Tired

I installed the header over the rear hatch, the tail lights and the spare tire gate. I need to do some wiring before connecting the tail lights to the wiring harness.



The striker for the spare tire gate had to be relocated after we discovered that Cool Cruisers' rear channel had the nuts misaligned after installing it, but Trevor moved the mounting holes and nuts long ago, and it all works great.


I started assembly on the doors and got the driver's side door put together before the shop closed up. Next will be gluing the weather stripping and then I can hang them.

Taking control

It's the day after Christmas and I wanted to work on assembling my truck. The bulk of the work to put this back together will be completed by me, something that I am looking forward to. Thankfully, they guys will still help when I need advice or an extra set of hands.

It being the day after Christmas, no one was here but Jim and I, which was fun. We got to talk and work side by side as he did some work on his pickup while I started to put this back together.



After so many years of imagining my truck repainted and looking new, it was so good to see this corner of it come together. I have stared at this photo many times today.



After getting the front clip assembled as much as I could until I get the windshield latches painted, I turned my attention to the back where I installed the rear reflectors, the spare tire gate hinges, the license plate frame and light and the bumperettes.

I still can't seem to find four 6mm machine screws with a pan head that are long enough and have the correct yellow zinc plating to match the rest, so I am stuck with the black oxide ones for now.

I worked for most of the day and am really tired. I think Jim wanted to go home a little earlier than he ended up being able to, but he could tell I was having fun and I appreciate that.

The bezel

The headlight bezel, the trademark part of the FJ40 for its 24 years of production, was so fun to see painted back to Cygnus White and ready to install. The rear hatch, upon which it is sitting, turned out very well too.



The rest of the Cygnus White that they mixed up went to the hard top cap and it looks amazing. The floatable seam sealer was a good idea and made the drip rail look and function great.



All of the parts that were painted pewter look great. The jump seats look even better. I am so glad that I took them to be sand blasted.

The windshield hooks didn't get painted with the other parts, probably because they had been painted beige at some point and the guys were unsure if they were supposed to be pewter or beige. They'll paint them as they put a second coat on the jump seats.

Hints of what is to come

Hector filled and gel coated the cap after filling the gutter of the rain rail with floatable seam sealer. Here, Anthony fills in some scratches before sanding some more and then priming before it gets painted tomorrow.

I wish that they had saved the rivet heads that hold the piece of metal that sits along the top edge of the windshield frame. They were sanded off and filled in around so they are no longer visible. All the rivets, spot welds and screws that show on this make up a part of this particular vehicle's charm. But, I didn't tell them to save them and they are used to making everything look as good as they can, and that means make everything smooth and shiny.



Next are all the parts like the spare tire rack, rear heater, seat backs, jump seats, side-view mirror arms, console, ash tray, glove box door, hood and windshield latches, and the rear bumperettes. These parts, along with the front bumper, which I received already painted the correct color from Toyota, are painted a greenish pewter color.



I placed the hard top side panels loosely where they go just to get them out of the way and to keep them from being scratched, but it's nice to see the truck appear a bit more assembled.

Reaching the end

Anthony mixed up a final batch of beige paint and we painted the header from which the rear hatch is hung, and the new set of door hinges that I picked up after the welting that is vulcanized to them was removed accidentally.



We also shot the hard top sides, the headers for over the door ways, and the spare tire gate.

Glue

And speaking of Hector, he's been working to replace the brow on the drip rail. They decided to glue it into place instead of using the row of rivets. I had my doubts, but I expect that they know what they are talking about. You can see it clamped as the glue is setting up.

The piece comes from Cool Cruisers of Texas, and it fit beautifully.



The only rust we found in the top, apart from the drip rail, was a bit of surface rust at the rear corner of one of the side panels. Once we rough this up a bit, it will be ready to prime and paint.

On to the dreaded top

Trevor took out the myriad dents that were in the rear hatch after years of slamming it with something in the bed and is getting it ready to prime.


Probably the most difficult part of this project is working with the fiberglass cap on the hard top. It's riveted to a drip rail that goes around the cap and is in turn bolted to the sides of the hard top. It is dry and in need of some gel coating, and the steel drip rail is badly rusted. The brow must be replaced and refastened to the cap.

I'm glad Hector is doing this.