How dumb is this idea? Restoring the frame, not the body... (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter iptman
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im actually sort of doing this now.- but leaving the body on. I fixed some rust on the body also and will repaint. You'll find more rust than you can see and mine was in better shape on the underside than what i see in the pics. The underside of the body will probably have a few places that would benefit a good cleaning, blast or wire wheel- you do have surface rust in many places but that wont likely come off with a powerwash. There are seams along the frame that are hard to reach. Im pulling the trans out, removing the fenders, exhaust and will get to as much of it as i can get to from underneath the truck. I dont have the tools or space to remove the body but if i did I would do so and farm out blasting of the frame. Industrial blast equipment will go much faster and you can focus your attention on getting it back on the road quickly. It is a little bit of a rabbit hole but I kind of give my self a set amount of time and then call it good.
I like your plan, best place to start IMO. Besides mechanicals of course... Keep us posted
Was (still debating with myself) on similar dilemma - ‘75 with a lot of nice patina and frame that had surface rust - no rot. Spent most of it’s previous years in Cali and AZ but originally from OR. Purchased last May and very much daily driver condition so spent many hours underneath last summer cleaning, scraping, wire brushing, 3M disc, and air needle scaler. Basically a frame-on with what was accessible. Brushed on Eastwood Platinum encapsulator followed by Chassis Saver on frame and undercarriage that was reachable. Was tempted to try Eastwood Internal Frame Coat for inside of frame but instead cleaned inner frame best I could and then gave it a thorough FluidFilm coating thruout for the winter storage. Will reassess this spring. Would love to do full body off but the killer rabbit is for real - go down that rabbit hole and maybe years getting out
Proffits did a good job on this one, you might be able to take a few notes.
www.fourwheeler.com
OR you could save yourself a lot of time and effort and sell it to me! I am a sucker for the Mustard color... or trade for Cherry Bomb?
As others have said I would lift the body off, clean the underside and paint the underside of body to stop rust. Then clean and paint the frame. I do not like encapsulators, I think they trap "stuff' and the fluid film and other "oil" coatings are a pain to work on and attract dust and dirt. You will never really be able to paint the frame again without some serious cleaning too. I use Rustoleum industrial paint to paint frames. Comes in spray cans or cans.
To lift the body I would:
undo steering,
unbolt master cylinder
loosen fan shroud
take front end off
raise body 1-2" and go from there.
If you have a lift it will be a lot easier.
Good Luck! I can not wait to see it done.
1962 Toyota FJ40 with Modern Drivability in a Patina Package
“It takes a lot of searching to find the correct candidate for a project like this,” Jeremiah Proffitt told us as we headed into the forest riding in his latest
OR you could save yourself a lot of time and effort and sell it to me! I am a sucker for the Mustard color... or trade for Cherry Bomb?
As others have said I would lift the body off, clean the underside and paint the underside of body to stop rust. Then clean and paint the frame. I do not like encapsulators, I think they trap "stuff' and the fluid film and other "oil" coatings are a pain to work on and attract dust and dirt. You will never really be able to paint the frame again without some serious cleaning too. I use Rustoleum industrial paint to paint frames. Comes in spray cans or cans.
To lift the body I would:
undo steering,
unbolt master cylinder
loosen fan shroud
take front end off
raise body 1-2" and go from there.
If you have a lift it will be a lot easier.
Good Luck! I can not wait to see it done.
Hi Patrick,
I really like the idea of preserving the mustard patina and cleaning up the frame. Yours is a beautiful example of originality that deserves preservation.
That said, I'm writing from deep inside the rabbit hole. My engine is out and the body unbolted ready for removal. My advice is that if you're going to do it, do it right. Spring is almost here and personally, I'd drive your 40 this spring/summer then plan to have off the road for 6 months next fall/winter while you address the frame and fight your way back out of the rabbit hole. There will be a lot of additional things you'll want to address while you have the cruiser apart which will require plenty of time and money, so plan accordingly.
I'm personally not a fan of so-called "rust converters" or "rust encapsulators". Rust is rust, and the only way to properly fix it is to remove it completely and start fresh with bare metal. Oils/films may delay rust but they make a sticky mess and attract dirt and grime and make future efforts to remove rust more difficult.
I'd talk to American Stripping in Manassas and see what they'd charge to media blast your frame. If/when you get it down to bare metal I'd use a compatible brand of primer and paint just like Mr Toyota did back in 1977.
Last spring I removed my axles and rebuilt them on the bench, then took them down to bare metal with a wire wheel, primed them with Rustoleum self-etching primer followed by two coats of Rustoleum satin black. They look great and are holding up well. Surface prep is more important than whatever product you choose to coat the frame with. I'm getting my frame media blasted soon and I'll post pics/info over in the CLCC section and let you know how it goes.
Something you want to think about is repairability in the future. You WILL get dings and scrapes on the frame/axles, and with regular old primer/paint it's easy to repair.
I really like the idea of preserving the mustard patina and cleaning up the frame. Yours is a beautiful example of originality that deserves preservation.
That said, I'm writing from deep inside the rabbit hole. My engine is out and the body unbolted ready for removal. My advice is that if you're going to do it, do it right. Spring is almost here and personally, I'd drive your 40 this spring/summer then plan to have off the road for 6 months next fall/winter while you address the frame and fight your way back out of the rabbit hole. There will be a lot of additional things you'll want to address while you have the cruiser apart which will require plenty of time and money, so plan accordingly.
I'm personally not a fan of so-called "rust converters" or "rust encapsulators". Rust is rust, and the only way to properly fix it is to remove it completely and start fresh with bare metal. Oils/films may delay rust but they make a sticky mess and attract dirt and grime and make future efforts to remove rust more difficult.
I'd talk to American Stripping in Manassas and see what they'd charge to media blast your frame. If/when you get it down to bare metal I'd use a compatible brand of primer and paint just like Mr Toyota did back in 1977.
Last spring I removed my axles and rebuilt them on the bench, then took them down to bare metal with a wire wheel, primed them with Rustoleum self-etching primer followed by two coats of Rustoleum satin black. They look great and are holding up well. Surface prep is more important than whatever product you choose to coat the frame with. I'm getting my frame media blasted soon and I'll post pics/info over in the CLCC section and let you know how it goes.
Something you want to think about is repairability in the future. You WILL get dings and scrapes on the frame/axles, and with regular old primer/paint it's easy to repair.
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If you can tell by the picture... I have a bit of rust that gets worse as you go farther back. I just want to shore up some holes and clean some rust. Fix the body with some panel where the spare tire rack is. But I don't want to create a show pony. It has marks down the side from riding on trails and I kinda like them. I want it to be used and something the family can enjoy not going to just go full ferris bueller with it. "He doesn't even drive it. He just wipes it with a diaper" HAHA
I think you're getting close to the limit so I say pull the body. It's not hard. I did it by disconnecting the bare minimum of components and ratchetstrapping the front of the body just aft of the mirrors (running boards removed) to the rafters in a garage. I put a jack under the bed and lifted high enough to slide a 4x6 across the rear wheel wells and supported it with jack stands just outboard of the wheels. Then it was a simple matter of rolling the chassis forward out from under the body. You might have to pull the wheels. After that you'll have easy access to the frame to blast, wash, sand, scrub, whatever.
I really like Eastwoods Rust Encapsulator (red) which is nothing more than a high quality paint. I have been using it for 25 years and have not been disapointed. The one caveat is to prep everything as well as you can - do not just spray it over rusty areas. I wire brush the living begeezus out every place I can reach and sand blast if I have access to a set-up. Try and get something that will work inside the frame rails like a small chimney brush, etc. Scrape into joints and seams with sharpened putty knives, linoleum knives, and/or picks. Then sand and degrease and finally paint with the encapsulator. Give everything several coats including inside the frame rails. Topcoat with whatever paint you think is tough. Afterward go back and spray the inside of the frame rails with LPS 3, Eastwood's heavy duty AntiRust, or equivalent. Really get it heavy into the areas where the frame rail "C" channels are riveted together and into any nooks and crannies. That way it will conform to twists and tweaks as the vehicle is driven. Luckily the areas on either side of the engine are usually oily and pretty decent so there's not that much square footage to address really. Good luck!
I really like Eastwoods Rust Encapsulator (red) which is nothing more than a high quality paint. I have been using it for 25 years and have not been disapointed. The one caveat is to prep everything as well as you can - do not just spray it over rusty areas. I wire brush the living begeezus out every place I can reach and sand blast if I have access to a set-up. Try and get something that will work inside the frame rails like a small chimney brush, etc. Scrape into joints and seams with sharpened putty knives, linoleum knives, and/or picks. Then sand and degrease and finally paint with the encapsulator. Give everything several coats including inside the frame rails. Topcoat with whatever paint you think is tough. Afterward go back and spray the inside of the frame rails with LPS 3, Eastwood's heavy duty AntiRust, or equivalent. Really get it heavy into the areas where the frame rail "C" channels are riveted together and into any nooks and crannies. That way it will conform to twists and tweaks as the vehicle is driven. Luckily the areas on either side of the engine are usually oily and pretty decent so there's not that much square footage to address really. Good luck!
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MickTLC
SILVER Star
I am in the process of painting the frame now. Wire brush, cleaning with a degreaser and using rustoleum rust convert. Not perfect like a frame off but looks pretty good. Here are some pics.
Makes sense. I would if I had your rig. Essentially what I have done over the years.
Only now it’s time to get to the tub... after 29 years
Only now it’s time to get to the tub... after 29 years
Did you pull the body to do the frame work?
MickTLC
SILVER Star
No not on this one. I just cleaned it and painted as much as I can get access to. Used a piece of cardboard to prevent overspray. I removed the shocks and will put new ones after.
DirtDauberGarage
SILVER Star
That is what I plan to do with my FJ55 
Look into Corroseal or Rust Mort rust converter and POR15 and KBS :
MM
Look into Corroseal or Rust Mort rust converter and POR15 and KBS :
MM
Looks really good! Anyone try Rust Release? I’m thinking of giving it a try...has a gel option that assume is like naval jelly. I found the back crossmember and rear sill to be the biggest challenge getting surface rust de-scaled, cleaned / degrease and coated.
