40 build, nakman style

[nakman]

Been trying to get the doors restored back to match the green, they are closer now, but still a little off. And the PS door has brown on the bottom. . will see how it all matches when I get the hard top on, but more than likely I'll be painting those hard doors at some point. I still need to tackle the OEM soft top doors too, but am a little put off by the hinges being different- so that is on hold for a bit.

This weekend was Holiday picture day.. took the 40 outside Superior for a quick hike with the family. Tried as hard as I could to avoid the mud..

 

[Romer]

Looks Awesome Tim

 

[nakman]

thanks, Ken.

I also installed a radio.. figured keep it simple and went with a FT-2800, which fits in the factory slot very nicely. Then after several other failed attempts, I put a bracket on one of the swing-out bolts, this way I'm running a full wave antenna in back, it ends just above the top of the soft top. Seems to receive the repeaters really well, would have been better propogation obviously to not hide it behind the tire but I am tired of drilling holes, and I didn't want to stare at an antenna on the front anywhere. Plus this is always out of the way.

 

[rover67]

Lookin' good!!!!

Yo can even put a tennis ball on it so it doesn't hit your paint and to have that authentic 80's look!!

 

[PabloCruise]

I like that radio install!

 

[Hulk]

Full wave antenna? That must be very tall. I'm running a 5/8 wave on my 80 and it's pretty big. Let's see a photo that shows the whole thing.

 

[nakman]

Ok.

 

[nakman]

This still clears my 7' garage door

 

[nuclearlemon]

looking sexier and sexier

 

[OilHammer]

Trick is hearing the radio in the 40. I'm pretty sure that on the hwy with a soft top, I wouldn't hear mine at all. With the rubber floor I put in, and the hard top on, it's not too bad.

 

[MDH33]

Looking awesome Tim.

There's a hole in your dash begging for a Mic holder!

In my old 40, I used a couple quick fist clamps to attach an aux speaker to the roll bar for my Ham. Worked great, even on the highway with the soft top and soft doors. Here's a pic:

 

[nakman]

I seem to hear the radio just fine, with no remote speaker. I do have it turned up pretty good.. putting in the insulation and carpet kit did reduce some of the road noise. It's still a 40 though, so doors rattle, soft tops shake, but so far I am doing ok with no remote speaker. Since I don't have any other radio, I listen to the weather bands a lot..

Martin that hole is too small for the mic holder I had, so I just used a heater screw. I also have an FJ60 sized mic holder that clips into the center console above the heater. so far so good, trying to keep it as clean as possible.

 

[OilHammer]

On the hwy you can hear it well in that location? Hmm....that's good to know. I think I have essentially that same radio. Mine is in the tuffy console, but I mounted it with a gap on the side so I can hear the speaker better. I have thought about hooking it up to the door speakers though (previous owner cut those, so nothing I could do about it)

 

[MDH33]

Yeah, I suppose my older '73 model with no floor insulation or door weatherstripping and Super Swampers was probably a little louder.

Really enjoying your build. Well done.

 

[L43dean]

Tarpolean Top

Tim, your soft top looks to be made of cotton canvas. My Pak-Top, that I got from Martin(mighty thanks!), is cotton and did initially flap. Within a year's time it has shrunk to fit tight as a drum. And does not leak rain or snow. Oh yah, that's a chunky mountain tamer and master of back country trails you got yourself there!

 

[Rezarf]

Tim I bought 3 Motorola speaker like Martins... Let me know if you need one.

 

[AdamKFarmer]

Awesome! Where did you source your seat belts?

 

[nakman]

Adam I think I got those front seat belts from SOR... they are not original, but they are clean and new so good enough. The rear seat belts are stock, PO had those in a bag so they were almost unused.

 

[nakman]

Got my half doors on. I still don't have a compressor, so I chose to use up the 2 rattle cans of paint I got with all the paint I bought last year. Knew it wouldn't be perfect, but at least it's not white/seafoam. All the bolt-on bits got a dose of the wire wheel and a shot of Detail Gray.

 

[nakman]

I made some little door catches out of some aluminum angle and some extra 40 bolts. Happy with how they came out, you can even slam the door shut. And these seals that came with the doors are really nice, better than my full hard top doors, so no rattles or squeaks at all. pretty happy with this one.. we'll worry about cleaning up the paint another day.