They don't get much older......

[ClemsonCruiser]

I guess this would be a good time to explain our goals for this LV. When we initially purchased the LV we were immediately enamoured with the originality and it's patina. Thus we have decided no frame off restoration on this one rather try to "perserve" the old girl in her current state and only due the essentials to get it up and running safely


With that in mind and the new engine bolted in we moved to the next major area of concern, the floorboards. While the dry and low humidity levels of WY were pretty kind to the LV's body the floors suffered greatly from leaks that allowed water to pool in the front floorboards and turn this into a Flinestone's mobile


What we had to work with...



removed the worst of the rust



new floorpans in place and POR14/ sealer applied



We plan to use Raptor liner to coat the floors for a durable and functional finish

 

[ClemsonCruiser]

Our final object for the weekend was to preserve the faded patina look of the exterior paint job. It has so much character to it we couldn't bring ourselves to paint over it and instead are committed to keeping her as she appears now blemishes and all.

I picked up some tips from some other car sites on how to "preserve patina" I found that you can use CLR mixed with warm water and a Scotch Brite green pad to remove basically all surface rust and rust stains. After that you apply some buffing compound to bring back the faded paint and then finish by applying boiled linseed oil to protect and exposed metal from rusting again.

You can see our results below

Test panel on drivers door


Passenger side prior to CLR


CLR in action, stuff is amazing

 

[ClemsonCruiser]

More patina presevation.....

pass. side post CLR



Pass. side after buffing compound

 

[ClemsonCruiser]

Driver's side




That is it for now, next up is brakes, steering, exhaust, and then into the interior for some freshing up there

 

[Jacket]

Glad to see you back in action. What is that you used for the floorboard patch? I can't tell if it's just a piece of sheet metal that you cut to fit, or something else?

 

[ClemsonCruiser]

Glad to see you back in action. What is that you used for the floorboard patch? I can't tell if it's just a piece of sheet metal that you cut to fit, or something else?

It's nothing fancy, just 16ga. sheet metal.... not beautiful by any means but it is effective. On the LV we are doing the frame off we will be using the proper ribbed flooring for repairs, just couldn't justify that much effort on this one

 

[My wife said no FJ!]

Wait, just steel...I thought this was considered as one of the oldest LV's...how much more would it have cost to put in the correct floors?

BTW...I did a lot of research on those same "patina" sites. I really did not like the high gloss clear on some of the cars I found...look too weird.

Looking forward to seeing your whole rig done

 

[ClemsonCruiser]

Wait, just steel...I thought this was considered as one of the oldest LV's...how much more would it have cost to put in the correct floors?

:

Not sure if you are being sarcastic here or serious, but if it was a matter of simply buying the correct flooring from a vendor we would have done it. The problem is no one is making reproductions for the LV's, at one time Paul Pilgrim was but those have long since gone. Having them made custom I imagine would be cost prohibitive and honestly we bought this LV to have fun with not to do another frame off restoration

 

[Poser]

It's nothing fancy, just 16ga. sheet metal....

How did you attach it?

Chemical?

Weld?

 

[ClemsonCruiser]

How did you attach it?

Chemical?

Weld?

welded....

 

[My wife said no FJ!]

Not sure if you are being sarcastic here or serious, but if it was a matter of simply buying the correct flooring from a vendor we would have done it. The problem is no one is making reproductions for the LV's, at one time Paul Pilgrim was but those have long since gone. Having them made custom I imagine would be cost prohibitive and honestly we bought this LV to have fun with not to do another frame off restoration

Nope, just curious.

 

[ClemsonCruiser]

Nope, just curious.

The intersting thing about the LV floors ribbings is they are deeper than the ribs in the FJ40's. I had initially planned to just salvage some flooring from my parts 62, but that turned out to be a no go.

 

[My wife said no FJ!]

The intersting thing about the LV floors ribbings is they are deeper than the ribs in the FJ40's. I had initially planned to just salvage some flooring from my parts 62, but that turned out to be a no go.

So the deeper ribs held more moisture?

I remember seeing a couple videos of people making their own ribs, and then welding each rib to the next to make a pannel...looked like a lot of time, effort, and work, but when you have no choice, you gotta do what you gotta do...I can see why a couple of sheets was the best/fastest/most inexpensive solution.

Now, if this was a Trifive Chevy, we could buy ANYTHING we needed

 

[ClemsonCruiser]

So the deeper ribs held more moisture?

:

The ribs in the LVs are for some reason inverterd compared to the ribs in the FJ40, ie they make perfect little trough for holding water. Why GIFU made the bodys this way I have no idea, but it certainly greatly contributed to the high majority of rotted out LV floor pans

 

[ClemsonCruiser]

Thought I'd bring some closure to this thread. We sold this LV about two years ago now but before we did we totally revived the old girl. Took her on an epic off-road trip all over the state of Colorado. Here are some pics from said trip.

 

[ClemsonCruiser]

Couple more pics....

 

[JackA]

Great pix. When are you going to start back on the other LV ? Hope you didn't have any issues with all that rain last week.

 

[daniel.watters]

What a good looking LV! x2 on the progress with the other LV?

 

[ClemsonCruiser]

Sold the old girl on eBay in Ocotober 2013 and it was purchased by the Amaro Toyota Group in Puerto Rico. It is currently nearing the end of its frame off restoration and will soon be on display in their muesem. () We hope to make a trip down to see it in person

Here are some pictures they have sent me of their progress.

 

[ClemsonCruiser]

They have an amazing metal fab. guy working for them. The front pans in the LV were completely gone when we owned it.... looks factory correct and brand new in the photos