Stumbling through issues with fj62 (1 Viewer)

[Krawczyk80s]

Hey all,

I previously briefly owned an 80. Now situation changed and decided to pick up a 62. It is a budget truck, and needs some work.

This is gonna be a rig I try to learn everything. I can't have 2 left hands forever!

I have some questions:

1. Need a new mirror glass, what's the best place?
2. Brake lines look pretty rough, how hard they to replace?
3. Rocker panel(rocker panel?) on passenger side is toast. I need to learn to weld to repair. What's a good place to get a replacement.
4. What is this thing hanging in picture 3? Could it be the odo cable? It's currently not working need a replacement cable.
5. Is Speedo ran by a mechanical cable as well? It isn't working either.
6. Need a new carpet set.
7. Have a new exhaust pipe, might have a leak on a manifold. How big of a deal?


More pictures on the first post!

Thank you guys!

 

[Krawczyk80s]

Here's a few more of the bad haha

 

[tmxmotorsports]

Speedometer is ran by the mechanical cable that is hanging.

 

[Krawczyk80s]

Speedometer is ran by the mechanical cable that is hanging.

Thank you! This helps me a lot

 

[Krawczyk80s]

Is the rust (see picture 3) on a rocker panel? Is that correct?
It's the panel right below the doors
Trying to get a replacement to weld in.

 

[Oldfrogdiving]

My suggestion is too get you a grinder and wire wheels (Harbor Frieght 4.5 inch grinders have served me well) then start grinding the rust. It takes a bit of practice to weld sheet metal on trucks I struggle with it and ive been welding since I was 17. Id concentrate on mechanicals and brakes first. Im in the process of bringing a FJ62 back to life it sat static since 1996. Right now im dealing with coolant hoses. Luckily my 62 was nearly rust free except for the tail gate area so cut out rust and pieced it out with an old washing machine panel.
Best of luck.

 

[georgebj60]

You really need to check out this thread by @diesellibrarian. Though it might keep you up a night knowing what is ahead of you....

 

[LCnAZ]

Well...we know where you can be found for the next few years. The garage. Seriously, though, the forum FAQ and search engine are your friends. Also you will see that some threads tagged as "build" threads are actually resto threads. Lots of helpful info in those. Do your homework there, then reach out. Folks will respond.

 

[Old Nick]

Is the rust (see picture 3) on a rocker panel? Is that correct?
It's the panel right below the doors
Trying to get a replacement to weld in.

View attachment 3683635

Yes, that is the rocker panel.

For the external portion of the rocker, Wolf Steel makes pretty darn good panels. They are located in Quebec. I used them. Shipping wasn't too bad.

Toyota Land Cruiser Rust Repair Panels

Wolf Steel is now providing rust repair and restoration panels for more and more models, including the Toyota Landcruiser. If we don't have a body panel you need, chances are we can get it. This is your source for hard to find or vintage Steel panels. Come and see what we mean.

www.alfaparts.net

I believe that CruiserCorps makes them too.

 

[Krawczyk80s]

Hey guys! Thanks a lot for info. I browsed through some other threads and its a wealth of knowledge.

I started working on it a lot of the issues already, but I'm a bit of weekend warrior.

I got new exhaust hangars, and new hardware. Cut off the rotted parts of the inner and outer rockers. Will be patching them soon with 20 ga mild steel.
Ordered the wolf steel front quarter panel repair as I found previous owner used foam and bondo ...
Lower passenger side door is rusted, and has a pretty big hole, that was foamed and bondo'd.

Ripped out "custom carpets" and insulation, got repro carpets, and some insulation to lay.
Discovered holes underneath the dead pedal, cut the metal out, and now I'm cutting out metal sheeting to match the holes.

Grill is off and I have been scraping and scuffing, getting it ready for etching and painting. All seats and panels on the inside are off. As I'll be making my own moisture shields from 6 mil plastic after I sand blast the lower parts of the doors. Also plan on buying and plastic door cards as they're cleaner!

Will post some pictures soon.

 

[diesellibrarian]

I recommend using 18ga cold-rolled instead of 20ga, firstly because it's much closer to the stock gauge, which will help with your fit-up; and secondly, it's easier and more forgiving to weld. The difference of 0.0119" may not seem like much, but 18 gauge is about 33% thicker than 20 gauge.

 

[Krawczyk80s]

I recommend using 18ga cold-rolled instead of 20ga, firstly because it's much closer to the stock gauge, which will help with your fit-up; and secondly, it's easier and more forgiving to weld. The difference of 0.0119" may not seem like much, but 18 gauge is about 33% thicker than 20 gauge.

I will use that in the future for other body fixes. I bought 3 12 x 36 inch sheets for 20 ga, so ill probably use them to fab up inside / outside rocker panels, and repair the hole in the door.

I also found that my windshield was out at some point (damn you previous owner!) and he bondo'd a corner and its disintegrating inside the cab right by the dash.

Ill probably try to take out the windshield next weekend or following weekend and repair the damage.

Today I will be tacking some pieces together for inner rocker on passenger side as that one literally disintegrated from rust. When stuff is welded Ill snap some pictures of progress.

I dont have a garage so sealing the truck before rainy/winter season is a must, so wind shield thing scared me a bit!

 

[Krawczyk80s]

Trigger warning:
Bad welds!

Some work in progress, Im working pretty slow as I'm inexperienced.

I've pulled carpets and insulation as it was done terribly. I have some carpets ready to be installed as soon Im done with rust repair. I just found that the previous owner hid more rust with bondo by the windshield. I bought a new seal and will be pulling out next week with help of my brother in law. I'll try to get it repaired in the same day and put it back in with a new seal and sealant.

Inner rocker "repair". I'll run a flat piece from the inner rocker to the white panel. I still need to do a final cut to make it squared on both sides.

 

[Krawczyk80s]

My suggestion is too get you a grinder and wire wheels (Harbor Frieght 4.5 inch grinders have served me well) then start grinding the rust. It takes a bit of practice to weld sheet metal on trucks I struggle with it and ive been welding since I was 17. Id concentrate on mechanicals and brakes first. Im in the process of bringing a FJ62 back to life it sat static since 1996. Right now im dealing with coolant hoses. Luckily my 62 was nearly rust free except for the tail gate area so cut out rust and pieced it out with an old washing machine panel.
Best of luck.

Thankfully breaks work! And truck runs very well, besides some exhaust leaks. I'll do full fluids change when I'm done with rust!

 

[Krawczyk80s]

I recommend using 18ga cold-rolled instead of 20ga, firstly because it's much closer to the stock gauge, which will help with your fit-up; and secondly, it's easier and more forgiving to weld. The difference of 0.0119" may not seem like much, but 18 gauge is about 33% thicker than 20 gauge.

In my infinite wisdom and coordination I managed to buy 16 ga steel and not notice it until I went to buy some more . I guess 16 ga is better than 20 ga for this purpose!

 

[Krawczyk80s]

Some progress pictures.
Primed and painted the grille elements. It's definitely a 5 foot kind of a job, but from a tired old grille it's gonna look fine.

I did the final cut and rust sealant on the inner rocker. (No picture)

Got annoyed at the door rust and cut it / started patching.

I ended up cutting it all down to fit and grinded the ugly welds.

I proceeded to test fit the patch panel

The back:

Still got some more welding/fitting but getting there!

Hopefully soon I'll cut out sheet metal for rockers, and finally finish that piece.

 

[Old Nick]

Some progress pictures.
Primed and painted the grille elements. It's definitely a 5 foot kind of a job, but from a tired old grille it's gonna look fine. View attachment 3708526

I did the final cut and rust sealant on the inner rocker. (No picture)

Got annoyed at the door rust and cut it / started patching.View attachment 3708528

I ended up cutting it all down to fit and grinded the ugly welds.

I proceeded to test fit the patch panel

View attachment 3708530

The back:
View attachment 3708532
Still got some more welding/fitting but getting there!

Hopefully soon I'll cut out sheet metal for rockers, and finally finish that piece.

Great work! Things are looking good.

The one thing that I would recommend; pick up some strong magnets to hold your patch panels in place (and flush so you don’t need to grind down any of your new metal). You can leave them on the patch as you tack it up; then pull them and backfill your welds.

 

[Krawczyk80s]

Great work! Things are looking good.

The one thing that I would recommend; pick up some strong magnets to hold your patch panels in place (and flush so you don’t need to grind down any of your new metal). You can leave them on the patch as you tack it up; then pull them and backfill your welds.

Wow great idea! I was wondering how to keep it aligned! Thank you for that bit of knowledge!

Here's what it looked like before !

 

[Old Nick]

Wow great idea! I was wondering how to keep it aligned! Thank you for that bit of knowledge!

Here's what it looked like before ! View attachment 3708544

Glad to help any way that I can. This place has been/continues to be a wealth of knowledge.

You're doing great. You'll have that rig looking mighty fine in short order.

 

[Krawczyk80s]

Some more stuff. Still have a few cap pieces to manufacture, grind the welds and check for pin holes, repeat! I have to say laying underneath the truck welding the panels with splatter burning me wasn't fun.

Here's the front ( no blinkers yet)

I was browsing some tutorials on how to swap the transmission to a manual. It seems pretty complex, but I think I'll take a swing at it eventually. Probably just the disappointing h42 long for now. No money for h55f.