1980 Jeep J10 Honcho Restoration started February 2nd, 2010
258 cui, 727 Transmission, 3.31 gearing. You can see it sagging slightly at the cab / bed.
Project started February 2nd, 2010
My Dad's last truck
Inner fenders ready to go...
PM Industries primer / sealer and then sandable primer
PM Industries top coat for protection
All parts are being taken down to bare metal, and treated with Captain Lee's metal prep
Front bumper and fender brackets
Parts truck, 1984 vintage
The reason for the restoration, to the left of the tire, a hole completely through the frame.
Drivers side door and all the parts that are in it.
Rust holes on the bottom of door, 40 lb flashing bent to fit inside, tinned and soldered with 50 / 50 solder.
This was the first patch, I filled all holes with solder before priming.
Red part made out of an old Hilti drill box, old part to show how bad the rust was.
Fit and attached
Spot welded, with mig welder, through 1/4" holes
Frame rust
More frame rust
Stripped street side fenders and farings
Only bad part on "new" frame, I will remove the same from the original, it is the only good part on that frame.
rear frame attachment
Misc parts
Two coats of sealer on doors, inside treated with calcium sulfide, mixed with mineral spirits and sprayed.
Repaired tail gate
exterior of door
Primmer-ed, ready for storage
Ditto!
...
Fiberglass rear fenders, I had to do a lot of repair, stop drilled cracks, then glassed inside and out with resin and glass mat.
This one had a five inch crack straight up from the center of the wheel opening.
Only undercoating I plan on using, applied thick, protection from rocks that could crack the fiberglass.
Not the prettiest, but it should protect.
I build a 5' wide, 6' tall, 8' long box on the parts truck bed for storage.
Items in here are ready for final sanding on the primer, painting and then assembly.
Getting full
rust on rear bumper, I do not know if I can save it.
I cut out the inner frame to see the damage.
Holes through the structural metal.
Bumper is 5 1/2" tall, if you know of a replacement...
I think that a Town side can be cut down and the end cap attachment brackets re welded in place.
Other rough parts
Door hinges, fairings and step fender supports.
Bed less!
Rust!
Bad Rust!
Bed is in good shape, I found some rust under the undercoating, they must have trapped water under it, there were no cracks in the undercoating apparent.
Fuel tank and mount.
Looks bad, but still solid.
A lot of undercoating to remove.
Roll bar ready for metal prep.
Two coats of PM Industries AG 111 two part urethane top coat, applied with a foam roller. I am impressed!
A flight of bugs swarmed allover after the first coat. they sanded out rather easily.
Cleaning on bed
Undercoating has been a bear, getting closer.
Just found that 3M brake clean cuts the undercoating after the majority has been stripped and scraped.
Bed ready for sealer, it has been stripped, vacuumed, cleaned with alcohol, and metal prepped. The white film is phosphate from the metal prep.
Frame is finally stripped of all unnecessary items
I will build more substantial horses to work from.
I need the cab corners from the cab, and will clean up the springs and front end parts from the axles
Date new frame was made, Nov 16th, 1983, in the afternoon.
Frame stripped of paint, on inside, top and outside. The dark rectangle between the two drivers side cab mounts is the location of the picture of the date stamp.
Still a lot of cleaning to do.
Two coats of MasterCoat Permanent Rust Sealer
Still have to strip and seal the inside of the bed
Two hours after I finished the second coat of silver, I sprayed a sandable primer on, it is suppose to bond into the silver as they both dry.
Next is to coat the silver area of the bed with Black AG111
AG111 applied to bottom of bed
I will try to flip the bed tomorrow, and start on the inside. going to coat it with bedliner, should go quickly
Safe to work on the frame! I will cut these down in height to about 20" and set the cab on them, in the shop, once the bed and frame are completed.
Frame cleaned, metal prepped, and upside-down. Ready for a coat of sealer
I think it cleaned up well, that is shiny metal, not sealer.
Some deep rust here, Captain Lee's turns rust black.
Sealer, rolling on most areas with a 4" foam roller, brushing the joints, around bolts, corners, etc.
Had to take a break, ran out of sealer.
Covered! I took a brush and worked the sealer into all welds and joints.
I plan to do all three coats with it upside-down. Then patch in the four spots on top of the frame that are not covered.
Rain is coming, it is very hot, drying fast, but I am going to tarp it just in case.
Frame completed, July 4th, 2010
2 coats Master series silver, one coat AG111
Needs to cure seven days before bolting items on
Bed hauled a lot of fire wood, I cannot take all dents out, have removed many, most of these are above the cross rails. Hope the bed liner will help cover some. bed ready for final finish.
Homemade bolt tumbler / cleaner. Using rice as cleaning medium at present. Actually working well. Bucket turns at about 50 RPM.
Hoot brought me a bumper, it is rough, but much much better than mine. blue tape is where the welds will be to put it back together. I will finish them with three coats as well. Pitted, but still solid, have one 1/8" hole, Cut 5" (approximately) off of each side, Town side VS Sport side
Spacers / sliders came in today, built the rear spring packs. Ready for poly bushings and installation.
This bumper was rough, only one small hole, but rough
It had alot of little dings that I had to fill
you can still see some rolls at the bottom edge
This one had metal end caps, and was for a Town side bed. I had to cut off around 5" from each side
3 plus coats of Sealer, and it has ended up with three topcoats of white Polly. All put on with a foam roller.
Bolted on the bumper, had no other place to store it...
Getting slim! Running gear and cab all that is planed to keep.
Put to bed.
Cut off rear frame, going to slide cab off towards the back.
Engine compartment
Engine
Rear Drive shaft, ready for universals
Front drive shaft, ready for universals
Rear bumper complete, Comanche end caps for now, I plan to cast the original profile out of epoxy glass.
Blower motor, cleaned up and ready to re install
New factory gauges from BJ's, the engine turned face plate also is from BJ's. Used thin aluminum sheet with adhesive to cover the outside edge of dash cluster. Set Odometer to 00000, I figure, I will touch every bolt, it deserves it! Polished the plastic lenses with headlight cleaning kit, came out great!
Bought a Hobart 140 Mig welder, my first project was welding 1/8" plates to the cab supports, they had rusted badly. This was my third attempt, think it worked out well. First two will be secure, but are not pretty...
I hope to clean burnt paint today and seal. Bolted rear springs on today, and the bumper blocks.
Rear springs hung, and bumper blocks added on all corners.
Front springs cleaned and first coat of primer
Gas tank support, battery box, spring clamps, front shock mounts / axle clamps
Front shackles, street side tail gate brackets, straps to attach gas tank, need to be spot welded to bottom support.
New brake drums and misc brake / rear end parts. Painted with high temp caliper paint
Rear end cleaned and treated with Capt Lee's
Sealed with Master Series silver primer / sealer.
One more coat of sealer, then a coat of AG111 black top coat, then build and hang on springs.
Finish coat
Complete
Ready to hang, add fluid and brake lines...
Rear differential installed
emergency brake cables run, breaks complete
Half of a rolling frame
Frame blocked, front differential unbolted, laying on the ground, tomorrow, I plan to drag it out and start on it. All parts for the rebuild are in the shop
Original front differential dissembled, parts truck front differential dissembled, best parts of the two picked, ready to be cleaned.
Look Ma, no wheels!
Front end parts cleaning up rather well.
The other side...
ready for final cleaning, them metal prep, then these, other than the spindles, will get a spray epoxy paint.
Everything riding on the spindle is new, except the spindle nuts
New ball joints, universal, and calipers. Edit... The calipers are on the wrong side in this picture, I found this out trying to bleed the brakes. The bleeders must point up!
Painted and ready to hang on frame
New tie rod ends and stabilizer shock.
January 29th, almost a year of work, I now have a rolling chassis.
everything here complete, outside of final fluid check and greasing again.
steering complete
Next I hope to fill that big void with Transmission, transfer case and engine.
Cab removed, will degrease later today.
The cab, I will strip it and slide it into the shop.
backyard clutter
The complete project, all work has been done in the yard and building. One year's progress
Transfer case, 208, cleaned and re sealed, ready to to in.
Transmission hard parts, look good
Case, semi cleaned, no cracks
Tail piece, governor, servos, and overrun clutch still to be removed
Over run clutch
6 lug, 5.5" bolt span. 15" by 8" Powder coated
I know you only see four in the picture, but I did get 5. Finish is exceptional.
Stainless steel OEM brake lines
Made while I waited today, In Columbus OH. Right Stuff Detailing.
Fit like a glove!
Very minor tweaking, they only touch where the clamps are, and where they are attached at the fittings.
Right Stuff also bent a complete set of fuel line tubing for me, I will not be able to put them on until the body is in place. They have saved the patterns, for a short bed, I6.
Timing chain, cam and lifters worn, new ones in storage
Ready to remove head
I will probably take the block and head to the machine shop for cleaning, they bake, then bead blast, instead of boiling.
TF-727 Torque Flight, with transfer case tail piece
My first Auto rebuild. Very pleased as to the way everything fit and worked out. replaced all seals, and sealing rings, the clutches and bands. Had to buy the thrust shim behind the pump to get the end play of the shaft in specs.
New torque converter, Stall is 300RPM higher than stock. New flex plate, just temporally installed for alignment, and storage.
Tx and Transfer case, shift linkage, torque converter, ready to install.
Realized I had V8 motor mount brackets instead of I6, DUH
They bolt in and are welded on top, it was not a big deal to cut the welds of the old and weld in the new.
Journals have minor scoring, will take to engine shop and see what they say.
Transfer case mounted, still need electric harness and steel lines.
This brown spot was where I started, One year and three weeks, it has been disassembled. The cab still has to be stripped.
Stripped block, waiting to go to the engine shop for cleaning and honing, and cam bearings. Hopefully nothing more. Cylinders look good. #1 top ring was broken, looked like it had just broken, worn at the meeting, but did not score the cylinder.
Head ready to go to the shop, hoped to just seat the valves, but they appear to need a bit more. We will see...
Naked block.
Intake and shrouds ready to go on engine.
Fan, alternator bracket, pulleys, shift linkage, etc.
Manifold bolts, coated with 1800 degree cast iron paint.
AMC Metallic blue
Closest engine paint I could find, original was very similar but non metallic.
Cross Member and parts, need to finish cleaning and seal and top coat.
The 84 truck had brackets that bolted on to the cross member and sandwiched the frame, this one was butchered by the PO. I cut the section from the parts cross member to keep spacing correct. will weld and clean up tomorrow.
Finished Miscellaneous parts, running out of pieces, once I get the cross member done, all I have to do is clean the shop waiting for the engine to come back from the shop. Plan to take interior to the upholstery shop this week.
Engine came back from shop today, 4/8/11. Head was cleaned and surface trued, valves redone.
Engine work was done by Butch Smith, Smith Automotive Machine Shop, in Frankfort, KY. Great people to do business with.
Rods cleaned, pistons are new, 0.030 over
Crank turned 0.010 on mains and connecting rod journals
resurfaced, clean as a pin.
New cam bearings and freeze plugs, the lettering on the freeze plugs all align.
Bored 0.030 and honed.
Main bearings and rear seal installed, greased up well with engine lube.
No Rod bearings, they should be in Monday, got bored, masked and painted the head.
Used the Detroit green for a base coat on all cast, 500 degree engine paint, then used the Seymor AMC blue as a top coat. (it is also high temp)
Piston's ringed, waiting for rod bearings.
Old manifold was cracked, new was an exact match, painted and ready to install. Used 1800 degree cast iron paint on the exhaust manifold.
Bored, waiting on rod bearings...
Butch Smith wanted me to mask off the brass freeze plugs. Glad I did, looks great!
I believe I have all engine parts coated, might have missed some bolts, but all the large items should be painted.
Cross member and transmission support loose fit to make sure it works...
#5 piston ready to go in, rings spray liberally with Marvel Mystery Oil. Ring compressor tightened, then tapped with a wooden hammer handle, then re tightened. Rod bearing inserted, red is the engine lube. rubber hose on rod bolts just in case...
#5 ready to be tapped home with the but end of a wooden hammer handle.
Pull the rubber, lube the Journal, and set the cap. I snugged the bolts, then torqued to 20lbs each, then torqued it to the specified 33 lbs. The red is not rust, it is Marvel Mystery Oil. I could turn it over by putting pressure on the counter weights until the last piston was in place, it turned easily with a ratchet on the Harmonic balancer bolt.
Timing marks aligned
Front end of engine sealed
Oil pan sealed, ready to install bolts and torque.
Oil pan torqued, ready for head
Head torqued, I soft torqued it, 65 lbs in sequence, then 85, then 105 lbs, all in sequence.
Exhaust manifold is new, aftermarket. Had to clean flashing out of one port. Had to elongate the two top holes about a 1/16". Had to relieve two places where the bolts clamped both the intake and exhaust manifolds together. After that, it seemed to fit fine.
I tried to seal up all openings for it's wait to be started.
Ready to bolt to the transmission / transfer case and set into the frame.
LONG power train. Bolted together
Still have to bolt in the torque convertor to the flex plate, add the motor mount pads, and put the transmission mount assembly in place.
I re chained it, (next picture) and have picked it up, it hangs as it sits now. I have to move a few things outside, then move the frame into position, then set it in...
Chained and ready to be set in.
Tomorrow I hope to set the engine in place.
Stuck the nose of the frame in the shop as far as it would go, everything aligned up well.
This will be the only time the frame gets into the shop...
Engine in, ready to back out.
Hooked up the shifter bellcrank and tightened everything down. Trying to get rid of the storage of small parts, figured I should put them in place.
A milestone for me...
Ready for drive shafts, added the fuel and vent line for the transfer case. Bolted down transmission dip stick housing. everything is sealed, taped off water lines, capped all others.
Front drive shaft installed
Alignment looks good
Both drive shafts in place
Stripping the dash board
Paint seems to be coming off well
Dash completed, ready to set in when the time comes.
Dash pad shrank about 5/8", had to pop rivet the edge to the metal dash. One hole in the speaker grill, other than that, it looks good.
Glove box was replaced with a BJ's plastic box insert. Needed minor trimming. Original radio removed years ago for an AM / FM / CD.
Peddles refurbished, ready to install
Power steering pump, new, all painted, ready for pulley to be installed. Napa will press it on.
Alternator added, fan is just finger tight, needed to find a place for it!
Power steering pump installed.
Started the cab today, very little rust on the underside. The parts truck cab had little rust in the cab, but was very rusty underneath.
Cut out the main place that you could see major rust from the bottom.
First patch panel, my welding sucks! I will get better.
This is why I had to put in the patch.
This piece is from the parts truck, it was totally gone in the original cab. My welding sucks! but it will not show.
This will be challenging.
Mostly surface rust, but I have floor pans that I will install.
I will cut out alot of this rust, although it does not go all the way through. I have floor pans. Since I have the floor pans, I think I will cut out above the channels and rust treat them before installing the pans.
More patching to do.
Drivers side, above the rocker panel, I will cut out a patch from the parts truck and replace.
Passenger side front of the rocker panel, the other side was completely gone. Have cut out the replacement from the parts truck.
Passenger side, cut this piece out of the parts truck.
Four separate pieces were cut from the green donor truck and welded into the the original cab.
New seat belts ready to install
Cutting out the bad...
Firewall is rough cleaned, patch panels on drivers side being fitted.
Need to clean up where welds and laps will be. Drivers side.
From the brow, to half way down the fire wall, all has been rough cleaned.
Front Passenger side area that will be patched with BJ's floor pan.
I had to cut out a 6" by 24" section out of the donor cab, above the patch plate, and the green section around the flag shifter opening.
1/4th of the floor boards are secure...
Donor cab is Swiss cheese
First weekend of June
Still have a bit of welding inside, but front floor boards complete, I will put pans in rear section. Should not have to add any donor cab parts.
Passenger side, floor welded in from top side. BJ's front patch panel, Zack's rear panel.
Driver's side, floor is now solid, the gray panel has a galvanized coating, harder to weld, but should be better in the long run without proper sealing.
Welding, scraping, and cleaning, using screws to pull the patch panels down into position. working out very well.
green metal replaced rusted door header
cab corner getting fitted
underneath mostly welded, still have a good bit of cleaning before sealing and top coating
Inside still needs about three feet of welding done, then clean seal and paint
Drivers side stripped to white metal
Back of cab in white metal
Roof cleaning up surprisingly well, with a 4" grinder and course knotted cup brush.
Most of the roof was rusted, no pitting, just a red rust coating, some seemed to grow through the primer. Cleaning up nicely!
Mounted a piece of angle iron, 3/8" by 3" by 4" onto the front frame member. I want to bolt recovery hooks to the front.
The hooks are even with the front of the bumper and have 1/4" clearance from the bottom of the bumper.
It will make it difficult to align the bumper, but I think it can be done.
1/2" grade five bolts.
Remove, seal and paint and recovery points will be complete.
Bottom of cab finally cleaned, washed, metal prepped, and sealed. What a chore!
When this dries, I will use a urethane sealant on any gaps.
Inside of firewall clean as a pin
Underside of cab and firewall ready for duty, sealed in gloss black.
Interior floor boards ready for clean and seal
Outside of cab is ready to have the final nubs ground off, spot putty-ed and cleaning, prepped and sealed.
While the silver sealer was still tacky, I sprayed sand-able primer on all areas that will get the color coat.
Tomorrow aI hope to put on the final black coat on all silver areas
Inside of cab completed
Sand red, finish paint and assemble.
Interior came back from the upholstery shop today. Not exact match, the chrome plated plastic trim could not be found. The shop carried the front seat pattern on through where the trim would have been.
Seats are very nicely done. better than... vinyl. Very close to original.
All cab surfaces are now sealed, water tight.
Front recovery hook mod complete
Hooks sit about 1/4" below bumper
Silver area gets one more coat of silver, then before it dries, a coat of sand-able primer that will bond into the silver coat.
Sand-able primer sprayed on the final silver coat while it is still soft, to bond.
Small silver area will get black AG 111. The cab will then be ready to set on the frame.
18 Months, 13 days from start of project, All parts have been stripped to bare metal, two coated with Silver sealer, top coated with either AG111 where it does not show, or primed. Every seal and bearing has been replaced, every module has either been replaced or re built. I am virtually assembling a new 31 year old Jeep J10 Honcho. Most all parts are sitting here ready to go on the frame. August 15th, 2011
Cab ready to be set on frame.
Cab is finally back where it belongs
It looks like a Jeep again!
Loose fit inner fenders and front radiator support, (front fairing and pig nosed grill just stuck on during storage.)
All body parts at this time are just loose fit, I will add the fenders next to check alignment and make sure all is well.
Front bumper just hanging in place, I wanted to check on the recovery hook clearance. They will be just as I wanted.
Front fenders next. I would like to do them today, but it is too hot...
The hood does not align as I had hoped but we will work on this.
Tacked on the front fender for fit.
Alignment looks good, a bit of tweaking needed.
August 26th, 7 PM eastern. The engine fired and ran.
I had a fuel leak which I fixed and the valve pan gasket is leaking, I will change it in the morning.
West Virginia fuel tank mount! My roots show.
I just had to put the seat and seat belt in and check out the transmission.
I ran it through the gears twice in low range, and got it into second gear in high range. I am very happy with what I did with the transmission. On to painting!
New Old Stock Emblems. Packaged Sept 7th, 1990
WH
Start of paint booth
tighten up this, tighten up that... Hope it will last a month.... Or through the Winter...
I will leave the end open until I am ready to paint, notice the squirrel cage blower and bug wacker...
Not very pretty, but should work.
The Circus Tent Paint Booth.
Second coat of primer
Had to re roof the paint tent, this one survived two inches of rain last night, the last one collected about forty gallons of water the last rain, had to slice it to drain it. This one is stronger and has a ridge board instead of a rope.
shinny primer, helps to see the low spots, and believe me, there are many in the fiberglass. I believe that if I get through these, the sheet metal will be a cake walk.
I do not want to fill the spot welds, they were there originally.
I sanded through the edge of the rear fairing, a light sanding and it should be ready for paint.
Tailgate primed three times with high build 2K primer, ready to block.
Brackets not adjusted, but looks like a good fit
Tom Telesco in CT, of Buick Nail head Fame, supplied the front bumper. It is gorgeous! Thanks Tom! And Thanks Jackie!
Filled original mirror holes and drilled holes for new mirrors
I fitted 95 +- Bronco mirrors, they are basically the same shape, but large enough to be useful.
Tailgate hinges, scuff and finish paint
Hinges need scuffing and finish paint, small fairings in upper right are ready for paint, fiberglass fenders need one more blocking.
Everything grey is in some form of finish painting, red still has a long way to go.
I think I have all the filling taken care of, a final blocking, and touch up with primer and they should be good.
Final blocking, scuff the inside of the doors, and these should be ready for final paint.
Blocked and did first coat of filler.
Sprayed three coats of "Finish 1, 415 high build primer" Now for another session of blocking.
Half the hood blocked
Right side, blocked, it has a cross hatch appearance. Used 220 dry. Left side un touched. Where the two areas meet, you can see both dull and shiny areas, I have been sanding until all areas are dull and cross hatched.
You can see the cross hatching here, sand through is a dime size. You can see the Master Coat and red primer next to it.
In the middle of the picture, where the piece of sandpaper is under the hood, you can see shiny areas, darker grey. I sanded the whole area front to back again in a cross hatch pattern and they cleaned up.
Hood blocked, needs a final two coats of primer then sand with 400 grit.
Misted a coat of flat black Laquer over the entire hood
Block sanded it off with 220 grit paper and a DuraBlock.
I have a lot more sand through, but found many places that needed leveling
I bought two neat switches, blue LED's. I made a bracket to mount under the dash, the texture was an accident, it was too cold in the shop. I like it! They will be used for fog / driving lights and roll bar off road lights.
Mushrooms growing??? bolts that need to be painted blue, primed.
Tailgate primed, sanded, ready for final paint.
Roll bar bolts in white, dash mounting bolts in black.
Rear wiring harness, removed all wire loom, inspected wires, and replaced with new. cleaned.
Engine compartment wiring harness, removed all wire loom, inspected, cleaned and re loomed.
Left is a 32 year old anti slip step pad for the rear fenders. The right is copy with new materials. The new might be a bit coarser than the original, like 36 grit vs 40 grit sandpaper. Could be years of wear too. If anyone needs a template...
New anti slip pad laying in place
Fuel cap and bracket for town side J10, the Sport Side has a straighter large tube. Large tube goes down when mounted.
Windshield washer tank cleaned. It is still a bit yellow with age, if anyone knows how to brighten it up, please let me know. The Overflow tank is being soaked in bleach water now, as was this one was.
Items refurbished ready to install.
Windshield wiper arms refurbished
Some of the items needed to finish, all have been cleaned and painted
More finished items ready to go
Windshield wiper activation arms, lubed and ready.
Original jack, jack crank and tire iron, cleaned and painted.
Vent window disassembled, 17 rivets need to be drilled out. This allows you to replace the vent seal rubber and the main door window vertical seal. Rivets are not pop rivets, they are hollow based, which requires a set tool.
The chrome frame on the driver's side is rusted badly, I need to replace it.
Inside door arm rests
They are interchangeable, The tool pictured will remove the serrated washers easily, work it under the washer and rock the tool left to right and they will loosen the washer.
The standard arm rest will go into the Honcho and other upgraded interiors, they are the same except for the backing plate. 4 screws change the backing plate.
Finished armrest, silver area is not quite original, original was chromed, with a silver gray vinyl on the large flat area between the groves.
one was tan, the other black, can you tell which one was which?
Tools needed to install the new window guide and vent seals
3/8 by 4 by 4 angle, the tip of the right side is used to attach the two top rivets.
Part of a 1/4 by 2 by 6 c channel, used to buck the rivets inside the felt window guide.
Stainless trim piece, new felt window guide and old guide
The holes in the new guide did not align with the stainless trim. I used the round file to mark, with it's sharp point, as a scribe, and filed out the holes in the new felt guide. I used a 7/32 drill bit to drill out the holes where the rubber is to be attached to the stainless. The rubber is part of the vent seal package.
The rivet tool and rivets are from a Chevy restoration site. Look for 70 to 72 rivets for wing glass, and you will find them. You will need a pack of the rivets, 26 per pack, a pack of the wing glass pivots, and a tool or two to install them.
The two top rivets were put in backwards from original, I could not see how to install them without bending the top angle where the hammer is touching. The rivet tool has about a 1/16" ground off of each side to fit into the glass channel and not destroy it.
The smaller piece of metal will fit inside of the felt window guide and not hurt it. The two rivets at the bottom of the vent frame did not seem to want to tighten up, I drilled the inside of the rivet with a 3/32" bit to allow for the tool to tighten them. Worked well. Tighten the rivets as tight as you can before drilling.
The un modified tool works great for these rivets and the brackets below
Make sure the brackets go back as they were originally attached.
Bed sanded and primed, ready for blocking
I did not prime inside, I plan to have it bed lined in the original color. From what I have researched, there is no reason to spend time priming it.
Re chromed wing glass frames
I busted A** today, trying to get something painted in color. These parts are ready to be washed down, tacked off and sprayed. Alas tomorrow is another day...
I removed the AMP meter, a cause of melt down is some situations. Figured that since I am this deep, I ought to heed the warnings... I thought it worked out very nicely!
These Marchel fog lights were chrome. The finish was trash. I scrubbed them and painted them. I hopefully have another set coming that have exceptional chrome with clear lenses. I hope to use the black cases with clear lenses for the roll bar, and the chrome cases with the yellow lenses for the bumper.
Ready to prime, all sealed up.
Inside sealed, very little that will get finish paint.
Masking to keep over-spray from underneath.
Finally, no more red...
I see very little filling that needs to be done.
Sprayed 100 OZ of primer on the cab and front clip.
First attempt at painting, I finally pulled the trigger! This is the only part painted so far that I am keeping, other than the tailgate hinges.
I have a few runs that I must attend to but overall, the finish laid down very nice. Will re paint.
The overhead lighs obscured the color, but shows the overall smoothness. Not good enough.
color is as the original I will keep these...
I like the way the tail gate came out. Re sanded waiting for re paint.
I think this is a keeper! Not so, sanded through several edges.
Direct flash distorted the color. Re sanded waiting for re paint
This item has some dry areas on the side and orange peal on the front, the top surfaces are smooth. Re sanded waiting for re coat.
I cut and buffed these panels, you can read the packing label in the reflection. I culled these because of edge sand through...
I am amazed at the finish! I cut through an edge so this has been sanded and will be re coated.
Tailgate polished, ready for emblem and "Jeep" lettering.
Emblem location on tailgate
Left rear fender ready to mount, there is still a haze from polishing that I have to clean off.
This photo without flash shows the true shine.
It is raining through my paint tent. Finally looks like a Sport side again.
New light and tailgate chain. The bed will get bed liner.
Passenger side door, polished
No flash true color.
Passenger side door complete ready to be hinged and hung.
New weatherstripping, locks work, windows work, latch works. Hinge, hang and add door panel and it is done.
I painted a galvanized screen and installed to keep trash out
Used RV Black silicone to attach the screen to the cowl vent. I weighted down the screen and glued down, about ten inches at a time.
Hope to cut the screen around the wiper shafts so that the screen covers all areas. Dec. 2012
Is the third time a charm?
I hope I can work with it...
The hood, the right side is sanded with 1500 grit paper, the left is sanded with 3000 grit. You can see the difference in the reflection of the light.
The Hood, same angle as the last picture, but has been sanded and compounded and polished.
Added a few items
vacuum lines and hood release.
Added inside air box, parking brake and hood release.
Vacuum hoses in place.
Engine compartment wiring complete.
Tilt steering column and heater installed.
Wiring laid out for instrument panel.
Headliner and sunvisors installed, dyed with SEM Buckskin dye, Foil insulation above.
5/16" foil covered bubble wrap insulation, still to be glued in place.
Driving lights and Roll bar lights relays.
Fog lights wired
Roll bar lights are 100 watt, driving lights are 55 watt.
These switches control the Roll bar lights and the Driving lights.
Carpet glued to a backing board, held in place with Velcro.
This panel will cover the silver cubby hole in the picture above. Will be attached with Velcro for access.
Exhaust system complete
Engine compartment complete
