- Thread starter
- #41
Still at it:
![IMG_2054[1].JPG](data:image/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns%3D'http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg' width='1920' height='1440' viewBox%3D'0 0 1920 1440'%2F%3E "IMG_2054[1].JPG")
Builds 1971 FJ55, "Bucky" (17 Viewers)
- Thread starter roadstr6
- Start date
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PabloCruise
SILVER Star
Wow, some great rebuilding!
- Thread starter
- #43
Thank you, sir. This truck doesn’t have much left for me to work with. Inch by inch, stitch by stitch, new metal is getting grafted on. In the end it may not be pretty, but it will be safe and functional. That’s my main concern.
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- #44
I decided to take a short break from welding floor pans and do something a little different. I had a set of five OE steelies in my parts stash that needed to be put to use. I never liked the aftermarket wheels on Bucky, so I blasted, primed and painted the OE wheels. I located a used set of 33x10.5x15 BFG MT's on the local Craigslist. Bucky will be riding high on proper wheels soon!
Steelies before, during and after:
Steelies before, during and after:
- Thread starter
- #45
Bucky's front fenders are filled with bondo in the normal piggy places. I started the repair on the driver side fender last night.
Cut out this piece:
Stitching in the patch:
Test fit:
I've still got a little tweaking to do, and I will weld on some tabs to secure the lower part of the fender to the tube rocker. Once that is done, I'll skim it with filler and get it prepped for paint.
Cut out this piece:
Stitching in the patch:
Test fit:
I've still got a little tweaking to do, and I will weld on some tabs to secure the lower part of the fender to the tube rocker. Once that is done, I'll skim it with filler and get it prepped for paint.
I was just thinking it's getting close to asking you about color choices. Good Job!
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- #47
Ron, I am a long way from paint but my plan is to keep as much of the original paint as possible (it is original paint, believe it or not). I'm not going to push out dents. I like the trail-hardened look of the truck as it is and I see no reason to spend a bunch of money on trying to make it pretty. The rust repairs I'll have to do will most likely dictate that the tan will need to be resprayed from the body line down. I regret having to do that, but I'm not a painter and I doubt if I could just spray over the patches and blend the new paint into the old. I might try. What is sad is that painting the tan from the line down will cover over some "character" spots that I absolutely love. Areas like this:
No matter what I end up doing, I will take a minimalist approach and the white / tan is staying.
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PabloCruise
SILVER Star
You never know, you might be able to get some color match rattle cans from NAPA and just cover your patches. I agree with you, she looks good in her original paint...
Nice job on the wheels!
Nice job on the wheels!
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- #49
I got some old 33x10.5 KM’s mounted on the freshened up steelies. Brand spankin’ new hub caps for a little bling. I finished mounting the DS front fender and welded tabs to mount the bottom edge to the tube rocker. Cut out a rusty piece of the driver’s door and patched that as well. Still a lot to do. Floors are only half done at this point. In the next couple of weeks I will move Bucky out, turn him around and back him in so I can start work on the passenger side. Ugh!
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- #50
More Bucky goodness:
- Thread starter
- #51
Driver’s side floor all finished up. The original pitted metal was treated with POR15 and top coated with POR Tie coat primer. The new metal was prepped with epoxy primer. All seams were sealed (top and bottom) and I applied two coats of oil based Rustoleum (Almond color) with a brush to avoid misting down the whole interior with overspray from the paint gun. Just about ready to move over to the passenger side.
Just a reminder. This is what it looked like before:
Just a reminder. This is what it looked like before:
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- Thread starter
- #52
Moved Ol’ Bucky out of the shop for a quick wash down to get all the metal dust off and backed him back in to start the passenger side floor and rocker. Took some pics while the truck was outside and while it is not raining. The rain here in NC has been relentless for the past few weeks.
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I like it!
RUSH55
SILVER Star
Awesome 
Man you did great. I sure hope you can blend in the patches to your liking to that paint. Love the worn/clean look of the rest of the truck.
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- #56
Blending the patches will be a pain, I know. I'm no painter either, so I'm sure I'll screw it up. I couldn't bear to paint from the belt line down and cover up all the truck's character. I'll have to do the best I can. The truck is rough and I will not be pulling dents, etc, so if the patches don't match up, I guess it's not the end of the world.
Speaking of this paint...it looks like original paint to me. I've had folks argue that beige (tan) was not offered as an FJ55 color. I have seen a color chart that listed beige as a color for '68 (my truck is a '71) but the color chart did not list a color code. I've seen a lot of resprays in my day. This doesn't appear at all to have ever been re-sprayed and I can't find any indication that it has ever had a color change. If there are any 55 gurus out there that can tell me what I've got, I'd love to know. I do know that you don't see many 55's this color. It seems like most are Nebula.
What color is the inside of the gas door?
Did you put the late model hood on it?
This is the only reference on color I have. Same as you.
To me that’s a great color and im a huge OEM color fan.
This is the only reference on color I have. Same as you.
To me that’s a great color and im a huge OEM color fan.
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- #59
Inside the fuel filler door is the same tan as the outside. No tan overspray on the hinges and screws inside the door either. No overspray on the filler neck. It looks factory to me. Somebody has put a '79 hood and grille on the truck, which I don't mind. The '79 grille is the one-year-only grille with the cut-outs around the TOYOTA lettering. That is pretty neat, and from what I understand it is somewhat desireable. The hood color doesn't exactly match the rest of the truck. It's a little lighter. It has me thinking that the white on the later trucks were Cygnus and the earlier ones were the buttery white (Shell Ivory). I don't know though. Just speculating. The hood does look like it was repainted at some point, so all bets are off.
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That’s awesome. Any chance it came from outside the US? I know South America got colors we did not have
