Two 40's and a case of Redbull (1 Viewer)

[Cletus]

Finally getting serious about my FJ40 resto... History: First rig was a '78 FJ40 bought in high school in the mid 90's,rust was cleverly concealed by some galvanized sheet riveted to what was left of the quarter panels, aided by some spray foam in the gaps. '86 60 followed (shoulda kept that one), '69 40 (another decent one sold), '86 60 (rusty), two '80 mini trucks (love those, will restore one someday), some non-toyota rigs in there not worth mentioning .. Bought a '76 40 from my boss at the bike shop I worked at in 2003, moved, pulled in the garage of the new house and disassembled to rebuild as an extended cab 45 (r. quarters shot, might as well). Ten years later (mortgage, kid, low wage ski town jobs,life), I finally decided it was time to either part the '76 40/45 attempt or get something on the road. Being lazy, parting out seemed like a lot of work and admitting failure. During our low snow year here this winter, I spent more time on craigslist than the ski hill (trouble) and came across a '69 40 for sale in Missoula, just 2.5 hrs away and friends there to boot. Borrowed my father in-laws car trailer and with a disapproving frown from my wife, off I went to pick up the "ready for paint" '69... Well, at least it was cheap. So between the '76 and '69 and some parts picked up along the way, I have myself two 40s. Kinda like Redbull, helps me focus in the garage and Costco sells it by the case, so theres my title.

 

[Cletus]

Plan: Use the best from both rigs to build a decent, mildly upgraded resto rig. Titled and built as the '69, with the (disc) axles, 4 speed, and some metal from the '76, OME 2.5" suspension, and a 3FE I scored. All theses varied parts are proving to be a challenge to assemble as a working truck, however each mod has been accomplished by many here on mud, so it is all possible right? I would consider myself a 3 banana shadetree mechanic and a novice bodyman. Bought a decent compressor soon after the '69 came home and got down to it. I live and work in a ski town and have two seasonal jobs, one at the ski hill operating a groomer (BR-350 and winch sometimes[don't even need to go out wheeling, I get paid to get stuck in cool all terrain machines]). In the summer, I work at a marina for a country club, where I am about to start next week. The dreams of having the body work done before my summer gig starts are gone, though I won't be too busy for a few more weeks and hope to get close. Does anyone here like pictures?
home and body off
Chassis in epoxy primer with OME & '76 axles
Sandblasted tub

 

[Cletus]

Bolted tub back to frame, and commenced rust patch fun. As alluded to in my first post, this project in various guises has been around for 10 years. Though little practical experience, I've read up on body work, paint, and general resto practices endlessly. I have also built a decent support group of mechanic and body guys to give me some pointers, though hoping to do most of the work myself and save $$$. In that save $$ spirit, planning on doing more panel patching than replacement. The quarters in the pics above are just the start, the floors... ugh.
Previous owners buddy was a fabricator, not a bodyman. 1/8" plate booger welded to the old rusty sheetmetal, yeah.. thanks..

Still working on that.
Drivers quater

Break for yurt trip in the Beartooths

Cooke City is my happy place

 

[Cletus]

End Goal: Fun driver grade cruiser with disc fr, 3fe, eventual power steering, metal (not rust) body coated with modern paint. Not too into wheeling, broke enough in the '78 in high school to get out of my system. My father in-law is an old school hot rod guy (mostly owner, not builder), and the last 11 years of his influence has steered towards my taste for this build. Just want a stock-ish appearance with a few modern, toyota touches. With this in mind, I have some issues to resolve. I've searched them endlessly and have some ideas, but hoping the collective voice of cruiser knowledge here will help.
1. Disc Brakes: Bolted up the '76 axles. Found most of the lines, calipers. Master cylinder though... I think its an early '69 by comparing to Specter catalog listings, so.. Booster is a 4 bolt pattern, '69 firewall built for a 3 bolt pattern and reinforcing rib in the way + intake for 3FE in the way of the booster too.
2. In the same area; previous owner of the '69 pulled the column and steering box apart. My '76 column and box are together and better (signal light stalk, high beam, ignition with key). But different pattern through the firewall.
3. 4 sp swap: Haven't found the answer to this searching. 3FE + 2F housing and '76 4 sp just barely touches the cross member on the '69 frame at the back of the transfer/parking brake drum. BFH fix?
4. engine: The mechanic who pulled the 3FE from its original FJ62 home is still around and seemed to think getting it running in the 40 would be no problem. Inclined to farm this out to him while I'm working this summer. I've seen some of his crazy builds and believe this won't be anything out of his league.
Thats the gist of my struggles and what I could really use some input on, until then I continue to battle bodywork and paint..
5. Body is pretty ****'d, but what I have to work with and figure I'd rather spend the time to fix stuff than just the $$ to buy panels, plus my bonus cruiser (rusted in many of the same places, hmmn...).
Drivers side quarter; kinda screwed this one up. patch was just a touch too big vertically,now panel is kinda Z shaped (too big patch panel in cut out). Bodyman buddy coming over to give advice

While he's here I'm going to talk to him about the floors. Both passenger and driver floors are bad, mid bed is hack repaired by PO, rear floor ok till sill, then ghetto sill replacement ignoring rusty curved parts..other than that, body's great

 

[Cletus]

I try try to do something each day to progress the cruiser, even if its just sweeping the garage and putting tools away (cruising Mud doesn't count). My wife and 7 yr old are behind me, provided I don't go too nuts. I mentioned above my father in-laws a hot rod guy, and over the years I have really come to appreciate what I consider the old school hot rod mentality of using what you have and making it work for the least amount of $$. Trying to embody that and all the cool stuff I have seen on Mud over the years, thanks all!

 

[dad4x4]

Subscribed

 

[shelfboy1]

cool keep going till shes done

 

[Redgrrr]

Is that Cj with you?

Cook city is also his happy place, looks like one of my buddies from Bozman

Sweet project keep up the resto work

 

[rkymtnflyfisher]

This looks like fun.

 

[Kleatus]

Lookin' good Cuz! (Not that you're a long lost cousin, but funny we have the same name with different spelling and both have rusty '76's and have both cursed PO's who thought spray foam was a good idea..)
Carry on the good work sir!

 

[3_puppies]

is that your stuff on craigslist? PM your #

 

[Cletus]

Well, so much for working on it every day, but after a busy summer and fall, I've gotten back at it. Declared January to be the rust repair month, February drivetrain assembly, March engine sorting, and April paint- then drive it!
Some progress

 

[Cletus]

 

[tls3601]

I like Cooke City already...............looks nice up there. Congrats on the acquisition!!!!

 

[Cletus]

I'm sure you're right White Stripe, i know on one of the quarter patches has warped the panel, but the other side came out really good IMO. What I really should have done is wait longer for a better truck the first time, or when I bought the donor, or... But there aren't many places other than the quarters that need repair and are visible, lots of under body stuff though. Every patch I'm getting better, looking at this project as an education and not expecting a show truck out of it. I guess we'll see how it all come out.

 

[Cletus]

Thinking about your advice White Stripe, got me checking out tubs and panels. Probably not going with a full or 3/4 tub for this project, though my wife has family in Kelowna and would be pretty easy to get a tub home, plus a really good exchange rate at the moment make it tempting. Maybe a pair of quarters from CCOT would be the best path, pretty reasonable price. Most of the rest of the rust repair is not visible, so I had planned on welding in new metal and painting without any filler to fail.

 

[White Stripe]

If you have a easy way to get a 3/4 tub, I say pull the trigger. It would be so nice not worrying about rust for the most part. The truck will look awesome for years and years.

 

[Cletus]

Well a year later and I've gotten this far

 

[Cletus]

Lots of metal work, then priming, painting, undercoating with tinted Raptor liner.

 

[Cletus]

Everybody likes pictures right?