Date: 02/03/04
Coreys pride and joy... my nightmare.... Got rust? ...you betcha... no better cabs available so we fix what we have.
Date: 02/03/04
Part of the inner sill replaced. Care is taken to duplicate the original-even though we have little to work with.
Date: 02/03/04
Rust repairs to inner completed. Attention to originality pays off when you come to fit the outer sill.
Date: 02/03/04
After the inner is repaired it is derusted using heat and a wire brush and then given a generous coating of Wattyl blacketch. Should be a very long while b4 this rusts out again.
Date: 02/03/04
New sill attached and there is no need for any bodyfiller. Repro sill by Craig Vane Cheap as well as effective. Plenty of rustproofing in here now.
Date: 02/03/04
At first I had ideas of just cutting the rust out ...but it got worse-much,much worse. The plenum chamber was nearly non existant at one end. Note I have just replaced the floor pan. A waste of time if I don't fix the plenum chamber. These are next to impossible to get at. Hmmm what to do.....
Date: 02/03/04
Only thing to address the rust was to purchase another cowl from the wreckers...Believe it or not this is a genuine HJ GTS . This HJ sedan cowl overcomes several damaged areas in one foul swoop. The one tonners have a HQ cowl on them . Some one had fitted a twin headlight front and bogged up the cowl area so the bonnet lines matched the cowl. The cowl on the car had so much rust that it is just easier to replace the whole thing.This will also give the bonnet something to match up to...
Date: 02/03/04
This is serious mum!
The entire cowl is unpicked and removed .I carefully left some of the left door pillar in place as I had just repaired the lower and the sill.
The entire cowl is unpicked and removed .I carefully left some of the left door pillar in place as I had just repaired the lower and the sill.
Date: 02/03/04
No real need to brace b4 cutting. there is not much movement in these cabs. due to the very nature of construction. Careful measuring and working out b4 cutting commenced.
Date: 02/03/04
You can see the floor pan I oxy hammer welded in earlier, some of this had to be undone again to remove the cowl. Note the trans tunnel will need some rectification.. Was a 6 and 4 speed and now will be a 6 and auto
Date: 02/03/04
Here is the problem area of the old cowl. The plenum chamber is the big bulbous part and the air ducts screw into it. Note substantial rust in around where the air duct mounts. The rust in the sill is evident too.
Date: 03/03/04
After a fair amount of unpicking, measuring,and aligning the new cowl was sat in place and simply welded back in. The straps aid as come - alongs to help line it all back up again.
Date: 03/03/04
The pillar mould you see sitting on the dash is used a a reference tool . The mould is checked to see if the screw holes line up perfectly ( which they did) and then welding continues.
Date: 03/03/04
Cowl repair is now completed ... this is about a full days work and a bit to acheive but it all came together smoothly. Owner Corey breathes a sigh of relief. He is quite chuffed to see his tonner get a new lease on life.
Date: 03/03/04
The new section needs very little clean up and will ensure this Ute lives a while longer yet. This is radical surgery but it not only speeds up the repair process but ensures longevity as well . We know it will fit 'cause the factory made it.
Date: 05/03/04
This is coreys back passage...errr...rear bulkhead. It has a rusty member below the window sill.
Date: 05/03/04
Offending rusty item removed by drilling out spot welds along the factory seam again. Plus a bit of careful cutting in strategic places. Corey is getting quite used to the radical surgery required.
Coreys_back_passage_3
Date: 05/03/04
A view from the front shows the gapping hole and the cut we bought from the wreckers to rectify it.
Coreys_back_passage_4
Date: 05/03/04
After a whole day to unpick the two rears I am able to weld it back in. This process only took about an hour...All the work is in trimming and aligning for a factory fit...
Coreys_back_passage_5
Date: 05/03/04
The new panel installed. Once again the idea is not to make it look like its been done. When all is ground back this repair will be virtually impossible to detect...unless people refer back to these pics of course... these images will self destruct in five seconds.....
Date: 13/03/04
Most of the repairs done to the cab and as Graham was waiting to do some paint prep on it, I had to jump in and repair the GTS front we had bought for it.
Date: 13/03/04
With all the panels lined up and correctly gapped, it meant that the massive repairs to the cab were not in vain. All parts fitted as they should and now it could be pulled apart for final priming and preparation on these parts by Graham and it now meant I could finish my rust cutting on the cab.
Date: 13/03/04
Even new parts have to trail fitted ... This is a repro light assembly and I am always suspicious of these parts so a "lets make sure" is in order and luckily for it, the fit was perfect.Note powdercoated support panel.This and many other unboltable items were treated to some satin black powdercoating to overcome surface rust and to give that OEM look that I like.
Date: 13/03/04
This lump of bog was applied in vane many years ago... the trouble some people go to to get the hole filled with bog until it stops falling through is amazing. This entire inner bottom was cut out and replaced b4 the new outer sill could be put on.
Date: 13/03/04
Oxy welding the new sill in . This area will be hidden by the scuff plate and I make sure this is finished off the same as any visible part of the car. This is to make sure that no dirt will gather in uneven pockets under the sill plate and rub through the new paint and cause it to rot out again much further down the track.
Date: 16/03/04
Closer veiw of the finished sill and cab corner... gaps are checked and the door is reworked to suit if needed.The door was left on after the front panels were aligned to suit the car. This way I can be sure of the door and sill repairs are right.
Date: 16/03/04
Cab ready for primer. The filler you can see over the welds is a final glaze type. The welded areas are given a thin skim of fibreglass filler first and then finshed off with final glaze putty. As not much is needed we prefer this very fine type of self levelling filler.
Date: 16/03/04
Six coats were applied in total the final two coats are tinted slighty different as to act as a depth guage when Doodle rubs the car down.
Date: 23/03/04
All welds under floor are sealed with a brushable seam sealer- ensuring the new sections have a better chance at not letting moisture in and not rusting. Some rust had to be cut from the Chassis but was minor, and quite normal for this model.
Date: 23/03/04
All parts have been painted and Doodle is painting the existing mags as funds have dried up and new ones will have to wait. Panels have been flow coated to give optimum finish. This means they have been rubbed back and given a flow coat of clear to give a smoother finish.
Date: 23/03/04
Finally the cab is painted. Has been a lot of work to get to this stage. Three weeks to the day have elapsed and this meant I was working seven days a week to get this far. Now I can cut back to six full days a week.
Date: 23/03/04
Rear view of cab finaly painted. The new sections have first been seam sealed in the factory style to match the OEM look.Chassis copped a coat of satin black 2K as well to give it a freshen up. Would have been nice to get this powdercoated as well but time/money and the fact the powder coaters could not fit it in the oven meant that painting it was the next best option.
Date: 23/03/04
The front suspension was another job for me to tackle. I dont really get paid for doing this but the thought of Corey being charged $2300 by Pedders meant that I was feeling a bit charitable and offerd to replace what was necessary for the price of the replacement parts.
Date: 23/03/04
Blue motor fitted for the interim until he can afford something better with more grunt but will do for now.(This WAS the motor for my EK Van- never mind).
This shows the new suspension components. Powdercoated A arms and lowered second hand coils and also a a second hand Heavy Duty sway bar. New shocks and as his brakes had just been done we left them alone. No need to mention all new bushes and ball joints.
This shows the new suspension components. Powdercoated A arms and lowered second hand coils and also a a second hand Heavy Duty sway bar. New shocks and as his brakes had just been done we left them alone. No need to mention all new bushes and ball joints.
Date: 23/03/04
Under veiw. Inner guards are left off until I have aligned all the front metal. New transmission fitted.
Date: 23/03/04
Starting to take shape. Thats straight yellow tinter. Dosen't come any brighter. Note the dark out side. This is evidence of the long' long hours that are required.
Date: 30/03/04
Interior being fitted by Unique trimmers from the Gold Coast.Here the carpets are being fitted with underlay glued down first. Note the nice new genuine style of door cards by Eastern Auto Upholstery form Victoria.They supplied the entire trim kit .
Date: 30/03/04
A beautiful looking standard bench seat. This uses genuine fabrics and is manufactured as perfectly as the originals. The interior of this ute has not looked as good as this since it left the factory! Its a real pleasure to use one of these interior kits and I thoroughly reccomend them.Retail price of the complete Kit was $1430 + frieght.
Date: 30/03/04
Even the small details such as the fabric "parcel shelf " for behind the seat is included. The other end of this flap of Vynil is glued and held in by the rear screen rubber.
Date: 05/04/04
Finished at last...sort of some minor adjustments and a decent tune up will get this ute feeling a whole lot better for itself.
Date: 05/04/04
Even the chassis had rust. It now sports two pack black ready for Corey to put the tray back on.Note Chrome Mylar locking strip in rear screen rubber.Its the little things that make a difference.
Date: 05/04/04
Not the most startling of engine bays. We did not even paint the second hand blue motor. It will be getting the flick later so we decided to just wipe its bum and slot it in..its backed by a new trimatic. Powder coating adorns the inner guards and all the brackets. The bits between the bonnet braces have been treated to a stipple effect to help tart it up.
Date: 05/04/04
This is the bit of the project I like the most..the fresh new factory interior... it nearly sported a B&M shifter but after finding it to big to fit with the bench seat (thankfully) I had to quickly change the column to an Auto one, and the ute went to the gear box shop to get another new auto - to change the shifter linkage to the right hand side.
Date: 05/04/04
The hoodling is done in the "sandpaper" style of material. These interior kits are stunning.
Date: 05/04/04
Look at that beautiful seat.. Only concession inside was the steering wheel. the originals did look crap...Dash has also been updated to HZ style. Every last thing inside the ute has been replaced. Seat belts are also new, as are the window winders,armrests,rubbers,etc ,etc.
Date: 05/04/04
This windscreen close up shows off Val Neils handiwork on polishing up the stainless trim. Note how everything fits. Through many years of doing restowork I have seeked out the best people in each field and utilise thier talents and expertise.
