The Resurection of 'The Beast'

eventhough · 02-12-07, 07:29 AM

As some of y'all know I bought Yooper's Pig not long ago. She carried me over 1,100 miles from the UP of MI to SC without a single problem. The trip was quite enjoyable and I was even able to pick up some nice beer along the way. The Pig is a '76 w/ rebuilt 2F, SOA, 35x12.5's...overall a nice functioning rig.

Well now I have been able to drive my new Pig a fair amount. My wife has dubbed the Pig "The Beast" and "Shirley" (long story on the Shirley name - if anyone has ever read the comic strip 'Get Fuzzy' you might pick up on the name.) I am fairly familiar with my new Pig and have just recently started my restoration, or shall I we say 'resurection,' efforts. The main work I have infront of me will be stopping and repairing rusted areas. I am not going to be doing many mechanical mods for the time being as this 55 is set up almost just like I want her.

I decided to start a thread to document my work on The Beast. I am far from being anything close to a mechanic so I am sure I will have plenty of questions for everyone.

Now for the 'before' pics. Some of you might have seen these already.
1) In the UP of MI during the voyage to SC...
2) In Ohio...
3) At her new home...

eventhough · 02-12-07, 07:37 AM

The Beast cleaned up pretty nice after I desalted her.

Friday Feb 09 I had a new exhaust and muffler installed. My old exhaust had several leaks, one of which was directly beneath my feet and leaked up into the cab when sitting in traffic. There is nothing like arriving to work smelling like exhaust. My wife wanted it fixed before she rode in the Beast any more so I had a local shop cut out the old exhaust just below the header flange and weld in new tubing and install a Flowmaster Series 40 exhaust. They did a good job and it was pretty cheap. The Pig is now quieter than she was w/ the leaks and the sound comes out the rear instead of under my feet. (Added to answer a question below: Price was $210 out the door with tax. The exhaust pipe is tucked up as high as possible w/o causing problems. It was a good price for good and a quick turn around.)

Sunday Feb 11 I started stripping the driver's upper fender off to work on some rust. All of the bolts came off very easily on the top of the fender but the three I tried under the wheel well all sheared off. It will be fun replacing them later I'm sure. I plan on cutting out the rusted area and welding in some new metal. I don't weld myself but a friend used to be a professional welder and loves beer so I am trading microbrews for welding...nice trade if you ask me.

I tried to install a tach so I could make sure I am keeping my rpm's pretty low. So far the tach is not picking up a good reading so I need to figure that out but it shouldn't be too big of a problem. When I wire up the tach I get a 'pulse' reading. The tach never reads above 0 rpm but the needle will twich. It is getting juice (the light on the tach works) and has a good ground. I am wired directly into the negative terminal of the ignition coil. Is there a resistor before the coil that I need to wire into instead?

I have a question on the rear bumper. This bumper came from Lance Williams at IPOR. One of the PO's backed up into something pretty substantial to bend the bumper. What is the best way to straighten this? I was able to break the eight bolts free holding the bumper on so getting the bumper off won't be a problem. Do I need to have this professionally done? I don't want perfection - just something straight enough to repair the rear quarters. Would heating the metal up with a blow torch and the banging the fool out of it with a sledge work???

Pics:
1) New muffler - complete exhaust was replaced from just below header flange to tail pipe
2) Rust work
3) Rear bumper - how to straighten?

usmcruiser · 02-12-07, 09:40 AM

How cheap was the exhaust? I need the exact same thing done.

eventhough · 02-12-07, 10:19 AM

$210 out the door. I thought it was a good price for nice work. The mechanic tucked my pipes up as high as he could w/o causing any problems. I have tons of clearance now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by usmcruiser

How cheap was the exhaust? I need the exact same thing done.

dieselcruiserhead · 02-17-07, 07:19 PM

I LOVE that this piggie keeps on truckin so rightously and the owners are all here on Mud over the years. Cheers man I love that pig!

eventhough · 02-17-07, 08:06 PM

She is quite a fine swine. I have all day Monday off so I plan to start some work on her. I am going to add 2x3 inch steel from the back bumper towards the rear wheels and tie into the frame w/ bolts so the whole thing (rear bumper and all) can be removed. It will provide some nice protection for the body and will also help make the replacement of rear quarters easier. I'll post pics.

clemson55 · 02-17-07, 09:55 PM

Sounds good steve. Keep us updated with lots of pics.

eventhough · 02-18-07, 05:12 PM

I got a couple hours in today. I trimmed the rear wheel well flares off on both sides (they were in bad shape) and then trimmed the rear quarters level with the top of the rear bumper foward to the rear wheel well. I am going to weld the wheel tub to the rear quarters and then add a flexible flare from JC Whitney, and then 2x3 inch steel straight from the rear bumper towards the rear wheel and then tie into the frame w/ removable bolts just behind the rear wheel. I also started installing a 2 inch receiver.

I plan on getting about six hours in tomorrow working on some surface rust, finishing installing the 2 inch receiver, getting my tach working, and getting my tag lights to work for a night drive I have to make this Friday to meet the local cruiser club at some trails.

Pics of Sunday's work:
1) Rear quarter before cutting. Wheel well was already cut.
2) After cutting - note PBR for scale! Surface rust at corner was ground off, primed and painted. I'll repaint the entire rig after all rust is fixed.

tucker74 · 02-19-07, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eventhough

I have a question on the rear bumper. This bumper came from Lance Williams at IPOR. One of the PO's backed up into something pretty substantial to bend the bumper. What is the best way to straighten this?

Leave it bolted up and take it to a frame shop, I had this done when I pushed the ARB bumper wing on my 80 up into the fender flair - came down on a rock ledge

They put it on the frame machine, heated it up and pulled it back into shape for about $125.

Good luck!

Tucker

yooper · 02-23-07, 05:54 AM

Nice work! Sweet deal on the exhaust.

My Pig is dead! Long live The Beast!

clemson55 · 02-23-07, 06:03 AM

Good job Steve. I think thats about where I trimmed mine too.

eventhough · 02-25-07, 04:03 PM

Well I took my Pig wheeling this weekend and there was some minor carnage - nothing too bad. I'll post pics tomorrow.

Trollhole · 02-26-07, 07:30 AM

Steve your pig did great.

eventhough · 02-26-07, 08:56 AM

Here is my update on this weekend's run.

The Beast did do great. Her capabilities are definately vastly superior to my driving skills. I have a lot of learning to do but I had a blast and am looking forward to future trips. My wife did get bounced around a good bit in the passenger seat, along with the dog in the back seat.

I broke off a shock mount from the front axle. A little wrenching and cussing enabled me to remove the shock and a little welding will fix that problem easily.

I think I am going to park my Piggie now for a few weeks and really concentrate on the rust issues.

Go to http://forum.ih8mud.com/sc-upstate-cruisers/139727-cullowhee-winter-fun-run-pics-thread.html for more pics.

Pics:
1) Broken shock mount.
2) Nice view.
3) Articulation.

Wayneraintree · 02-26-07, 09:32 AM

looks fun!~

Sweet voyage in your pig.... rust is the one common thread we all seem to share : )

eventhough · 03-04-07, 04:01 PM

I spent 5.5 hours today on the Pig and 4 of those hours were spent trying to get the front fenders off. I only had 2 bolts left but the volunteer help (read wife) got too cold and ran inside so I'll have to finish up tomorrow. There was a good bit of rust in places and very little in others. A PO coated the underside of the front fenders w/ some sort of coating - I do not know what it is. This coating kept the rust away wherever it had a good surface to bind to but at seams (between fenders) the rust was able to gain a foothold and start its work. Everything is repairable with a little work but I am thinking about some sort of tubular fenders. I think I saw some pics somewhere on MUD of a Pig with tubular front fenders...anyone?

Oh, the camera battery was dead so I will take some pics later this week and post.

clemson55 · 03-04-07, 04:06 PM

Don't know if I have ever seen any tube front fenders on a pig, although I do plan on making some one day.

eventhough · 03-04-07, 04:18 PM

If Ehsan will make steel replacements I will just go with those but I don't know if I want to spend the time replacing rust w/ new sheet metal on the ones I have or if I just want to go off the deep end and make some with tubes...I think it could look pretty sweet.

ETA: OK - after a beer I decided I want to try and make some tube fenders. Stay tuned - this will be entertaining.

eventhough · 03-06-07, 07:22 AM

I only got about an hour and a half in last night before it got dark. I was able to get a coat of primer on the underside of my IPOR bucket seat bracket. I did have to wire wheel and grind off a little rust which took some time. I also pulled off my luvers (if that is the correct term) and got them mostly wire wheeled and ready for priming tonight. Does anyone have a recommendation of what type of rattle can silver paint I should use? I'm looking for type of silver, not so much type of paint. The pics are not too exciting but I have to show some progress!

Pic 1) Primed seat bracket ready for paint
Pic 2) Luvers ready for sanding, priming and painting. I did get them mostly stripped but ran out of light and didn't feel like sanding in the garage.

ETA: You can see in Pic 1 where the primer from Wally-world decide to throw up everywhere.

Wayneraintree · 03-06-07, 10:19 AM

http://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.p...=rattle+pewter

eventhough · 03-06-07, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wayneraintree

http://forum.ih8mud.com/showthread.p...=rattle+pewter

Yes it does. I'm not too picky on color - just want something close. Wally-world here I come.

Wayneraintree · 03-06-07, 10:58 AM

oh, and for posterity:

* Ash Grey Metallic is commonly regarded as being the color for the instrument panel and pocket door on 4x Series as well as exterior trim pieces of 55 Series, but I cannot find reference to this colour being used by Toyota anywhere before 1983. I suspect that there may have been a variety of silvers used starting with T1434 and moving through a succession of silvers in the 122-140 range but cannot find anything to confirm it

Birfield link

eventhough · 03-18-07, 11:58 AM

I've been working most of the day and am taking a quick break for a cuppa joe so I'll give a little update. Sorry - no pics since the wife ran off to Vegas for the weekend and took the camera (...jokes sure to ensue

). I pulled out the front seat, rear seat, and am checking the extent of rust. I am going to cut out appx 12 inches by 18 inches on the driver's side and a little less on the passenger front side. The rear seam that runs under the back bench isn't too bad. I can stick a screw driver through several places but there aren't huge gaps. I might just sand this down, apply rust bullet or similar, and put something in to plug the gap...I might not have to cut out any metal but if I do it will be a thin strip 3 inches deep and a foot wide in a few places. The rear bed looks good and interior tailgate looks good. The front driver's body mount looks OK - I will coat with Rust Bullett to protect. I might have some more extensive work on the passenger front body mount...more to come w/ pics if the wife comes home!!!

yooper · 03-18-07, 12:14 PM

eventhough · 03-18-07, 06:47 PM

OK - so I called it quits for the day. Here is what I did either today or recently...

Rear bench out.
Front bench out and two mounts cut off. Front bench and mounts will be listed on MUD shortly for sale.
All gear out back of truck.
Carpet out of rear bed.
Front kick panels on driver's and passenger's side removed.
Still need to remove rear heater to give more room to work.
Cut out driver's floorboard appx 10 inches by 24 inches. Note: think about how you are going to drive your truck back into your garage before you remove the seats and cut out the floorboard.

All rubberized soundproofing material removed from rear seam under rear bench - not too bad w/ rust.
I chipped away a good bit of rubber on the driver's side and then

, why spend hours chipping this stuff out when you are going to cut out the floorboard anyways - so off I went hacking out the floor.
I had to cut out one floor support that was badly rusted but others were OK. I am going to weld in an appx 12 inch long piece of angle iron to support the sheet metal I am going to add hopefully within the week or so. I'm glad I didn't throw out my old bed frame.
Driver's body mount near A pillar looks OK.
Passenger's body mount near A pillar might need some work - will have to be examined further.
Seat belts out.
Removed front grill, sanded, primed, need to sand but didn't want to deal w/ wet sanding so primer is curing for a dry sanding this week.

I painted the body piece that connects the front trim under the grill with Rustoleum 7724 Sail Blue. I think this color is a little too bright so I will have to adjust my color. Yooper had a suggestion and I think he was right (7721 Fresh Blue). Anyone want 6 cans of Rustoleum raddle cans Antique White and 6 cans Sky Blue???

Total of about 6 hours of work. I could have done much more if I didn't have to also work on the wife's Heep. She also has my camera with her (she took off for a weekend in Vegas) so I will take after pics and post ASAP - probably late Monday or Tuesday.

I'm getting very excited about this truck. It does have a fair amount of rust but I'm getting a handle on it. I don't think there is anything that is going to be too big of a hurtle.

Found out that the CB wouldn't work - cause was a blown fuse. Now you can turn the CB on but it won't pick anything up - gotta figure that out. The radio also won't turn on - I still have to figure out. Still need to get my tag lights working. I'm just asking to get pulled over if I drive at night.

I have a few minor oil leaks - also want to fix those so my wife will let me park the truck outside the garage. Once I get the floors patched though I am going to install IPOR buckets and Tuffy console (thanks Yooper!). The wife really wants those before we go on another off road 'adventure' as she calls them. Once seats are in I am going to remove the headliner and fix some rust on the roof so I can install the roll cage MetalTech is coming out with hopefully soon.

I probably forgot several things but will add as I remember.

Stay tuned for pics!

yooper · 03-20-07, 11:27 AM

Huh, CB and radio were working on the drive home weren't they? Those Sony stereos are weird. I think you press the "source" button to turn it on...

I can visualize everything you mentioned. I almost don't need pics!

eventhough · 03-20-07, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yooper

Huh, CB and radio were working on the drive home weren't they? Those Sony stereos are weird. I think you press the "source" button to turn it on...

I can visualize everything you mentioned. I almost don't need pics!

CB would turn on but not pick anything up...that says to me the antenna isn't plugged in but it is...I'll figure it out. I won't have her on the road for several weeks since I don't have any floorboards!

I'll figure out the stereo...at least it doesn't beep at me when I turn the motor off! That solve done problem but gave me another!

You might like

but I prefer

.

I have my camera back. I'll take pics tonight.

yooper · 03-20-07, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eventhough

CB would turn on but not pick anything up...that says to me the antenna isn't plugged in but it is...I'll figure it out. I won't have her on the road for several weeks since I don't have any floorboards!

I'll figure out the stereo...at least it doesn't beep at me when I turn the motor off! That solve done problem but gave me another!

You might like

but I prefer

.

I have my camera back. I'll take pics tonight.

I've had trouble with that antenna before. I don't remember if it was the antenna to mount connection or the mount to bumper connection but one of them was corroded and it started working better after I cleaned it up... I had that antenna on my FJ62 for a long time; it's taken alot of trail abuse.

eventhough · 03-22-07, 08:40 AM

double tap

eventhough · 03-22-07, 08:42 AM

Well here are some pics. They are not good at all. I took them this morning before first light in my garage so I had to use the flash. I've been working 20 hour days (man - I am tired) so the next time I am going to get to do any more work or take any pics will be this weekend.

Pic 1) Rustoleum Sail Blue 7724, I need to try Fresh Blue 7721. I am going to wet sand and maybe clear coat so it will look better than what you see here.
Pic 2) Small pieces packed and labeled nicely to help w/ reassembly
Pic 3) Front seat out, hole cut in floor