BJ60 Restoration/Rejuvenation

[MarkBC]

I just filled the holes with weld. A few times I was burning through and chasing the hole but 32 holes gave me lots of chance to figure out the settings and technique. I recall that you should start on the close side of the hole, not the far side since the wire then breaks and you get problems. Something like that.

 

[KlickitatPhil]

@GarrettS Your BJ looks like a fun project. The previous owner was rather industrious with the chalkboard paint job! I'd say fill the holes with weld and then do all the other fillers and sealers on top of that. Sure, you could just seal them with bodge paste and it'd be watertight, but not for as many years as it would be if you filled the holes with weld first.

There's definitely some water getting in around my roof rack area, not good. Luckily it's not parked where it can get rained on. Perhaps some clear silicone around the rack will help me kick the can down the road a bit. The rack has been great for hauling my kayak around this summer, although I worry about the 1" crossbars' strength on big bumps sometimes.

Have you considered finding a factory roof rack to put in those holes? Jonas@barnyardcruisers.com might have one.

 

[GarrettS]

@KlickitatPhil

Thanks!
I think you all are right about welding the holes shut—do right, do once…

I have considered trying to source an OEM rack, but I have been using a gutter mount crossbar system for white water kayaks, a roof box, roof basket, etc.

My reservation is that because it is mounted directly to the sheet metal of the roof, I get the sense that the OEM roof rack is not up to snuff for heavier loads and abuse.

I think the OEM rack looks awesome, though.

 

[LazarusTaxa]

I dont believe that's an OEM rack. I dont think Toyota ever offered a factory rack in North America. Instead, many dealers would add them before selling the car, so they are fairly common and lead many to believe they are from Mr. T.

 

[MarkBC]

I dont believe that's an OEM rack. I dont think Toyota ever offered a factory rack in North America. Instead, many dealers would add them before selling the car, so they are fairly common and lead many to believe they are from Mr. T.

You may be right. I thought it was Toyota because there are so many in Canada, but the mounting rivnuts through sheet metal seemed so hokey it had me questioning.

 

[GarrettS]

You may be right. I thought it was Toyota because there are so many in Canada, but the mounting rivnuts through sheet metal seemed so hokey it had me questioning.

No proof of course, but I think it may be an OEM option, or at the very least, a dealer–added option with OEM parts.

I think the rack was an afterthought either way, though.
Maybe Toyota added it as an option for certain markets as a competitive option?

I think this because My truck does not have nutserts or rivnuts or anything overly cheap. there’s actually a backing plate for each ‘foot’ of the rack. The backing plate has welded-in-place nuts.

I’m not sure a dealer would be able to craft the plates and install this on their own.
(I’m not a dealer hater but I don’t hold them in the highest regard.)
I think they could drill holes and install nutserts, but they probably would not do something like this—would be a lot of work for a dealer markup.

It would require pulling all the rear side glass and all trim to the back hatch, removing the headliner at least halfway, installing the plates, welding in place, etc.

This would all be a lot easier before the headliner and glass is installed at the factory…

I’ll be sure to get pictures of my roof before I put the new headliner in. I can’t access it currently due to already masking the windows and doors.

Anyone know anyone we can ask who was assembling land cruisers in the 80’s?

 

[georgebj60]

That roof rack was factory. All 60's in Canada came with a rack as far as I know. I have one that I took off my '87 HJ60. And they are very well built/installed with plates and welded nuts. I have an '84 FJ60 that I brought up from Oregon, with no rack. I haven't removed the headliner, but I always wondered if the plates and nuts were there, and just not drilled through the roof sheet metal. If they are, I might consider adding the rack from my '87 to the '84.
Here's something to scare you:

 

[MarkBC]

Mine didn't have those plates, it only had aluminum nutsert things. Mine is '81, maybe that's why.

 

[LazarusTaxa]

Oh yeah, I'm wrong then.. All the racks down here were literally just screwed on with sheet metal screws. Garbage

 

[KlickitatPhil]

Here's a Canada rack with a 13.5' boat on top. I no longer run the leader line and now use 2" wide rewinding ratchet straps from Power-Tye that are excellent.

 

[GarrettS]

Welding the roof holes was pretty straightforward.

I made a dummy mistake, though.
Even though my headliner is removed, I did not remove all of the headliner foam on the roof, so I set the foam on fire two times…

The first time was because I didn’t remove any foam, and the second time I figured I removed enough foam to be safe, but it still caught fire from the heat.

Scary!!

 

[GarrettS]

Slow progress, but progress all the same..

Did some rust repair where the tailgate hinges bolt to the body. The darker grey squares are welded in patches:

Finally I’m on to shaping imperfections in the body panels:

Lessons are being learned—applying body filler is actually a bit trickier than I expected.
I also went too heavy on the first row and a half, so I’ve created my own dusty sanding hell

You can see on the lower part of the second row where I messed up the application. A half moon chunk of filler flaked off


I’m using durablock and 3M sandpaper. Mostly using a longboard but started using the round block and will use the elongated tear drop for the raised roof ‘rails’ or whatever they are called.

It’s tough and dusty work, but it’s not nearly as bad as the paint stripping process.

 

[GarrettS]

Not much to update on today, but I purchased some new things for the truck that are exciting me.

First is not as exciting—I ordered some FeatherFill polyester primer to use for blocking since trying to skim coat a whole car with body filler is a terrible idea. I would prefer to finish painting the car while I’m still in my 20s….

Second is more exciting, Joey @Cruiser Corps is getting me set up with a new radiator support.

Mine is pictured first, the replacement is second:

Lastly, I recently picked up a Borg Warner K16 Turbo for $80 from a guy that works at a diesel equipment shop—only has 40 hours on it and it has a wastegate! (These are commonly on older euro cars such as Volvos)

My truck has almost 500,000 Kms on it, so I’ll probably be needing that spare engine in the next couple of years

Until next time…

 

[GarrettS]

I got the first bit of primer down last night just in time for the cold that starts next week. I used the Eastwood epoxy primer and it seems to be pretty good for the price. No complaints here.

This is my first time ever using an HVLP set up to paint, and lessons are being learned. I already feel better about the next time I get out there to paint—I’ll have a game plan and some tricks to help me get everything done better.

I had a pretty bad run on the corner above the taillight area:

Here’s my gun setup:
Devilbiss FLG-4 and dekups disposable system.
I like the dekups so far. I had one cup set up with thinner which made cleaning a breeze at the end of the night.

Next up is sanding and then featherfill. I bought a cheap TCP 2.5mm tip hvlp gun on Amazon so I don’t have to thin the featherfill.

Cheers!

 

[KlickitatPhil]

Awesome job! After a summer of hauling a boat on my Canada rack, I'm thinking that it needs to go. The rack purchases on the roof are fine, but I've managed to flatten the crossbars with the load of my boat and too much tension on the fastening straps.

 

[Gimme a 60]

I just discovered this amazing thread. Whats the news on the truck? is it up and running?

 

[GarrettS]

I just discovered this amazing thread. Whats the news on the truck? is it up and running?

Hah! I wish

I haven’t worked on it since the last post from October. It got cold around here overnight, and I don’t have the best garage heating system. Plus the skiing is starting to get good.

I did locate a replacement tailgate that’s in better shape than mine, so that’s a win, at least.

Next steps are to get the doors, hood, tailgate and hatch sandblasted, but My girlfriend is unemployed right now so i don’t have a lot of liquid income

 

[GarrettS]

Well it’s been a helluva year for me, but there’s been very little movement with the project.

My unemployed girlfriend is now an employed fiancée… Score!!

Got some parts…
Fender and headlight bezels from Georg at Valley Hybrids @orangefj45 :

ARB bumper from @7toy9

Thanks for the parts—guys!!

 

[GarrettS]

I finally got all my panels sandblasted and learned I still have a decent bit of metal work to do on most of the panels.

I Did some surgery to combine two good halves of a fender to make one whole good fender. Welding sheet metal is tough for this hack. I did what I call a “super good enough” job, and I’ll be relying on my old friend Evercoat to help me through the rest.

I can once again Thank Georg for one of the half-fenders—you’re the man!!

 

[Gimme a 60]

Awesome. Keep us updated!