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

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

To avoid that you could practice on our 40s... exposure therapy... to get over your allergy :D
 
Thanks Toshi & Biker...my hope is that I'm on your side of the comments for the "next one"!!! :slap:

Cruiserpilot...it would be great to have your input. Maybe I'll call you after I remove my starter so everything is safe ;)

Cheers!
 
It would be fun, actually touched down in Honolulu yesterday after a 8 hr 42 min crossing in my plane.
Looks like I'm 'stuck' here until mid January. :p
 
A bit of progress happening as I took the rest of this week off.

1. I got my old Camo rig back today with new engine mounts so I'm eager to start ripping it apart! But first...

2. Seam sealed top to bottom (except underneath...still need to clean that and undercoat it).
- Gutters (simple, yet not simple...)
- Floors
- Fender Wells
- Patch/weld jobs
- Other places...

3. Sprayed inner rear fenders with some asphalt spray stuff...looks black...we'll see how that holds up.

4. Started installing the GT Mat sound dampener. Takes just a bit of time! Floor is done today. Ceiling, doors and quarters tomorrow (hopefully). I used up the entire 6 whole linear feet of Dynamat tape (competitor's tape in their kit...hmmmm...), so I went on to using foil tape for the rest, which was a lot. Oh, and I bashed out all the OEM floor dampener stuff. I figured if I could tap it with a hammer and have it start flying then it was time to say bye-bye. So now when I go through a river and water gets inside my cab, I know where it wont be exiting from!

IMG_3146_1.jpg


IMG_3149.jpg


IMG_3155_1.jpg


IMG_3171.jpg


IMG_3158.jpg


IMG_3175.jpg


IMG_3166.jpg


IMG_3165.jpg
 
Un freakin real. Looks great. Its going to be so nice and quiet with the lack of holes (Dynamat will help too).

Rear passengers won't need rain gear inside the truck.

Check those 1/4 panels once and a while for water in the bottom..... I ended up drilling a small hole to let the bloody stuff out, itll get in there somehow, at least mine did. Could have been all the water crossings. :meh:
 
Little bit more accomplished today...

1. Slapped some primer on the lower tailgate repair (bottom 3"). Will need to sand and bondo a couple areas before it's ready for real paint.

2. Removed a few brackets, cleaned them up and sprayed them with some black. Not sure how that will look in the end with black brackets, but I think they will "pop" a bit with the grey paint in the end. We'll see.

3. Took every single screw/bolt out that is inside the cab or holding a door or WHY, put each one through a thread repair and reinstalled with anti-seize. The thread repair tool is NOT a cutting tool, but simply removes any rust or nicks on the threads. Let's just say each bolt threaded in by hand after I was done. Bam!

4. Removed the rear quarter panel uprights in anticipation of building storage access panels similar to Wagongear's. Figured I already had the spot weld drill out, so out they came...pop. Really nice and open without those "braces."

5. Finished the GT Mat on the ceiling. Much easier than the floor because there are not the rolling divets. However, gravity sometimes didn't like it as I'm working in the cold so a bit of heat and things seemed to hold. Lots of seam tape pretties things up too.

6. Seam sealed the rear inner quarters where I fabbed new outer fenders and did the rear quarter chop. Still left the bottoms open with a few holes so as to allow moisture to escape.

7. Removed the roof support and cleaned it up. Made it easier to install GT Mat too. Gonna paint it black as well...why not. Probably won't even see it in the end anyways as I have an idea brewing...mwuahahahahaaaaahhhhh...phlem.

8. And I fished an orange pull string into the front and rear pillars for when I have to yank my original wiring harness back into this beauty.

PS: I will be removing the camo body fairly soon. I will keep every part that I think is salvageable and will list them on here once I get it all organized. If anyone is needing any specific 60 series body stuff, let me know. Off hand I know the rear seat will be available as the new body has a different style already, and the OEM roof racks & Thule high mount racks will likely be available too.

Cheers!


IMG_3191_1.jpg


IMG_3190.jpg


IMG_3189.jpg


IMG_3187_1.jpg


IMG_3186.jpg


IMG_3185_1.jpg


IMG_3184.jpg


IMG_3183.jpg


IMG_3180.jpg


IMG_3178.jpg


IMG_3177_1.jpg


IMG_3188.jpg
 
Great work...:beer::beer:



How does that grinder last with one battery?
 
Thanks guys!

Diesel Cruiserman, compared to my 18v Makita Nicad, these Milwaukee 18v lithium batteries are amazing. It also depends on what you're using it for, obviously. The Milwaukee's are my personal tools and the camp has old Dewalt Nicad, so I finally got fed up with going between cutting wheels and flap disks so I'm using both now. I will say, however, that although the power and longevity of the new Milwaukee is very good, I've had a few warranty issues with a number of the tools, which is lame but they always get fixed or replaced so it's only slightly annoying. My old Makita Nicad kit lasted almost ten years with only one warranty on the 3rd gear of the drill. I just really like the versatility of the Milwaukee lineup so I'm building both my 12v & 18v kits. I buy them from Adam's Tarp & Tool as they always give the best deal and have good service.
 
Getting closer...

1. Ground down the spot welds on the firewall to make way for the Camo rig firewall (hopefully next week)

2. Last piece of fabrication and welding on the body at the rear inner rail of the fender.

3. First coat of bondo, sanded, and 2nd coat of bondo to cure overnight. Sand it out tomorrow and then start scotch brite (green scrubbie?) the entire body for adhesion purposes. I also bought a gallon of commercial degreaser for cleaning the entire body just before painting it.

IMG_3211_1.jpg


IMG_3212_1.jpg


IMG_3214.jpg


IMG_3221_1.jpg


IMG_3215_1.jpg


IMG_3219_1.jpg


IMG_3220_2.jpg


IMG_3218_1.jpg


IMG_3217_2.jpg
 
As per rear quarter drains....

I welded the angle piece from the outside edge directly to the few points where the inner is "waffled." Thus, there may be too many "holes" at this point as I haven't dealt with it outside of welding it where the two meet. As I'm hoping to build storage compartment panels for the rear quarters, I was also thinking of using some type of expanded metal as a base inside the quarter so things don't fall all the way to the bottom, giving me a few inches of clearance between the base and where the holes are at the bottom. This would also help if I did a water crossing and some water got into the rear quarter, potentially saving things from getting wet and still allowing sufficient drainage.

I'm not certain as to the actual strength of the bottom of the quarters since the welds are only in a few places. I guess I'll see once I've articulated it a few times to see if the welds will hold or if things will bend/break.

Thanks for the concern...I really appreciate the suggestions and reminders as I'm a total newb at this stuff and really flying by the seat of my pants (and google/IH8MUD vids/threads)!
 
We sold a pretty cool perforated sheet metal in a decent gauge, not a fan of expanded, sharp and nasty to work with.

Dolly and hammer the high spots, then use kitty hair which is not so moisture sensitive.

Build a rear quarter rock slider to protect all your nice work.:bounce::bounce::popcorn:
 
Last edited:
Did a bunch of tedious work tonight.
- Found a small rust bubble at the edge of the rear upper hatch window rail, so I pulled the window out and found about 10 spots of rust. Cleaned them up and blasted them with Rust Converter. Should be good in the morning. No actual holes so that was reassuring.
- Taped up the doors in anticipation for painting! Removed the handles and exterior lock cylinders for better paint coverage.

IMG_3238.jpg



IMG_3239.jpg



IMG_3240.jpg



IMG_3242.jpg
 
Hey, think about the chrome around the windows before you paint. I kind of wished I'd removed mine when I painted it. I also am not
too sure why I masked the inner door panels either, for the 10 min it takes to scuff and paint them since you have gutted the doors anyhow.
I'm not being critical, just the one of many areas of regret when I did mine. When you replace the rear windows, and or front window and the chrome is buggered and you remove it, then the chrome around the doors can kind of look out of place. It is just something to think about, the chrome looks great but I think the window chrome can be removed if you are careful and that area repainted. Then the option remains when complete. The window sweepers aren't that hard to remove and reinstall, just take your time. In the end, you will appreciate the time taken.
I wish I was there, I really enjoyed this part of the process.
The dash is the other area I didn't paint and scuff, but I had a schedule to contend with, as I wasn't in my own shop.
Looking good though, keep it coming, :cheers: J
 
Thanks Cruiserpilot,

Yeah, I'm struggling with the whole color matching trim thing too...

My reason for masking inner doors is because (1) the black sticky stuff that I don't want to spend time removing, (2) they never get seen, and (3) I don't want to waste paint. But I see your point and you've got me thinking...

I've ordered window "welting" from Wagongear for all the windows that pop out (front, rear, sides), but the door windows still have the chrome. This means that some will be "blacked out" and others wont...hmmmmmm...

Attached is a pic of a very similar rig than mine and he blacked everything out and I think it looks kind of weird between the front door windows and the rear side window...it just doesn't flow well, and perhaps leaving the chrome would even look worse? It looks like the rear upper quarter got a paint job and the upper doors/windows got left out.

Are you suggesting that instead of blacking out the window trim like the picture below, that I paint the black/chrome on the windows the same color as the truck? Or perhaps I do black out the windows but the middle post between the windows I paint the same as the truck to break up the space a bit...?

hj61 7.webp
 
Last edited:
For me, painted door posts looks best.
Right now, the chrome is around the door windows, but not the rear windows as that
chrome didn't survive removal when I took the windows out to paint the body. Truth be known, I assumed the chrome trim would
be replaceable, oops. I will be redoing the back window soon to re-tint, and I'll remove it to do that. I don't know about the chrome,
but I'll either remove or paint it.
I also am working slowly on factory sliders for the rear sides, and they are to be painted, and I'd think it will be same colour as the truck.
Blacking out has a good look to a certain degree, but I think it gets over done.
My bumpers are a dark grey, and future plans of installing the flares will be painted same as truck colour as well.
Sure can't knock the looks of that truck you pictured, it's a fantastic looking rig and it looks like it all belongs together.
The guy really made it look 'complete'.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom