Here we go.
After many moons of measuring, contemplating and scratching my head, I have just about wrapped up the FJ 40 hood mold.

The first picture shows the mold as it came right out of the fiberglass splash we made to serve as a mold for our mold.....

The finish is almost "automotive" grade.
It is flawless!!!

Here is a side view of the mold showing the "bond in" reinforcement to hold the cowl line.

The vents are solid for now, once the hoods are formed, considerations for some sort of louver or insert to aid in heat removal from the engine compartment.

We have stress relieved the mold to remove any air voids in the laminate.
Right now it is being backfilled and vented to prepare for the first production run!

I am pretty stoked about this project and its outcome.

Believe me, it has been a long road, with a bunch of setbacks and learning curves for me in regards to the power of perserverance.

Let me be the first to say it looks awesome :cool:

lookin great!! Can't wait for the finished product!

well all be damned...hell has frozen over;)

JOKING!!!

That is a beautiful piece of work Rugburn, I realize you have a substantial investement in that project too.

:smokin:

That looks awsome:beer:

Lookin' good:cool: Thanks for the hard work. Any idea on pricing?

Awesome John. I saw the mold the other day, this is coming to age as you read this!

Looks good! I can just see a gold panner ornament on the hood. Didn't the original post show integrated front fenders?

:drool: when is the website being updated??

That sucker looks great! I can only imagine how much time and work went into that. Well done. I also can’t wait to see one myself... hopefully on my truck!


Mark

sold. ship to me . I would like to put a deposit now so my hood can be just like my orion , deposit in , waiting for product.

Looks great John!

peesalot-

Don't see any reason to compare this to the Orion issue at all, I do not remember John at any time claiming that he was going to have something to ship, and backing out of the promise date, not once, twice, or ever, or requiring any down monies from people...

But what do I know...

-Steve

Veeeerrrryyyy nice! Weight?

Oh... wow. How are you going to automate the cutting of all the
excess plastic? What varieties are these going to come in, like all
white or clear or colors or what? Again, looks fantastic.

Very nice work indeed. When the first bad one comes out of the mold, maybe try some creative venting options to see what works.
All in all looking like it is well worth the wait!
Cool stuff!

how much they gonna run???? ballpark

looks awesome rugburn,

you'll get my money whenever i can send it.

have a good one,
jonathan

:D

Right on..

looks killer. :smokin: also curious about the wieght.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. :smokin: MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmm:smokin: :smokin:


Can you SMELL the BLING!!!!!!!!!!!

speaking of weight, anyone know how much a stock hood weighs??? Either way I want one!

Weight on these babies will be under 12 pounds.

Stock hood is over 40 pounds..........

I have a few other goodies in the works to lighten up the front end even more..........


Front bibs, fender aprons and bezels................

All in a days work.


Now if I could just wrap up my rig and get to wheelin..........:mad:

Steve,
the last thing I want to do with this or any of the goodies I manufacture is put out a product that fails in service, is pimped before it is made or take money from the Cruiser community before I can ship to the end user.

It is all about Cruiser karma man!:smokin: :usa: :beer:

Looks great man. You talking about bibs and fenders made of fibreglass, I'd really be interested in those as well:D

ooooohhhhhhhh man That's thing is awesome!! I want a clear one! BLING BLING!! :D

Can't wait to see the other parts as well. I am gonna hold off on front tube fenders for mine. :D Soon I will have all removable body panels like JR's bronco. :D OHYEAH!

plastique not fibreglass.

ooooohhhhhhhh man That's thing is awesome!! I want a clear one! BLING BLING!!
Glo you need a clear one with ghost flames molded in that glow in the dark ;)

Originally posted by krcruiser

Glo you need a clear one with ghost flames molded in that glow in the dark ;)

:vader: EXACTLY!

Originally posted by krcruiser

Glo you need a clear one with ghost flames molded in that glow in the dark ;)


Ooooooooooohhhh, I like it. Can you get glow in the dark paint for lexan?

1st. Looks great. I could use one.

What is the advantage to plastic over metal?

What is the advantage to plastic over fiberglass?

Why has nobody made plastic before?

How well will it do in the cold?

How about the heat?

What kind of plastic is it?

Looks great John

I am excited to get them.......

Mike G

Originally posted by 72cruiser
plastique not fibreglass.


Oops, not used to seeing plastic body panels. Can they be repaired with fibreglass?

Looks great

Any chance of any narrowed hoods being available in the future . I sure would like to pimp one of these on my buggy this year at UROC east . :D

How much $ will they go for?
and, like the guy above, can we get em narrowed?

Kick ass is all I have to say. Makes me want to roll my junk and need a hood.



"1st. Looks great. I could use one.

What is the advantage to plastic over metal?

What is the advantage to plastic over fiberglass?

Why has nobody made plastic before?

How well will it do in the cold?

How about the heat?

What kind of plastic is it?"


Couple of points for your questions. Ever seen snow machine hoods and how well they do with high HP engines(heat/cold) My skidoo push's 150 hp. Ever seen a sled highmarking roll down a hill side with the hood flying open then spring right back to shape.? Been there done that, can't wait to hit rock with my hood and have it sprinng back not dent. Rugburn's the man keep up the good work.

Nice work :eek: :D

There are a lot of people asking about narrowed hoods.

This mold will produce a stock width hood, BUT........the hoods can be cut down to produce any desired width and either bond the two halves together or....run the hood similar to the way hotrodders do the roadster hoods..........


hinge it in the middle and have access to one side of the engine compartment at a time.

I will take of shot of how I am doing mine for protoype purposes ......

Cost will be posted once the hoods start coming off of the mold in the next week or so.

can the type of plastic you are using be welded? i weld plastic some at work but i am not very knowledgable on all of hte plastics that can be welded. if it can then that could be a good way to narrow it.

FOr you guys wondering about paint for clear hoods, check out RC paint. It sprays from the inside, and is flexible.:D

So these hoods would be clear? That is so cool! I'm thinking flames on a transparent blue background... heh. I know it would make it climb better with the flames so...

Nice work BTW. Look forward to hearing when we can buy these!

Originally posted by LAME
FOr you guys wondering about paint for clear hoods, check out RC paint. It sprays from the inside, and is flexible.:D

How well would that paint stand up to heat from the engine? I know it will resist oil/grease but heat?

Originally posted by msahr


How well would that paint stand up to heat from the engine? I know it will resist oil/grease but heat?

The top of my head on my .12ci nitro engine was 1/2" from the roof in my RC race car. The pipe is 1/8"-1/4" from the body. The head was 220*F, at the top, and the pipe was not much cooler. It holds up unless it is in direct contact with something hot. I think rug"butter basket"burn said the stuff is a thermoplastic, so it might change shape a bit when it gets hot. Let him confirm that, though:D

I always had good luck with Pactra paints. Good thing about painting the underside is you can suck at painting, but as long as you get enough on it will be shiney on the outside:D

Or you can just add flex agent to reg paint and spray it on...

hella coool. Sooooo, what about a split hood type, that doesnt have the lump in the front middle of the hood. Any plans to make some? :D The split hoods are hard to find in good condition.

I will buy one as soon as youre shipping them off.

:beer:

hey were these ever made ?

Any word yet on a update from Rugburn? I would love to get a tranny hump one of these days and I'll need a new hood a some point this summer.

Rugburn has a lot on his plate.

Time can be your friend :D

I'll be getting one of those! Awesome! :D

All right I got sent to the corner for a time out.(patiently waiting know) Sorry to here about you junk :nuke:. When it rain it pours. Just think you won't have any more birfields to change! So hang with the kid and drink some beers kill the pain and put that bitch back together. We've got some wheeling to do on the con. Any idea what run you are shooting for?

All right I got sent to the corner for a time out.(patiently waiting know) Sorry to here about you junk :nuke:. When it rain it pours. Just think you won't have any more birfields to change! So hang with the kid and drink some beers kill the pain and put that bitch back together. We've got some wheeling to do on the con. Any idea what run you are shooting for?
No issues, I want one of his hoods too!!!

I am working on getting my rig back up and running as we speak..

Tcase carnage ;)

Damn "week ass" motor.

Damn "week ass" motor.
It is amazing how much power the 2F can provide when the Turbo is spooled up ;)

How bout those hoods...I'm ready to order!!! Seriously, any target date yet? Its time to make some decisions for my rig.

How bout those hoods...I'm ready to order!!! Seriously, any target date yet? Its time to make some decisions for my rig.

Yeah, Havis finally ditched the training wheels.

You are the last man standing on 35's! You have more to worry about than a hood :laughing:

:flipoff2:

DAMN RUGBURN! i REMEMEBER YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THOSE BACK IN THE DAY BEFORE I GOT LOCKED OUT OF HERE FOR AWHILE, THOSE LOOK SICK! AWSOME TO SEE THAT THEY ARE A REALITY MAN, GOOD WORK. :smokin: I HOPE YOU CAN STILL GET THOSE SMOKED/NO FOG LAMINATED POLY WINDSHEILDS... RIGHT?

MATT

Very nice!!!!!!!! Thanks for all the hard work. -Josh

Any news yet??? Where's Waldo...er Rugburn?

Amen, I needed a hood for my buggy to go with the FJ grill and didn't want to cut up a good FJ hood. Any news?

Any word on the cost with this yet? I am interested in one too.

Dima

I am "promised" the production schedule will "open up" for me before the end of the week......

I plan on going to Rubithon and want to get a few of these bad boys on some rigs...
I will keep all posted.

Seriously, though, I thinks I need a new hood for my Cruiser, those look like the way to go!
Danny

Seriously, though, I thinks I need a new hood for my Cruiser, those look like the way to go!
Danny

Nothing wrong with that hood, hahahahahahahaha. Send it to me, it will die an exciting death!

Nothing wrong with that hood, hahahahahahahaha. Send it to me, it will die an exciting death!

Mike, you really should get a pic posted of your hood grave yard.

No hood is to good to die on #180.

I am "promised" the production schedule will "open up" for me before the end of the week......

I plan on going to Rubithon and want to get a few of these bad boys on some rigs...
I will keep all posted.


Get your ass out here!!!!

:D

Get your ass out here!!!!

:D

Wanna be my guinea pig Mace?

Smoked grey hood.... :grinpimp:

As long as there are no deliverance comments....

:flipoff2:

Mr, member # 45 that ALMOST has 1K posts ;)

THe hood tool is on the machine today!
I am stoked!

WIll be posting pics as these things start coming off!

Wish me luck!

THe hood tool is on the machine today!
I am stoked!

WIll be posting pics as these things start coming off!

Wish me luck!

Better make a lot of them as long as it takes you to make a batch. :D

Please PM me with pricing.

Ed

Right on!!!

Yeah how about that pricing? Shoot me a pm please.

Pricing for me as well, thanks

Not shooting a price to you guys until I know this thing is spot on..........

AS of 12:30, I have wasted $400.00 of polycarb trying to get this friggin mold to pull.

This shit is tuff!

Yeah, Havis finally ditched the training wheels.

You are the last man standing on 35's! You have more to worry about than a hood :laughing:

:flipoff2:

Damn Nolan....I remember when you were still riding you bike to the trail. :flipoff2: Ah...the good ole days when the best driver made the trail rather than the biggest wallet. :D Anyway, the decisions have been made, and I'll buy one of those red stars soon so you guys can see the pics.

Not shooting a price to you guys until I know this thing is spot on..........

AS of 12:30, I have wasted $400.00 of polycarb trying to get this friggin mold to pull.

This shit is tuff!
Holy cow!!!

So is thinner polycarb the solution or what???

Ah...the good ole days when the best driver made the trail rather than the biggest wallet. :D

:rolleyes: No, I think it is much, much better to spend 1/2 my wheeling time watching those still running stock Cruiser shit wrench while on the trail.

I would think you would have to wheel more than once every 2 years to be classified as a "best driver" anyway.....

BTW, would the "best driver" you are talking about be the one who picked this line? :laughing:

Oops....guess I hit a sore spot! Thanks for pulling an old picture out of your collection though. I figured you would think any line that doesn't end with the vehicle upside down was great :D :D

You are right though....I haven't been wheeling as much as I would like....the have been tight but I think theres enough sitting around to buy one of these hoods.....so back to the topic.

Rugburn, If you need any other test chimps for the rubithon, I'll be on the wednesday trophy run and spending till sunday out there. A few of us are leaving tahoe side on tuesday, meeting everyone on the other side then turning around and going back thru. If it helps for sales I can park on everyones hood along the way increasing sales. :D

amazing.. sounds like you got your hands full but if you ever get to the 79-83 mini style I want one ;)

TTT...any word on the hoods??

I bet they will look sweet!

BTT, any news? Need a hood for the buggy!

Updates?????????

in the market for a hood - was hoping i could wait this out. Any updates? Or similiar products available?

thanks..

What's become of this project? :confused:

What's become of this project? :confused:


people have them mounted and are running these hoods....I havent heard how these individuals got them first!...Lotsa $$$$$ for prototypes I assume!

Any feedback & pictures???

Nope.

Due to the workload I have here at the shop, I have not been able to get the mold back on the equipment.

I have, however, made some changes to it, to make it form easier, I hope.

I am told, I will have machine time by the end of next week.

Yea, yea yea, you have all heard it before.......

Things like this take time, especially when only one guy is doing it..... :(

Sorry to all who have been patient, but I can assure you all, these will be so sweet..... :grinpimp:

Bring a demo to Lafayette on Friday (tomorrow) so SpaceGhost and I can check progress... <wink>

I was going to start a new thread, but I know more people would read this. Rugburn, any new update, anyone else with one for sale. I could give a fawk about stock cruisers, or hoods, back to my old ways...

I was able to get one decent hood from about 12 sheets of $72.00 polycarbonate and learned a few valuable lessons in doing so.

Number one being I should have kept my mouth shut when I said I was going to try doing this.
Based upon current and future workloads, this project has never been an easy one to schedule or put a great amount of time into.

I think now that it is a viable project, I can verify a few more dimensions, assembly steps and make it something I can ask a price for.

The hood looks great, flexes exactly the way I designed it and hopefully will not draw too many naysayers about its assembly of the cowl stiffener.

All that aside, hopefully I can get them into production within the next few weeks.................

Man.. I googled the sheffield and offroad uh.. I don't think this is right but I'm all for it! Offroading and lapdancing?
http://www.stagweekends.co.uk/?page=sheffield3

Screw the hood stiffinthingie

It just makes it heavier anyway ;)

Any updates?

Bitch....bring it.

I need a light hood. Been hopeing this will be done soon!

Hood stiffiner is coil over mounts or a engine rollcage Then you can walk on your hood.

not your fat butt after today. Dude ,too bad you weren't there to help the poor kid in Tahoe all stuck on t-day. I would be shamed if I ran the new hood , my junk looks like a mess under the hood.

It's all about showing off the bling under the hood. The oil accumulator is way to sexy to not brag. Pessalot, maybe it time to tighten up the show under the hood. :flipoff2: That would of been fun out ay Boca but hopefully I can ge the 44's this week and give them a test run :smokin:

are you sayin your shits is dry sump now ? jerk if it is . I was not going to mess with anything under there until it quits runnin like a timex. Not super powerful but faithful. Me thinkin about 40's now and some narrowed 60's , got any around that can be had , prolly just need the cores as it seems all other has to be built anyway. You think 40's will toast the LC stuff ?

No i wish it was dry sumped, after figuring how often i can drive out of side flops. The accumulator is a summit 1.5 quart unit that holds a air charge set to your liking. i picked 20 psi. It is plumbed into a a oil galley above the oil filter. It has a ballvalve to use it or not. So anytime you drop belllow 20 psi on the oil pressure gauge it pumps in the quart and a half. I still need to figure a better oil pan with trap doors. So many of the pans are set up for circle track. It would be nice to source out the windage doors and be able to weld them into yoour pan. Seems like it buys you a little time before running out of oil pressure. relatively inexpensive,good insurance. I think 39.5 irocs are the best tire due to weight for LC drivetrain. I only broke one birfield the summer I ran like that. Do the knuckle upgrade! 5 bolts,9/16's dana 44 bolts and cone washers,some plate and i think you would not have to worry about your front end. I look for the pics

Quote Me thinkin about 40's now and some narrowed 60's , got any around that can be had , prolly just need the cores as it seems all other has to be built anyway

Fj60 axles? or Dana 60's I think you mean fj60.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=262669&highlight=knuckle

Keep scrolling down till you see Tony's knuckle. azrockcrawler did it first and we just changed a few things. Tony and fernando both have done there front ends and they neither have them has had to retighten any steering bolts since install. Bolts/cones from Parts Mike. One Ton Gm tre's option, drill retaper highsteerarms. Send arms to machine shop for re tapering, 100-150$. Buy tap drill press knuckles,tap knuckles,weld gusset to highsteerarm,drill extra hole,beef up your steering stops so turning radius is dead on.

yup the 5 bolt is a nice mod.
I was talking Dana 60's . I am going to beat the mpiss outa the stock drum stuff and when I'mm sick of breaking , the 60's go in. I like the skinny pedal , every time someone rode with me at rubithon they always were sayin , " hey , could you stop so I can get out " . whats with that ? I drive o.k. Favorite thing to do is time each other comin down old sluice , .

Find sixty's by any means necessary. If running out of choices, Highhonda has fair pricing from the east coast. Rears are easy, get any rear sixty, cut the spindles off weld on 14 bolt spindles. Front is tougher. balljoint sucks due to if you break a knuckle then no replacements. Kingpin you have some choices. That about enough on the hood thread.