What a mouthfull.....76 FJ40 (1 Viewer)

[seaduck66]

I'm relatively new to the MUd but have been getting alot of ideas from all the fine folks here. Two years ago I purchased a 76 FJ40 after a twenty year absense. During the holidays I decided it was time to tear my "toy" down and bring it back to life. Granted it was not in bad shape but I had a list of things I wanted to do. Keep in mind I have not done a project this involved so it will be a learning experience and I hope fun!! It started with a new color and putting an old corvette engine in it I had from my father in law. So now a few months into this I have it pretty well torn down and the engine in it. Now it's time for body work and rewire. Boy what a mouthfull I have bitten off. Much thanks to those who have already given me advise. I will post more as it progresses.

 

[camcruiser13]

shes a bueaty

same year and color as mine. im in love

 

[Stumpalama]

Uh oh, one of those perfectionist types eh? I don't know anything about that (check out my ROTW thread in my sig line)

I knew a little about mechanics and nothing about welding when starting my build 11 years ago. I loved every minute of it... and still do.

You are very lucky, that is a nice looking rig, many around here would wonder why you would tear down a perfectly good cruiser.

good luck... post some pics of the tear down and build up.

Cheers-
-Stump

 

[seaduck66]

Stump, she looks better in the picture than she really is but I looked for 3 years to find one that was still original metal and little rust. I found this in Colorado. It's basically torn down at this point and I'm stripping all the paint (6 coats paint & primer) off the body parts. Wish I had gotten it bead blasted or dipped at this point..... I also did a front spring and shackle reversal last weekend. Much more to do and spring is coming to soon.

 

[Stumpalama]

Stump, she looks better in the picture than she really is but I looked for 3 years to find one that was still original metal and little rust. I found this in Colorado. It's basically torn down at this point and I'm stripping all the paint (6 coats paint & primer) off the body parts. Wish I had gotten it bead blasted or dipped at this point..... I also did a front spring and shackle reversal last weekend. Much more to do and spring is coming to soon.

They often do look better in pictures. It's nice to start with good bones too. Have you found the hidden bondo treats? If not consider yourself very lucky. There's nothing quite like the smell of bondo when it is hit with an sanding disk on an angle grinder.
Good luck

 

[seaduck66]

No bondo treats other than a small skim coat on the lower cowl wear there was a small dent. The metal was solid and silver under it. It did have the usual rear sil rot which I have cut out at this point. It also had some blisters on the front bib. Last week I picked up a used bib in good shape from another MUD member who responded to a post. It will work out fine once I get it striped. I'll try and post some more images tonight.

 

[dgangle]

Old-school Mud-Terains, cool. 33's or 35's? If 33's. you got an extra you wanna sell? Can pick up.

 

[seaduck66]

dgangle, they are 35's. Sorry no extra's laying around. When these are worn I will be looking for new shoes.
Thought I would post what I did with the rear sil I cut out, the shackle reversal and new engine. This is the fun stuff

After I cut all the rot out

I cut a piece of 2 x 4 stock and welded it back in place. I plan on lining the inside of the tub so the tub overlap should coverup nicely.

The new MAF dogbones after the reversal

Here is the orphin Corvette engine I put in her mated to the stock 4 speed. Can't wait to fire it up....

 

[PhilC64]

Sweet rig!!! Keep up the work and you'll be wheeling it in no time at all!

 

[seaduck66]

Thought I would post a couple of shots from today. I started stripping the old paint and primer off the toy. I have tried the last couple weeks using different strippers and some of the jelly's didn't do a thing. I found a rattle can stripper at advance auto they recommended and it works great. Just spray it on and wash off with the preasure washer and I had bare metal. I did use the disc in some areas where I had several layers but the spray worked great. It is made by Mar Hyde and runs about $6 a can.

Fender and aprons

.Hood after 6 coats of primer and paint. Turned out great!

It is time for a few of these!!

 

[seaduck66]

Still working on getting the body ready for primer and paint. Havn't been working as hard the last two weeks. Finally warmed up and I took a few days to go swing some flys for trout Here are a few recent images of stripping on the front cowl. Does anyone now if the filler between the cowl and firewall is glazing or caulk? I pulled this out since it was cracking and it has about a 1/8" gap.

 

[cleanpool2]

seam sealer goes there, us masking tape on either side
of grove to get a better looking end product, use non uv cureing

 

[seaduck66]

Thanks for the info on the seam seal. I'll check this out. I see you are right up the road from me. I'm in that area often for work and play.

 

[sls019]

great looking truck you started with. Stripping and sanding are my least favorite things, but i see the reward you have gotten from "grinding" thru the process. I am at the start of my second rebuild having just completed teardown. Thanks for sharing your work.

 

[tlc_4play]

You've started with a really good truck - so from here on it can ONLY get better

I pulled my 1979 BJ40 apart and rebuilt it into an FJ,

thread here https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/224775-south-african-bj40-rebuild-into-fj40.html

I enjoyed the project so much so that I have now bought another - a 1983 FJ40 LX - because I was suffering from a severe case of 40 series rebuild withdrawal symptoms.

 

[seaduck66]

Thanks for the replys sls019 I know what you mean about sanding and stripping. It really sucks and is boring. Bristol is not far from me and I come up that way often to hit the S. Holston for my other love. Waving the fly rod at big browns.....The engine and suspension was fun. Can't wait to start the rebuild. I'm still trying to decide if I want to try and tackle the prime and paint. Not real experienced in this area. I have a buddy who paints Harleys and has offered to help. We will see in a few weeks when I get everything ready........

 

[seaduck66]

Still working on the body and stripping paint. Like some posted up earlier I'm starting to find tha ugly at this point. I was working on the windshield and have discovered a lot of small holes and pitted metal in it and the bezel. Is this something repairable or should I just start over with new pieces? What do you guys think? My shop is starting to get really crowded with parts everywhere. I need a bigger shop! Don't we all........

 

[seaduck66]

Took a break from working on the tub and fixing metal from the past few weeks and tried my hand at spraying some ppg primer. I needed a little encouragement from the boring body work. The pitted and rusted bezel and bib are starting to look better. The hood turned out really nice. Now just to block sand, glaze, sand, more primer, more sanding and maybe thin a base coat.......This is going to take a bit longer than I expected. Seems like someone told me that!

 

[sls019]

Did you have to use any filler on the bezel and frame? Or were you able to sand out the pitting?

 

[seaduck66]

The front bezel had a few small holes that I posted earlier. Those I filled with tiger tuff filler on the back side and then a bit of glazing on top of the primer. The high build primer took care of most of the pitting after a couple coats. I ended up blasting the bezel and bib to make sure I removed all the pitted metal. The front bib still needs some glazing work for some shallow dings that are more than primer will fill. I have not done much body work before so I'm trying to figure this out as I go.