Builds A Restoration Gone Wrong

[WRNG Lifestyle]

Thanks to everyone! Really appreciate the kind words

Already looking forward to how everything turns out in the end, let's get this done.

 

[WRNG Lifestyle]

Back with a fresh update!

Let’s start with a comparison that really shows the scale of the rot I’m dealing with: 
I finally laid the outer (old) C-channel next to my template, and wow—it's completely gone. You can now really see the true length of the replacement section. The old piece is basically just rust held together by memories.

Today’s Progress – Left Side Complete
Fishplate installed – same as on the right side, it serves as a strengthening part. Again, it's longer than the channel itself for real support, not just thickness.
 Outer C + inner channel are in – took the same slow approach and measured everything like 1000 times.

But here’s the kicker:

While mounting the body mounts to align the new section properly, I noticed one mount had twisted. Turns out, the frame was welded so hot by the previous “restorer” that it literally warped the body mount. Just another sign of the total lack of care that went into the last job.
Luckily, I’ve got three other frames here to pull correct measurements from, but this one continues to be a complete mystery box.

What’s Next?
* Up next: the bent sections that lead to the shock tube.
* After that: time to fit the crossmember—but before that, both sides of the frame need to be aligned perfectly. The old crossmember was so abused during the last “install” that I had to cut extra material just to get it out. They basically just hammered it in and welded wherever it stuck.

Wish me luck,
I’ll be back soon with the next update!

BR,

Wrenching

 

[WRNG Lifestyle]

Back again with more HJ60 frame fun (or pain, depending on how you look at it ).

I tackled the bent inner channel sections that lead up to the shock tube—basically the next weak point in this never-ending frame saga. As expected, the old metal here was rusted to absolute hell, and someone had “solved” that by just welding in all sorts of random scrap metal.

As usual, the left side turned out to be a complete sheet metal disaster. While grinding off the welded-on garbage to use the remains as a template, I ran into a major issue. Let’s just say: BIG problem. Full structural mess. Nothing lined up. Not even close to symmetrical. The frame was so hacked up on that side, there was no clean reference left to work from. (There was even bondo on it where the shock tube sits, you can see it slightly on the photo). The good thing is the right side sits just perfect.

Luckily, I’ve got three other 60 Series frames here for measurement, so I was able to get reliable data to work with. I’ve started building the new bent section, taking extra care to match it up exactly. Of course, I added a fishplate to it again, just for safety and strength. With the fishplate, this section now has 0.8 cm total thickness, which should take a solid beating.

 

[WRNG Lifestyle]

Hey guys, hope you’re all doing

Time for another update on the HJ60 frame rebuild. This time we focused on the bent sections leading up to the shock tube—both left and right sides. We started off by making proper templates for each side. As usual, the right side went pretty smoothly, but of course, the left side continues to fight us every step of the way.

After measuring everything multiple times (paranoia level: high), we finally welded in the inner channels left and right. Total weld time was about 30 minutes, but with all the cooldown phases to avoid heat distortion, the whole process stretched to around 3–4 hours. Worth it though—fitment is spot on.

Once that was done, it was time for the crossmember… and wow, I have to say: this thing was seriously abused. When we cut it out, we discovered a ton of sheet metal just slapped behind it, clearly an attempt to cover up the completely rusted-out left inner channel. No surprise at this point, but still wild to see how far someone went to hide it.

The result? The crossmember is way out of alignment, so that’s the next issue on our list to fix. After that, the only thing left to do is the rear right C-channel over the spring hangar—and we’re finally done with the structural part.

Appreciate everyone who’s been following this ride. More updates coming soon!

BR,
WRENCHING

 

[Rabrownmkiv]

This thread is awesome! Love seeing a truck getting repaired the right way and getting back on the road. There are trucks here in the states that get parted and scrapped with less frame damage than that.

 

[Beams37]

Well done dude. You are a far better man than I am. LOL

 

[88Retired62]

At the risk of offending the site police…I’d just like to also say…”You got balls”!
Well done, preplanned and thought-out frame restoration. Enjoying your pictorial rehabilitation!

 

[WRNG Lifestyle]

Really appreciate it! Doing my best here. Unfortunately almost all frames here in Austria look like this (especially early ones).

Definitely looking forward seeing this one back on the road, but before that we still have a lot of work left to do.

 

[WRNG Lifestyle]

Hey guys, hope you’re all doing well!

Quick update on the HJ60 project—the previously abused crossmember is now fully fixed and back in place. After all the patchwork that was hiding behind it, it’s a huge relief to finally have it mounted perfectly in position. Super happy with the fitment—it finally looks and feels right.

Next up was removing the infamous “elephant foot”—aka the leftover rear C-channels that were never properly taken out. It put up a bit of a fight on the right side, but the left side came out surprisingly smooth. We drilled out the remaining factory rivets and cleaned up the area. It’s been a long time coming, but the rear section is finally cleared and ready.

At this point, the only things left are to bring the frame back to the sandblaster for a final round—this time the entire thing—and then we’ll move on to installing a new shock tube and a brand new rear crossmember. That’ll fully close out the structural part of the rebuild.

I also documented everything in my latest YouTube Video. It’s nothing fancy, just me trying to share the progress in a more detailed way in case it helps someone doing something similar. Appreciate any feedback if you do check it out!



Thanks again for following the build—getting close to the finish line now!



BR,

WRENCHING

 

[Greek Cruiserhead]

Mensch! definitely following your awsome YouTube channel!
Keep up the good work!

PS. Trying to repair a BJ45 frame at a professional welder in Greece now.

 

[WRNG Lifestyle]

Mensch! definately following your awsome YouTube channel!
Keep up the good work!

PS. Trying to repair a BJ45 frame at a professional welder in Greece now.

Thank you very much!

Nice to hear! Keep it up

 

[franklin40]

strong work. have you considered getting it galvanized once you’ve finished welding? i ask because i had a frame that had some repairs before i owned it. moisture was able to get between the layers of metal and rotted it out in short time. dipping the frame will get zinc into all the areas moisture will get into but prevent it from rusting out. especially after all the time and work you’ve put in. plus it’s only like $500

 

[WRNG Lifestyle]

strong work. have you considered getting it galvanized once you’ve finished welding? i ask because i had a frame that had some repairs before i owned it. moisture was able to get between the layers of metal and rotted it out in short time. dipping the frame will get zinc into all the areas moisture will get into but prevent it from rusting out. especially after all the time and work you’ve put in. plus it’s only like $500

Yep that can happen if there isn't anything to protect the weld.

On this built we are going with a full on cavity wax diat. (Filling it until there is no space left haha). Also there is rust protection on every welded piece.
For a full on restoration I would go with putting into a zinc bath. But the truth is this is a built for a daily. On top of that here in Austria there are not a lot of companies doing that.

The problem is you need to completely sand blast it before putting it into the zinc bath. Sand blasting and then zinc bathing it costs around 3500 - 4000 € here. So where do you stop this built? On top of that there is the engine (and yeah also here were some nice discoveries made ).

There is a point where you have to decide is it enough your are going to invest another few thousands euro.

 

[franklin40]

totally. those are fair points. i had acid dipped then straight into the zinc. it was cheap and theres a fair amount of winter salt/moisture i felt it was a good investment but i see your point for the cost!

what you’ve done will last 50 years anyway so it may be someone else’s problem by then!! good work none the less!!

 

[WartHog73]

Skills like Hephaestus!

 

[WRNG Lifestyle]

totally. those are fair points. i had acid dipped then straight into the zinc. bro g it was cheap and theres a fair amount of winter salt/moisture i felt it was a good investment but i see your point for the cost!

what you’ve done will last 50 years anyway so it may be someone else’s problem by then!! good work none the less!!

The good thing is, the next project is going to be just like that

A really appreciate the kind words!

 

[WRNG Lifestyle]

Skills like Hephaestus!

Ngl. I love that!

 

[WRNG Lifestyle]

Hey everyone,
Hope you're all doing well! Time for another update on the HJ60—and this time, it’s engine time.

We finally got the 2H onto the engine stand, and I was honestly excited to dig in. I really hoped this would be the one part of the build where I’d catch a break. After all, the truck only did about 200 km since its so-called "restoration"—so surely the engine was at least somewhat taken care of, right?

Yeah… no.
Let’s start from the top. I pulled the thermostat housing just to have a look—figured I’d see a fresh thermostat in there since it’s one of the cheapest and easiest things to replace. But what did I find?
A crusty, ancient thermostat that’s probably seen more highways than I have.

That moment set the tone. I moved on to the water pump housing… and yep, it only got worse. Pulled the water pump, and it looked like it had been through decades of corrosion. Rusted to hell. The housing itself? Straight-up horror show. This thing has clearly not been touched in years.

But wait—there’s more.
I pulled the side covers off the engine because I already had a gut feeling something would be lurking under there. And sure enough:
Someone actually sealed the second freeze plug. Like—sealed it. I guess they couldn’t get it out, so they just... gave up? I’m almost certain these are still the original plugs from factory.

So yeah… from the outside, this might’ve looked like a restored engine, but inside? It’s just another chapter of a Restoration Gone Wrong.
I’ll keep digging and keep updating, but at this point I’m mentally preparing for the worst across the board.

Appreciate you all following along—this one's gonna be a full-on rescue mission all the way down to the crank.

 

[Lucky1386]

That's rough!

 

[WRNG Lifestyle]

That's rough!

Yes it is haha