That’s great work.
It’s all better than rust.
It’s all better than rust.
Builds Two 62s Become One - Build Thread
- Thread starter diesellibrarian
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diesellibrarian
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- #62
Thank you! Very kind words from someone whose work I greatly admire!
diesellibrarian
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- #63
Haha, thanks! That's what I keep telling myself, that it's unlikely that I'll make things worse, at least (hopefully!)
That’s what I tell myself about my 62 roof rust repair. It will be 20 years before I have to mess with touch up now.
diesellibrarian
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- #65
As I mentioned earlier in this thread, someone did a real nasty job on the floor of the cargo area. It looks like they used tin snips to cut a "flap" to access the fuel pump, resulting in a real mess of jagged edges and kinked sheet metal. They then tried to seal it back up with silicone, and covered the whole disaster with an old mudflap.
Since the metal was so jagged and distorted, my only real option was to cut the whole mess away and graft in a fresh panel, though I actually had to weld the right side of the "flap" back down, as there is a support underneath that they'd cut into a bit. Not ideal, but I made it work. Lot of hammer and dolly work to bring it back to something resembling its original shape.
Once I get this area all cleaned up and painted, I'll install the new panel with rivnuts, for easy access in the future. Will also add some kind of seal between the panel and the floor, to keep moisture from getting in.
Pretty happy to have this (mostly) taken care of. Weather looks good for the weekend so I'm hoping to get the crossmember/body mount welded back in!
Since the metal was so jagged and distorted, my only real option was to cut the whole mess away and graft in a fresh panel, though I actually had to weld the right side of the "flap" back down, as there is a support underneath that they'd cut into a bit. Not ideal, but I made it work. Lot of hammer and dolly work to bring it back to something resembling its original shape.
Once I get this area all cleaned up and painted, I'll install the new panel with rivnuts, for easy access in the future. Will also add some kind of seal between the panel and the floor, to keep moisture from getting in.
Pretty happy to have this (mostly) taken care of. Weather looks good for the weekend so I'm hoping to get the crossmember/body mount welded back in!
Your pix and story are great. You are doing an incredible amount of good work - congrats!
diesellibrarian
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- #67
Now starting work on the rear quarters. The inner and outer panels had basically rotted away, so there's going to be a lot of sheet metal work needed here. I'm also going to have to rebuild the lower section of the wheel well, as you can see in this pic:
I'd already built a new inner quarter, and this was my first test fit! I think it will do the trick. In the photo below, I've also cleaned up the wheel well. The inner quarter needs to be in place first, though, before I start rebuilding the wheel well, since it is what the wheel well metal attaches to.
The tricky part about this repair is trying to figure out what needs to be done first. I've reinstalled the body mount crossmember but have not welded in in place. Before I can tack in the rebuilt inner quarter panel, I need to do some more rust repair in the area of the rearmost body mount. Once that is done, I will weld the inner quarter in place, and then start building the outer quarter panel. I've done that before, so I'm hoping it goes smoothly. The rest of this is uncharted waters.
I'd already built a new inner quarter, and this was my first test fit! I think it will do the trick. In the photo below, I've also cleaned up the wheel well. The inner quarter needs to be in place first, though, before I start rebuilding the wheel well, since it is what the wheel well metal attaches to.
The tricky part about this repair is trying to figure out what needs to be done first. I've reinstalled the body mount crossmember but have not welded in in place. Before I can tack in the rebuilt inner quarter panel, I need to do some more rust repair in the area of the rearmost body mount. Once that is done, I will weld the inner quarter in place, and then start building the outer quarter panel. I've done that before, so I'm hoping it goes smoothly. The rest of this is uncharted waters.
diesellibrarian
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- #68
When I say there's some rust around the rear driver's side body mount, I ain't just a-whistlin' Dixie. It's frigging trashed. In the pic below, I've already cut away part of the box section that encloses the body mount. The mount itself is ok, but the sheet metal around it is toast and will need to be replaced. To do that, I've removed all body mount hardware on the truck and jacked the body off the frame. This should give me enough room to get in there with grinder/sawzall/welder and get this squared away. There are a number of bits that will need rebuilding in order to get this back to being solid.
Obviously we're all fans of Toyota engineering, but this design is crap. It's almost designed to rust, and I'm sure many of you have had issues removing the covers to access the body mount bolts. On my truck, the rearmost body mount cavity on both sides was completed packed with mud. Just a dumb system all around.
My body jack system:
Anyway, that's where I'm at. Hope to get some work done this weekend. We'll see how far I get. When I set the body back down, it will be on fresh 4Crawler poly body mount bushings. Looking forward to that.
Obviously we're all fans of Toyota engineering, but this design is crap. It's almost designed to rust, and I'm sure many of you have had issues removing the covers to access the body mount bolts. On my truck, the rearmost body mount cavity on both sides was completed packed with mud. Just a dumb system all around.
My body jack system:
Anyway, that's where I'm at. Hope to get some work done this weekend. We'll see how far I get. When I set the body back down, it will be on fresh 4Crawler poly body mount bushings. Looking forward to that.
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I feel very lucky at how rust-free mine is. The panels are entirely sound. Interesting that my 40 year old land cruiser has less rust than any other vehicle in the family. The benefit of replacing all this metal is that you can tweak things to your own liking like improve the departure angle. It's hard to justify chopping up a near pristine section of 40 year old metal, moving it away from stock.
diesellibrarian
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- #70
I don't really like the look of bobbed quarters, and I'm unlikely to get into too many situations where departure angle is an issue, so I'm going to try to keep it as stock as possible - though I may change the way the rear body mounts bolts are accessed.
your quarter rockers are certainly raped by the tin worm worse than mine. i've cut mine to the bottom of that 11/2" angle in the bumper indent. taking that angle right to the wheel well. new rear bumper will wrap from wheel well to wheel well as my wheelin'/exploring tends to be rough on $h!t.
piece by piece, you'll get it done
piece by piece, you'll get it done
diesellibrarian
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- #72
Was able to tear into the rear body mount repair this weekend. Learned a lot about how these crazy trucks are assembled. Suffice it to say that a lot of different panels come together in this area, and with the amount of rust I was dealing with, it basically took some forensic analysis to figure out which rusted bits belonged to which specific panel. I'd done some repair work in this area on my first 62, but never got this deep.
Anyway, when you're not sure where to begin, just start cutting. That's probably bad advice, actually, but that's what I did. Here I've cut out the rusted top layer, revealing another layer of rusted steel underneath. The piece that you see in this pic actually swoops down from the D-pillar, and cradles the rear body mount box section at each end.
So, I cut out that second layer of rusted steel, and underneath it I found - you guessed it - another layer of rusted steel. This final layer is the box section that contains the rear body mounts. This box section was rusted on the bottom and partway up the back side, right where the body mount sits. The box section is a bit narrower in this area, presumably to make room for the two layers of sheet metal that will cover it:
After cutting out the rotten steel, this is what i was left with:
With all the rust cut out I was finally able to set about making some patch panels.
Anyway, when you're not sure where to begin, just start cutting. That's probably bad advice, actually, but that's what I did. Here I've cut out the rusted top layer, revealing another layer of rusted steel underneath. The piece that you see in this pic actually swoops down from the D-pillar, and cradles the rear body mount box section at each end.
So, I cut out that second layer of rusted steel, and underneath it I found - you guessed it - another layer of rusted steel. This final layer is the box section that contains the rear body mounts. This box section was rusted on the bottom and partway up the back side, right where the body mount sits. The box section is a bit narrower in this area, presumably to make room for the two layers of sheet metal that will cover it:
After cutting out the rotten steel, this is what i was left with:
With all the rust cut out I was finally able to set about making some patch panels.
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diesellibrarian
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- #73
I had to replace about 12" of the bottom of the box section, so this is the panel I made. Here I've drilled it for the body mount bushing hardware, along with a couple of holes where it will be plug welded to the body mount support thingy. I've painted areas that won't be accessible once it's installed.
After test-fitting the patch. I held it in place with a couple of clamps and a bolt through the body mount bolt hole. That allowed me to cut the vertical piece and tack it into place. Then I removed the panel again, and welded it up:
This pic shows where the patch will fit:
Once again clamped the patch in position. This pic shows the bolt helping to hold it in place for welding:
And here it is, ready to start welding:
Underside view. Here I'm in the process of plug welding the patch to the body mount support (don't judge my welds: I went back after the fact and re-welded all the holes and gaps)
With that done, my next step is to repair the second layer of sheet metal. As I mentioned, it's part of a panel that extends all the way up the D-pillar. Then I'll fix the outer layer that covers everything and makes it all look pretty. Very exciting to make some progress on this tricky section. As soon as this area is done, I can set the body back on the frame and put the fuel tank etc back in it. Who knows? Maybe I'll get the thing to fire someday?!
After test-fitting the patch. I held it in place with a couple of clamps and a bolt through the body mount bolt hole. That allowed me to cut the vertical piece and tack it into place. Then I removed the panel again, and welded it up:
This pic shows where the patch will fit:
Once again clamped the patch in position. This pic shows the bolt helping to hold it in place for welding:
And here it is, ready to start welding:
Underside view. Here I'm in the process of plug welding the patch to the body mount support (don't judge my welds: I went back after the fact and re-welded all the holes and gaps)
With that done, my next step is to repair the second layer of sheet metal. As I mentioned, it's part of a panel that extends all the way up the D-pillar. Then I'll fix the outer layer that covers everything and makes it all look pretty. Very exciting to make some progress on this tricky section. As soon as this area is done, I can set the body back on the frame and put the fuel tank etc back in it. Who knows? Maybe I'll get the thing to fire someday?!
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diesellibrarian
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- #74
Was able to get the second layer of sheet metal installed in this area. I didn't really know how to attack this bit, but I did my best and was able to keep the jury-rigging to a minimum.
Here's the piece I fabbed up. It looks kind of janky but it worked. As you can see, I needed to introduce a bit of a roll on the outer edge. The reason for this will come clear later in the post.
This is how it will fit. Took a lot of filing and grinding to get it to a place where it's weldable.
And here's a view from below, looking up. You can see here the channel that swoops down from the d-pillar vents. The d-pillar vents seem to dump into the box section that encloses the rear body mount supports. I guess there's some science or whatever going on. Anyway, you can see why I needed to roll the patch on that one end where it meets up with the existing channel. Here I've just started to tack the patch in place. It will eventually be welded all the way across, of course.
In the pic below, I've got the patch piece welded in. I've also fabbed the bracket that hangs down and meets the inner quarter panel, and am doing some test fitting. I've spread seam sealer generously around the patch to keep water from penetrating between these layers, thereby starting the cycle of rust all over again.
My next step is to weld the bracket in place, and then install the inner quarter panel. I also need to fab up the outer layer of sheet metal that comes down and covers this whole mess and makes everything look pretty. Looks like I'll also need to do a bit of welding on the cup that holds the body mount, since it seems to have developed a crack or two. Then I'll finally be able to start in on to the exterior body work!
Here's the piece I fabbed up. It looks kind of janky but it worked. As you can see, I needed to introduce a bit of a roll on the outer edge. The reason for this will come clear later in the post.
This is how it will fit. Took a lot of filing and grinding to get it to a place where it's weldable.
And here's a view from below, looking up. You can see here the channel that swoops down from the d-pillar vents. The d-pillar vents seem to dump into the box section that encloses the rear body mount supports. I guess there's some science or whatever going on. Anyway, you can see why I needed to roll the patch on that one end where it meets up with the existing channel. Here I've just started to tack the patch in place. It will eventually be welded all the way across, of course.
In the pic below, I've got the patch piece welded in. I've also fabbed the bracket that hangs down and meets the inner quarter panel, and am doing some test fitting. I've spread seam sealer generously around the patch to keep water from penetrating between these layers, thereby starting the cycle of rust all over again.
My next step is to weld the bracket in place, and then install the inner quarter panel. I also need to fab up the outer layer of sheet metal that comes down and covers this whole mess and makes everything look pretty. Looks like I'll also need to do a bit of welding on the cup that holds the body mount, since it seems to have developed a crack or two. Then I'll finally be able to start in on to the exterior body work!
diesellibrarian
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- #75
Put in a solid chunk of work over the weekend. It was windy as hell, but thankfully I have a little sheltered spot at the back of my carport that makes it bearable, at least.
Pretty excited to get this section of the truck mostly wrapped up. I also feel like my skills are improving, which means that my repairs are starting to look closer to stock. Anyway, here are a few pics. This first one show the test-fit of the outer layer of sheet metal near the rear body mount. Lots of hammer and dolly work required to shape this piece, but it turned out pretty well:
After welding and grinding, it's looking pretty good:
This next pic shows the "bracket" (no idea what to call these bits) that hangs down an fills in the space between the inner quarter and the back of the truck. Ignore the visible welds on the left side: I'll grind them down once I've repaired the whole corner section.
And here it is with a quick coat of paint to protect it from the elements while I work on other parts of the vehicle:
Pretty excited to get this section of the truck mostly wrapped up. I also feel like my skills are improving, which means that my repairs are starting to look closer to stock. Anyway, here are a few pics. This first one show the test-fit of the outer layer of sheet metal near the rear body mount. Lots of hammer and dolly work required to shape this piece, but it turned out pretty well:
After welding and grinding, it's looking pretty good:
This next pic shows the "bracket" (no idea what to call these bits) that hangs down an fills in the space between the inner quarter and the back of the truck. Ignore the visible welds on the left side: I'll grind them down once I've repaired the whole corner section.
And here it is with a quick coat of paint to protect it from the elements while I work on other parts of the vehicle:
diesellibrarian
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- #76
Was also able to go ahead and tack in the new inner quarter that I'd built. Here I'm ready to plug weld it to the cross member, which I had also removed from the truck to repair.
For reference, this is what this area looked like before:
Things are looking up!
For reference, this is what this area looked like before:
Things are looking up!
diesellibrarian
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- #77
With the inner quarter location solidly pinned down, I'm finally able to start work on the outer quarter. For this repair I'm using a piece that I'd fabbed up for my old 62. I've learned a lot about metal shaping since I made this panel, but it's good enough that I'm going to re-use it. The imperfections aren't anything that a skim of filler and some block sanding won't fix.
Here you can sorta see how the driver's side rear corner should look once the new quarter panel is welded in place:
Obviously I also need to rebuild the inner fender. I'd done this repair previously as well, so already had a template made up. Here I've cut the basic shape from some 18ga cold rolled:
After welding on a flange, this is what I'm left with:
And here's the inner fender and quarter panel piece mocked up. Have a least one other patch to make for the inner fender, but this is where I'm at for now!
Here you can sorta see how the driver's side rear corner should look once the new quarter panel is welded in place:
Obviously I also need to rebuild the inner fender. I'd done this repair previously as well, so already had a template made up. Here I've cut the basic shape from some 18ga cold rolled:
After welding on a flange, this is what I'm left with:
And here's the inner fender and quarter panel piece mocked up. Have a least one other patch to make for the inner fender, but this is where I'm at for now!
diesellibrarian
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- #78
Been a couple of weeks since I've been able to get out to work on the Cruiser, but made up for lost time over the weekend. Happy to say that the driver's side rear quarter panel is mostly done. So nice to have solid steel instead of this nightmare:
Before tackling the quarter panel I had to finish up the inner fender with a couple of patches. This patch replaces jagged, rusty metal that was hiding behind the mudflap mount (which was also completely disintegrated). Here's a preliminary test fit - obviously some work needed for proper fitment:
Next I moved on to the lower section of the inner fender, plug welding in the patch piece I'd made earlier. I paint the inaccessible sides of all patches before welding them in, to slow any future corrosion. This area still looks pretty ugly, but soon it will all be covered with rubberized coating, so I'm not too worried about grinding my welds perfectly flush:
Here's how it looks from the back:
With the inner structure in place, I was able to move on to fitting the lower quarter panel.
Before tackling the quarter panel I had to finish up the inner fender with a couple of patches. This patch replaces jagged, rusty metal that was hiding behind the mudflap mount (which was also completely disintegrated). Here's a preliminary test fit - obviously some work needed for proper fitment:
Next I moved on to the lower section of the inner fender, plug welding in the patch piece I'd made earlier. I paint the inaccessible sides of all patches before welding them in, to slow any future corrosion. This area still looks pretty ugly, but soon it will all be covered with rubberized coating, so I'm not too worried about grinding my welds perfectly flush:
Here's how it looks from the back:
With the inner structure in place, I was able to move on to fitting the lower quarter panel.
diesellibrarian
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- #79
Welding a long seam like this is always tedious, and I did end up dealing with some warping in the panel that I was able to dolly out, for the most part. This minimized the amount of filler I used. Still I'm aware that I need to put a little more time into proper fit-up. That will improve the quality and consistency of my welds.
After grinding, filler, and sanding, the panel is actually looking pretty good. This is a panel that I'd made for my old 62. I cut it out to repurpose it on this truck. Looking forward to making the passenger side. I've learned a lot about metalworking over the past little while (thanks YouTube!) and I think I can improve on it. Anyway, pretty happy with how this turned out.
With this behind me, I'm already thinking about the next phase of the project: driver's side rocker:
After grinding, filler, and sanding, the panel is actually looking pretty good. This is a panel that I'd made for my old 62. I cut it out to repurpose it on this truck. Looking forward to making the passenger side. I've learned a lot about metalworking over the past little while (thanks YouTube!) and I think I can improve on it. Anyway, pretty happy with how this turned out.
With this behind me, I'm already thinking about the next phase of the project: driver's side rocker:
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georgebj60
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Some great work here. Thanks for sharing the process.
