Oh SNAP! New Project Vehicle!

[Leland Pate]

I just pulled the manifold and pan off the motor and peeked around. I'm about as interested in this engine as Rosie O'Donnell is interested in rice cakes so it's really of little consequence to me if it grenades in a year. I am waffling between replacing it with a F2 straight 6 or a Cummins Turbo B4T so all I need is an excuse. I also left the axles alone as I'm really wanting to get this thing back together sooner rather than later. Next winter I will tear them apart and add an ARB locker and rebuild them properly.

[Laneco]

Those old engines are pretty tough, Pete. I had a 283 that I put over 100,000 on it and when we dropped the pain (real seal leak) you could still see all the honing marks in the cylinders...

Unless there is something seriously wrong with it now, and you keep oil pressure in your off-road adventures, it will probably out live all of us.

By the way - really diggin' your project! Wish I'd seen this thread earlier as I was in Reno last week. Would have bribed you with coffee to let me see it!

angela

[gt350mike]

Originally Posted by Leland Pate

...... I'm really wanting to get this thing back together sooner rather than later.

The understatement of the year. I don't recall anyone undertaking a major project like this and make as much progress within a month or so as as you have.

Great job so far....can't wait to see the results!

[Leland Pate]

The pressure to get it back together comes from the fact that the home we are buying (short sale) got bank approval much much faster than we expected and about two weeks after I bought the truck found out we'd be closing in a matter of weeks. As a result, I'd have to move it in less than two months. Moving a completely disassembled truck sucks because things have a tendency to get damaged or lost and, more importantly, I really needed the frame rolling to make it easier to move. So, my goal is to have the motor and transmission installed in the rolling frame before me start moving in.

The body work is where I fully expect to spend a lot of time as I'm learning as I go.

[Leland Pate]

Thought I'd share...


I got the tub picked up today and while there were a few surprises, I think most will agree that I can not really gripe too much about rust repair.

I was originally thinking I would not need to replace the front floor pans, but am now weighing whether not to go for it. I was also happy to find that the inner rear sill is in good shape and that I just need to replace the sill cover and cut out a couple small patch panels for the rear quarters.




Sill cover:


The PO thought it wise to fill this rust hole with RTV:


I have yet to figure out which of these holes are original and which were the result of an aftermarket cage I will not be reinstalling. Note the stress cracks from the roll bar:


This is the extent of the rust on the rear quarter:


Stress crack from the tire carrier being flung open too many times:


Here's the rear sill from underneath:




Wheel well:


Mid bed:

[Leland Pate]

Gas filler:


rockers are perfect:


The floor pan is where we start seeing some problems:


Lots of pin holes:










The cowl is minty!

[Leland Pate]

And here's my little helper:


Overall, I'm a happy duck!

[onewhippedpuppy]

Wow. By FJ40 standards that is rust free.

[Scott R]

Here is something to motivate you, mine started out way worse than that. Chopped to hell with a GM 292 in it. Four years of hard labor and this is me driving it to my cabin where it sleeps to this day. Cruises at 75 as easily as any car now.



Video in front of the rental I own that we "borrowed" the garage from.

FJ40 First Run - YouTube

[Scott R]

Found a before and after, this was before digital photography for me, so these are scans.

[Laneco]

Originally Posted by Leland Pate

And here's my little helper:


Overall, I'm a happy duck!

OK, not to thread drift on you entirely, but OMG what a beautiful baby! PERFECT hair color -

angela

[rfuerst911sc]

Replace those floor pans now while you have it all stripped down. You will kick yourself later if you don't. Nice score, I rebuilt a 1976 Jeep CJ7 with a 304V8 she was a blast.

[azasadny]

Not bad at all!!!

[Leland Pate]

Progress has slowed on the FJ because of the cold weather (unheated garage) and the fact that the baby is now walking (enough said).

Since the weather warmed up a bit, I started to dig into it again this weekend.

I'm cutting out both floorpans and the rear sill/sill cover/rotted bed section and the lower quarter panel corners. I got the tub braced so I can cut out the entire rear sill without the quarter panels shifting.

Yup. Rust.




This is why you don't fill rust holes with RTV:















Note: I found out the hard way that the sill needs to go in before the quarter panel patches. Oops.

[Scott R]

You're sticking with the manual steering?

[Leland Pate]

Originally Posted by Scott R

You're sticking with the manual steering?

Nope, I'm running power steering from a Mini truck. it is a simple swap as it just uses a different pedestal and reuses the old pitman arm system.

It should be fine for 33" tires which is all I plan on running.

[Scott R]

Originally Posted by Leland Pate

Nope, I'm running power steering from a Mini truck. it is a simple swap as it just uses a different pedestal and reuses the old pitman arm system.

It should be fine for 33" tires which is all I plan on running.

I'm sure it will be fine too. The Saginaw conversion I did was overkill in the end.

[Leland Pate]

Today, I cut out the rotten part of the bed.





Then I cut out the rear sill. It wasn't in as bad shape as I thought it was and I could have cut out the bad spots and reinstalled it had I known. As it is, I have a CCOT replacement sill and cover so it'll all be new.





Looking down from the top, it's easy to see why these trucks are so prone to rot in this area. Look at all this debris that has collected in this seam!



Now, I do have a question for the group: In what order would you reinstall these parts? I have the real steel cruisers quarter panel patch panels to replace what I've cut off. Should I clamp and weld in the quarters first, then install the sill, bed patch then sill cover? Or is there a reason why I should weld in the sill to the tub, then install the quarter patch panels?


Oh, and I would be replacing the wheel wells but I'm going to be running flares anyway, so they are going to get cut up.

[Mrmerlin]

thats a really nice job your doing there and a very rust free body to start with.
What color will it be painted?
Possibly desert tan?
For the wheeling aspect i had Rancho lift springs on my 76 FJ 40 ( owned it for 24 years)
and took it to the Rubicon, the Rancho springs were not as compliant as the factory 7 leave springs were,
so it was really hard to negotiate some of the areas as one or the other wheels would be lifted off the ground.

After listening to more than a few other owners that were watching me drive the Rubicon,
I installed the factory springs with 2 1/2 inch shackles and got the truck to work very well on rocks ,
as the factory springs allow the axles to move more before lifting the opposite tire .
the other benefit was a smoother ride on the the hiway.
If your making this truck to rock crawl,
I would also suggest to swap in the factory springs they do work very well.
These trucks need compliance VS lift to work well in off road conditions.

For your fuel tank on your old tank remove the felt pads and inspect for pin hole leaks ,
any rust and it should be replaced
mine had a few so it was easier to swap in a new tank .
They are pretty inexpensive,

The only other suggestion i could make is dont go into mud or clay or water,
its a pain to clean the stuff out of the brake rotors and the frame rails

[9dreizig]

Leland Great project,, can I get a ride when it's done?