Builds WTF did I buy - Project do it right the second time

[cjgoode]

I tell you this, if I was looking for one and that was the first one I looked and in my price range it would be in my driveway. I love the early ones and this is a real clean one. While that is not the original white rubber liner in the running boards, the diamond plate is much better. The original rubber would not have lasted this long anyways.

 

[jvincig01]

I tell you this, if I was looking for one and that was the first one I looked and in my price range it would be in my driveway. I love the early ones and this is a real clean one. While that is not the original white rubber liner in the running boards, the diamond plate is much better. The original rubber would not have lasted this long anyways.

I completely agree with @cjgoode . This is a superb find.

 

[fjdemon]

Looks terrible, I'll give you whatever you paid to get you out of it Looks clean and original, good score!

 

[70fj40]

Look at your coolant overflow tube. If yours has not had a overflow bottle added it likely drains right out the end of the tube and maybe it drips onto frame, inner fender ,etc

 

[Goforth]

Look at your coolant overflow tube. If yours has not had a overflow bottle added it likely drains right out the end of the tube and maybe it drips onto frame, inner fender ,etc

funny story, I'm missing the overflow bottle. I purchased one from CruiserCorps and UPS promptly lost my order. I'm delayed getting the parts while waiting for UPS to find out the parts are indeed lost and then not sure next step. Right now, the line is capped off so there's no way for any overflow to escape.

 

[Goforth]

Been a while since I posted here, figure to give update. I'm using my intro thread as my build thread now.

Back in August 2017 I sent the 40 away to a local body shop. The reputation of Greg Mushro stands confirmed. His ad of 'no bondo, no rust' was misleading. Sandblasting didn't take long to reveal extensive rust on the rear barn doors and holes filled with bondo.

At the start of project I was going to have the exterior stripped and repainted, preserving the black bedliner on the interior. Rust repair at the rear of vehicle helped persuade that I should strip out all bedliner so I could ensure the tub was clean on the inside.

Project is moving along slowly as the body shop that is performing the repaint makes most of their money replacing fenders bent by deer impacts.

To date:
replaced driver side rocker panel due to rust
sourced a new rear barn doors
New doors sourced due to too much rust
new rear sill
started to remove bed liner from interior (this is a manual effort of scraping with heat gun assistance and going quite slowly)

Photos of project status:
Stripping and discovering

more stripping:

After the effort to remove bedliner, I will have interior painted. I already purchased rubber mats to protect the floors when completed:

Door fitment check and new steel installed for rocker panel:

 

[Goforth]

The decision to remove bedliner on interior has added additional work. I'm ok with that since I consider the final result to be superior. I'm in the process of stripping down the seats.

Poor quality paint job was applied in the past to all the interior 'silver/pewter'. I'll aim to correct this by wire wheeling and sanding / blasting as close to smooth metal as possible. Here's example of overspray and crap paint:

Bedliner:

Here I removed the seat covers to discover rust / pitting. I'll replace the black SOR seat covers with Coral that I've already ordered.

I'll probably POR the seat pans unless someone has a better way to preserve.

Here's progress of stripping with wire wheel and scraping:

Here's one seat with primer completed:

I ordered from coolcruisers the Pewter paint kit. Plan to get all trim pieces ready and then give it a go at once.

 

[S4Cruiser]

That tub looks really good actually.

 

[ToRyota]

That's a ton of work! It'll turn out so good!

 

[dunebeigefj40]

That is really not that bad on the tub, and the seats, that is nothing.

 

[UltraFJ40]

You can work your fingers to the bone and it'll never satisfy you but from a distance, it's looking great in my opnion.

 

[bb67tlc]

Great that you've dived in and attacked the rust and bondo. Where did you source your rocker panels and rear sill from? We're not far from starting body work on our '67.
When you get around to the wheels, our '67's were black, not silver.
Good choice on the coral, too. Just finished that job.

 

[David70FJ40]

I've read the thread again and I am a little envious of the 40 you bought and of the progress you have made in a short time. The smile on the young lady said a lot, enjoy the 40 and smile a lot while driving.

The only thing I saw was the lack of a heater hose firewall grommet where the heater hoses go through the firewall. The sharp edges can chafe the rubber hoses and cause a spray of hot water no one wants to endure, particularly the lovely young lady. Available from SOR, part # 187-10 $&.00. (Not shilling for SOR, its the only place I could find one.)

 

[daner]

The seats look great!

 

[Goforth]

I’ve seen a few wonderful 1960’s cruiser build threads and we’ll, this ain’t one of them. But inspiration, sure.

After a year at the body shop my 40 came home. Rusty parts were removed and new steel panels from cool cruisers of Texas were welded on. The rocker panel on driver side looks great with no rust bubble.

Clearly, my 40 wasn’t the priority of the body shop. I found that they cut every damned wire when removing panels. EVERY one. I was already on the fence with previous owner’s wiring ability ( I experienced the starter kicking over when I was fishing out the left indicator bulb from under the dash. With new discovery that each wire was cut, I’ll probably source a more complete harness instead of continue with a spliced and diced mess.

Here’s where intelligence and ambition are at a crossroad. I continue to reach far as possible to wire wheel out the remnants of bed liner inside the tub which has lead me to disconnect just about every piece. I’m so close to having the tub stand alone, I’m leaning toward pulling it and getting it stripped via a blaster. A thought keeps creeping in that not taking this project to that level would lead to regrets.

Photos below:

 

[Jdc1]

I’ve seen a few wonderful 1960’s cruiser build threads and we’ll, this ain’t one of them. But inspiration, sure.

After a year at the body shop my 40 came home. Rusty parts were removed and new steel panels from cool cruisers of Texas were welded on. The rocker panel on driver side looks great with no rust bubble.

Clearly, my 40 wasn’t the priority of the body shop. I found that they cut every damned wire when removing panels. EVERY one. I was already on the fence with previous owner’s wiring ability ( I experienced the starter kicking over when I was fishing out the left indicator bulb from under the dash. With new discovery that each wire was cut, I’ll probably source a more complete harness instead of continue with a spliced and diced mess.

Here’s where intelligence and ambition are at a crossroad. I continue to reach far as possible to wire wheel out the remnants of bed liner inside the tub which has lead me to disconnect just about every piece. I’m so close to having the tub stand alone, I’m leaning toward pulling it and getting it stripped via a blaster. A thought keeps creeping in that not taking this project to that level would lead to regrets.

Photos below:

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Thats a shame that your shop destroyed your harness. Have you asked them why?

If you arnt in a hurry and are prepared to address some surprises, blasting the tub is a great idea. Make sure to get pics of your tub in bare metal.

 

[S4Cruiser]

You're at the point of no return . Pull the tub, have it blasted, purchase a wiring harness from @Coolerman and live regret free.

You're wallet might hate you though...I'm sure you will find so many more things to replace once you go this deep!

 

[Goforth]

Current state:

Update on build:

I’m in line for Coolerman to build up a proper wiring harness. Won’t be ready until end of year, but reality has set in and I want this 40 done right.

I’ve stripped out everything connecting the tub to frame. The steering wheel was a huge pain in the rear. Tip for anyone who needs to remove the steering wheel: use a pulled, gently use a mallet at the base of the wheel to loosen it up. These things are stuck on the splines really good.

I’m sourcing a flat bed trailer and will soon have the body off for soda blasting. This will allow a thorough paint job on the tub and I can address any issues with the chassis.

 

[Goforth]

Quick help request: is there a good resource to show where everything SHOULD be routed through the firewall?

Previous owner took liberty to use some holes and leave some open. I’d like to clean that up if possible.

 

[ginmtb]

Fortunately your price wasn't bad at all - I still would've taken photos of the "no bondo" work and then filed a claim against the shroom for false advertising. Not like that has stopped him and you probably wouldn't have gotten anything anyhow. Perhaps leave a yelp review, might save someone from getting taken for a much more expensive ride.

Having a brand new harness from Coolerman is going to be so nice! His stuff is top notch.