Builds 1963 FJ45LP SWB Fixed Top "Sweet Simplicity" (3 Viewers)

[cult45]

DO NOT paint this truck. Lol. Can you block the sills back?

 

[middlecalf]

If I’m following what you mean @cult45 I’m only painting a couple of inches up the back wall (plan so far), there was rust along the sill and the wall there so I treated that, hence the primer. The sill is mostly new along the wall, it was Swiss cheese and would not have been solid very long for seats and seat belts (which I’ve added). I’ll have to wet sand the new paint to remove the gloss. We’ll see, new stuff for me.

 

[middlecalf]

Ugh, gloss. I’ll see what happens with some wet sanding.

But that will wait until I get back from checking out this dude. We’ll see. Ruby’s world might be about to change.

 

[cult45]

Can you get a litre of Seminole in satin and top coat it with that instead [just the repairs]? Then block it back until the grey primer starts to show on what would be natural high traffic areas, then treat it [BLO or satin clear]? Only needs a little primer coming through to not be so noticeable.

Did you buy the little tyke?

 

[middlecalf]

Yeah he’s now terrorizing our lives .

 

[FJ45VTOZ]

not the best shots, but you get the idea.. the short side is visible on the inside of the top cab walls and above doors when fitted. Couldn't find the remnants of the exterior welt.

 

[middlecalf]

Puppies! I‘d forgotten how much time they demand, lol. First ride in the huntin’ rig. Things are good. Lizzy would be pleased.

Finally got to a little sanding on the new paint to make it not look so new. A little of the new gray primer showing through, and even a few small areas of bare metal (to rust). Not sure how to get rid of the shiny low spots, don’t want to remove any more paint. Still on an experimentation plan.

Before:

After:

 

[middlecalf]

Less gloss.

 

[cult45]

Looks great! If you had have told a car guy twenty years ago that one day we'd be rubbing back fresh paint down to bare metal he'd have you committed!!

 

[middlecalf]

Lol, thanks @cult45. I’ve had this ‘don’t paint‘ thing in my mind since the get go, I still have doubts but once I get this out in the fields it won’t matter too much.

 

[middlecalf]

That darn hood hinge curiosity cat (post #513) showed up again, thanks to the “free fj45“ thread posted by @ozcrusier. Looks like his ‘63 has the same hood hinge setup as mine. One hinge appears to have a threaded Allen head bolt (his also has a nut) and the other has a pressed in pin. Another interesting coincidence from different continents. Pic crops are from his thread.

 

[ozcrusier]

Hi mate
I’m bringing the 63 home this Friday afternoon if you need any pics let me know.

 

[middlecalf]

Awesome! Thanks and good luck!

 

[middlecalf]

Seems like it’s getting easier to find other stuff to do instead of sanding new paint. Like watching the sunrise waiting for the geese to show up, lol.

But did get some sanding done trying to fill in the big blanks a bit. Upper back panel was sans most of the original paint.

 

[middlecalf]

Almost done farting around with the paint.

 

[middlecalf]

Couldn’t find anything that was going to function like the fender welt that was between the windshield frame and cowl. I tried several different welts, no way to keep a single sided welt in place and the smallest bead was still too big, looked blobbish. So I just seam sealed the gap.

 

[middlecalf]

So my FD knob threads are too big for the pull cable. Is there a smaller size thread for the early (‘63) rigs? @pardion

 

[pardion]

Does your pull cable look like this on the end?

 

[middlecalf]

Yes. I got the knob from you (a few moons ago ).

 

[pardion]

The threads appear to be 4MM