Saving the silver 70... (1 Viewer)

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MrMoMo

That's not rust, it's Canadian patina...
Joined
Nov 11, 2005
Threads
172
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2,456
Location
~Kingston, ON, pero soñando de Panamá
Well, since I haven't got time to tear into the 45, I've got the 40 torn apart, I figure it's about the right time to tear into the 70 as well.... After all, if more is better too much can never be enough.

Long story short - my wife's '85BJ70 is gong downhill, and I figured I needed to save it before it's too far gone - that and I promised her I would get to it before the 45...

So, a week ago a friend and I pulled the seats and rear carpet out, and over the weekend I started cutting and welding. Plan for the short term is to get the rear quarters done - door to door. Next summer (it's a winter only vehicle) work on the doors, front fenders and hood.

Pics, of course - or it didn't happen right?

Here it is shortly after we got it a few years back:

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And the reality now:
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So I geared up and started the chop/blast/grind/weld/repeat process:
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Off with the quarter panels so I can properly fix what's behind...
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(This is going to take a few posts!)
 
With the quarters off I could get into how far it really went.... Unfortunately far.

The next few posts will concentrate on the drivers side - im trying to show how I go about fixing it - as best I can to replicate what was there.

So, next was digging into the back corner of the door frame, and the inside of the rocker.
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Once I got that all cut out, I patched the inner rocker. I can still get at the back as the back side of the rocker is pretty rotted, so I'll paint it before I close that up.

Rocker patch in and ground down:
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Next I made a cardboard (cereal box) template to fit the curved section. Cut it out of steel and welded it in. Ground the welds down flush. I sprayed between each layer with weldable primer to help protect the metal as best I can.

Also replaced the front edge of the inner wheel well lip. I didn't bother grinding down that weld as it will never be seen.

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Next I moved to the top of the wheel well.... Had some nasty to cut out...
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Fresh steel welded in. Bent to fit of course.

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Next I moved behind the wheel, not much left here! Removed the plate that holds the jack so I can start templateing parts. Then found that I needed to fix the rear floor before I could fix this... So....
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Once I had the floor dissected I could start making patterns.
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For those who have seen Shrek.... cruisers are like onions.... Lots of layers.

Cut all the rot out and blasted it clean:
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Next I started welding the layers back in one at a time... Layer 1 welded:
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Ground it down and put on a coat of paint, and tonight I welded in Layer 2.... Yes, I even put the little heat rise bumps from the original spot welds back in... (Paint still wet)

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So, if you're looking for pictures of 70 series body repairs -
Feel free to follow this thread - I'll be doing it for a while!
 
Thanks Locked79 - you folks down under are lucky buggers - plenty of non-rusty ones to choose from. Very few at all here!

You think this side is bad - wait until I start fixing the other side!
 
You think this side is bad - wait until I start fixing the other side!

worst ..?

Lucky you, we don't have that problems down here .. ( not that bad at least ) plenty salt on the beaches .. but that's good uh .. ? none on the road ... so you have a choice if you are trying to keep your Cruiser healthy forever ..
 
plenty salt on the beaches .. but that's good uh .. ?

¡Que xopá Tapage! ¡Por supuesto sal de las playas son mejor! ¿Sal de mar es fácil a lavar en los ríos de la montaña no? . Y también, no hay chicas con tangas en nevar, mucha frío.... (En marzo 2016 nos vacación en PTY, buscando por terreno - posible en Cerro Azul.)

The other side is WAY worse...
 
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Hello MrMoMo, Rust has always scared the crap out of me, partly due to having dealt with body shops, also because it makes the car look like death is near. You make it look like the car can be saved. I hope you (and your wife) are happy with the results.
Thanks for reminding me that rusty cars can be saved, and for resurrecting a LandCruiser.
 
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(En marzo 2016 nos vacación en PTY, buscando por terreno - posible en Cerro Azul.)
.

Cerro Azul it's prety and fresh ( less hard to get used to for you and your family ) but it's away from beaches .. but mountains close to the City .. El Valle would be also fresh ( maybe a bit less than Cerro Azul ) but closer to the beaches .. :)
 
Onion layer 3....

Only managed to get 1pc in tonight, but got another one made for tomorrow. Back of the floor is now complete!

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Next piece is the last part of this corner on the inside, and it's a very odd shape with compound curves! This one will go in tomorrow night after the paint dries. You can see the hole waiting for it in the corner.

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Here are all the pieces I've templated so far!

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Jajaja, Tapage - you have to remember that right now I am 3 hours drive from an airport, to a FLIGHT to get to a nice beach, so a few hours drive to get to a beach is a huge step up! (Besides, I love to drive!)

Honestly, I'd be happy anywhere - well, maybe not Darien or downtown Colon. Ideally a little finca with a rio somewhere between Cero Azul and Penonome....
 
Are you make it look easy MrMoMo but once it's done the 45 will look easy with all the flat panels that need repairs.

Great work and love the pics :)
 
Yeah, but the problem with the 45 is exactly that.... ALL the flat panels need work! (And I have to design a floor because it's mostly not there!!!
 
Last piece in the corner tonight, and I spot welded the last two layers together. Pic here before I painted to prove that I'm not cheating and filling my welds with putty!

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And a light coat of paint to finish it up...

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Had to spend some time fighting with the power windows in my 80 tonight, got stuck with a rear window 1/2 way down and a blown 30A fuse, with no replacement, and it's COLD... Temporarily pinched and soldered the 30A fuse back together to get the window up - will have to pick up some of those fat fuses tomorrow...

Next (tomorrow) I'll start making the templates for the outside of the back corner.
 
Ok, so if you look back at the first picture on the third post, you can see where I started out today - now that the back corner of the floor is fixed. Spent about 7 hours on it today - probably have 28 hours total on this side now. Not hard working hours, and lots of "thinking" time! (Some thinking about how to do it, and some thinking - why am I doing this!)

First part to go in was the outer edge of the lower half of the wheel well, with a notch in it to take the groove on the 1/4 panel. I fit this using the 1/4 panel to make sure it's the right size/shape. This panel half overlaps the 90 degree bent flange of the piece that goes on behind it. Tomorrows work (inner wheel well patch) will but up against it and overlap the other half of the flange.

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Next I had to dig into the rear crossmember, maybe better referred to as the front side of the rear sill (?) luckily just the outer corner with the flange was in need of chopping.

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And once that was in I could tie it all together. I didn't put the jack mount holes back in, and obviously couldn't replicate all the factory ridges (unfortunately) but structurally it is strong and will be sealed from the salty slush of winter once again. The aft most part has a 90 degree bend that overlaps and is spot welded to the backside of the "rear sill" patch in the photo above. The lower edge of these two pieces is the flange that the 1/4 panel ties to. I think I might need to adjust the exhaust location!

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Next I started on the bottom edge of the tail light pocket - it was pretty non-existent!

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I made the replacement piece by cutting a 7" x 40mm piece (yes I am measurementally bilingual) and bending it 90 degrees down the middle lengthwise. Then made a few slices in key corner spots to make it curve around the corner, then up. Once I thought I had it close I cut the old part out and tacked the new one in, with one tack. Next I dug out the tail light and test fit it. After a few angular tweaks with a hammer I was happy with the angles and curves so welded it up and ground it down.

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I added a little bit of sealant to some of the seams in areas where the welding is finished - I had a partially used tube of Sikaflex 291 from a work road trip so thought I would give it a try before it dried up.... Will see how it looks tomorrow but it went on nicely.

Tomorrow I hope to get the inside edge of the wheel well done - and tie the piece in the first pic of this post in to the rest of the inside. I started making the first patch today but ran out of energy.
 
Saturday morning special..

So, here is the back corner of the inner wheel well - the before shot.

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I decided to make this as two pieces, partially as I figured it would be easier to fit, and I could use my materials more efficiently cutting two smaller pieces.

But first I had to patch the lip of the floor... Once this patch was in I put a coat of paint on the lip, then started fitting the next pieces.

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Whoops, fat fingers on a small phone screen....

Anyway, cardboard templates for the two pieces for the wheel well.

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Next was welding them in. The first piece I welded mostly from the inside, except where it was below the floor. After it was in, I final fit the second part and welded it in. Again, I clamped the fender on to be sure things lines up.

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Both sides mostly ground flat, but I'm not concerned with getting a factory flat finish.

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Off to buy some more steel!

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Ok, round two - the next hole! This one is slightly ahead of the other one, and much simpler as it is basically flat, but this spot required three layers. Inner fender, floor, and under the floor.

This pic I have already cut out and replaced a small section of the piece under the floor, and painted ready for the floor.

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Forgot to take a picture of the floor piece welded in, but I'm pretty sure you folks can imagine where it goes and what it looks like. You can see it "not missing" in the pic from the inside.


Starting to look like a wheel well again!

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And a pic from the inside - again, paint is all wet so a little hard to get a good picture.

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Next will be seam sealing a few places, and working on the "scary hole", yes - the next one is nasty!

I am hopeful that by the end of tomorrow the drivers side is completely finished with the 1/4 panel back on. Of course, that's where I was hoping to be today...

I figure I'm around 34 hours into it at this point...
 

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