Exciting things happened over this weekend.
I'll be adding some of it, on the thread that deals with the Impala restoration elsewhere, but on the Phantom's front, it was also pretty heady stuff.
The first item were the mudguards. Initially, as per plan, we had decided to "broaden" the mudguards by 3.5 inches...but after having done so once, we discovered that this breadth was insufficient - the tyres STILL protruded outside too much! An extra 0.75 inches on each side was added. Now, the mudguards have been laterally stretched by a whopping 8.5 inches (a total of 4.25 inches on each side).
The other addition was the pickup tub. This has been all but prepared, using the original rear of the donor FJ. Of course, the wheel arches and the forward portion of the tub have been heavily modified, but retain that true "Series 40" flavour. The daala that has been chosen to grace the rear of the pickup (as seen in the photos) is an original FJ40 "lid", and I am of the personal view that it looks absolutely sexy. A couple more days should see the rear come to an end.
The Petrol Cap (visible in photos) has been chosen as the "sunken" round-cap-in-a-square frame. Again, this is by design, as it'll mix-n-match nicely with the forward ventilator kick-panel in the front of the beast.
Jamil Ustaad tells me that the "rough" should be done by the end of the coming week. This will include the bumper, the fitting of the winch, the wheel-arch golay, the tub, and the engine compartment. The next step will be the fitting of the engine and tranny (possibly on Monday the next week). With that done...by the end of two weeks, the beast should be back with Jamil Ustaad, for those minor, intensely-painstaking details and finesse.
I'm very VERY excited. This project so far, has surpassed all my expectations from it. Allah aage bhi khair khairyat rakhe!