Discovered skin cancer, need advice please (1 Viewer)

[Clubtroy]

I'm in the middle of my frame off Restoration and finally found a bad spot on the tub. In a bad place for repair and I would like to hear from those experienced with body work. Can a good body guy take care of this metal fab easily or should I try to find that section of the top edge rail on here from a part out? This surprise was a real buzz kill! My dad coated the whole thing in bed liner 20 years ago which protected it but the shed at the deer lease obviously had a leak we didn't know about. Please offer your thoughts so I know what direction to head. I can do basic body panel welding but not around a bend and a fold like this...
Thanks!

 

[Pura Vida]

Metal work is relatively easy to do, it’s just a little time consuming, and that’s why body shops make so much money. Do it yourself and save some money. Try to find as much rust as possible, and weld in some patches. Ideally, you want metal to be there and not body filler. A lot of land cruiser websites sell metal patches for that area.

 

[1FastBimmer]

I just redid both sides of my tub top that were rusted through under the original hard top sides, very time consuming because of the angles. Also my first time doing body work. Take your time and have a good welder and angle grinder. It’s a great learning experience.

 

[Mark Jennings]

Did the PO rhino coat the entire rig.

 

[zerotreedelta]

Provided you're planning on running the hardtop, that's actually a good place to start learning - it's not super visible. The pinch and bend there isn't too bad either - I managed to make do on mine just using an old pair of discarded chipper blades and a hammer, 18ga is quite malleable. I had to do the inverse (the hardtop flanges and radius), and it was almost easier than the fiddly ambulance door bottoms IMHO. You can see a bit of the metalwork in the thread/vids in my sig to get an idea.

The bedliner is going to make for a bit of fun, though - what's the plan there? Keeping it that way, or stripping that off?

 

[Clubtroy]

Did the PO rhino coat the entire rig.

The PO is my father but yes. He bought the cruiser in 77 and rolled on the bed liner around 92. Getting it off is no easy task!

 

[DangerNoodle]

I can almost guarantee there will be more stuff hiding under that liner. I'm not sure what Pura Vida is going on about that being an easy area to work on, the curve, angles, and layers all make the area a bit of a pain to look nice. I haven't seen any replacement panels for that area, but there may be a few out there. Replacement panels will need to be massaged in to get the fit right. They never fit perfectly.

If you are wanting to replace it, an Angle Die Grinder with a 2" Roloc pad and sanding disks will make it pretty easy to grind the welds nicely. It is an investment, though.

 

[Clubtroy]

Provided you're planning on running the hardtop, that's actually a good place to start learning - it's not super visible. The pinch and bend there isn't too bad either - I managed to make do on mine just using an old pair of discarded chipper blades and a hammer, 18ga is quite malleable. I had to do the inverse (the hardtop flanges and radius), and it was almost easier than the fiddly ambulance door bottoms IMHO. You can see a bit of the metalwork in the thread/vids in my sig to get an idea.

The bedliner is going to make for a bit of fun, though - what's the plan there? Keeping it that way, or stripping that off?

Thanks for the advice. I’ll check out your videos. I’m slowly removing the bed liner. Just paid a fortune for new hard top sides so only thing left to do is the hood and tub. The local powder coat company stripped a ton of parts for me in a chem dip (like the old airplane stripper) and primed them. What I have found to work best is burning the liner material (I’m using a propane fence line burning torch) until it smokes and then hydro blasting it off. I have an attachment that hooks up to my power washer and picks up and sucks it up to a nozzle. Northern tool or Amazon carry one rated for 5000psi that works well once you learn how to use it.

 

[Clubtroy]

I can almost guarantee there will be more stuff hiding under that liner. I'm not sure what Pura Vida is going on about that being an easy area to work on, the curve, angles, and layers all make the area a bit of a pain to look nice. I haven't seen any replacement panels for that area, but there may be a few out there. Replacement panels will need to be massaged in to get the fit right. They never fit perfectly.

If you are wanting to replace it, an Angle Die Grinder with a 2" Roloc pad and sanding disks will make it pretty easy to grind the welds nicely. It is an investment, though.

I agree it a tough area with the curve. I’m searching for a company that makes some type of replacement patch or panel but no luck yet. Going to call CCOT and ask them since they make full tubs.
with regards to investment I’m $12k into this adventure and just starting the body work. Original Toyota parts are ridiculous. Steering wheel from Dubai, weather stripping from Japan. I feel like I’ve been on a global scavenger hunt game for over a year and the finish line keeps moving on me.

 

[zerotreedelta]

Thanks for the advice. I’ll check out your videos. I’m slowly removing the bed liner. Just paid a fortune for new hard top sides so only thing left to do is the hood and tub. The local powder coat company stripped a ton of parts for me in a chem dip (like the old airplane stripper) and primed them. What I have found to work best is burning the liner material (I’m using a propane fence line burning torch) until it smokes and then hydro blasting it off. I have an attachment that hooks up to my power washer and picks up and sucks it up to a nozzle. Northern tool or Amazon carry one rated for 5000psi that works well once you learn how to use it.

Interesting on the bedliner, glad you found something that works.

The metalwork isn't "hard" persay if you can run a welder, but it is slow/time consuming. The nice thing is that you can pick up some 18ga drops for cheap, and can play around with the hammer making something similar to that shape before you even cut the tub. No harm, no foul...worst case is you're out $20 of steel and a couple afternoons. My hunch is that you'd have to make it in two parts, similar to how I did the inner angled flange for my hardtop.

Agree on the 2.5" rolocs though, my die grinder earns its keep.

EDIT: I might have a few scraps of 18GA leftover here as well...if there's a day here where I'm waiting on paint, I might try beating out a patch panel for giggles. Fun test/trial/learning. CCOT imports their tubs, so guessing they won't have any patches.

 

[DangerNoodle]

If you start doing a lot of sheet metal, I'd recommend a good angle die grinder and roloc disks. I always grind with 2" 36 grit disks to get the majority of the weld, and then use a 4" 36 grit to take the remainder of the weld and blend into the existing base metal. I run 3M stuff, but it is expensive. Works great for a long time though.

 

[Clubtroy]

Interesting on the bedliner, glad you found something that works.

The metalwork isn't "hard" persay if you can run a welder, but it is slow/time consuming. The nice thing is that you can pick up some 18ga drops for cheap, and can play around with the hammer making something similar to that shape before you even cut the tub. No harm, no foul...worst case is you're out $20 of steel and a couple afternoons. My hunch is that you'd have to make it in two parts, similar to how I did the inner angled flange for my hardtop.

Agree on the 2.5" rolocs though, my die grinder earns its keep.

EDIT: I might have a few scraps of 18GA leftover here as well...if there's a day here where I'm waiting on paint, I might try beating out a patch panel for giggles. Fun test/trial/learning. CCOT imports their tubs, so guessing they won't have any patches.

Thanks for that info! I’ve been waiting 9 weeks now for a rain gutter from them. Guess they might be importing those too. Nice people and easy to deal with. I try to support my fellow Texans when I can.

 

[Clubtroy]

If you start doing a lot of sheet metal, I'd recommend a good angle die grinder and roloc disks. I always grind with 2" 36 grit disks to get the majority of the weld, and then use a 4" 36 grit to take the remainder of the weld and blend into the existing base metal. I run 3M stuff, but it is expensive. Works great for a long time though.

Great advice. I just bought the 3M Roloc discs in green and yellow after seeing the videos. The only other rust through I have is small pin holes and some tears in the bottoms of the fenders where they match up to the running boards. Pretty lucky my dad took good care of it and was never a daily driver. Stayed in a barn most of the time.

 

[zerotreedelta]

BTW, how's the other side of the tub?

Edit: simul reply.

 

[DangerNoodle]

Great advice. I just bought the 3M Roloc discs in green and yellow after seeing the videos. The only other rust through I have is small pin holes and some tears in the bottoms of the fenders where they match up to the running boards. Pretty lucky my dad took good care of it and was never a daily driver. Stayed in a barn most of the time.

These are the disks I use.

3M™ 7010326789 2" 36+ Grit TR 984F Cubitron™ II Roloc™ Disc

3M™ Cubitron™ II Roloc™ 7010326789 2" 36+ Grit TR 984F3M™ Cubitron™ II Roloc™ Disc 984F offers a superior solution for tackling metalworking applications where flexibility is required, such as weld grinding, beveling, flame-cut edge clean-up and deburring.

www.aaabrasives.com

 

[zerotreedelta]

I was happy when I discovered they also make Rolocs in the flap-disk variety...best thing since sliced bread. (Both have their place, though)

 

[DangerNoodle]

I was happy when I discovered they also make Rolocs in the flap-disk variety...best thing since sliced bread. (Both have their place, though)

View attachment 2715793

I've never seen those before. I'll need to get some and try it out.