Project Rebirth: Mostly a bodywork thread from an absolute rookie

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Guys at the shop finished up the welding, ground down the welds and finished up body work earlier this week. Some more pics...

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How would a truck get that rusty in Utah? I know it snows, but I thought they used sand instead of salt? It didn't seem salty when I was there the last couple of winters...
Yeah, unfortunately they still use salt pretty intensely. Rig also spent a good chunk of it's life up in Alaska from my understanding. Frame is surprisingly good still, just surface scale.
 
Yeah, unfortunately they still use salt pretty intensely. Rig also spent a good chunk of it's life up in Alaska from my understanding. Frame is surprisingly good still, just surface scale.
Sad face because I wanted to move to Utah to avoid the salt back east lol.
 
Pickup from the shop is tomorrow then reassembly on my end. I'll spend the next week painting bumpers, installing new sound deadening, window tint, and installing new carpet if it comes in time. Then CruiserFest at the Heritage Museum on the 7th! Plan is to have it pieced back together enough to drive it up.

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Got 'er picked up from the body shop on the 30th and immediately dove right into reassembly to have it ready to go for Cruiserfest last Saturday.

Body work job was great. The paint job feels like it was a little rushed, but honestly not too worried about it considering the price I paid for the work (silly cheap) and that I absolutely still plan on using this thing for what it was made for. Most important thing to me is that the rust is taken care of and the panels are straight. I can wet sand clear coat issues and buff out drips here and there as time goes on.

The color is everything I could have wanted. I went back and forth for a long time before I settled on this, so I was STRESSED.

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Filling up with fuel for the first time in a year and half...

This rear bumper is an older weld-it-yourself 4x4Labs bumper that I got in a package deal with my front ARB. It was originally a single swing out, but I converted it to a double and bought a new spindle from 4x4Labs. Whoever welded it together originally angled the quarter panel wraps a little too far in and they used to sit on my quarter panels. It didn't bother me back then because they were munched and covered in rust and rhinoliner, but I didn't want to have them sitting on my brand new pretty panels.

So I grabbed a grinder with a cutoff wheel and chopped them off haha. Kept the bottom protection and reinforced the inside of the bumper with some 1/4" steel plates. I think it looks alright and should still add some protection while letting me show off my pretty new quarters haha.

Also paint matched both bumpers to the wheels. Ultimately decided to just rattle can them. Two coats of primer, two coats of Rustoleum Metallic Gray, and then two coats of clear. We'll see how they hold up. If I have to pull them and get them powder coated, it's no problem.

Got the windows tinted and then reinstalled them. 5% in the rears and 20% in the front, ceramic tint. I went back and forth on whether I wanted to tint the windows again or not, and ultimately decided on yes for heat, privacy, and I like how it makes the chrome pop a little more.

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Got all buttoned up at 2:30 the night before CruiserFest. Was super worried about making the hour drive up and back considering that the ol' girl sat for 18 months and this would be the first real shake down drive. Nothing major was done mechanically anyway, but my experience with Cruisers is that they just like to be driven, so sitting that long had me a little nervous.

Ran like she'd never stopped. Couldn't be happier.

Somehow got absolutely zero photos of the rig at the Show and Shine at Cruiserfest, but took it out to get some proper photos on Sunday night. Can't even begin to say how amped I am to finally have this thing driving again. Love the way this color changes so much in different lighting.

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