I haven’t posted any updates on the Cruiser in a while. A few weeks after we got home from our West Trip we took the top off of the BJ42. It’s a really fun topless summer vehicle. (That’s it sitting in our “parking spot” up at our camp on Jim Pond.) Getting the top off was pretty easy. I left the aluminum roof rack in place clamped to the rain gutters and picked the whole thing up with the tractor’s forks. It was surprisingly easy. I hope getting it back on there goes just as smoothly.
The shoulder seat belts are attached to the roof on an 82 BJ42. As a temporary replacement I installed some new lap belts. They work and I think they are technically legal but I’m working on a shoulder belt solution with the roll bar.
The Cruiser looks a little funny and unsafe without a roll bar. So while I had some help in town I finished up tack welding the roll cage together. I welded up the back half a couple of weeks ago. It was getting to the point that it’s too heavy for me and my wife to move on our own so the extra muscle was certainly handy.
Here’s a few photos of the progress on the roll bar cage. It’s very similar to a Metal Tech unit.
One of the nice things about it is the whole cage comes out as a single piece. I doubt that I’ll ever have to remove it once it’s painted and installed in the Cruiser but it’s nice to know I have the option. I think the original design of the cage is for a left-hand-drive FJ40. It’s a very tight fit on the accelerator pedal for a RHD vehicle like my BJ42.
I hope to finish it up towards the end of August. It will be a week or two before I can get my welding tank refilled for the MIG welder. So in the mean time it’s going to take up space in the garage.
I still have to measure and place the mounting points for the shoulder seat belts before sanding, priming and painting the roll bar. Once it’s installed we’ll be able to make use of the full-length SOR summer top to keep the sun off of us. I plan to take the doors off too. That should be fun, just in time for the nice fall weather.
Tags: bj422 Comments
2 responses so far ↓
MARK I THOUGHT YOU ARE COMPUTER GUY WHERE
DID YOU GET ALL THIS WELDING AND MECHANIC EXPERT
STUFF?UNCLE TOM ?NOT GRANDPA LEE YOU NEVER MET HIM BUT YOU ARE LIKE HIM
VEGAS HERE
I learned to weld and do steel fabrication while I was in CA. I had a few sand rails that I was constantly changing stuff on. I learned to weld because I was too cheap to pay someone to do the work for me. I’d rather spend the money on the tools to be able to the work myself than pay someone to do it for me. It’s only when the tools are too expensive that it makes sense to pay someone else to do the work.
Welding is easy. A well-trained monkey could most likely do a decent job.