Builds WTF did I buy - Project do it right the second time (1 Viewer)

[Goforth]

True to form, this build started with ambition and hit reality quick! I've been at the mercy of people not following direction.

After getting the tub back from body shop I set out to wire wheel off any remnants of bed liner. I made quick work, but found there were areas I couldn't manage to reach. The decision was made for me to pull the tub off the body and sand blast those pesky corners I couldn't get tools into - like under dash!

I instructed the blaster to hit the underside and interior only, as the exterior was already completed by the body shop. Low and behold, the blasting shop stripped everything! It was a blessing in disguise, as it revealed a weak rear quarter panel. I ordered a patch and that should get installed soon.

So I drop the tub and patch off at the body shop, and let the owner convince me that Lizard Skin would be great way to reduce heat and protect the tub. Sounds great, so I agree to it....

A few days later I check in on the progress to find that lizard skin has been amply applied ALL OVER THE INSIDE! So yes, that stuff I spent so much time to scrape off and get blasted.. its back with a vengeance.

Advice: if you’re in the Austin area and are looking for a good body shop, avoid liberty hill. Specially a shop off 183. If you want specifics, PM me. I’ll be glad to help you avoid that s!!t show

 

[Goforth]

After researching lizard skin and the pain in the rear it would be to remove, I decided to just paint over it and hope it provides sound/heat insulation. That helps move the project forward. At this point, I got new bedliner!!! What a blessing (cue sad trombone)

Was able to see the steel patches installed so the tub is now officially rust free. Good progress. Only 1.5 years later!
If the guy in white hat looks clueless... he likely is just really high.

 

[Goforth]

Updates don’t occur fast around here - mostly because my painter is slow as f#%k! Here’s a nugget of unsolicited advice: don’t pay your paint guy up front. They have no incentive to finish the job anymore!

The body is blocked and sanded. First color sample of spring green was sprayed today

I just noticed the body still has a previous owner modification for antenna. Not sure I’m committed to waiting on body shop to take another year to fix that - who am I kidding? I’ll bite the bullet!

 

[4x4veteran]

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[S4Cruiser]

Get some seam sealer on those cowl sections!

 

[Goforth]

Paint has met metal! Photos below to show the tub. Kept lizard skin in interior and painted over it. I believe it turned out good. Will have to check after a year to see how well it wears.

Difficult bits still left to be painted.

 

[Goforth]

Another month and a little further along. I am cleaning up the rolling chassis and wanted some advise. Initially the frame looked great and I wasn’t going to change anything. What was going to be just a project to clean up the body has morphed into a full on over my head rebuild.

Mud members, give me your opinion on my current frame condition. It looked ok but I do see some surface rust. There’s also a bit of chipping paint from a previous restore

Should I dive in further? I mean it’s only money, right?

 

[S4Cruiser]

Looking great, I like that color a lot!!

Frame looks better then average from the pics.

Your dilemma is do you pull the drive train to have the frame blasted and powder coated / painted or run it as is. There isn’t a right or wrong answer just comes down to money/time/preference. If you do choose to leave as is then at a minimum I’d try to clean treat the inside of the frame rails. A quick and easy way would be to spray something like transmission fluid in there to seep into all the nooks and crannies.

 

[Goforth]

Painter dictated how much work I was going to do for frame. I degreased everything and power washed. Chassis looks better than my 2013 Jeep! Body was refitted yesterday. Slowly coming back together!

 

[Goforth]

accidental double post

 

[Goforth]

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before... change of course. I’m going in!

The 40 is back home from painter. I think the finished product looks great (paint on tub). I now had to tackle the chassis. F-it, the tub is coming off again!

POR-15 was in the plan so I broke out my fabulous wire wheel tools and went to work.

In photo below, you can just make out the tub as it sits on wood blocks. Luckily, I've got the '68 to use as reference when I put the '67 together again.

Here's results of wire wheeling and POR-15 Prep:

I renamed my project to "do it right the second time". It seemed fitting. A prior owner did a restoration to the 40, but it appeared they watched 2 minutes of a 30 minute youtube video and decided to go for it.
What may not be visible in the earlier photos was flaking paint and uneven bondo filler. Couple that with rattle can over spray to make 'pewter', the 40 was good from a far but far from good (I’m pretty sure I said this same thing earlier) I hope to remedy that.

I'm using @Jason Reed build as inspiration. He and @Rock40 did a fantastic job on his '66. I'm definitely a long way from their level, but after dealing with my painter, I've learned a new level of patience.

 

[SteveH]

Looking nice. Is that an OEM Toyota color (the mint green)?

 

[Goforth]

Looking nice. Is that an OEM Toyota color (the mint green)?

It is: Spring Green

 

[parrot]

It is: Spring Green

The best green.

 

[Goforth]

It’s hard to stop ‘fixing’ when you’re this far into a project. I found a company that will rebuild my steering box to help take some play out of it. It’s a win for me because that means I gain better access to the engine for painting it!

Only issue is shipping the steering box. Can someone correct or guide me? I am assuming that the worm gear is permanently attached to the steering shaft this means I have to ship the shaft and the steering box. I was thinking just the worm gear and box, but I didn’t want to destroy the shaft trying to detach the worm gear. (Or both)

 

[Brost]

Read a couple people comment on adding disc brakes, how does this affect the value of a 40 that is near stock/original. Power steering would be nice but the column shift is sure fun.

 

[gericurl]

Read a couple people comment on adding disc brakes, how does this affect the value of a 40 that is near stock/original. Power steering would be nice but the column shift is sure fun.

As far as I've seen, disc brakes and power steering don't hurt the value unless you are claiming a concourse OEM correct build. They actually seem to help. Good Resto Mods seem to sell for a fair bit more than OEM original restos.

 

[Brost]

Might be worth trying to find someone to do the OEM disc brake conversion in Western Canada. Not sure I would give up the column shift for PS though, I think even the new City Racer electric wont work with column shift.

 

[Goforth]

Hirsch gloss black arrived so I did my best to apply it. For those counting, this was paint attempt #2.

I made sure to prime it before applying the gloss paint. Pay no attention to the valve cover at this moment. I got plans!!!

I planned to remove radiator and paint from of engine. As I was disassembling hoses, I found the most proven coolant lurking around.

Think i’ll Go ahead and source a new water pump and see about getting the radiator boiled out while it’s apart.

 

[Goforth]

Got the front of engine disassembled and painted:

Found a new issue. The water pump I ordered is way different than my current. With the ‘pin’ part sticking out as it does, there’s no way for my old fan to fit. Any suggestions? Old 1f on left and new on right.