Rustoration Advice (2 Viewers)

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Robie Creek in the foot hills

Beautiful area 007. I drove out to Washington on an ROTC gig once upon a time. Entered Idaho through the northern door, exited through the southern door.

Lesser known fact, the Mule was mostly raised in Idaho.
 
I had a friend that said he would teach me to weld in the panels, he wouldn't do the job but would show me how. Well he died a few weeks ago. I been watching lots of youtube vids on how to do it. So I'm going to buy a welder and learn to do it late April when I don't have 5' of ice and snow. So I'm leaning towards 0.025 wire with gas. I'm thinking of those multi-process welders is in my future.
Miller has a multi process the size of 211 that does mig, tig, and stick and also has auto set feature. You pick the material and the machine sets parameters. You can adjust from that point for speed and amps 🤔🧐😲😳😉
 
I never really learned to weld because my dad could weld about anything, so I just handed my stuff to him. He did sort of get me started with ox-acetylene. Yea I could make stuff stick but I did much better work with High Temp Silver. Later I did some stick work at the highway dept repairing/modifying road testing equipment. I made my rear heater box mount for the reloading press back in like 85. In the mid 2000s I did some mig flux core work building handicap ramps and rails for neighbors. Again it stuck but was nothing to write home about. I remember my first go with the heliarc on aluminium, If you wait for the puddle, you waited too long.

As a side note they used 200 ounces of silver to make a B17 - Back when Boeing could design and build planes that were hard to shoot out of the air instead of fly themselves into the ground or catch on fire due to wiring/battery issues.

My friend was a Miller man. I have used Lincoln, and Hobart stuff.

As a Chemical Engineer, twisting knobs and dialing in multivariable parameters is second nature. Running a gas chromatograph or mass spectrometer is wonderful training in repeatable results.

Also why I hate slop bucket transmission for the most part - I am more than happy to shift gears and not ride the brakes.
 
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I don’t have much to add that hasn’t been said. I convert rust with Ospho, then coat with fluid film once or twice a year when I remember. My 40 has some rust but I don’t mind because it works for how I use it and this treatment seems to have paused any spread.

What I will add: don’t start stripping it apart without a rock solid plan in place. Unless I’m doing a full restore or something, I try to do things that won’t take me off the road more than a week or two. If you need to use a shop for something, make sure they know the timeline and know they’ll be expected to stick to it. So many projects end up in worse shape because they sat in the back (or outside!) while “quick insurance” jobs that paid better step in front.

Good luck, it looks pretty good to me from the pics.
 
I don’t have much to add that hasn’t been said. I convert rust with Ospho, then coat with fluid film once or twice a year when I remember. My 40 has some rust but I don’t mind because it works for how I use it and this treatment seems to have paused any spread.

What I will add: don’t start stripping it apart without a rock solid plan in place. Unless I’m doing a full restore or something, I try to do things that won’t take me off the road more than a week or two. If you need to use a shop for something, make sure they know the timeline and know they’ll be expected to stick to it. So many projects end up in worse shape because they sat in the back (or outside!) while “quick insurance” jobs that paid better step in front.

Good luck, it looks pretty good to me from the pics.
Thanks for the advice. Until I figure what I want to do long term, your approach (Oshpo, Fluid Film, Corrosion X) is how I’m planning to handle things in the short term.
 
You should give welding a go. if you can measure and use a cutting wheel you can tackle it. Just test your weld settings on a scrap peice and learn to do stitch and plug welds. I did all my work without a garage and a eastwood mig welder and an angle grinder with a cut off wheel. The things I learned on the way are so valuable to me now and I am so happy I took the time to learn a new skill that i love doing.

Currently looking for a crusty willys I can restore and weld more haha.
Love this. I've been watching vids, looking at local community college and/or trying to find a shop that will let ME do most of the work in their space... Don't know when I will have shop space so... Looking at used welders now.
Have done MOST of my work wherever I can find level pavement and some shade. Longest job was knuckles/discs/steering all at once!
Had a few spots, but the season in FL really put rust on turbo - bad at sill, quarters, fenders, and cowl. Can't seem to reach it with OSPHO in between body panels. Looking forward to learning something NEW! And it is much easier to have myself to blame for screw ups.

Looking forward to Cruise Moab where I''m sure I'll get some feedback and direction from all the CruiserHeads. Wish I lived closer to one of the clubs!!
 
Rock solid plan beforehand is warranted. I wouldn't go buy a tub or start collecting panels until I was sure I couldn't
live with what I already had. Moreover if you "do" come to the point that you feel you need to replace something....really
look at it closely and see how far the replacement is needed. I thought I was going to save rear wheel wells and just replace
the sill and rear quarters. Once I really understood the rust signature around the wheel well support channels...i realized that
was unworkable. Tacking on new quarters on rotted wheel wells was a waste of effort. At some point I started realizing
my time and effort was exploding and it would have been better (for my purposes only) to have a tub replacement (minus the cowl).
But at that point I was so far down the rabbit hole that I proceeded with the original plan.

I guess what I'm saying is that even with a solid plan.....things are not going to work out as expected....but at least you
may have a better shot at it.

Protect your time....Protect your time....Protect your time.
 
Around here people seem to want as much for used welder as you can buy a new one with a warranty. I plan to buy from a welding place that has parts and supplies besides people that know how to weld.
Its like chainsaws IMHO sooner or later you will need parts if you use them - if you bought it there they are more inclined to help keep you happy.
I would consider votech classes if I could get to town easy enough
 
Around here people seem to want as much for used welder as you can buy a new one with a warranty. I plan to buy from a welding place that has parts and supplies besides people that know how to weld.
Its like chainsaws IMHO sooner or later you will need parts if you use them - if you bought it there they are more inclined to help keep you happy.
I would consider votech classes if I could get to town easy enough

Well like Lexus and Toyota some welder brands have parts that are interchangeable. Miller and Hobart for example. Most of the parts I use on the Hobart are just rebranded Miller stuff.
 
Seems pretty solid and I haven't seen any holes. I'll take, and post, more pictures of the backend when I get the chance.

Thanks for the tip on the Clubhouse, I'll check it out.
As promised ... More pictures:

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I think that's in ok shape. I'd probably wire brush that rear floor to get most of the loose stuff off and treat it with a rust treatment, maybe something like osphos and.paint it with a similar color. Then find and cut a rubber matt. I went all out and stripped mine to bare metal, treated it, and 2 coats of rustoleum with a brush.
 
I think that's in ok shape. I'd probably wire brush that rear floor to get most of the loose stuff off and treat it with a rust treatment, maybe something like osphos and.paint it with a similar color. Then find and cut a rubber matt. I went all out and stripped mine to bare metal, treated it, and 2 coats of rustoleum with a brush.
I've been reading through the thread by @dmaddox "1978 US Market Factory Restoration Thread." I'm both inspired and intimidated. I will likely do wire brush & rust treatment now, and then strip/treat/paint once the weather warms up.

 
I think that's in ok shape. I'd probably wire brush that rear floor to get most of the loose stuff off and treat it with a rust treatment, maybe something like osphos and.paint it with a similar color. Then find and cut a rubber matt. I went all out and stripped mine to bare metal, treated it, and 2 coats of rustoleum with a brush.

I would try naval jelly first before you go to town with a wire brush. He might be surprised at the quality of the paint under it all.
 
In too good of shape to tear apart! We will all be good ideas buzzing around you on this - but I agree, use some naval jelly or rust treatment and clean everything up as best you can. Keep it dry and maintained. Restoration is a one way door, and I suggest taking a LOT of time to get to know the truck. It took 47 Years to get it to this shape, its not going to get any worse as you take even better care of it!

Our cruisers are just a few hundred units apart - very cool. Love the pics!!
 
Reading through your restoration thread has been a gift. No spoilers please. I still have (5) pages to read. I’ve been screen-grabbing pictures from your build to have a reference for things I may want to take on at some point in the future. Thank you in advance for any and all advice.
 

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