Hood repaint

[lostmarbles]

Cutting out the holes was a great idea they look like they belong there! Looks Good, Love the color

Great Photos

How do you like the diesel?

I am thinking of one in the future but After all the work on my FJ it will be a while before I could give her up and start over

Thanks.

I could never part with my cruiser. It holds too many memories and too much work has gone into it.

Besides, I've looked after it for so long now. Heck. I just drained the coolant yesterday and the stuff I drained looked as good as the new stuff I was replacing it with. In fact, I can't remember ever seeing even the slightest sign of any corrosion in any of the coolant passageways. How many other 30 year-old vehicles would be in that sort of condition?

The B diesel is a bit low on power but I'm happy enough with it.

Perhaps all that metal I'm shedding by "laddering" things will improve its power-to-weight ratio.

Actually, - the only time I notice the lack of power is when I'm towing. So, coupled with it's condition (very good) - I wouldn't swap the engine for any other - whether petrol or diesel.

 

[dreko]

Good work Tom,
keep up the posts

I agree with Joe (Brooklyn) that this is the right approach for me. When my diesel rig gets here, I'm going to be referencing this thread for motivation.

Very nice work and documentation

 

[mikealeus]

Nice work!

Tom,

Thanks for all the photos!

 

[M5driver]

Super work, Tom Always enjoy your posts. I always learn something from you, and get some really great ideas to steal

I really like the stainless lips on the hook catches. Pity I don't have the materials or gear to do something like that here.

And, like you, I can't imagine ever letting the 40 go. It's been such a great truck.

 

[Ziffdaddy]

awesome stuff! I'm getting ready to replace my passenger side fender/apron due to a small accident. Keep it up! Thanks for the posts.

-Steve

 

[Finally Mine]

Tom awesome job, what did you use to seal the apron panels to the fender? It looks like a white caulk of some sort.

 

[lostmarbles]

Thanks everyone.

.....what did you use to seal the apron panels to the fender? It looks like a white caulk of some sort....

I had already taken a photo of the mastik I used (which was supposed to go in the earlier posts) but I must have dumped it by mistake. So I just went out and took another couple of photos now. (If you're like me - you prefer to believe photos than words.)

It is "Soudal Carbond 940FC"

Here's the tube ---- The black tape on the end is to try and stop the remainder of the contents from "going off" (because I want to use it on the "steps" when I get around to refitting them - which could still be a number of months away).



And here's a close-up of the barcode showing the colour. It sure looks white against the blue paint - but it is actually "grey". (A colour that I think Americans spell as "gray".)



I put a thick layer of this mastik on the "apron-panel" before bolting it down. Then I scooped off most of the surplus that "squelched out" using the blade of a rather-blunt penknife, before cleaning it up with lint-free rag (old singlet actually). In the end, I dampened the rag in "mineral turpentine" which takes off the surplus mastic cleanly without taking off any of my fresh blue paint.

 

[Volcano cruiser]

Tom,
Great job. I really need to learn to weld as I don't plan on giving this rig up ever and I'm coming to realize more and more that welding is an essential skill to the care and feeding of a cruiser long term. I take it that you have your own compressor too in order to spray down that great paint job.
John

 

[lostmarbles]

Tom,
Great job. I really need to learn to weld as I don't plan on giving this rig up ever and I'm coming to realize more and more that welding is an essential skill to the care and feeding of a cruiser long term. I take it that you have your own compressor too in order to spray down that great paint job.
John

The paint job is far from "professional - standard" (even though it looks OK in the photos). - My key aim is "rust prevention".

Yeah. I do have my own air compressor that I bought secondhand. It was designed for use with a nailgun. But at 12.5cfm - it's fine for spraypainting and all the other things I do with it. And it's built-to-last.

As far as welding goes. I still prefer my old "stick welder" to my little mig welder. I've haven't yet got the "mig" to work properly with "bare-wire and gas". And the little bottles of gas are so damned expensive. So I just use the MIG with "flux-cored wire" (instead of gas) these days.

I can do reasonable looking welds using the stick-welder - provided I'm using it on reasonably thick metal (like the chassis) and provided I'm not welding "overhead". But I'm yet to do nice-looking beads on thin metal with either type of welder. The stop/start method I use to prevent burn-thu (not always successful at preventing burn-thru either ) seems to turn my welds into bird-sh#t.

My electric welders are second-hand too. In fact I seldom buy new stuff.

Oh - I can do neat welds on thin sheetmetal using oxy-acetylene. -- But that method is generally out-of-the-question on body panels because of the distortion the flame would cause to the panels. (OK for exhaust tubing though.)

 

[jackbrad]

Thanks for writing this up I really enjoyed reading it.

 

[caper]

Good stuff , keep up the good work.

 

[Canarias]

Hey Tom, just found this thread after you linked it from the hood latches thread. What a work of art you have produced, and I recognise the intentions were functional rather than artistic and you ended up achieving both.

I´ll be coming back to this thread to pick a lot of your ideas out, but first I have a lot of basics to master before getting to your level of finish.

 

[fj401978]

Hey Tom, just found this thread after you linked it from the hood latches thread. What a work of art you have produced, and I recognise the intentions were functional rather than artistic and you ended up achieving both.

I´ll be coming back to this thread to pick a lot of your ideas out, but first I have a lot of basics to master before getting to your level of finish.

X2...excellent work and a super reference thread...thanks dude!


Skip

 

[lostmarbles]

Hey Tom, just found this thread after you linked it from the hood latches thread. What a work of art you have produced, and I recognise the intentions were functional rather than artistic and you ended up achieving both.

I´ll be coming back to this thread to pick a lot of your ideas out, but first I have a lot of basics to master before getting to your level of finish.

X2...excellent work and a super reference thread...thanks dude!


Skip

Thanks. (Glad you guys find my ideas here useful.)

I knew I'd posted something on putting stainless lips on the hood hook catches and so I searched for it and rediscovered this thread.

I'd forgotten about it for quite some time myself...

 

[Wes]

View attachment 244444

Did you use any sort of weatherstripping between the front radiator cover and the apron and fenders? It would go on the side where the two slots are. I am trying to clean up the front of mine, and it has weatherstripping there. I wanted to replace it with new, but can't seem to find it for sale anywhere or in any of the schematics of the front end.

 

[sggoat]

Thanks for all the positive comments everyone.

I often question my motives - And I was questioning my reasons for posting this thread.

I think there is probably a bit of "showing off" (as with everyone else who posts threads on work that they're proud of). But I also posted this cos I don't really care anymore if anyone thinks I'm a dickhead. I think this "not caring" attitude comes with age cos I was certainly sensitive to criticism in my younger days. Not caring has given me "new-found freedom" (and I wish had adopted that attitude at a much younger age).

Anyways - Surprise surprise - I don't seem to be getting much negative feedback anyway.




Thanks Hedgehog. (I've run over a few :whoops


The hooks came from "Cool Cruisers of Texas" (CCOT). I can't remember the cost. It wasn't too bad anyway. But the freight getting them here to NZ was a killer (so I rarely buy anything from the USA now). They're quite good quality. The worst feature is that the internal springs are too strong. So it takes the thumbs of BOTH hands to unhook them.
Oh - Another thing bad (for me) was the "minimum purchase limit" and their refusal to accept creditcard or Paypal.

The hood was primed with gray POR15 (brushed on). Then topcoated with Dulon (a brandname used by PPG Paints) mixed to the formula for "Sky Blue 854".



Thanks Brooklyn

I made the components (except the lock and fasteners of course).

I welded up the two halves and then had them hot-dip galvanised. The idea of the galvanising was so that I wouldn't have to worry about scratching paint when I fit or remove the padlock.

I'll add a link here to another thread on "hood locks" where I supplied more details. (Soon and if I can find it.)

Here's that link (post No.16):
https://forum.ih8mud.com/40-55-series-tech/197022-bonnet-hood-lock.html

I have the same hood hooks. The only negative is that the internal springs they have are not made of stainless as the rest of the hooks. You now get to Nox-Rust or constantly lube the interior of these to make sure they don't rust out---all that lube and or Nox-rust eventually builds up inside to the point that the springs don't "spring" anymore, so you have to remove them, degrease them, regrease them and reinstall. A small price to pay ,I guess for the better stainless hooks overall.

 

[sggoat]

Did you use any sort of weatherstripping between the front radiator cover and the apron and fenders? It would go on the side where the two slots are. I am trying to clean up the front of mine, and it has weatherstripping there. I wanted to replace it with new, but can't seem to find it for sale anywhere or in any of the schematics of the front end.

I had the same issue. Used some rubber gasketting material(with fiber) worked great.

 

[sggoat]

Ooopps. Damn. Did I show you my "burn though" welding holes?

Anyway it was only after painting was finished and during final assembly that i realised that bolt-hole held the coolant reservoir support. So the cracks were actually from metal-fatigue due to the reservoir dancing to the beat of my 4-banger diesel:

View attachment 244424

View attachment 244425

View attachment 244426

Too late to strengthen the area now........ Damn Damn Damn
View attachment 244424View attachment 244425View attachment 244426

There has to be a way to stop the bottle-dance--maybe a couple of small braces to the top, with a clamp?

 

[lostmarbles]

Did you use any sort of weatherstripping between the front radiator cover and the apron and fenders? It would go on the side where the two slots are. I am trying to clean up the front of mine, and it has weatherstripping there. I wanted to replace it with new, but can't seem to find it for sale anywhere or in any of the schematics of the front end.

No. I fitted nothing here between the bib and apron/fenders:

(I just bolted painted-surface to painted-surface.)

I have the same hood hooks. The only negative is that the internal springs they have are not made of stainless as the rest of the hooks. You now get to Nox-Rust or constantly lube the interior of these to make sure they don't rust out---all that lube and or Nox-rust eventually builds up inside to the point that the springs don't "spring" anymore, so you have to remove them, degrease them, regrease them and reinstall. A small price to pay ,I guess for the better stainless hooks overall.

I've always wondered about those internal springs. I suspect they are indeed rustprone but yet I've never treated mine to prevent rust and never seen any signs of rust coming from them (despite my BJ40 sitting permanently out in the weather).

I had the same issue. Used some rubber gasketting material(with fiber) worked great.

I was in two minds about doing this or not.

In the end I decided not to, probably because I seldom fold down the bib. (Even when I remove/replace my radiator, I prefer to do it with the bib in place ... on the basis of ...the fewer things I disturb the better.

(When you disturb things, you invariably scrape paint off them. And this leads to rust issues with a cruiser that's left outside permanently in a damp climate as we have here.)

There has to be a way to stop the bottle-dance--maybe a couple of small braces to the top, with a clamp?

If I had realised the cause of the cracks when I was welding them up, I would have spot-welded a small plate onto the guard in that area (through which the reservoir bracket is bolted).

But I don't think fresh cracks have appeared yet (probably just because I'm doing less mileage than I used to).

 

[tls3601]

Tom your rig looks first rate; I like the grey POR primer. I have used grey under my running boards. We are spoiled here in Arizona with the dry, mild climate. I am the same way, start one thing then find there are other things to do. Yours looks great!!!! I take it you are very happy with the POR 15? I plan on using it on my frame