wenisman

Quickly putting the skin on the frame, and test fitting back to the car... It fits, a little tight on the passenger side, but I expected that as I still have some shrinking to go to get the profile right. Double checking the glass as well shows plenty of room for the rubber as well. So now it's back at home I'll linish back the tacks and weld it in fully. Then I'll take the wire brush and clean up all the rust and hopefully apply a layer of rust converter and primer.

The base of the tail gate was templated and then I cut a new peice of steel. It was folded, shrunk on the seam and then I put it through the English wheel to get a nice crown and get into the shape of the tail gate. Then I cut the rusted bottom section off and I have tack welded the new bottom section in place. I know this tailgate is taking some time, but the light is at the end of the tunnel. Next I'll try for it back on the car to make sure the skin is good. Then I'll start fixing the frame

I started work in the major damage to the tailgate, it started with taking many a profile of the various shapes and curves from the good side. And then I started to put the body line back into the center of the tailgate. This unfortunately showed up that there was a large split in the steel that I have tacked together whilst I get the main shape back into the panel Then I started work with the hammer and dolly to remove all the wrinkles and the large creases. This then left the steel very proud as it was badly stretched from the accident. So with a multitude of hot shrinks I have begun the chasing of shape back into the tailgate But it's starting to look like a tailgate again

But back in my own garage I have also finished straightening the grill brace, so now it's nice and straight down the main channel. I am still deciding what to do with the actual bracket for the grill. I might drill out the spot welds and fashion a new brace as this one is very bent. I will give it a paint strip and see what it looks like. But it's rust free for the most part, so a run over with the wire wheel and the rust converter, primer paint and it should be ok

It's certainly an interest restoring old cars and strangely cathartic. But I'll see how far my abilities go and how Kevin finally turns out. Comparing my work with the professionals in the workshop shows I have a long way to go, but every day is a school day. Getting a larger workspace with more of my own tools, that would be the dream. I think that would be retirement for me, just working on cars and not the desk job. Right now my garage is a little cramped, That is my home setup, the suspension is now packed away in boxes and I'm working on the bonnet, some rust repair and then I'll deskin that too. But now on that later 😁

Thanks banjo, I actually go to a work shop where they restore cars professionally, and after hours they run classes where I pay time to be able to use their machines and they help with guidance on how to repair. So once a week I go to motorretro to do the bigger pieces or do things that I don't have the skills at the time to tackle. But some work I'll do at home, I have a welder, hammers, grinders and a will to use them. So the front apron, all the suspension stuff was done at home But i don't work in the industry, I'm a desk jockey who has been learning these skills as I go. I took a few tafe courses and through companies like motorretro have gained the confidence to do these jobs.

I have been busy with work so haven't had the time to work on Kevin, however a lot of thought went into the plan for rest of the tail gate. I decided to fully deskin the tailgate before I tackle the damage on the bottom, this was mainly due to the twisted frame. So with plan in hand I got stuck in deskinning the tail gate. I Drilled out the remaining spot welds and then split the seams around the edges. To give me two halves With the tail gate split you can see the amount of rust internally, but also the dented and twisted frame on the bottom. For the keen eyed out there, I have put a few pilot holes that go right through both panels. So when it comes time to join them together I can insert a cleko and make sure it's all lined up. I have started blocking out the damage to the skin so I can take a good enough pattern to cut the bottom off completely

So I spent some cutting the sill off the window so I could fettle it a bit more. And then it was a case of tacking the new sill back on one tack at a time and then trying to combat the warping. So now you can see that the light is even, the tailgate is no longer being pulled out of shape by the sill The left side still is out of shape because of all the damage from the accident. But the next task is to make the bottom of the tailgate.

So the after removing the top sleeve and then putting on a rubber sleeve from a Hilux the rear shock fits inside the rear mount. I'll secure it with a house clamp or something in the future. Because of a larger top bolt diameter and larger bushing I had to file the top mount hole to 18mm. But all up the rear shock looks good to me 🙂

But I had had to change tactics on rear shocks. The original shock I was going to use was to wide, taking the top sleeve off and putting it in the mount shows a modern adjustable shock isn't going to work But nether the less, garage48 have come to the rescue. An upside down shock fits in. It fits, however it does mean that the adjustment screws are now trapped inside the between the mount and the boot floor. So if I do find that I need to adjust the shocks regularly then I may have to cut a hole in the boot floor and fashion a removable plate.

But the new peice was roughly fitted It's not a great fit as it's pulling the skin of the door down. However I have tacked it in place whilst I test for the rear window with the rubber seal. I still need to deskin the door to fix the accident damage. So I can fettle the window at that time

Strange how time flies, but the bottom of the tail gate window was badly corroded. So I have been fabricating a new peice. It's been a few hours of fettling. But first i had to remove the old rusted metal.

Yeah I find with the blue poly bushings you really need to keep them greased very well. So I'm hunting around for a greasable shackle bolts in the right size. But I have also been busy on the tailgate. The first rusty corner was removed Then a new peice was fabbed up, welded in and file finished into place The small holes were filled with weld once the over all shape was back to where I needed it to be

Thanks banjo, that cap looks the business. I know the Hyundai that you're talking about so I might see if I can find out more as well. For the mean time I've got a tridon call on there and it is holding the fumes in. just wrapping up the rear suspension... I'll have to harass the superpro support for a matching bushing but I'm excited for this suspension.

So I started putting the engine, and it's in a very rough condition. The radiator was completely clogged in the bottom with rusty gunk, I can't explain the water... The Thermostat housing was completely clogged as well and checking the water galleries they are rusted through. I tried putting some oil in the engine and tried cranking the engine by hand. It was very notchy when turning, and after a night a good chunk of the oil was sitting on my garage floor. So I'm not sure where the leak is... But I think the engine is shot. So I'm looking at retiring the old engine and doing a conversion.

I also spent a little time on the area around the locks. They had a halo effect from being pushed in, looks like they had been forced open with a screw driver I think. It was a tricky spot to try and hammer and dolly as I was hitting from inside the door with the dolly on the outside. But with the new lock in place it looks reasonable.

The front apron was bent inwards and the brace between the upper and lower radiator mounts was also bent. So I paint striped the front apron and got to work with the rubber mallet, hammer and dolly and some cardboard profiles I guestimated from the rest of the panel. The tears in the metal from the accident need to be welded up but the apron is looking ok. The next item was the brace. It was bent so much it resembled a banana, the only way I could straighten it was to clamp it in the vice and using and old plant holder as a long dolly I was able to keep the radius on the channel. You can see where I have been working to straighten it near the grill mount. I'll post up a pic once I paint strip and have it much straighter

Ok, for those interested a tridon TFL211 petrol cap is not a bad option of you have a ke26. It will get you out of a pinch anyhow ☺️

Thanks parrot, it does look like a LandCruiser cap now you mention it. The joys of buying after market, but that Celica cap looks like it might work too. Time to go measure a few things

Thanks banjo, I will have a look around. I thought about the flap, but you're spot on as the caps suit just proud. I was thinking something like the old Holden fuel caps that covered the space completely. https://www.kingswoodcountry.com.au/buy/holden-fuel-petrol-cap-locking-all-hd-hr-hk-ht-hg/SL15

So the completed set of steering and suspension for the front is looking ok. I feel like I should have painted the lock nuts on the tie rods so I'll go back and fix that. And now the new petrol cap is in place I'll start thinking how I can fab something to make it look better.... Suggestions welcome 🤗

Thanks ae25, I was just about to update this thread as I measured it at 51mm. This puts it just short of being able to put a wilwood kit on. thanks for the advice, just getting a new diff or even shortening a diff is an expensive operation. But speaking to a few shops it's possible to get a Hilux diff shortened. I might as well make this the best build it can be. I haven't decided on engine, but it's looking like either a Ford duratec or Honda k20/4a

I also spent some time with the idler arm, the thread on it says enough, but the old one was seized on. I stripped the bolt getting it off... But the rubber bush was pretty much torn through which is not ideal. But I have a new 555 idler arm, it's once again rust converted, primed and painted in satin black. Whilst I was at it, the old locks were... I don't know how to describe it except to say some one has put a screw driver through all of them. So I tried the ace auto parts locks but the ignition barrel was wrong. However auto parts complex had the right locks for the job! I'll post up soon how they look, but they fitted... I am not happy with the look of the petrol cap but I'll fab something up

From the original photo the rear shocks were completely gone as the car was sagging in the rear. So I have replaced the rear shocks with some kyb shocks for now... I'll post up a bit later with my adventure down suspension lane The rear shocks were stuck in their compressed state, but once the kyb shocks went in the car went back to a neutral stance with a little weight assistance. So I marked the new shocks and started on the new shock brake combo. That's a mission but I think it will work out

I'm not sure I'll keep up with Sebastian in terms of love/dedication as his build is epic! but I'll keep you updated.