“Buddy,” my FJ45lpb, the backstory, trip, getting the rig going (1 Viewer)

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Hey mate,

Great work. I wish Aussie trucks were as dry and rust free as the NA ones. With that channel - can you drill a hole on the rear of it [as opposed to the underside] big enough for a rubber plug and make the Eastwood Spray Mission an annual event?
 
After the frame shop has a whack at your frame and before you have it blasted I would put sacrificial bolts in any threaded holes in the frame. They will protect the threads from damage by the blasting and being clogged with paint or powder coating.
 
Hey mate,

Great work. I wish Aussie trucks were as dry and rust free as the NA ones. With that channel - can you drill a hole on the rear of it [as opposed to the underside] big enough for a rubber plug and make the Eastwood Spray Mission an annual event?

I think that would work. The channel is about 1.5 inches in depth. Across measures about 2.25 inches. I like the idea of tapping into the side to gain access. When the Eastwood paint arrives, I will know what I am dealing with, hole wise. Thx for the idea, Cult45.

PS. So true, some parts of the US are great for avoiding rust, but you, my down-under friend, live in the land of diesel powered LCs, like the LC70. Sweet!
 
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After the frame shop has a whack at your frame and before you have it blasted I would put sacrificial bolts in any threaded holes in the frame. They will protect the threads from damage by the blasting and being clogged with paint or powder coating.

Is it common for media blasting to do damage to threaded holes? Due to scheduling, I dropped it off to the media blasting business today. How concerned should I be? I can probably get access to it before they blast it. Will take the shop about a week before they do it. Thx.
 
After blasting, galvanizing and paint I drilled and tapped every hole in the frame. It all worked fine.
 
I didn't have any problems from media blasting with any of my threaded holes on the frame, It actually helped them in most cases. We also ran a tap through each hole afterwards.
 
I'm probably a half banana :banana: shade tree mechanic, so I really appreciate you guys taking the time to help me out.

That it's the 4th of July and I live in the good old USA, I've got just the photo with the 45 cab in the foreground.

Much that I am thankful for.

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It's been a while. Shut down last winter and most of this summer. Needed a little kick to get going again. When I first began this effort, wise cruiserheads told me to just get 'er going - drive it. Not sure I would have done it differently but NOW have a great appreciation for that approach. The egg is broke and since my last post ...

-Frame blasted, straightened (very slightly bent), and painted
-Cab cleaned and wet sanded to remove topical rust; underside wire wheel brushed, painted
-Tranny/xfer rebuilt (some gears chewed up pretty good
-Engine at the machine shop waiting (since last Oct) for a useable head
-OME springs installed
-Axles torn down

From last Summer. Frame to the sand blaster ...
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Next, to the frame shop, to verify and, if not, straighten the frame (was slightly bent). Frame straight and GTG.
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Home again ... Harbor Freight's $11 dollys have been immensely useful
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Overall, the frame is in great shape, save for some corrosion inside the frame rail. Scraped and used pressurized water to get at what the sand blaster did not. Water and a sand blasted frame? Just a little a** backwards. No matter - Rust Bullet and Eastwood paint adore flash rust.

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Started with applying paint to the inside of the frame rails. To do this I used Eastwood's Internal Frame Coating rattle can with a 24" extension spray tip. My first attempts made it clear that I needed to suspend the end of the spay tip or I would continue to bathe the bottom of the inside of the frame rail. A rattle can top was about the right height, although I had to reduce the width a bit. Still better was some PVC pipe.

Prep first. Cover holes, paint escape routes.
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Cheap and effective
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PVC pipe worked better.
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A few more pics of the internal paint work ...

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Worked pretty well
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Next up ... applying paint to the external frame. Looked at a few options, settled on Rust Bullet, using a silver base coat and black top (shell) coat. Silver base coat is designed to work on rust, for which I had a bit of flash rust, as the first pic below readily shows. If you like silver, you can stop there. Needs no topcoat. I tell ya, this base coat strongly bonded to the frame. Pics show about done.

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Had to come back and paint some areas I didn't quite complete the first time around.
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Another spot I missed (shock mount). This would occur more than I cared to remember.
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Looks good!
 
Next up ... top coat

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To get to the underside, used the engine lift
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Top coat complete, after I addressed the many places I missed. :bang: Won't be quitting my day job.

So ... would I do it this way again? No way. I would powder coat it. Rust Bullet isn't the cheapest paint and I spent hours with a paint brush for a result I give myself a grade of C, maybe B-. All part of the journey, I guess. Nice to have this step of the rebuild process checked off and future rust no longer a concern.


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A post of silence for a divorce of sorts ... my purchased new 1996 T100 that I sold a few months ago (June 2018) with 250K on the odo and still running like a top. Toyota replaced the head gaskets at 16K as part of a recall, even though I had no issues (yet) with the heads. Otherwise, it was primarily change the filters and fluids, and, occasionally, the timing belt.

I beat the h**l out of that machine, driving all over the Colorado Rockies and beyond on some nasty 4x4 forest trails. Never, ever, let me down. Took less than 24 hours to sell it. I miss that truck but it was time for a new chapter with a new owner.

Walked out of John Elway Toyota less $24,100 Nov 1996. I call that a bargain for the trouble free memories that truck gave me the next 22 years.
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Pics just before it was sold. My kids called it "Big Red."
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It's been a while. Shut down last winter and most of this summer. Needed a little kick to get going again. When I first began this effort, wise cruiserheads told me to just get 'er going - drive it. Not sure I would have done it differently but NOW have a great appreciation for that approach. The egg is broke and since my last post ...

-Frame blasted, straightened (very slightly bent), and painted
-Cab cleaned and wet sanded to remove topical rust; underside wire wheel brushed, painted
-Tranny/xfer rebuilt (some gears chewed up pretty good
-Engine at the machine shop waiting (since last Oct) for a useable head
-OME springs installed
-Axles torn down

From last Summer. Frame to the sand blaster ...
View attachment 1798382


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Next, to the frame shop, to verify and, if not, straighten the frame (was slightly bent). Frame straight and GTG.
View attachment 1798405

Home again ... Harbor Freight's $11 dollys have been immensely useful
View attachment 1798453
I got me some that were on sale at Harbor for 7.99 just love them use them for everything.
 

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