Sturobertson40's FJ55 Resto Thread

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if you are not going for a total stock showroom floor park in the garage 350 days of the year resto, i would take what you got and fix her up a bit, do the sanding and painting, little things to make her look better, i wouldnt go all the way to the frame, especially if its a dd and all the stuff seem s to be working fine.
 
you got one hell of a good looking rig. get her running and drivable all else looks nice to me
 
Thanks for the advice guys. I'll welcome more banter, but I'm leaning the same way. Plus, I want to get out on the trails someday soon!
 
Do as I say and not as I do - I'd say to check/fix the important stuff and drive it. I have bought 2 rigs (45 and 55) that I have never even driven more than 50 feet b/c I am going to fix them up first.

Fortunately I have my 40 that I used as my DD.

My thoughts,

Brian
 
"All of this has happened before, and will happen again."

"All of this has happened before, and will happen again."--Battlestar Galactica.

It's time to finish this thread. I can't believe how long ago I started this project. Let me give you the quick update:

2007: Stopped intended restoration.
Re-did interior that I had ripped out.
Drove occasionally...life got busy.

2008: Renewed vigor for the cruiser.
Installed lift, tires, and new manifold.
Went to Cullowhee with Upstate Cruisers...beat it up.

Began a proper frame-off in March '08.

2009: CURRENTLY ON THE VERGE OF FINISHING.
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Tear Down

This is the beginning of the frame off. This is a test picture. I'm trying to figure out how to post larger photos from my mac... Any suggestions?
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Tear down to body off

Ok. Gonna keep the tear down short b/c we've all seen plenty of pigs in pieces...just the way it goes. These pics were taken the night I pulled the body off the frame. Had everything loose, invited my buds over for a BBQ and con'd them into it. No pics of us in motion b/c it took all 7 of us.
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Body OFF

THE BODY'S OFF! Built some saw horses and set it right on them.

Frame and drivetrain were in good shape. But boy were they dirty. Spent an hour pushing water around. Helped a little bit.

This was all Summer '08. Wait until you see the powder-coated frame!
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Down to the Frame

Ok. Here are some great shots of the frame. Before and After Powdercoat. Amazing what that guy did for $400. Looks like I bought a brand new frame of the shelf.

He blasted it, cut off my bumpers, ground down some ugly factory welds, corrected a small bend, and powdercoated for that price. I think it was the best deal I've gotten on this thing so far.

Take a look:
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On again / Off Again

More pics of the chassis before I took out the motor and broke it down to the frame. Just found these....
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Cleaning the engine

Degreased, sprayed off, degreased, scrubbed, sprayed...you get the picture. This was the second cleaning. Mostly just so I could put it in the garage without feeling too bad.:D
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Dirty Axle

It's amazing how bad road grime makes stuff look. This axle was hideous. Spent several hours with cleaners, wire wheels, and sandpaper and it started to look pretty good.

Didn't take a lot of pics in the process of this unfortunately. I think I was alone and too dirty to snap the camera.

Cleaned out both axles and primed and painted w/ rattle can Rust-O-Leum. Figured I'd go low dollar on these since they're just going to get dirty and nicked again.
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