Build Well into my build - Herculiner today

[Black Rhino 13]

The recent mechanical work ended up including new front bearings. Got the new air hose on today. Nice and soft and flexible. But now the bake pedal is soft and bleeding doesn't fix it.

Argghh, well the new rotors and pads and fluid seem to have revealed the need for a new master cylinder. It's working but fluid is slipping past. Okay. Also, the rear swap revealed rusted, nearly frozen bleeding bolts. Oh, and the rubber boots on the caliper bolts are trashed or gone. New rear calipers. New master cylinder.

Call to CDAN. New (re-manufactured) rear calipers, repair kit for the boots and nipple covers, and master cylinder are on their way.

Gonna be an all new Cruiser one of these days!

 

[calfj60]

How's it holding up on the roof? How much do I need to do just the roof? Thanks for any help

 

[Black Rhino 13]

How's it holding up on the roof? How much do I need to do just the roof? Thanks for any help

I was just up on the roof rack a week ago doing touch ups on the ARB. Well, it seems like the UV Topcoat either (a) wasn't put on very thick, (b) is wearing fairly quickly in the sun, or (c) is suffering due to snow sitting on top of it for extended periods of time. I did the roof one year ago and it's holding up fine. It's not a high traffic area. I'm heavily leaning toward (a) above because the rest of the vehicle shows no signs of inconsistent UV Topcoat coverage.

I did the rest of the body about 4 months after the roof, but I think what happened was I learned some lessons after the roof. I think I put an extra coat or two of the UV on the body.

So, it's holding up great and we love the Herculiner even though it's not nearly the even and consistent surface that people get with those spray on or professional brands.

As for volume, I used a little over 1 gallon on the roof and the body. If you're going to do the whole vehicle, I'd buy a 1 gallon kit and an quart. If just the roof, that's tricky. The 1 gallon kit is a good deal compared to the stand alone quart. And the application roller brush is something I haven't found an equivalent for outside of the kit.

if nothing else, you should look inside the 1 gallon box kit to see and feel that roller so you can source something equivalent. I'd say the roof could be done with just a quart but spring for the U.V. Topcoat and put it on heavy with several coats.

You want the UV topcoat or you'll end up with a very very dull flat black in a few weeks. The UV topcoat goes a long way so I would put on several coats. I'd use the softer and probably larger foam roller for the UV Topcoat so that it really spreads it thickly and comprehensively over the heavily textured Herculiner surface.

Hope that helps. Feel free to ask any more question, new pics, etc...

Oh. P.S., one of my summer projects is going to be to remove the ARB roof rack and reapply the UV stuff. Will be easy this time around and I'll really layer it on.

 

[calfj60]

Thanks for all the info... I have a green truck and the roof is bad and I pulled the factory rack. Not sure what I will do with a gallon but will use the UV stuff firvsurevsince I livevnearvthe beach in So Cal...

 

[Black Rhino 13]

Yeah, it's a tough call on Gallon Kit vs. Plain Quart, but the two rollers are perfect and the scuff pad is nice. The nice thing about the gallon is you might find any number of uses for it. People put it on all kinds of things. The down side is that if you don't do whatever project that is at the same time, you'll have to source appropriate rollers somewhere anyway.

I will add that I was using a cheap foam brush and the Herc to do touch ups here and there last week. That's nice. The stuff is really tough, much tougher than just paint, and that's even without the rubber bits in it. That's less useful for you with a green LC though. But anyone can use it on sliders/bumpers/rack/hitch, etc... too.

A second thought I've had lately is: What if you didn't stir it up so much and rolled it on more smoothly? I'm planning to coat my sliders and I'm still not sure whether I want to do that with the bits or not.

 

[calfj60]

Thanks for all your information!! I searched last night and found there is a. Duplicolor or competitor to herculiner that sells and install kit with the roller at autozone for like 10 bucks...

 

[Black Rhino 13]

Whoa! Thank you for the information! I might need to get one of those kits. Still haven't decided what to do with the hood after I put the vents in.

Thanks for all your information!! I searched last night and found there is a. Duplicolor or competitor to herculiner that sells and install kit with the roller at autozone for like 10 bucks...

 

[calfj60]

What vents are you going to use?? They Pontiac Grand Am template is headed to Texas Friday...

 

[Black Rhino 13]

I got a couple of Datsun 280Z vents. I think I'll put them in the front, over the radiator. Sort of an air intake. I'll probably do the Grand Prix vent over the exhaust one day. Haven't been looking on eBay lately for that. The template would probably be handy. No rush on that for now.

 

[Black Rhino 13]

Went to the powder coater this week. Got price and timeline for doing the wheels. $90 per wheel for acid strip, sandblast, powder coat, and clear coat. Same price to do them in pairs as it is to do all 6. Gonna have them done in basic silver with a clear coat. Would have been $60 per wheel for a single coating. I tried some DIY by putting a plastic bristled cup brush to the wheels with interesting results. I decided I have no idea what I'm doing with wheels so I'll let the pros help me out. I'm looking forward to the entire wheel being cleaned up. $540 isn't chicken feed for 6 wheels, but if they last another 15 years I think it'll be okay.

Getting the rear brake calipers replaced next week with the brake master cylinder.

To-do list has about 30 items on it.

Rotella T6 is 25% off in May at the local oil place, so I'll be picking up 2 x 3 gallon cases of that.

Drove up to the ski hill yesterday evening to look around. Got a dusting of snow on the trees up there yesterday. Took a few pics of the girls and the snow melt rushing down the hill. This is just a cruiser pic.

 

[calfj60]

Truck looks great!!

 

[Black Rhino 13]

Hey Thanks! Looking forward to that new roof on yours!

I just learned what JDM means today. Japanese Domestic Market.

I'm gonna get those clear corner lights.

 

[calfj60]

Im going to use mostaliner I think...Hope to order soon, but we will see.

 

[Black Rhino 13]

Oh, interesting. Hadn't ever heard of Monstaliner. Just looked at their website quickly. Interesting concept. I'm sure it'll work just fine. I like those little blue rollers they sell.

 

[Black Rhino 13]

Geez, where was I? Okay, I finally did the 1/2 work and hooked up my horns. You can actually hear them now.

Got the new master cylinder and rear calipers on.

Got that oil on sale.
Ordered QuietCrap.
Gonna order the clear corners now.


I've lubed my suspension bushings all around and it has totally changed how the Rhino handles. There's a little dip in the road out here, like a recessed manhole cover but smaller. Well, used to be when I went over that it caused the LC to wiggle and wobble. But it was a kind of firm wiggle and wobble like axles weren't aligned or something. I always figured it was due to the rear springs still being on the wrong side. Well, now I realize it was all the suspension bushing not allowing all those bars to rotate and slip the way they were meant to. I've now sprayed all the bushings with three different sprays in three days. Every thing moves and flexes and rotates now. Much softer ride. Cheap fix.

So, thanks to my good 'Mud buddies here in Missoula I found another powdercoater. $45 per wheel, just no acid cleaning. And Costco did say they'd pull off and replace my tires for free. Nice guys! That process starts today as I'll have them done in pairs. Oh, two day turnaround instead of two weeks. I have my suspicion the $90 powdercoat would be better, but I'm not sure that it would be twice as good.

Alignment today too.

So, the news with pics is my rear lights came in today. I had to do minor trimming on the top, blinker, hole but that took about 30 seconds. Thankfully I got experience with that doing the headlights.

Anyone looking into the smoked top rear taillights can get an idea what to expect from these pics.

Pics:

 

[calfj60]

Looks good

 

[Black Rhino 13]

Thanks! It's one of my favorite purchases so far.

Took a minute to figure out something was different. "It looks like it was meant to be that way" was her comment. It was a surprise and she loved them. When we showed my 4 year old she walked up to the front to see if anything had changed up there. Mommy said "those are next". She didn't even know I just ordered the clear corners today. The lights are great. They really do transform and update the look of the 80.


I guess I should be extra thankful that my all care about the LC as much as I do.


Bad news. It's not easy to get the windows tinted. Mine came with factory bronze tint which cannot be removed. So I have to find bronze tint, which isn't common.

Good news. Dropped off two wheels for powder coating today.

My Quiet Crap and my Tailgate lid from Wagon Gear are in the works.

Did not get an alignment. Ended up ordering new tie rod and relay rod ends from CDan. Yep, it's gonna be an all - new cruiser one of these days.

 

[Uncle Grumpy]

Search, there's a good thread on matching the factory tint.

 

[Black Rhino 13]

Search, there's a good thread on matching the factory tint.

Thanks Dyadya Grumpovich!

Yes, I found the threads and found a guy in town who can get any tint. I like the way he does tint too. Removes the entire window, razor cleans it, heat guns the tint around the edges of the window.

I think I'm gonna go with the Llumar bronze in 20% all around. That means it'll really darken the back. Better for the kiddos.

 

[Jrob80]

Went to the powder coater this week. Got price and timeline for doing the wheels. $90 per wheel for acid strip, sandblast, powder coat, and clear coat. Same price to do them in pairs as it is to do all 6. Gonna have them done in basic silver with a clear coat. Would have been $60 per wheel for a single coating. I tried some DIY by putting a plastic bristled cup brush to the wheels with interesting results. I decided I have no idea what I'm doing with wheels so I'll let the pros help me out. I'm looking forward to the entire wheel being cleaned up. $540 isn't chicken feed for 6 wheels, but if they last another 15 years I think it'll be okay.

Your name is Black Rhino and your not going to paint the wheels black??? I actually rattle canned my wheels black and they look great and nice and easy for touch up. (my truck is green)

I love those tail lights I wish they would have had them in the smoke color when I bought mine like that.