud). As for the distance, I'm going to use welding cable rather then typical automotive power wire.

Welding cable has more strands in the wire.... as you know, power doesn't travel down the inside of the copper wire, but on the outside - thus using welding cable, with more strands, has far higher amperage capacity (because the circumference of the strands is greater then the circumference of the automotive style which has as few as 12 strands rather then the 100 plus of welding leads) then standard stuff you get a O'Reilly's.

something else to consider about battery placement - batteries lose potential amps the warmer they get, thus putting a battery (while convenient) in an engine compartment shortens the run, the battery has less capacity because it's warmer then its optimal 70 degrees.

and also - there is precious little room in the engine compartment for one, let alone two batteries....

plus taking 120 lbs off the nose and putting in the back (giving me a more balanced rig) does actually make a difference off and on-road in ride quality.
 
White Stripe said:
Personally I wouldn't like having the battery in the back. You will have to run some huge wires to feed a winch if you mount it back their. Plus what if you need to jump somebody or check for a power issue-you have to unload all your gear to do that.
Click to expand...

and I need to add this - I appreciate the comment, most people don't have any clue that there are ways to mitigate the voltage drop that you get with DC power over distance. It is something to think about and be aware of in designing a robust system. Heck, last week my friend with his 13:1 compression BBC "street" car couldn't get it started when hot - and it was exactly this issue - too much draw, too much distance, too much heat. The system was marginal when new, and after one summer simply couldn't keep up.
 
paint, lots and lots of paint
first step was undercoating.... it was amazingly thin, but it seems pretty adherent so I may use it again for solely that purpose


black... and I hate black undercarriages


tan, on the other hand is nice


coat 1


coat 2


flip over, partial coat.... ordering more (ugh)


the bright side is the underside is pretty much done so I can put it back on the frame and gain some room back in the shop. I still have lots more painting/body work to do... but I could attach the body to the frame and start final assembly... we'll see, as I said, there is body work left to be done and doing the body work with the body firmly attached is the best way to do this
 
onward

air tank arrived

at 12 cfm, I don't really need storage, but I learned on my H3 that having a place for all the various fittings (safety valve, pressure valve, etc) is a good thing
yep, they're bowed and I don't care


I think the transmission tunnel shrunk when I painted it.... amazing


oh yes, and another issue


at first I thought maybe the frame was screwed up from the accident it had been in; but that makes no sense because it's equal in its distance

so I went ahead and cut another hole


and kept thinking "why?"

I put the side plates on an then thought... wait a minute


oh those bastards


it's pretty obvious (in person) that the rear spacer under the door had been replaced.... they screwed it up and didn't make it wide enough... that's a first... but the cute part is they blended the corners - and but for a bit of screwy hammering on the passenger side (the side that didn't get hit); I'd never have realized it. I thought the guy who made the corner guards had given me extra metal.... nope, he built it for what Toyota built... ah well, easy enough to fix.

it's even easier to see how much too short it is


I admit, it had me going... I was so careful when I cut the frame for the pockets, and when I welded the plates on the inside.... but it wouldn't be the first time I blazed along only to find out later that I'd not been paying enough attention (which is why I really paid a lot of attention when I was doing this).... I also had measured the frame to be sure it was square before I did anything to the frame - after all, every suspension measurement relies on the frame being square.

and the panels are fit




and the hole is complete


and something good came out of this.... the batteries can be raised another inch up


maybe the other way?
 
awww, look, my first optima was obviously preggers when I got her and she had an offspring!


time to start figuring fitment



the hitch wasn't straight, so it was easy enough to convince myself to remove it... I'll go with an under-mount. It certainly wasn't easy to get out - I installed it a bit too well. oh well, it's out now

so a 3rd brake light!

uh, no


fit the corner guards and cut the holes for the lights


now to make it permanent
 
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