1966 Thriftside J 3000

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66stepside
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1966 Thriftside J 3000

Post by 66stepside »

It’s been slow going, but the canopy has been shortened 4” to an 8’ overall length, and narrowed to the stepside width. I had to remove the front panel and rear hatch panel prior to slicing and dry dicing to do the short/narrow work. So more modifications are needed on those two sections before it’s finalized.

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It’s not aluminum skinned like I thought, but thin gauged galvanized sheet metal. It will be interesting to see how it cleans up now.
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66stepside
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Re: 1966 Thriftside J 3000

Post by 66stepside »

The front portion is back in and the C Channel and angle iron frame is welded up on the inside.

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I also scrubbed the galvanized exterior with hot soapy water and thinner, softer, off-brand scratch pads from the Dollar Store. The old louvre style side windows are cleaned up, too.

The back side is going to be more of a challenge because of how wide the back door is- as wide as the canopy itself before I narrowed it. Slow and steady wins the race.
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66stepside
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Re: 1966 Thriftside J 3000

Post by 66stepside »

The front is on, but the back (where the hatch is) is more tedious.

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I mocked it up on the truck itself after the front panel installation.

That was a few weeks ago.

This AM I tackled dismantling the rear door jamb wall.

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The bits of the top came off 1st. I was kinda glad it was a big too long, the rear corners took several hits of the last 40 years and would’ve been a bear to fix.

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The header that holds the hatch came off next.

Here’s the frame:

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She’ll get sliced and grafted back together, mocked up in place, welded back together and the splice, removed, cleaned then reinstalled and re-skinned. Then onto the hatch itself.

twisted frame
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Re: 1966 Thriftside J 3000

Post by twisted frame »

66stepside wrote:She’ll get sliced and grafted back together, mocked up in place, welded back together and the splice, removed, cleaned then reinstalled and re-skinned. Then onto the hatch itself.
Are you re-skinning the whole thing? Whatever you do, don't lose that neat decal of the truck in the lower front corner! That thing's cool.
73 J4000. 360, MC 2100, T18A, D20, stock closed knuckle Dana 44 front, 60-2 rear. Warn Lock-O-Matics, Warn/Belleview electric winch, true duals with glasspacks, old-school front diff skid plate, used 265 Toyos on 16" AR wheels.
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66stepside
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Re: 1966 Thriftside J 3000

Post by 66stepside »

twisted frame wrote:
66stepside wrote:She’ll get sliced and grafted back together, mocked up in place, welded back together and the splice, removed, cleaned then reinstalled and re-skinned. Then onto the hatch itself.
Are you re-skinning the whole thing? Whatever you do, don't lose that neat decal of the truck in the lower front corner! That thing's cool.
Haha, I know, right?! Those decals are cool. I’m reusing the original metal to re-skin it after the tear down.

The patina is cool, too- but it doesn’t really go with my truck’s newer paint, so I’ll end up painting the canopy and masking off the decals when I do the painting.
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66stepside
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Re: 1966 Thriftside J 3000

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I tackled the back end again today. The header that holds the rear door is attached. The rear door hangs just right.

The door does not close flush to the canopy due to the inside latch mechanism still being in place.

The door will get narrowed next weekend. I need more time to plan how I’m going to trim it down as it’s pretty intricately fab’d. I’ll order new glass, or plexiglass for it after it’s trimmed.

Image

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When it’s all said and done, I’ll repaint it silver, as it came from the factory. The cool stickers will get taped over so they can stay.
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66stepside
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1966 Thriftside J 3000

Post by 66stepside »

I mounted it today after fabbing up brackets, and then I replaced the two broken pieces of glass in the side windows. The weather has been unpredictable for the past few weeks and I’m waiting on better weather to slice and dice the rear door.

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She’ll also eventually get a lumber rack like the truck bed trailer, too.

Edit:

Image

twisted frame
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Re: 1966 Thriftside J 3000

Post by twisted frame »

Nice fit. Looks streamlines (or as streamlined as an FSJ with a cap can be!) snug, and the way the roof lines up with the cab keeps it looking very tidy. All that re-working of the piece was worth it!
73 J4000. 360, MC 2100, T18A, D20, stock closed knuckle Dana 44 front, 60-2 rear. Warn Lock-O-Matics, Warn/Belleview electric winch, true duals with glasspacks, old-school front diff skid plate, used 265 Toyos on 16" AR wheels.
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44bz
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Re: 1966 Thriftside J 3000

Post by 44bz »

Looks sharp. I’m totally digging that. Nice work!


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1968 J2000 - AMC 327/T18/D20 (twin stick), stock D44s, 3" body lift, 35x12.50 Goodyear MTRs w/ Kevlar
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66stepside
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Re: 1966 Thriftside J 3000

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twisted frame wrote:Nice fit. Looks streamlines (or as streamlined as an FSJ with a cap can be!) snug, and the way the roof lines up with the cab keeps it looking very tidy. All that re-working of the piece was worth it!
Thanks Twisted Frame! I am liking the way it turned out, too.

I’m on vacation this week, so I might actually get time to finish reworking the batch hatch, installing the vintage 3rd brake light, and painting it. We’ll see, though. Haha
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66stepside
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1966 Thriftside J 3000

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44bz wrote:Looks sharp. I’m totally digging that. Nice work!


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Thanks 44bz! I’m going to weigh all the metal taken off to see how many pounds were shaved off in during the nip n tuck session- just because I’m curious.

On the list to do over the summer- she needs a repaint, I’m putting stock door panels, stock emblems, putting new seats in. Maybe even new carpet. We’ll see how far I get, though. That’s a mighty big list.


Edit:

Harder part is done.

Image
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jaber
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Re: 1966 Thriftside J 3000

Post by jaber »

Awesome work! Looks like a factory made shell, like you never cut it.
Jeff

'46 cj3a
'51 Willys p/u
'51 Willys Parkway Conversion
'74 CJ5
'75 J-20 Wrecker
'75 J-20 Cummins service truck
'77 J-10 p/u
'79 Cherokee
'88 Grand Wagoneer
http://s252.photobucket.com/albums/hh14/jeffaber/
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66stepside
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Re: 1966 Thriftside J 3000

Post by 66stepside »

jaber wrote:Awesome work! Looks like a factory made shell, like you never cut it.

Thanks Jaber! Now it’s time for minor body work.

I did manage to kill a few of these

Image


in the process.
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swampedge
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Re: 1966 Thriftside J 3000

Post by swampedge »

Yep. That’s a bad girl right there.


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swampedge
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Re: 1966 Thriftside J 3000

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Yep. That’s a bad girl right there.


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You really are judged by the dogs you have!
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66stepside
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Re: 1966 Thriftside J 3000

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swampedge wrote:Yep. That’s a bad girl right there.


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True story.

Meanwhile, in other news:
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44bz
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Re: 1966 Thriftside J 3000

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What are you doin with that guy?:)


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1968 J2000 - AMC 327/T18/D20 (twin stick), stock D44s, 3" body lift, 35x12.50 Goodyear MTRs w/ Kevlar
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44bz
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Re: 1966 Thriftside J 3000

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What are you doin with that guy?:)


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1968 J2000 - AMC 327/T18/D20 (twin stick), stock D44s, 3" body lift, 35x12.50 Goodyear MTRs w/ Kevlar
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jaber
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Re: 1966 Thriftside J 3000

Post by jaber »

My wife- "I want the red one, can I have it???"
Another great find...
Jeff

'46 cj3a
'51 Willys p/u
'51 Willys Parkway Conversion
'74 CJ5
'75 J-20 Wrecker
'75 J-20 Cummins service truck
'77 J-10 p/u
'79 Cherokee
'88 Grand Wagoneer
http://s252.photobucket.com/albums/hh14/jeffaber/
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Topic author
66stepside
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Joined: Sat Oct 13, 2012 9:59 pm
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Re: 1966 Thriftside J 3000

Post by 66stepside »

44bz wrote:What are you doin with that guy?:)


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I bought it for parts. The front clip, and bed are in pretty good condition. The 327 engine is a solid block of rust and primarily just the block only. We’ll be cleaning it out today.

Image

Even in the Spring, it was hornet central!
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