Builds My 45PU has an LV for a friend... (1 Viewer)

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We might have helped that one along a tad. That truck was unusual....the interior was completely painted in dark brown latex paint. We got all of that off with a lot of work. The orange was a little more challenging.

Cool. I’ve got one that needs blending. I’ll use some similar techniques
 
The LV was sanded with 600 wet I think....that's what got rid of the bulk of the green primer or whatever it was(turns out that lacquer thinner also took it off but tended to smear it). The orange 40 was lightly done with 600 then 1000 then finished with 2000. It was as glossy as any paint job with that 2000 final sand. Would have been super high gloss if it had a buffer on it.

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Wonder if this LC100 parked next to the LV by coincidence or on purpose....

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Great to see her on the road!
 
I've been driving it daily since we got it all back together. Leak free this time. Seems the side cover was leaking into the timing inspection hole and getting slung around the bellhousing...then out and on the floor. Guess I need to do a 200 mile trip with her to see if all the leaks are gone for sure.

The last thing on the list to address is the AC....just need to charge it. We've sucked it down, held vacuum just fine. It's been so nice here, it's been a treat to drive around with the windows down....
 
1000.0 miles on the odo today....hopefully many more 1000s of miles to come.

Need to get gas on the way to work in the AM as well. Ha.

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This week is headliner and door panel week.....I had an old SOR headliner that came with a different truck I bought and sold. Had to order the new SOR headliner trim/install kit. Glad I did because without it, it would have been difficult to make it all work since I have no wood left to mount the headliner to.

I'm fairly capable at doing a wide variety of things when it comes to cars.....THIS is something I would want no part of!

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This week is headliner and door panel week.....I had an old SOR headliner that came with a different truck I bought and sold. Had to order the new SOR headliner trim/install kit. Glad I did because without it, it would have been difficult to make it all work since I have no wood left to mount the headliner to.

I'm fairly capable at doing a wide variety of things when it comes to cars.....THIS is something I would want no part of!

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Please post more pics of your headliner install.
 
For sure. Hopefully they don't make too much progress on it before I can get over there and check back in.
 
Would you mind writing a driving impressions narrative? Sorry for long post... Let me give you an idea where I am coming from. As I get older, I find I am less inclined to be uncomfortable while driving my older vehicles. I have several classic Porsche’s and some LC’s. My LV project has languished bc I’m not sure if I will ever drive this truck once finished. My 40 is like an oven in the Georgia heat. I can only imagine what the LV would be like. And then there is the “truck” like suspension. Yea I know, I sound like an 80 YO but I’m not. Just have a bad back and it talks to me very quickly when driving uncomfortable vehicles. Just wondering how a FJ45LV w a modern engine and sound proofing and A/C etc might be. Thanks
 
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Driving impressions......the LV is different from any of my trucks. The seating position is much more relaxed and there is a ton of room in that truck. Not like my 45 pickup which is really tight and upright.....and not quite like a 40 which has that same upright seating(but not as tight as a 45). Initially I didn't care for it because it didn't have a familiar feel but as I drove it more, I really started to like it. I did a pretty long(for me) 250 mile round trip drive in it and it was nice.....despite being stressed out about every noise, smell, vibration.

If you followed my build, you'd know that I spent a lot of time on trying to isolate this thing as much as possible from heat and sound. I feel like we really got this one perfect. As I've gotten older, I've gotten really soft with the old cars. They annoy me. Ha. Throw in some horrible heat/fumes and noise and it makes for not much fun. So they sit and collect dust or get used when it's cooler....in FL that's not very often. I spent a lot of years dealing with all of that when I was younger....didn't seem to matter much then. It does now. My LV does everything right...it's smooth, quiet and very little heat is in the cab....like none. I think if I wanted to really dial it in, I'd run some 3M Crystalline heat rejection film on the windows and I'd be golden. But I really don't need this truck for anything more than pleasure driving when it's nice....so it probably won't get it(3M Crystalline is big $$).

I have noticed that I don't use my AC in the LV. It has really good airflow in it. Kind of nice to have the windows down....even when it's hot out. There should probably be 2 ACs in that truck....I think with the heat rejection film, the single AC would be massively improved. I run that stuff on my 79 Series pickup and there is just about zero heat in the cab....even when it sits and bakes in the sun all day.

Seat....the seat kind of sucks. I would probably redo it with some better foam I think. I'd keep the bench, just have better foam. It's not horrible though.

The 3.73 gears make a world of difference on these trucks. I was driving my 71 FJ40 a few weeks ago and I kept thinking it was going to explode going down the road....it runs 4.10s. Felt like I needed a 6 speed in it. But that truck has been abused and I'm sure everything is worn out....it's loud. And hot.....despite not having a roof. I can only take that truck in short bursts....but once it gets 3.73s and a nice trans/transfer rebuild, it will be a nice truck(will be doing the Lizard Skin stuff on it too).

I think like anything else....if you build your truck to suit you and what you need, it's going to be great.

Hope some of that helps!
 
One door panel done.....

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Interior guys finished up late in the day yesterday....they did a good job. Could be better in a few areas but for the most part, it's really nice. I'm kind of dreading to see the cost of the install.....when the owner of the shop gets involved, it gets pricey. Looked like a ton of work stretching, gluing, trimming, drilling, stapling, etc.

They kept insisting that they wanted to use wood strips to make it all work(to lock down the headliner material against the metal)......I kept telling them I didn't want exposed wood up there. They never though this setup would work...glad it did.

I will say that the quality of the SOR headliner(this was an old one) was kind of crap. The stitching for the pass thru areas for the rods(unsure of the technical names) were not stitched very straight. The guys struggled getting them in there.

It REALLY helped to quiet down the inside too....not sure what that is all about but it's very different to drive. We sprayed the underside of the roof with very heavy coats of thermal and acoustic Lizard Skin so I know that helps but just that thin layer of material did something. Kind of weird.

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Close up of the welting/finishing trim. There are 2 components here.....the top one(with the stitching) covers the one under it which is drilled onto the truck. It has a piece of nylon sewn into it(1/8" thick by maybe 1/2" wide) as well as a piece of cording to make the welting....the finishing piece is then stapled to the nylon. The staple is hidden in the tiny gap in between the stitches. Pretty cool setup.
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I know what you mean about the sound deadening qualities of a headliner. When I retrieved my 45 lpb from the trim shop after having the headliner installed, I thought something was wrong with the truck at first startup because it sounded so different. I literally sat there with the tryck idling for 5 minutes trying to figure out what was wrong with my truck!
 
I can see that with the lpb since it's like sitting in a beer can. So much noise in those trucks.

I bet the door panels helped out too in the LV....the doors feel really solid now. We sprayed the doors inside with Lizard Skin....so they were solid but kind of cavernous....really happy with the whole setup.

That LV has won me over I think.....really enjoying it.
 
I haven't had a chance to drive my LV too much, but my first impression is that it is much more comfortable than my '77 BJ40 was. Not only the longer wheel base, but I like the bench seat comfort. Much better than my BJ was. I also had a more "modern" 105 series cruiser with a 1HZ diesel that was a pleasure to drive even for 5,000km, but I like the classic.
On my LV, I also plan to do some sound deadening now that I started with the interior work. Pulling the parts together in Africa is just takes a bit longer. The main comfort I will consider is adding power steering and will see what else once i test it more in the Kenyan heat.
 
I haven't had a chance to drive my LV too much, but my first impression is that it is much more comfortable than my '77 BJ40 was. Not only the longer wheel base, but I like the bench seat comfort. Much better than my BJ was. I also had a more "modern" 105 series cruiser with a 1HZ diesel that was a pleasure to drive even for 5,000km, but I like the classic.
On my LV, I also plan to do some sound deadening now that I started with the interior work. Pulling the parts together in Africa is just takes a bit longer. The main comfort I will consider is adding power steering and will see what else once i test it more in the Kenyan heat.

It's HOT in FL but I would guess Kenyan heat comes in a few degrees warmer!
 
Said goodbye to my project LV over the weekend so I can make way for another LC79 build......would have liked to have kept it but one is plenty and it's going to be hard to top the patina LV I think. Patina is a keeper.

This truck is headed for a VERY cool build by a really capable group. Hopefully the new owner keeps me updated on it....it would be a fun one to watch.
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