PROJECT "JunkJ20"

[Jubbs74]

I Got this truck almost two years ago, as a gift from my wife as a 25th birthday present. It was cheap and she had never baught a truck before, but it was a great surprise. Since then I have had to do all the dirty gritty work of getting the nasty stuff cleaned out.
I started with cleaning the front axle, it was totally caked with grimy nast tar in the hubs.
The Passneger front main spring was broken so I had to repalce that.
http://pixpipeline.com/s/0cdc734bcd.jpg (http://pixpipeline.com/d/0cdc734bcd.jpg)
http://pixpipeline.com/s/2a5ba6b63da6.jpg (http://pixpipeline.com/d/2a5ba6b63da6.jpg)

The 401 motor had been left open with the heads off of the motor and one was being used to chalk the wheels. The cylenders where filled with water...so that had to be replaced.
http://pixpipeline.com/s/ee53ae6180.jpg (http://pixpipeline.com/d/ee53ae6180.jpg)
http://pixpipeline.com/s/bfe5874b5ebd.jpg (http://pixpipeline.com/d/bfe5874b5ebd.jpg)

I got a donor motor 360, i cleaned it up and bolted it up to the TH400 (had to rebuld it to replace the out-put shaft).
http://pixpipeline.com/s/d0ada3776fa5.jpg (http://pixpipeline.com/d/d0ada3776fa5.jpg)
http://pixpipeline.com/s/c7b091d71b0f.jpg (http://pixpipeline.com/d/c7b091d71b0f.jpg)
http://pixpipeline.com/s/e633bb44533d.jpg (http://pixpipeline.com/d/e633bb44533d.jpg)

I will throw pics of the progress as I have time and get things done.

I would love to have your input and advice on the future.
Thanks RJ

[Jubbs74]

I had to clean the body pannels as well. The body was in rough shape some rust and a few dents.
http://pixpipeline.com/s/824fb6468d9d.jpg (http://pixpipeline.com/d/824fb6468d9d.jpg)
http://pixpipeline.com/s/565062b231f2.jpg (http://pixpipeline.com/d/565062b231f2.jpg)
I decided to trim the fenders so that I can fit 36" Hummer tires with no lift.
http://pixpipeline.com/s/44c6796cdfd6.jpg (http://pixpipeline.com/d/44c6796cdfd6.jpg)

http://pixpipeline.com/s/480a4517624b.jpg (http://pixpipeline.com/d/480a4517624b.jpg)
RJ

[fulsizjeep]

Wow, you have brought it a long way. Congrats!

[trellis8]

Nice work! Good to see another brought back from the dead!

[Wayne]

Coming along nicely, like the fender triming. :thumbsup:

[JeepBountyHunter]

That's looking good...What are you going to do for bumpers?

[Dmntxn77]

Nice work... I really like the fender trimming.

What did you do with the 401 block?

[Firegoose]

Its coming along great !!! :thumbsup:

Thats about what mine looked like about 2 years ago.

[gte901m]

Looks like you have the new engine in, is it drivable yet?

[The PIG Smith]

Coming along nicely, like the fender trimming. :thumbsup:
X2!
If W/T trimming needs to be, I would suggest anyone to look at this and do the same!

[Heavy_Metal_Thunder_81]

In my book, anyone who hacks off a set of W/T flares should be shot......buuuuuut....you still have some flare left so youre safe with me ;)

[jtr]

Looks good, can you show a pic of the radiator support without the grill on? Looking to do some trimming too.

[Jubbs74]

What are you going to do for bumpers?
I Am pretty sure that I am going to have to make some custom bumpers. I will make it fit tight against the grill so that I can mount the trun signals in the stock grill location. I would like to make a prerunner style bumper with a stinger to match the hood lines.

What did you do with the 401 block?
I still have the 401 block, crank and rods in the Garage, I am saving them untill the kids can support themselves or I make a lot more money. I will eventually build it to repalce the 360.

Looks like you have the new engine in, is it drivable yet?
The motor, and tranny are in the truck but that is about all. I still have a laundry list of things to do before the truck gets to leave the driveway.

Looks good, can you show a pic of the radiator support without the grill on? Looking to do some trimming too.
I will get a picture of it this weekend. i have taken the front section of the radiator support off for two reasons, save weight and RUST. the front section was so rusty that it wasn't worth keeping. so I am going to make some brackets off the rear section to bolt the fender corners to and also mount the headlights (off road driving lights).

Thanks for the interest and comments.

RJ

[Jubbs74]

here are some close up shots of the fenders. in the second one you can see the front clip and the grill. it shows how I still need to make a bracket to tighten the two parts up.

http://pixpipeline.com/s/0f54ee77493b.jpg (http://pixpipeline.com/d/0f54ee77493b.jpg)

http://pixpipeline.com/s/5c6d732f67d5.jpg (http://pixpipeline.com/d/5c6d732f67d5.jpg)

[Jubbs74]

This past weekend I tore into the cab and cleared the entire thing of all but bare metal. and :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: Holy Rust Demons Batman!!!!! I have decided that I am in trouble. :banghead: :banghead:

I need some help, I have never done body work and this thing needs some serious work. What are your sugesstions to exorcising the Rust Demons?

You can see where the previous owner tried to put a band-aid on the hemerage. The lip that hold the door seal is compleatly rusted out on the bottom and the top and sides has the cancer too.
http://pixpipeline.com/s/0af7436ee22c.jpg (http://pixpipeline.com/d/0af7436ee22c.jpg)

Under the dash has spots of the evil red dust as well. The corners and seams are the worst.
http://pixpipeline.com/s/9bdf8aa48a8c.jpg (http://pixpipeline.com/d/9bdf8aa48a8c.jpg)

I think That there is SOME half way decent metal left under there.
http://pixpipeline.com/s/64077e3f8ca9.jpg (http://pixpipeline.com/d/64077e3f8ca9.jpg)

If you have had to battle the cancer too let me know how it went. Any help would be apreciated.

Thanks

RJ

[energyhutch]

Arghhh I hate rust ! That looks better than the fenders on the Cherokee though!

[mafos4471]

I have seen a lot worse...:eek:

[Jubbs74]

have you ever repaired worse?
What is the best way to fix it?
Should I cut and replace the bad parts or just get a new cab?

[Jubbs74]

Well...since there has been no advice from the board as to how to takle the rust I decided to enlist a friend of mine who has done a restoration job on his mustang to help me repair and clense the rust issues. In the next two weeks I will begin to remove the cab and bed to do a complete repair and restore job on the frame and cab.
If anyone has some advice on what products to use in the cab and frame to prevent further rust I would appreciate it:thumbsup:

In the mean time I wanted to know what the truck would look like when setting on 36" tires with stock suspension...I think that it looks cool (I love the low setting big tires). ;)
In the Rear I will need to do some fender trimming, you can see in the second phot that I diid some Photoshop work to show where the fenders will need to be trimmed a bit.
http://pixpipeline.com/s/3b1ea9c344e7.jpg (http://pixpipeline.com/d/3b1ea9c344e7.jpg)

http://pixpipeline.com/s/bacfd786ef1f.jpg (http://pixpipeline.com/d/bacfd786ef1f.jpg)
Those of you who are concerned about trimming WT flairs...these were trashed from the P.O.:thumbsup:

I checked the front tire clearance and at ride hight there is no rubbing...at full stuff I might get some rubbing at the rear of the inner fender.
http://pixpipeline.com/s/433c298e3a77.jpg (http://pixpipeline.com/d/433c298e3a77.jpg)

Here are some wide side shots.
http://pixpipeline.com/s/4d68e24eb2.jpg (http://pixpipeline.com/d/4d68e24eb2.jpg)
http://pixpipeline.com/s/54bf00abfd51.jpg (http://pixpipeline.com/d/54bf00abfd51.jpg)

[noflyzone]

I just found your thread. Its awesome. Your J20 is in very similar maybe a little better condition than mine. Do the front tires rub the springs? Are those the stock wheels?
Mine is rusty too. What I dont need I am cutting off and leaving off. Otherwise I am wire wheeling it and spray bombing it.

[scannman70]

There is a member on the board here that makes replacement floor pans,

Do a search of past topics there was a thread that showed the pans installed. they look very sweet.

I have the same problem with my 70 J truck, just haven't gotten that far yet.

[Jubbs74]

I just found your thread. Its awesome. Your J20 is in very similar maybe a little better condition than mine. Do the front tires rub the springs? Are those the stock wheels?

The front tires do not rub the springs when I was putting the front tires on both front wheels were off the ground enough to turn and spin the tires and I couldn't get it to rub. I think that the only spot that they will rub is in the rear of the inner fender at full stuff. They are on stock wheels. They are actually stock wheels off a 3/4 ton Chevy.

[Jubbs74]

There is a member on the board here that makes replacement floor pans,

Do a search of past topics there was a thread that showed the pans installed. they look very sweet.


I have seen those floor pans...I just can't justify paying that much for a truck that I am not restoring to show quality. I am just trying to get it water tight and able to wtihstand another 20 years of salty roads in the midwest. I also want to make sure that what I put back in / on the truck is able to stand up to off road abuse better than stock. In the rocker pannels I think that I am going to cut all the garbage off and then replace them flat with the door jam. I think that I will preplace the rocker part with some type of skid rails mounted flush to the floors.

[dd76522]

looks good man and like some rocker gaurds for it? i'd be interested to see how that turns out:D

[mafos4471]

1. Make up some templates out of thick paper or poster board.
2. Cut and trim until they cover up all the rusty holes you plan on fixin', you may have to use 2-3 pieces to get them to fit just right.
4. Lay out your templates on a piece of 16 gauge sheet metal and cut them out and bend and flex them to fit.
5. Once you are happy with how they fit into the floor, put them in their respective places and trace them out.
6. Cut 1/2" in from your trace line. Drill 3/16 holes on the outer edge about every 2-4" of your patch pieces and set them in.
7. Use the holes to plug weld your panels in, trying not to heat up the panels too much.
8. Paint with some grey primer or if you like the spray in bed liner stuff, go with that.

Looks good what you have done so far.:thumbsup:

[Jubbs74]

I planned one stitch welding them compleatly and then grinding the welds flat...That takes a ton of time to not heat up the panels too much.

Does the 2-4" apart welding method seal well? Do you use additional sealant?

Thanks for the tip...as soon as I sart the actuall work on the cab I will start a new thread on the cab restoration.

RJ

[mafos4471]

I planned one stitch welding them compleatly and then grinding the welds flat...That takes a ton of time to not heat up the panels too much.

Does the 2-4" apart welding method seal well? Do you use additional sealant?

Thanks for the tip...as soon as I sart the actuall work on the cab I will start a new thread on the cab restoration.

RJ

The paint will usually seal up anything left, as long as you get a good weld. If you want to seal it further, there is body seam caulk/filler that any auto parts store has, it goes on just like caulking, smooth it out with your finger and voila..

[JeepBountyHunter]

Hey Jubbs74, I may have a donor dash (frame) for you that you wouldn't have to mess with cleaning up as much as you have with yours..To be sure I'll take a closer look at it. I have two that were pulled from 77 J10's..
It'll be in my way so if your interested shoot me a PM..
As for the rest of the cab, yep, I've dealt with such things..hours with a wire wheel is one thing, but for sure, your gonna wanna clean that 'white' metal with a metal prep, such as made by dupont. As for topping it after that..epoxy paint wouldn't hurt on top of a primer at least for the inside of the cab.
Eastwood has their 'rust encapsulator' in a can or spray can.. And there is also POR-15...which works great in areas that aren't gonna be exposed to direct sunlight, and they also sell a metal etching style product and a metal cleaner/conditioner.

Good luck. It's a lotta work, I have a spare cab I have to do that to before I put it onto the 77's frame.
Aaron

[Chuck Brown]

Hey Jubbs,

As a guy moving from the Mustang hobby into the world of the FSJ, I've had my share of rust issues, the Mustangs are absolutely NOTORIOUS for their rust issues, and after having 7 Mustangs, you KNOW Ive had my share of the brown stuff in my hands (rust, that is).

I guess if youre looking for tips, heres what I'd recommend:

1.) If you dont already own a MIG welder, buy one or start getting friendly with the guy down the street who owns one, theyre invaluable and about as necessary as owning a shop manual in the world I just came from. This is also a good time to invest in lots of C-Clamps, Cleco clamps and even a tool box fulla vise grip pliars for clamping down your work material.

2.) Find either a repro parts supplier for your patch parts or a steel yard where you can buy sheet metal by the 4x8 sheet in whatever guage you need. Somebody here mentioned that FSJ floors are 16 guage I think, which is a lot better than the 20 guage floors in the Mustang world. Buy a pair of hand held metal snips, an anvil, a body hammer and dolley set. A spare bag of sand to use as a pounding surface will someday become your best friend. If you found a the parts supllier, skip everything else I said in this paragraph.

3.) When cutting out the cancerous areas, dont get stingy and try to save evey last possible ounce of sheet metal in the floor, as if it were living tissue. Cut BEYOND the compromised area to where you still have enough CLEAN and solid materials to work with.

4.) After youve fit and patched back together everything permanently, apply a surface primer/protectant like Master Series Silver (theres a guy on ebay that sells it cheap by the gallon-"restoresmustangs") to the area, or else the mousture in the air is gonna coat your nice newly minted surface with a crispy reddich-brown coating.

While I hate rust as much as anybody, the old unitbody Fords have freed me of my fear of it, and with the proper handtools and a little creativity, most things are possible. Again, a MIG welder will pay for itself in no time, as you'll start to build body carts to lift your cab onto, body jigs to set your alignment, rotisseries to zip your frame onto and sandblast and coat...theyre the greatest consumer item since the automatic drip coffee maker.

Good luck, and dont be afraid!

Chuck Brown

[Jubbs74]

Hey Jubbs74, I may have a donor dash (frame) for you that you wouldn't have to mess with cleaning up as much as you have with yours..To be sure I'll take a closer look at it. I have two that were pulled from 77 J10's..

I will let you know when I get the cab off the frame and in the garage. Thanks for the tips on the sealant and the POR 15, I have been looking into the different "Rust" Products on the market and it seems like every one has the "best" product on the market and they all work better than the competition.:banghead: I guess i will go with the one that I can get my hands on the cheapest.:thumbsup:

[Jubbs74]

Hey Jubbs,

Again, a MIG welder will pay for itself in no time, as you'll start to build body carts to lift your cab onto, body jigs to set your alignment, rotisseries to zip your frame onto and sandblast and coat...theyre the greatest consumer item since the automatic drip coffee maker.

Good luck, and dont be afraid!

Chuck Brown

Thanks for the advice, I was looking at body hammers and dollies. If you could only afford a hundred dollars worth of body hammers what ones would you buy or what would you buy first. I have the welder covered, my buddy is going to let me borrow his untill I can afford my own.
Thanks again for the advice.

[jaber]

I got a cheap 7 piece set from Harborfrieght forunder $50. Like how its going so far, keep us posted.

[mafos4471]

Any progress on your project?

[Jubbs74]

I wish, I have the garage cleaned out and ready to take the cab off and bring inside. I hope to do that this weekend. I work too much during the week:banghead: to get any time on it so I can only do weekend stuff. I will post pics as soon as there is progress. :thumbsup:

[duncanstives]

Its cool that you can fit those tires with no lift but if your going to take it offroad much (and I assume you are with those tires) are you sure you won't rub a lot when it flexes?

[Jubbs74]

good point...I don't know that for sure at this point. I do know that it wont rub the springs so all other parts can be cut and or massaged into not rubbing. My goal is to keep it as low as possible and still run big tires for some fun wheeling. Eventually I will do a spring over and run 42"s or larger.

[Jubbs74]

i got very little done this weekend on the Junk. I took the fenders back off. I am preparing for the final dismantling of the cab from the frame. I want to make sure that the cab is compleatly bare bones before I attempt to take it off and get it in the grage.
Tone of the only things that is still attched from the cab to the frame was the steering column, so i decided that should go next. after about a half can of PB Blaster (FSJ'rs best firend) I was able to get the U-joint off off the steering column. The problem I was having however was that the slip part of the steering shaft was too rusted to actually slide off of the steering column. So my easy solution to this problem was to take the steering box off of the frame. BOY AM I GLAD I DID THAT :eek:
When I did i found THIS!!!
http://pixpipeline.com/s/124dee3ada8d.jpg (http://pixpipeline.com/d/124dee3ada8d.jpg)
http://pixpipeline.com/s/4eda1b6709ba.jpg (http://pixpipeline.com/d/4eda1b6709ba.jpg)

I also found that I need to do some repairs to the steering shaft (or just replace the entire thing) :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: every time I trun another corner there is another thing that needs to be replaced. That is what makes these things fun I guess :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
http://pixpipeline.com/s/afc084b08d84.jpg (http://pixpipeline.com/d/afc084b08d84.jpg)

I was also wondering where you would tap the stereing box for hydro boost brakes.
http://pixpipeline.com/s/893859f2451f.jpg (http://pixpipeline.com/d/893859f2451f.jpg)

[shimniok]

Wow, I'm getting tired just looking at all that work. :D Best of luck to you, looks like you've made a huge amount of progress and it is coming together! I commend you on your perserverence! It'll be a great feeling when you're driving it down the road knowing all the work you put into it!

[Jubbs74]

Yea, some days I feel like saying screw-it and sellig it all off and buying something that runs and drives. but then I think that It will be cool to have a nearly new 74 j-20. :fsj: :fsj: