Build 1st FJ40, '76 - SMOKEY - Puttin’ her Back Together

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beside the issue of recoating the metal, acid dipping takes away metal - back in the 60, Mopar dipped their drag cars to the point where you could just about punch a hole in the side of their cars in an effort to get every advantage. When there's rust, it even becomes more of a problem since the metal is already thinned due to the metal worm. On a car that never sees anything more than 1/4 of a mile, it's not really a problem. On a 4x4, it really could be a problem...
 
Jdc1 said:
@Vae Victus sorry for the hijack, the quote that I got was $3500 for complete body, paint removal dip. Ecoat ing will be approximately $500.
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Hijack away - it is entirely on topic.

Yikes - $3500 to dip PLUS $500 more? Did that include all the odd bits of body panels?
 
Vae Victus said:
Hijack away - it is entirely on topic.

Yikes - $3500 to dip PLUS $500 more? Did that include all the odd bits of body panels?
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At that rate, might as well just have a new tub made...
 
Vae Victus said:
Hijack away - it is entirely on topic.

Yikes - $3500 to dip PLUS $500 more? Did that include all the odd bits of body panels?
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RWBeringer4x4 said:
At that rate, might as well just have a new tub made...
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The $3500 is to dip tub, hood, fenders/aprons, hardtop, doors etc.

RW that is the conversation that we are having. This is our first resto and the body work is the most frustrating part because there are so many opinions and processes.
 
Don't be afraid to dive in, no matter what, someone will support your opinion and someone will claim it's the dumbest thing they've ever seen. Honestly, I wonder at times if the highest cause of project paralysis is simply because of trolls.

But there is a funny thing, you'll find if you were to track the people who watch your posts the most.... most are the ones that are trolls - almost like they have nothing better to do (and they don't).
 
JDC,

I understand you are frustrated planning your "body work," but spending that $4,000 doesn't get you any panel beating, welding, etc. Granted it will prevent a lot of future corrosion, but the rest of the costs can mount up fairly quickly. If you're not doing any of the work yourself, before you commit to an expensive dip and electrocoat, it would be smart to get estimates all the way through the finished painted work--you may need to trim your plans to make it all fit into your budget.
 
Bear said:
JDC,

I understand you are frustrated planning your "body work," but spending that $4,000 doesn't get you any panel beating, welding, etc. Granted it will prevent a lot of future corrosion, but the rest of the costs can mount up fairly quickly. If you're not doing any of the work yourself, before you commit to an expensive dip and electrocoat, it would be smart to get estimates all the way through the finished painted work--you may need to trim your plans to make it all fit into your budget.
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It is an option that we have available. I will be doing rust repair that I know of prior to any full scale paint stripping.

I have not gotten any sandblasting quotes yet but did briefly talk to a mobile soda blaster and he wants over $1k strip an entire body.

$4k is alot but is the cost difference between dipping and sandblasting worth knowing that all rust is removed and every nook/cranny blind spot is covered. Is it worth the extra cost of not having to pull panels apart to address rust issue? Fortunately, our tub is very clean for the rust belt. The best thing for my 40 was to be stashed on the side of a mountain and not driven for 10 years.

I have not made any decisions as I am sure that nothing cosmetic will be done until at least fall or winter of this year. I also have a great body guy that has agreed to help when I am ready.
 
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SuperBuickGuy said:
But there is a funny thing, you'll find if you were to track the people who watch your posts the most.... most are the ones that are trolls - almost like they have nothing better to do (and they don't).
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Hey, I resemble that remark...:flipoff2:

In all seriousness, I am not attempting to troll. I just happened to latch onto VV's build early and try to provide any constructive knowledge I've gained trolling the forums. Probably only about 1/2 my comments are worth reading but every now and then there's a nugget of viable cruiser tech in there.
 
:hillbilly:
RWBeringer4x4 said:
Hey, I resemble that remark...:flipoff2:

In all seriousness, I am not attempting to troll. I just happened to latch onto VV's build early and try to provide any constructive knowledge I've gained trolling the forums. Probably only about 1/2 my comments are worth reading but every now and then there's a nugget of viable cruiser tech in there.
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Hmm, Rick (who I call a friend BTW) is no troll, but I do think he should change his user ID to that. Troll4x4 - that's funny right there! :lol:

Rick, I'm sure he didn't mean you :hillbilly:
 
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I too got a high quote to blast part of my truck (frame) for a crazy amount of money ($600 - ok, I know $600 is not THAT much money, but I know the guy could get it done in 3 hours - and $200/hr just seems way high).

For $4000 you can buy a really nice sand blasting pressure pot ($1500), and a decent air compressor ($1750) and have $750 to run a 240v circuit, buy, the other gear and be able to blast it yourself. And use air tools, and do HPLV painting, and.... Well you get my opinion.

Since then I got a quote to blast and powder coat the frame for $600.
 
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RWBeringer4x4 said:
Hey, I resemble that remark...:flipoff2:

In all seriousness, I am not attempting to troll. I just happened to latch onto VV's build early and try to provide any constructive knowledge I've gained trolling the forums. Probably only about 1/2 my comments are worth reading but every now and then there's a nugget of viable cruiser tech in there.
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I'm not sure why you think I was speaking of you...
 
Did 30 minutes of sand blasting to see how bad the areas in the floor and wheel wells are.

Looks like some RealSteel in my future. I could probably patch the drivers side, but the gas tank area needs a new panel.

Do the RealSteel panels have any of the captive nuts on the back side?

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Drivers side - not Terrible. The area where the epoxy coating existed is pristine. (Greenish area). I need to poke around on the left side some more where the black and red meet the green area. There's a bit of rust there with some pitting. I'll see if any of it blows through.

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Left wheel well. Some rust from the reinforcement underneath. What are those two small screws there for? Two more to the left, which is down toward the floor.

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Looks like I could two panels from RS and patch the rest. If you buy all 5 floor panels, you can spend almost $1000, just up front.

I ran out of time to test out the rear quarter panels. There is a lot of bondo back there but the metal looks clean from underneath. Not sure why all the masking.
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It appears that neither RealSteel or CCOT sell the gas tank well replacement floor panel. What gives?

EDIT: I see that SOR sells a fuel tank replacement floor panel (for almost $300 - whew!). At least I can get one. I really don't think patching this with all the curves is a great idea, though someone with more experience can talk me into it. Maybe.

EDIT 2: Bought the SOR fuel tank floor pan.
 
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Started to take off paint on the rear quarters and sill area. I count 13! (Maybe 16 even) layers of primer, bondo, paint. Bondo was 5/32" thick in some areas. Mostly good steel below, but some "opportunities".

Just got a little done, but it is a start.

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Just curious - did it get the magnet test, so you at least knew what lay ahead?:eek:
 
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