FJ40 I call Shipwreck

[silver_bullet]

I have been wondering about header wrap...does it shorten the life of the header like the manufacturers say?

[SuperBuickGuy]

the headers are stainless, so no, it doesn't

[SuperBuickGuy]

time to put it together











and start on the rear


and there's the thought process... center a receiver, to the right one of two tow clevises, then the tail light then reverse lights


I'm going to put hidden structure around the tail gate so that I can hang a 42" tire, a cooler, and a couple 5 gallon gas cans... I should probably put a reverse camera rather then a rear view mirror because seeing around the tire will be problematic. Anyway, more on that another day.

and weld a bit then let it cool

[silver_bullet]

this is awesome!

[SuperBuickGuy]

finished welding the fenders






and with only maybe one wave.... I can fix that pretty easily

metaltech points to an article on Pirate (which does a nice job of laying out how these go together) but, given Pirate's penchant for pretty welds - it's a bit ironic that those fenders had so many waves that it was either in a parade or would make a sailor seasick... lol

[SuperBuickGuy]

I love it, people are really starting to post up about their projects. I posted yesterday, and this was page 2 tonight... keep it up guys!

Grinding.. I hate grinding.

and it shows





and it's a bit straighter

[DanStokes]

THAT looks better!

I don't mind grinding really. The way I weld I've had to make friends with the grinder! But I don't get attached to the machine - I burn them up with great frequency - something about grinding residue and bearings and brushes, I guess. Once I make to commitment to get THAT grubby I just go for it as so far it's all come off in the tub.

Dan

[yellomalibu]

Don't make those fenders too perfect, or you'll be upset when those tires pick up a rock and give you a nice dent from the inside. ;)

[SuperBuickGuy]

one more bite at the elephant
the rear gate is a rattle trap, and the fix is to make it one gate that folds down rather then both folding out








lots of other stuff going on, so this has slowed a little bit.... but an hour at a time and it'll be done soon enough

[SuperBuickGuy]

fender liners


I don't feel too bad hacking these up because they're really in sorry shape








then time to work on the tailgate

[yellomalibu]

Excellent.
So cool that you are re-engineering everything rather than just throwing big tires and a lift kit on it.

[SuperBuickGuy]

so I'm back... I spent the weekend out hiding from kids, dogs and cops (successfully, I might add); and was eventually discovered, dead. The H3 is cleaned back up and I got a bit to get another bite of the elephant done.


yeah, I'm welding and finishing something that doesn't matter and isn't seen... but I know it's there and that's enough

some trimming done


I think I'm going to put a rubber edging there to keep down the dust, mud and (most importantly) squeeks.


verse 2

[SuperBuickGuy]

a bit of rust repair tonight








I also spent some quality time removing the failed seam sealant...

[SuperBuickGuy]

more bodywork
time to weld up holes... granted, most of these are covered by the corner plates; but I don't want water to get behind it so.... away I go


hole needs filling


this bolt has served this purpose before




and cover the shocks




and that's it for tonight

[SuperBuickGuy]

it is funny, this gets more views on the Hummer forum...