Builds 81 bj42 build..... trusty rusty

[Ambrew]

Hey Kevin,
I was having a hard time despite my best efforts to keep dust out of the paint. I tried twice but had to sand and start over.

I finally gave up and brought my tub to Majestic Auto south of town. They have a cheaper shop rate and a spray booth. The only thing is I asked for single stage urethane but the paint tech could only find the color I wanted in base/clear. So he shot the thing in base/clear. I was quite upset but am now over it and will enjoy my shiny cruiser.

There is a guy who advetises on kijiji, says he's retired body tech and works out of his home... he might be a choice as well. I'm finding that despite my best intentions, paint is a bitch.

To answer your question, no wet sanding was needed. It's pretty shiny as is.... And yes, that's teh seam sealer I want to use for the roof. I'll let you know when I'll need it.

If you can get the inside to a point that you're happy, I'd suggest getting it painted once it's all together, with no glass or outside stuff attached. It's the best way to get a nice paint job. It will probably be the cheapest as well since they wont be spending time on all the interior/no visible stuff.

 

[kcustom73]

Andy, after doing some research I think I've figured out the issue with the paint. What I'm seeing might not be swirl marks but scratches from the wet sand. Going to go to a finer sand paper and see what happens. Keep your fingers crossed.

 

[Ambrew]

OK, good luck!

 

[Ambrew]

I found another soft spot beneath the hinge of the windshield frame. I thought I was done, but sandblasting proved me wrong.

On to the rear doors. It's amazing what hides under the window seals. The tight radius of this corner proved difficult..

And the side panels. I was thinking they would need little or nothing. HA! so much for that. spent a day on this one, but the other side aint as bad.

I had to do 2 small patches in 22ga on the lower corner window, the lower and top rear "pillar" needed love and the PO had sleeved 4 holes along the top for a roof rack. I just filled those with weld.

 

[Rummy]

Hey Buddy,

I see you've been busy! I spotted a nice new angle grinder in one of your pic's! Looks like the windshield needed more work then expected.

Keep up the good work. You will be done before you know it!!!!

Cheers

 

[Ambrew]

Yeah, it's suprise after suprise. gotta learn to be calm and patient, since I kinda want to drive it NOW NOW NOW!!!!!

Got this today, all for 60$

 

[Ambrew]

Got all the sheetmetal off to paint today. Holy $$$! I'm feeling the pinch on this one, but I'm hopefull that having a nice 42 to drive in this summer will help cure that.

so:

typical rot:

the ccot patches didnt line up correctly on the inside. the outside was less than 1/16" too wide, so acceptable.

"rust paint" before final assembly.

Massaging the corners

Journey of a million tacks

I didnt get a pic of the finished corners, but they a decent. not quite "show car" but then again, a land cruiser isnt built for show.

the top valence between the roof and windshield frame

Off to paint!



As it turns out, the PO did a quick fix and replaced the vacuum reservoir with one of a 6x or 7x series. Much smaller.... So, I'm now on the hunt for a vacuum reservoir and bracket if anyone has some spare parts....

 

[kcustom73]

Nice work on the doors. I guess where both on the warpath to get are 40's on the road by summer. Putting the engine back in this weekend.

 

[Toshi38]

I seem to remember this guy selling some really nice reproduction units.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/merchandise-storefront/373024-40-series-misc-metal-fabrication.html

For me I'm planning to use an old fire extinguisher that I emptied out... but I'm cheap and not looking for stock.

 

[Ambrew]

I dont think he is producing parts at this time. my only find so far is from $pecter, so we'll see.

 

[Ambrew]

I've been putzing away at it, one part at a time. As for the seats, I purchased the ccot covers from another mud member at a reasonable price. Thing is, these covers are, in my opinion, nowhere near a good fit. The dimensions were off in several places, making them unsuable except to to a basic job of covering the foam. So, I found an apholsterer that was willing to work with them and 500$ later, I have decent seats. Having know then.... I would have just had them done. The extra few hundred bucks would be worth it.

Also sanded and painted the roll bar. I found a rattle can that was pretty damm close. Seems like none of the paint stores in town could get any closer but would charge more...

Other than that, started hanging the panels. Pant looks great, but the driver fender had to come off since they missed a spot.

 

[Ambrew]

BTW wheels and tires are for sale in May, if anyone is interested.

 

[kcustom73]

Glad to see things still moving along. I've burnt out working on mine and need to take a break...

 

[Chamba]

I figure that's what they were for, but wonder if it came from the factory with those?

Just realised no-one answered this yet (and you have probably figured it out by now) but no, they are not factory.

This thing is really coming along great! What colour code did you go with? I'm sure you mentioned it somewhere but I missed it in my scanning/admiration of your metal work.

 

[Ambrew]

Glad to see things still moving along. I've burnt out working on mine and need to take a break...

I totally feel your pain. To tell you the truth, I'm overwhelmed by the minute details. trying to get it all to look right is a challenge i hadn't forseen to be this big.

As for the color, it's toyota 113 heath gray in bc/cc. I have no clue how close it is to the real thing, but it's RM's Onyx paint system's version from basf. So far, I have see 4-5 versions of heath gray from various places and it can be quite different.

 

[Chamba]

Nice colour.

 

[Ambrew]

Thanks, I tend to agree!

 

[Ambrew]

Sprayed the raptor liner today. Took the better part of 10 hours with prep. work. I put it on thick since it's for the wheel wells and inner fenders. we'll see how it holds up.

The guys at the paint shop gave me extra black tint so I could mix it as close as possible. All the paint chips for 113 heath gray are slightly different. I'm happy with the color so far.

 

[Diesel Cruiserman]

Like the colour match liner, 12 years ago I was doing this as I did not like the black box liner look, really prefere this look..

When I would shoot it I would try for the flatter look, usually lower pressure would achieve this result.

Rob Lassman

 

[Ambrew]

Lesson of the day: do not press down hard on the corner while installing a windshield.