water leaks / paint / windshield, 80/20 roof rack (1 Viewer)

[Paul DiNapoli]

Well - the old girl is going under the knife for some much needed water leak repairs and paint work.

• pull the front fenders and re-seal up any body seams that might be allowing water into the footwells
• pull the windshield ( it was the original - had about 9 good sized rock chips)
• fix any rust that might be under the windshield gasket
• paint the roof
• paint the cowling
• paint drivers side fender (and fix some dents)
• cityracer wiper upgrades
• new wiper arm cowl trim bits

pretty rough patina that could lead to corrosion - getting this taken care of before it gets worse - and float in new self leveling sealer in that gutter seam all the way around

After she gets back home - I plan to build a new 80/20 aluminum roof rack.

Before the rack install I intend to have an auto wrap shop put a matte grey wrap on the roof...so that once the new rack goes up there - the new paint is protected from general wear & tear & cargo basket mishaps. (like wet fishing boots and such)

And hopefully with dry floors - finally install the carpet kit I bought in 2018 when I did my 5 speed swap. I can't wait for the cabin to be quieter on road trips!

i'll post back to this thread when i get updates from the body shop.

 

[OSS]

Remove the rack every few years and clean and WAX the roof or pay the price in the future. I learned that lesson the old fashioned way - experience

 

[Paul DiNapoli]

Remove the rack every few years and clean and WAX the roof or pay the price in the future. I learned that lesson the old fashioned way - experience

yeah - i admit to being guilty of not doing that. what's interesting is that when i bought the truck in 2017 - the paint looked great...and it seems like the first summer I owned it - took it to wyoming for some fishing - and very soon after the roof patina kicked in. i think i (the sun) cooked it...and the old rack never comes off.

i'm thinking that a vinyl/pvc wrap will go a long way toward protecting the new paint too.

 

[Paul DiNapoli]

project updates:

before -

after -

shop had some fun finding and excavating all the fender bolts

they're still chasing 1 more water leak - but so far I'm pleased with their work and the progress.

once the water leaks are tackled...they'll move onto removing the windshield - address any corrosion they find there - then prep for painting the roof / rain gutter / cowling area + new self-leveling sealer in the gutter.
fix fender dent and paint that too.

yeah for progress!

 

[Paul DiNapoli]

a little closer to coming home.

 

[Paul DiNapoli]

well - she's home!!

self leveling sealer around the entire gutter perimeter - and the roof repainted.

 

[Paul DiNapoli]

"while they're at it"

since I wanted the whole wiper cowling area painted (deal with severe patina) I had them pull the windshield and deal with any corrosion (none found) -

new windshield & gasket - saved the chrome strips / new wiper arms from City Racer

they fixed a bunch of water infiltration issues that was preventing me from installing new carpet & padding (since it would just get wet and then promptly mold/mildew in oregon)

while the drivers side fender was off - I had them fix a couple dents and spray that fender....they did a good job blending it into the door.

this was not meant to be a restoration job... at some point i'd like to have the whole rig sprayed - but since it's a rust free / great running truck - i use it for what it's for and don't really want to drop $10K++ on a paint job to immediately have it gouged by the places we like to camp.

 

[portlandcruiser]

The work looks great. Mind if I ask who did the work?

 

[Paul DiNapoli]

The work looks great. Mind if I ask who did the work?

not at all - Steve's Auto Body/Restoration.

Steve's Auto Body & Restoration · 7315 SE 92nd Ave, Portland, OR 97266

âââââ · Auto body shop

goo.gl

someone told me about them as a good source for old porsche restoration. I wanted someone who knows about old car quirks.... i was reassured when I pulled in - there was a good looking FJ40 being worked on - several VW Westy vans, a very vintage Land Rover - other cool items as well...so that sealed it for me, i didnt haggle much.

the price wasn't great...but they did good quality work. very very slowly!!! but that's OK.

 

[Tennessee80]

Looks awesome!

Did that fix your water leaks?

 

[Paul DiNapoli]

Did that fix your water leaks?

well - i sure hope so!!

the shop said that they showered it heavily and kept at it until they saw no drips - so i'm hoping its cured...but i'm also holding off with carpet & padding until i've washed it a few times and keep a close eye on it.