20 guage would be perfect, we use a lot of that at work. as others said, cutting and rolling the vent in the door will make it nice and stiff.

 

Ed - well heavy doors breaking the plastic just means you'll sell some metal side panels! All kidding aside, I'm sure between going down to 20 gauge and cutting the vents, you'll make up a good portion of that extra weight. Really great stuff though, I read a lot on IH8MUD forum, for some reason I really like to browse build threads on the FJ40s. A lot of guys on there are making some good side businesses creating things for the cruisers, and I really hope to see some people on this site doing the same for the mini trucks. Things like these side panels and doors you just can't get anymore, interior bits and pieces, floorpans would be great (I could have used one a few weeks ago). Keep it up Ed.

 

Second that.
Hi Ed,
Since you're making custom doors, have you considered maximizing it's size as can be accommodated by opening in body sheet metal? I plan to stash all my tools in there so bigger opening would make it very convenient...

 

Thanks for your input, I get paid next Friday, hopefully I can pick up a sheet!

Thanks Cory. I like Checking out the FJ40 builds on IH8MUD as well. One guy on there is in the process of building a FJ40 body from scratch! I've been spending to much time on All Metal Shaping.Com as well. There is a guy on there who scratch built a Shelby cobra body, and a few guys building 32'fords, there are some really talented people out there!
I agree with you that there is a lack of aftermarket support for the mini trucks/4runners. Other than aftermarket hoods and fenders there's not a whole lot available. I know Slacker makes some really nice fiberglass parts, and I thought of going that route for rear quarter panels, but since he is out of Canada, the shipping/crate fee/customs fees (not to mention he is pretty booked solid and there is usually a waiting list) I couldn't go that route financially. Wish steel quarters were available somewhere! I might have to invest in an English wheel next, lol.


That's a good idea, I almost went a little bigger on the ones I'm making now, but decided to keep it stock size for my first set so i could do a comparison. If you or someone else needed a custom size door or side panels made I don't think it would be a problem. Thanks for the input!

 

You can probably find it cheaper locally, but depending on the size of the sheet its not too bad.

Here's where I've ordered mine in the past for my other toy: http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catego.../aluminum.html

Looks way cheaper here: https://www.onlinemetals.com/merchan...d=76&top_cat=0

 

Dude! looking good, I wonder if the 1st gen cargo doors are the same size as the 2nd gen doors...I could use a new set

 

Thanks for the links CamTom, those prices don't seem too bad, at least it gives me a baseline price range to go off of. I will probably check with my local metal supplier as well when I go in next week to get some 20 gauge.

 

Thanks Robb! Are your doors missing or just in bad shape? My cargo door measures 11-1/2" tall by 12" wide. I plan to get some 20 gauge sheet metal at the end of next week. If you want to get me some measurements I can hook you up!

I got my Crater Maker dimple die from Hammer Fab today. Still waiting on the button head Allen bolts though. Monday I plan to get a stand made for the bead roller and hopefully finish up the side panel and doors.

 

I worked on making a stand for my beadroller today, pretty much got it finished up, minus paint. Last week I had tried to make a temporary stand for it by using a spare tire/rim as the base, but it was way to wobbly. Since I don't have a concrete floor in our carport I had to get a little creative on how to mount the beadroller. I basically made 2 beam clamps out of 1-1/2 " square tubing and some 1/4 thick by 2" flatbar. Then I welded another longer piece of 1-1/2" tubing vertically connecting the 2 beam clamps together and made a receiver for the beadroller to slide onto. My pics will probably do a better job explaining it than I can.




^^^It's mounted nice and solid plus I can just pull the beadroller off the receiver stand and store it out of the way.

I had to try a few practice beads just for fun.
^^^It's really hard to crank the handle and guide the sheetmetal at the same time. I tried to build a fence to help guide the sheetmetal straight, but it didnt work out. I'll have to redesign it on the next try. It takes some practice, my last bead (the top one) came out pretty straight. I think if I were to build an adjustable fence to guide the sheetmeatal in straight, and replaced the handcrank with a large wheel it would make a big difference. Because of the lack of leverage, the hand crank gets hard to turn when it a reaches a certain position, I think a wheel would make it a lot easier. Also going down to 20 gauge should make it easier to use as well, the 18 gauge I practiced on is the max thickness the beadroller is rated for. Future plans will be to motorized this thing!
^^^the upper right dimple was a practice one using my new 5/16" Crater Maker dimple die I got the other day.

 

Oh man, the possibilities are endless!

 

That bead-rolled door looks pretty good, and that crater die is just cool. You probably already thought about this, but if you do end up selling the entire side panel pieces, you could cut them down to make them easier to ship (and install). Toyota probably made them one entire piece because it is just easier to manage 1 part number for the whole piece and easy for them to install with no seats and no roll bar, but no reason yours couldn't be 2 or 3 pieces per side. And you can weld little metal tabs with a nutcert or nut welded to the back so that the pieces can be bolted together where they meet. Anyway great work so far, I'm enjoying the pics.

 

Thanks for checking in CamTom, I think with a little practice I should get better at using it.
Today's plan is to redesign my fence for the beadroller, I think my first attempt I was making it to complicated. After that's done I might try to finish up the tailgate panel I cut out.

Thanks Cory. I hadn't thought about making the side panels in separate peices, that's a pretty good idea! With the beadroller I have a set of dies that creates a "step seam" for where two panels join, one panel can overlap the other and still be flush on the face. That would work good with your idea of using nutcerts where the seams meet. Since this whole interior panel project is pretty much for practice and to figure out the best way or multiple ways of doing it, I think I'll try that for the passenger side panel. Thanks, I appreciate your input!

 

Make me some heavy duty door reinforcements and I would pay you dearly + not be AS cautious at intersections. I feel like I have a coke can between me and another vehicle.

Very excited to see more of this though. I really love when people make their own stuff.

 

Thanks bootscootboogie. I hear you on the doors, they are pretty thin, I'd hate to get T-boned in one of these rigs!

 

I made another modification to my bead roller today. I don't care to much for the handle/hand crank. So I was looking around through some of my junk trying to get an idea and spotted this old X shape tire lug wrench. Figured it would make a good replacement handle. ^^^First i took an old torques T50 3/8 drive socket and cut the torque end off. Then I welded it to the shaft that the original handle slides onto. the socket is small enough that the original handle can still slide over it and be used
^^^then i welded a short 3/8" drive socket extension to the center of the tire lug wrench
now i can snap the lug wrench handle in place, the 3/8's drive socket holds it really well. Now it's a lot easier to turn than using the original handle.

I also worked on the fence for the bead roller today. After I finished it I put some crater maker dimples into the tailgate panel that I had cut out. It was looking pretty good until I tried running it through the beadroller. I had my wife help me, she turned the handle while I tried to keep the sheet metal against the fence. It was going pretty good then I noticed the bead was driftin off my straight line I had drawn, even though I was still flat up against the fence. So now I have a crooked bead down the middle of the tailgate panel, I was a little irritated with the outcome, and not sure what went wrong. Later I noticed that the set screw that holds the top gear in place was loose. The gear also keeps the top shaft from moving side go side, so basically the whole top shaft and die were walking over on me causing it to curve. Here's a couple pics of the panel with the crater maker dimple/holes just to give you an idea. I think it would have turned out pretty cool, lesson learned, I need to get some Allen wrenchs, don't have the correct size for the set screws.

 

Awesome stuff! I love manufacturing capabilities.

As you just saw I made a CNC machine. I also plan to make a thermal vacuum former and use the 2 to start reproducing some of these plastic parts.

Looks like your rig is going to be custom outfit with metal paneling, should be sweet!

 

Thanks. I'm getting some practice in, a lot of trial and error and making a lot of mistakes but trying to learn from them. I think you are on the right track. 3D printers, CNC machines, thermal vacuum former, technology is where it's at. I like working with metal and learning some old school techniques is fun, but time consuming. If you have the ability to do a CAD program and walk away as a part is being machined or printed that is fantastic. If you are able to reproduce some of these hard to find plastic parts, like the rear cargo area doors I've been working on, you'll have people lining up.
I'm so computer illiterate, and behind the times when it comes to stuff like that. I'm lucky if I can get my pictures to show up in my posts, lol.

 

it has been surprisingly easy to learn, especially 3d printers.
Most of the fiddling​s are mechanical, once it's dialed it's almost as easy as download and print

 

Ed, don't scrap that stuff. Autograph it and sell it as wall art at a market. The pneumatic bead rollers are tough to beat but your closing the gap. Would a spinner knob from an old tractor help with the cranking portion?

 

looks awesome ed, well done. We are under contract for our first home so i can't wait to get my garage setup now that i can call it my own