Land cruiser 100 Amazon bodywork

[bigegg]

Finally reached a point where all the mechanicals are done on my Amazon, so started on the cosmetics.



Inner wings are pretty spotless.
(Thank dog!)

Quick blast over with the pressure washer and a over spray with my favourite cold galvanising paint.

 

[bigegg]

Outer wings were full of soil.

They don't seem too bad at first glance.

 

[bigegg]

Spoke too soon.



Patch panel bent up from 1.5mm plate.
(Original Panels are 1mm + 1.2mm)



Welded in, then spend an hour chasing blown through holes.

And paint:



This is just a protective coat.
It'll be sanded back - I'm just waiting for some jotamastic 90A, then going to prime with that, then a quick skim of filler, and coach enamel over the top.

 

[bigegg]

Inside of another patch.


1.5mm is a *lot* easier to weld than 1mm!

 

[bigegg]

Another "little" patch done on other side



Reverse side:



Weirdly, the bit which I thought would be difficult :- making the patches; is actually the easiest bit.
It's getting them welded in that I'm struggling with.



In my defence, I have never mig welded before now.
My dad had a SIP mig back in the late 80s, and it put me off for *years*.
I'm pretty good with stick welding, and my aluminium TIG is "okay".

I was told mig was "easier"
Maybe eventually...

Or maybe I'm being too "perfectionist"?
I wanted the welds to be able to be ground back, sanded and painted and DONE.
I can see a lot of filler in my future.

 

[MattF]

I can see a lot of filler in my future.

You're not wrong.

 

[GRW]

Good stuff IMO.
I struggle welding bodywork & making it neat.... it seems enough current to get good strong, penetrative tacks equals proud welds that need lots of grinding back.
As I flap disc or finger-grinder and dress welds back - I find pin holes and I go over those and dress again.
I know I'm not much of a welder - and my best hope is for strong over aesthetically perfect (I'm no good at making things look great).
I'd be quite content with the repair work done there if I'd done it

Cracking truck the Land cruiser. They certainly are well made!

 

[addjunkie]

Cracking truck the Land cruiser. They certainly are well made!

Not sure the new ones will have similar longevity. I had a look about one at the local Toyota Garage, while the Rav was in. Nice but pricey, wasnt convinced.

 

[GRW]

Not sure the new ones will have similar longevity. I had a look about one at the local Toyota Garage, while the Rav was in. Nice but pricey, wasnt convinced.

Seems even Toyota aren't immune to reduced-quality, marketing & accounting "engineering"

 

[bigegg]

Good stuff IMO.
I struggle welding bodywork & making it neat.... it seems enough current to get good strong, penetrative tacks equals proud welds that need lots of grinding back.
As I flap disc or finger-grinder and dress welds back - I find pin holes and I go over those and dress again.
I know I'm not much of a welder - and my best hope is for strong over aesthetically perfect (I'm no good at making things look great).
I'd be quite content with the repair work done there if I'd done it

Cracking truck the Land cruiser. They certainly are well made!

Ta.

The thicker steel certainly makes it easier - if it was the tinfoil that modern cars are made of, I wouldn't even attempt it with mig.

 

[Nick DV]

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Outer wings were full of soil.

They don't seem too bad at first glance.

Luckily front wings are easy to remove, but does the LC not have wheelarch liners?

 

[bigegg]

Luckily front wings are easy to remove, but does the LC not have wheelarch liners?

Yes - plastic/rubber ones.

They're off to one side in the pictures.

They didn't really help, because I think this car has spent some time submerged up to the top of the wheels in mud, judging by the state of the carpets and the inside of the body panels.
When I first got it, I spent several hours pressure washing it, and ended up shovelling almost a wheelbarrow full of soil off the drive - much of which was originally wedged between the chassis and the body.

Overall, however, I think it's been well looked after for most of it's life, then abused for maybe a year or two before I bought it.
Most of the issues have only been superficial. I've certainly owned cars (and especially transit vans(!) ) that have been in much worse condition - even though they _looked_ tidier.

 

[bigegg]

The jotamastic 90a is "out of stock", so I've ended up with some "Hempadur 45141" high build epoxy primer.

TDS says it can be used as a top coat, and it's RAL 9007, so should look okay against the original colour.

 

[Dcal]

TDS says it can be used as a top coat, and it's RAL 9007, so should look okay against the original colour.

While Hemadure can be uses as a top coat it will chalk in direct sunlight. It won't harm the paint but it will noticeable change colour quite quickly.
It would be better to apply a top coat, pretty much any flavour will be suitable.

The Hemadure is excellent stuff.

 

[sako243]

Seems even Toyota aren't immune to reduced-quality, marketing & accounting "engineering"

No but they seem to be better at sorting it.

A neighbour near us had his 2015 Hilux recalled for a chassis inspection. They assessed it and then scheduled it for a warranty chassis swap.

It got shipped off to Lincolnshire I think and he was given a current Hilux as a courtesy car whilst his was having the chassis swapped. They seem to have been quite amenable to accommodating extra bits such as he's swapped the rotten steps and rear bumper as well and it's had a new tow pack fitted as the old one was worn too.

I think he's supplied the bits for the extras but they've accommodated it and fitted the new ones rather than put the old back on.

 

[addjunkie]

No but they seem to be better at sorting it.

A neighbour near us had his 2015 Hilux recalled for a chassis inspection. They assessed it and then scheduled it for a warranty chassis swap.

It got shipped off to Lincolnshire I think and he was given a current Hilux as a courtesy car whilst his was having the chassis swapped. They seem to have been quite amenable to accommodating extra bits such as he's swapped the rotten steps and rear bumper as well and it's had a new tow pack fitted as the old one was worn too.

I think he's supplied the bits for the extras but they've accommodated it and fitted the new ones rather than put the old back on.

A neighbour of ours had a chassis swap on his hilux, was away nearly 6 months, no courtesy one

 

[sako243]

A neighbour of ours had a chassis swap on his hilux, was away nearly 6 months, no courtesy one

To be fair I don't know if it was offered or he kicked up a bit of a stink because he depends on it for work.

 

[bigegg]

While Hemadure can be uses as a top coat it will chalk in direct sunlight. It won't harm the paint but it will noticeable change colour quite quickly.
It would be better to apply a top coat, pretty much any flavour will be suitable.

The Hemadure is excellent stuff.

I discovered/learnt something interesting last night:

RAL 9006 and 9007 are NOT colour standards. They are fake "colours" to enable German train + military companies to order specific anti-rust coatings using standard procurement forms.
9006 being aluminium loaded, and 9007 being iron oxide loaded