Odds and ends...

Little bit more accomplished today...

1. Slapped some primer on the lower tailgate repair (bottom 3").  Will need to sand and bondo a couple areas before it's ready for real paint.

2. Removed a few brackets, cleaned them up and sprayed them with some black.  Not sure how that will look in the end with black brackets, but I think they will "pop" a bit with the grey paint in the end.  We'll see.

3. Took every single screw/bolt out that is inside the cab or holding a door or WHY, put each one through a thread repair and reinstalled with anti-seize.  The thread repair tool is NOT a cutting tool, but simply removes any rust or nicks on the threads.  Let's just say each bolt threaded in by hand after I was done.  Bam!

4. Removed the rear quarter panel uprights in anticipation of building storage access panels similar to Wagongear's.  Figured I already had the spot weld drill out, so out they came...pop.  Really nice and open without those "braces."

5. Finished the GT Mat on the ceiling.  Much easier than the floor because there are no rolling divets.  However, gravity sometimes didn't like it as I'm working in the cold so a bit of heat and things seemed to hold.  Lots of seam tape pretties things up too.

6. Seam sealed the rear inner quarters where I fabbed new outer fenders and did the rear quarter chop.  Still left the bottoms open with a few holes so as to allow moisture to escape.

7. Removed the overhead roof support and cleaned it up.  Gonna paint it black.  Probably won't even see it in the end because, well, I have something brewing of an idea that would make it disappear.

8. And lastly, fished in an orange pull string for when I pull my original wiring harness back into this rig!

Seam sealer

Got around to sealing things up this week.

- Gutter/rails
- Floors
- Window runners
- Patches/weld repair spots
- You know, places that need to be sealed up!

Also hit the inner rear fender wells with some asphalt spray stuff...seems legit.

Rear Cargo Weatherstripping Frame Rail Repair

There was a bit of rust along the frame rail that I noticed when I removed the weatherstripping so I figured tonight would be a good time to cut it out and weld in a new piece.  Still some seam sealer to install, but that's about it.  Ready for paint!

Inner Fender Well Repairs

Notoriously bad, these inner fenders seem to hold moisture, so cutting out any bad areas and replacing with new is well worth it at this stage in the game.

Still seam sealer to install, then Dynamat throughout interior (GT Mat...knockoff brand).

Rear Quarter Chop: Stage 2

Today I got around to (mostly) finishing welding up the rear quarter chop pieces into place.

Still need to figure out outter fender repairs and how those will tie in.

Also the underside (inner) of the chop needs to be sealed and possibly trimmed so less debris can hang out there.

Then a bit of bondo, sanding and paint 'em up!

Rear Quarter Chop: Stage 1

Tonight I chopped the rear quarters.  No turning back now!

I basically drew a line parallel with the indent of the rear quarter just above it and then drew another line from the rear corner transition/indent.

I kept the two angles on because I wanted to use those as (1) an angle to follow down to my inside edge and (2), have something for my new piece of steel to follow as somewhat of a guide for tomorrow when I (hopefully) weld the new pieces in.  It looks like there will be lots of clearance for the fuel filler neck too.

I'm hoping to install some sort of storage similar to Wagongear has built, but not exactly sure what, but I suppose I just lost some storage by doing this mod 

I Rust Converted the inners tonight in an attempt to stop any rust from spreading, and wire wheeled them before that.  It actually wasn't too bad after cutting all the really bad stuff out.  A few spots along the very rear corner where there is a seam and support beam, but essentially just surface rust and blew off pretty easily.

Tomorrow morning I'll hit it all with a weld-through primer and let that set.

Then I'll mock up the new pieces and get to welding.  Then seam sealer.  Then rust preventative paint/stuff.

Here's a few pics of what came off and an idea of the angles.  Really glad I did this...it was BAD in there!