Build #27 red and white 55, full body restoration.

[kelly saad]

This one is done too. The other half of this large floor panel needs replacing too, so I am half way through this part.

 

[kelly saad]

The next cuts.

 

[kelly saad]

This is all welded. I still need to hammer & dolly and clean up the bottom side. Maybe another hour.

 

[kelly saad]

This is part of an A-pillar. The rust hole I just patched gets covered by the outer piece. This little piece had multiple bends and contours.

 

[kelly saad]

This piece is twisted in a couple directions. Lower inner D-pillar.

 

[kelly saad]

Done

 

[PabloCruise]

Separating the floor in at the center point.

View attachment 4117824

I think this classifies as a full body disassembly.
The re-assembly should be just as amazing.

 

[PabloCruise]

Oh goody, more rust holes!

The parts of this I can't see yet:
1) how to ensure everything is absolutely lined up properly when reassembling, so many layers and pieces to get right that build off one another.
2) having all these now bare exposed and sandblasted parts properly coated rust proof prior to welding, being able to weld them and somehow remaining rust proof after welding.
I'm aware of the weld through primers, I have to imagine there's something else more substantial that will go on here..?
3) curious what is going to happen with the rest of the truck build for this level of body restoration. Concours OEM, custom?

Waiting, watching and learning.
fully entertained, thank you

I was having similar thoughts/questions:

1. I was wondering the same thing! Obviously @kelly saad is extremely skilled, but yeah! How do you put Humpty Dumpty back together again?
2. I think we will learn about weld-through primer in this thread. It looks like Toyota saved a lot of money on primer when it came to building Pigs.
3. The rest of the Pig - look up @WarDamnEagle thread in the Pig section - it is fantastic!

 

[PabloCruise]

Im really excited about painting the underside of this though. I love it when the underneath of vehicles are painted nicely.

I do too!
It was funny to read that.
Thank you for taking the time to share all of these details with us.

 

[PabloCruise]

Another example of bare metal. This is a part that is located underneath where the rear gutter attaches over the back. It's mostly clean, bare metal about 4' long. This seems so crazy to me.

View attachment 4119314

Do you think Toyota was trying to save money on manufacturing?
Or do you think they just didn't know any better and thought it would be fine?

 

[numby]

Do you think Toyota was trying to save money on manufacturing?
Or do you think they just didn't know any better and thought it would be fine?

I doubt Toyota ever intended these vehicles to be around more than twenty years if used by average working blokes in demanding conditions. Maybe not even ten.

 

[kelly saad]

We have been going through the remaining rusted areas, removing all the small brackets and re installing them. I probably sound like a broken record but we are approaching the end of all that.

Today, I built a 55 body jig based off the accurate elevations and dimensions of the vehicles frame. It has nuts and fender washers welded to the top of each post to set the body on. They are small 1/4-20 nuts and fender washers. Bolts will be used on top to bolt the body down to the jig. It will be fine for what we need to do until it can be mounted to the rotisserie.

 

[kelly saad]

This is the front drivers floor and was rusted badly. I needed to fabricate a new section. It has these pressed lines which is a little tricky. This is bead roller time mostly.

 

[kelly saad]

It turned out nice.

 

[cruisermatt]

At the end what do you think the percentage of metal will be original vs new?

 

[kelly saad]

At the end what do you think the percentage of metal will be original vs new?

I haven't replaced that much area of the vehicles metal. Its been a million small pieces, and the normal rusty areas. I am replacing the entire door skins though, so thats a large percentage.

 

[WartHog73]

Every time I visit this thread, my heart rate goes up, and I find myself outside fluid filming my 55…

Meticulous work there Kelly…

 

[kelly saad]

Disassembly of all the firewall/underneath cowl area. All the brackets were rusted, just like everything else. The dash parts look clean though. You can see the vent removed here is not rusty. Also, the spot weld line where it goes into the dash/interior is clean also on the interior side. We will leave the dash alone.

We possibly discovered the only rust free place on a 55!!!! Wooohoo!

 

[kelly saad]

We almost have the floor parts ready to assemble onto the jig. I need to repair the front 2 floor sections still which will take some time. Repairing one small hole in a floor brace now.

 

[kelly saad]

This is done. Next.