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My new toy truck


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Thanks guys! Not just for the photo shoot, this is the new look of the truck. I felt that it needed a theme. I will post some more on getting it to this point this evening.

 

Damn dude you out did yourself on this one. That's just badassness right there.

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Thanks John. Its been lots of fun. After JCCS, I was trying to figure out what to do next. I thought about the old shell that it came with that I had long since sold. My son thought of constructing one of those canvas shells that old VW bus trucks have sometimes. I even thought of a traditional ladder rack but couldn't quite visualize it.

 

Then I stumbled upon this truck and couldn't keep my eyes off of it. It was simple and perfect. This Mazda is from Australia and he has since painted it and removed the rack.

 

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I used it as inspiration to build my own rack out of raw steel. After a couple weekends of cutting and welding the rack was complete and I set out to deck it out.

 

Found an old wooden orchard ladder in the local classifieds. Found some black (natural gas) pipe behind my shed and I had some old rusty C clamps that fit perfectly. We had inherited the push mower years ago and it sat outside in our garden. That went in and then I threw together the bed rack from scraps that I had to hold the tools: a rusty shovel and a vintage edger that I picked up at the local thrift store.

 

I did not want anything modern to tie it all down. I had the well worn black and white rope but the thinner white rope is cotton from Home Depot that I 'dirtied' by running it through used oil and dragging it on the ground. :P

 

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Finally came the door logo. Since the truck was factory white with blue sprayed over at some point, I've had the idea to mask off an area and sand it off to reveal whatever was underneath. I thought about it for a while because there's no turning back so I better like what I come up with. I'm kind of a 'jack of all trades' so the maintenance theme fit well. My son Miles helped me design and sand the logo. I used Illustrator and then had a sign shop cut me the vinyl.

 

The 'Million Mile' is kind of a tip of the hat to how far Datuns and Toyotas tend to last. My wife just rolled her eyes through this process but it was all artwork to me. I even put the ladder on different ways to get it just right. :D Now if I can just get back to that disc brake swap...

 

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The vinyl logo was placed on the door and then we sanded the blue off to expose the factory white and whatever was under the blue to give it a well worn, vintage feel. The blue paint on the driver's door was not adhered very well and some came off with the mask but it made for some unexpected patina. The "est 1971" was too small to sand through so I painted that white and then wet sanded it to appear worn. I could have done that technique to the whole logo but I thought the sanding would be cool and would expose surprise layers of paint and bondo.

 

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That is something to feel proud of.......your son working with you, that is something that he will appreciate and remember always!! The good thing is that the taste and love for the oldies is being passed. Great job, great truck and still the best for me a great Dad/Son project.

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Do you know where I can score one? A friend of mine says he has one of those old spin drills too.

 

Flea Bay currenty has 45 of them listed under "Vintage Block and Tackle". Many reasonably priced. I think it would look so cool with one of those hanging next to the C-Clamps...

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Thanks so much for the kind words everyone! Miles is my little car nut. He knows more than I do about some cars. Its lots of fun being able to pass this stuff on to my next generation. In case you haven't heard, the shop JDM Legends has just moved to within 2 miles of my house. Miles has already decided that he will be sweeping their floors the minute he turns 16. :D

 

I am watching several auctions for block and tackles. Great idea Lawrence. A friend of mine also suggested that I mount an old rusty vice to the bumper. I actually pulled the bumper back off for the moment. It is so deep that it scrapes on normal driveways even with the truck aired all the way up. I may cut it down and suck it into the body in the future. We will see.

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Duuuuude! I haven't seen updates on this car since the first page! (Somehow fell off my notifications?) Totally inspiring. The plates inside the door. The toolbox in the back. The wheel choice, and the choice of sanding off the door logo. This is what I love about ratsun and the ratty look. All these nooks and crannies of interesting thinking, personality, and exploring outside of the box. With every new move you are giving the truck soul. Mojo. Thanks for the inspiration.

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greengoon: If you find yourself pondering what to do with the truck and decided to sell it...I have first dibs remember?? BRE510 and I will parade it here in CA. :D

 

I do remember. Its always nice to have a buyer lined up. :D I'm having so much fun with it right now, could be a little bit before it lives in Cali.

 

 

Duuuuude! I haven't seen updates on this car since the first page! (Somehow fell off my notifications?) Totally inspiring. The plates inside the door. The toolbox in the back. The wheel choice, and the choice of sanding off the door logo. This is what I love about ratsun and the ratty look. All these nooks and crannies of interesting thinking, personality, and exploring outside of the box. With every new move you are giving the truck soul. Mojo. Thanks for the inspiration.

 

What an honor to be able to inspire you, Fisch. I love your style and spent a lot of time studying your Sake Samurai 521 in JNC and wondered how I could add to my truck's soul. I love the 'Ratsun Way' and find myself drawn to patina and character before shiny and restored.

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  • 1 month later...

Yeah, it was more of an experiment to see if it fit the theme. Even with the truck aired up it still scraped on all but the flattest driveways. After I put it on, I had to go back and look at the photos when I first got it to see if i installed it right. Its huge. Doesn't even tuck under like a 620 bumper. At one point I thought about sectioning it but thought better and it will probably just be recycled. I will get some shots soon with it off.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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