Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian Macgyver
I was thinking of a cleaner crew than that. More of a closed cab, no wind, weld up the seams and fit & finish. Smooth the body and shoot some real paint. Like with a shine. More of a factory finished kind of product.
I can do that, without the hillbilly effect.
I have brought several rare vehicles back from the brink, to put it mildly. I do not hack roofs and replace them with tubing. That is not acceptable.
A locked LC 80 is amoung the rare trucks that deserve rebuilding. I have repaired one that had a crushed roof and left side. The roof was crushed down 6" and the left side looked like a barn had hit it at high speed. The hood was also crushed. I did not replace a single scrap of steel. I rebuilt the entire truck with all original steel.
I straightened every body part. I had an international internet audience while I was doing the rebuild. I welded every weakened seam. I had watchers from all over the world, and fielded questions from everywhere.
Before that, I rebuilt a Mercedes. It was a 1967 SL convertible. It was hit in the rear by a semi, and pushed into another 18 wheeler. It was meat in a sandwich. The front was crushed back 3 feet, and the rear was pushed in as much. The body was pretty much mush.
I removed the engine and trans, and put the crushed body on the rack. I removed all of the upholstery. I ordered body fitting fixtures from the factory at high cost. I pulled the body straight, and then cut away the damaged sections. I replaced much of the unibody, and painted it all. Then I applied factory undercoat. I replaced everything from the firewall to the front, and from the mid-floor to the rear. The only original portion left was the cowl, windshield and floor, and the doors.
That car had 280,000 miles on it. The family had many fond memories invested in that old car. They were not ready to give it up. It was a classic 1967 Mercedes that originally sold new for $2800 cash.
When it was done, we presented the family with a brand-new classic Mercedes. I totally restored the car, including welding most of the body together.
The insurance company wanted to total the car at $25,000. We spent $26,500 to restore the whole car. When it was done, we presented the family with a fond memory and a reliable car for $1500. It was a valuable classic car at a bargain price. I have been there, done that, got the shirt!
I'll fix just about anything. I'm not scared!
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If I was going to trailer my truck around, drive it to the mall, or take the easy line, then yes a straight body, paint that you have to detail, and no tubing might be a thought (not really). BUT I've already dented the door, scratched the paint, and wheeled her pretty hard. I've thought about having the option to close up the rear, but since she is a trail rig, the wind is a non issue, I live in CA, and the weight reduction/ass heaviness is greatly reduced I will keep the rig like this for a while.
Plus, it's good times when you can just take a pressure washer to the rear and clean everything up in a few shots.
To each his own. Make it your own avocado Dan, and if there is anything I can do to help please let me know. You could just ship it to CA and get it done the So Cal way
happy trails
07-04-08, 02:27 AM
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