BJ60 to HJ61 Body swap...the five year plan turned right now plan!

[PeeZed]

Hey guys,

So, as I posted before, my wife tested out the strength of our bushbar by inserting it into the back end of a service van. I know, that just sounds wrong...

Anyways, initially it looked like a slight crack on the bushbar and a severed engine mount as the extent of the damage.

Then we looked closer at the body...
- Rear seat completely dislodged itself from the fender well.
- Rear seat floor buckled like a valley.
- Half the body mounts are at an angle now, meaning half the body moved and the other half didn't.

This left me with either a crapload of cutting and stretching and pasting and welding and, well, it just may have driven me to drinking

Long story short, my body is done. No more camo body for us.

I picked up an HJ61 body from John @ RADD and will be doing a number of things to get it to work for our situation. It's on a rolling chassis, but only the body is mine. The rest goes back to John.

The plan is to cut out the firewall and dash from the RHD and replace it with my current LHD, allowing me to keep my VIN and LHD.

On the ups, I'll get a high roof body with very little rust (two spots on each inner rear fender well).

The plan at the moment is to gut the body, get some industrial paint, and go to town on the interior surfaces. That way, unlike the current Camo Rig, when I open a door it's not a different color inside! Also, it will seal everything up with a nice fresh coat of paint.

Obviously when we take off my old Camo body the frame will need some attention so we'll be cutting and welding and sandblasting and all that fun stuff so that in the end it might just be a fairly solid rig.

Anyways, here's a few things I could use feedback/suggestions/help with...

- Home paint job. Things to know. Products to use. I plan on using a Dulux industrial paint at this moment in time unless a better alternative emerges. I have a paint sprayer, access to a sandblaster, and a high ceiling shop.

- Homemade paint booth. What do I need to know? Better to buy a 10'x20' canopy or build one out of poly in my shop?

- Trailer and/or tow bar? Anyone have either that I can use to get it between my place and the shop?


Here's the new donor rig, now sitting at my place in Mesachie Lake (Pic was at RADD). I plan to do as much as possible on my site.

 

[PeeZed]

Out with the new and in with the old...right? Removed the electric windows and swapped in manuals. I like less things to go wrong.

 

[PeeZed]

Gutted the interior today. Carpets and seats will get a power carpet steam clean and we'll see how they turn out. Idea is to get this thing ready for some paint!

 

[JimJ]

Awesome, best of luck with your build and keep us posted...

 

[Sweatyforehead]

Please don't paint that majestic 60. The world needs more 80's retro vinyl

Btw, take a look at your fuel tank sender, It may or may have not been poached by a member of the club

 

[PeeZed]

Thanks Sweaty...I was planning on using as much of my existing truck when it comes to 12v stuff, and I'm assuming the fuel tank sender on the 61 would've been 24v? Not sure if my Camo 60 fuel tank will be a direct fit under the 61 but we'll see.

As far as the retro vinyl goes, sorry, but it's getting the heat gun treatment this week.

 

[seapotato]

As far as the retro vinyl goes, sorry, but it's getting the heat gun treatment this week.

There can be only one....

Same '80's vinyl my truck has. Your's might be in better shape tho. I'll probably give mine the peel too some day, and just repaint the bottom half of the two tone.

High roof is kinda cool, with a camping bed in the back, you actually have headroom to sit up, tho it does make roofracks a bit of a pain.

I've used "real" automotive paint a couple times, and I loathe the crap now...so I'm the wrong person to ask there....(Tremclad etc for me)

For a booth, you can knock up a hippy shack out of 2x4's and poly pretty quickly, and cheaply. Those "instant" garages kinda suck, and take just about as long to put together as a quick and dirty hippy shack, and if you try to use them outside they disintegrate in first wind storm or snowfall, and you're out 300 bucks, whereas, you can always use a few 2x4's for something later on.

For a trailer, there used to be a place called "ron's welding" not far from John's shop that rented a trailer for something like 30-40 bucks a day. Was on that little side road opposite McBarleys...Boal road I think it's called. Don't know if he still rents the trailer, but worth a call.

I've used it. I've seen scarier trailers...



Is there much 24v stuff left in the truck? If so, we might have to have a chat....

 

[GTSSportCoupe]

Peezed, you should talk to GSB15 about DIY painting. He's done some good DIY work even just with rattle cans.

You've got lots of work ahead of you, but it will turn into a pretty cool rig! Keep up the good work.

 

[Gsb15]

I've done a few paint jobs of differnt sorts. The rattle can jobs fit my patience level the best. Plus the fact that you can touch it up any time really helps with my bodywork procrastination habit.
If suggest keeping it simple, building a makeshift booth like Ryan talked about. I was pretty happy with the automotive paint jb downtown sold, they gave me a differnt mix ratio than it was listed with which helped a lot.
I would a avoid mettalic. F*** ups in the paint can be pretty forgiving, but the metal flakes won't.

Should be a cool truck when your done. High roof, sprung over, LHD 60..

 

[seapotato]

I have a little hvlp gun for spaying. ..my technique? Dump in paint, reducer and catalyst, shake it and spray. Works fine, but it's tremclad for me from here on out.

You can get a good easily touched up finish from tremclad. ..automotive paint is more trouble than its worth. Even if you use my ghetto methods

 

[PeeZed]

I have an actual commercial sprayer here at the camp and I was thinking of using the Dulux industrial paint, which is probably not automotive paint and not tremclad either...apparently it sticks real good.

I don't know what an hvlp gun is, but I may need to get that from you...but not for spaying, I have a male dog and he only has a canon anyways

 

[Gsb15]

Works fine, but it's tremclad for me from here on out.

You can get a good easily touched up finish from tremclad. ..automotive paint is more trouble than its worth. Even if you use my ghetto methods

Only probably I had with tremclad was it seemed to be picky about what it sticks too. It didn't like regular primer and started to have rock chips the size of loonies. That was sprayed by a "professional" too.

 

[cruiserpilot]

What is your trailer requirement? One trip only to take the 61 home? Can you remove the body right at Radd, then we can do
a beer pizza thing with 8 guys and then lift it onto a trailer to take home. I've moved a few bodies, some for good trucks,
some just disappeared.

Do you have a full flair kit? They are cool. If that steering wheel needs a new home
please let me know,

 

[PeeZed]

Hey guys,

Please PM me about any parts and pieces and I will try and work something out for you.

The fender flares are coming off. The body was missing the front fenders so we figured looking for flared fronts was going to be expensive so we chose to just remove the rears. After looking at some pics online with accented colors with the flares I was thinking about asking John what he'd want for them, but he did mention that they were not a cheap item. End of the day I need a good body, flares would be a sweet extra but not a necessity at this time.

It will essentially be as GSB said above, a BJ60 with a High Roof.

 

[bikersmurf]

Lots of fun and good times lay ahead... I did a similar project to an old Hondamatic many years back... less the RHD removal. Overall it should go smoothly... but your project will likely take longer than the 2.5 days mine did.

 

[PeeZed]

A bit of progress over the past week.

- Camping kit out.
- All windows out.
- Wiring harness back to firewall.
- Headliner out. Four wasp nests and rat poo so I'm glad that's gone. Wire wheeling the insulation from the ceiling sucked.
- Rust places exposed and wire wheeled.
- Gutters wire wheeled and ready for new sealant.

Places where rust will need "extensive" repairs:
- Rear Left outer fender flare, from top of arch to rear bottom.
- Both inner fender wells front of seat attachment.
- Both spots where rear seats touch the floor...about 1" hole.
- One hole where camping kit was welded to rear cargo floor.
- Both front window uppers in line with sides of front windshield.

It's ready to be lifted off the frame at this point.

I've also had a change in heart regarding paint choice. I'm probably going to go with the Home Hardware Primer/Base (2-in-1) as my friend recently did this and it turned out quite well.

Seapotato made a good point in that touchups are more difficult with a more "professional" job. After looking at a drying time of 7 days for some "professional" products, I figured that was simply not worth it.

Also, sorry Sweaty, but the stickers are gone. I found indirect heat worked best in case you're considering this "upgrade" for yourself some day

 

[GTSSportCoupe]

Nice work PeeZed! Keep the momentum!

 

[JimJ]

There can be only one....

Same '80's vinyl my truck has. Your's might be in better shape tho. I'll probably give mine the peel too some day, and just repaint the bottom half of the two tone.

High roof is kinda cool, with a camping bed in the back, you actually have headroom to sit up, tho it does make roofracks a bit of a pain.

I've used "real" automotive paint a couple times, and I loathe the crap now...so I'm the wrong person to ask there....(Tremclad etc for me)

For a booth, you can knock up a hippy shack out of 2x4's and poly pretty quickly, and cheaply. Those "instant" garages kinda suck, and take just about as long to put together as a quick and dirty hippy shack, and if you try to use them outside they disintegrate in first wind storm or snowfall, and you're out 300 bucks, whereas, you can always use a few 2x4's for something later on.

For a trailer, there used to be a place called "ron's welding" not far from John's shop that rented a trailer for something like 30-40 bucks a day. Was on that little side road opposite McBarleys...Boal road I think it's called. Don't know if he still rents the trailer, but worth a call.

I've used it. I've seen scarier trailers...



Is there much 24v stuff left in the truck? If so, we might have to have a chat....

You nailed it Ryan! We used single stage Marine paints before and added a UV protector to the paint, tough as nails, looked great and lasted forever for cheap cheap

 

[JimJ]

Here are some brands that are great; CETOL MARINE, Endura Marine, Rust-Oleum Marine, all are very scratch resistant.

 

[PeeZed]

Thanks JimJ. I picked a gallon of this up today. Seems pretty legit. I'll throw some on a few interior pieces to see how I like it. Color is a dark grey. You can see the color on the top of the can which is super tiny

Also did a bit of media sanding today at RADD. Seat brackets and rear hatch latches and stuff. Just threw some rust prevention primer on them and will blast them with a black epoxy rattle can later on tonight.