MrRobatoGato Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 So my name is Anthony I recently bought this truck Febuary 16, 2007. The truck was born 8/69. I'm completly new to restoring body work...Engines I can do body work is completly different story... You've all probably seen my engine bay... everything okay until the battery tray... What would you do to cure this problem. My Floors are in need of attention as well.. Drivers Side. Passanger Side. The Chasis Front Left Front Right Its redundent and been posted about three times but I need the wise words of the ratsun faithful... pictures are worth a thousands words I guess I have about 20,000 words.. Quote Link to comment
Bob3 Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 WOW - That's a project! Keep us updated with photos. I'm about to tackle a similar project. Quote Link to comment
]2eDeYe Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 Here's what think. I think you have a good base. Time to get to work. Do you have access to a pressure washer? I forsee much cleaning in your future. :D Tools you'll need other than your welding friend. Drill and/or grinder Wire wheels for both, get a good collection going...different shapes n sizes Sander...orbital is best but a reciporicating palm sander will do in a pinch...Various sizes of sandpaper from coarse to about 250 grit to start. Some good degreaser and some scrub brushes, same rules as as the wirewheel...throw in a couple old toothbrushes too Paint. Other people know more than me on this...I use spray bombs of the sealing variety, enamals 'n such do. Start with the wire wheels in the rough spots and the frame. Work your way to the easy stuff, attack that rust . Cut an weld small peices to fix the holes after enlarging them to get to some meat of the old metal. Work you way through the tool list and you'll end up with a clean, smooth start for a nice paint job. You will want to think about what you want to end up with in terms of paint as to how far you want to go with each stage of tool/work. BTW Your already further along then me... I still have to go pick up my frame :lol Quote Link to comment
]2eDeYe Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 ...and oh yeah.... 1 thread in projects would be enough :D Quote Link to comment
MrRobatoGato Posted March 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 WOW - That's a project! Keep us updated with photos. I'm about to tackle a similar project. Will Do... 2eDeYe;43710']Here's what think. I think you have a good base. Time to get to work. Do you have access to a pressure washer? I forsee much cleaning in your future. :D Tools you'll need other than your welding friend. Drill and/or grinder Wire wheels for both' date=' get a good collection going...different shapes n sizes Sander...orbital is best but a reciporicating palm sander will do in a pinch...Various sizes of sandpaper from coarse to about 250 grit to start. Some good degreaser and some scrub brushes, same rules as as the wirewheel...throw in a couple old toothbrushes too Paint. Other people know more than me on this...I use spray bombs of the sealing variety, enamals 'n such do. Start with the wire wheels in the rough spots and the frame. Work your way to the easy stuff, attack that rust . Cut an weld small peices to fix the holes after enlarging them to get to some meat of the old metal. Work you way through the tool list and you'll end up with a clean, smooth start for a nice paint job. You will want to think about what you want to end up with in terms of paint as to how far you want to go with each stage of tool/work. BTW Your already further along then me... I still have to go pick up my frame :lol[/quote'] Sander and Materials and such i'll have to get I'll practice on my back bumper:) Thanks y'all.. Quote Link to comment
MrRobatoGato Posted March 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 My vote would be to get it running and driveable first, then you can take it elsewhere to get fixed. I don't see anything in your pics yet that would keep it from being on the road. The more you look, the more probs you're going to find....if you find too many, you'll get bummed and want to drop the project. Get it on the road so you can enjoy it, then fix it as you go. When all that stuff is fixed, it won't be that big a deal you yank the motor and paint the eng bay.....same with the interior. My 2 cents :) I have to agree with Mike here. I got REALLY discouraged with my 521 the more I looked. It had rust a lot like the pic posted by ]2eDeYe. I finally quit trying and found another truck. Bug mistake on my part. It ended up being and awesome runner by the time it went away. Jester I did consider makin' it into a runner as is but I tow dolly it to its current location. The engine and transmission were gone and wires were in need of some help... What to do with this My Vancouver Portland Ratsun Faithful what shops have you used The Engine Bay is almost cleaned out... Quote Link to comment
]2eDeYe Posted March 3, 2008 Report Share Posted March 3, 2008 Hold onto that manifold if you plan to use an L Series motor. That is a good flowing exhaust manifold. Quote Link to comment
MrRobatoGato Posted March 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 2eDeYe;43882'']Hold onto that manifold if you plan to use an L Series motor. That is a good flowing exhaust manifold. Yes, but what should I do to get this piece cleaned up... Should I get a new quarter panel or patch it up... i'm leaning to the patch job... what would I need. Quote Link to comment
]2eDeYe Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 I was actually just reading a thread in 'How To' on electrolytic rust removal. :P Could be fun to try. The Search function is your friend here. I aslo include Google in that recommendation, although we've got a few good rust removal threads on the board. Really it all comes down to what works best in your given situation. As far as the fender, the time you save finding one in better shape might be better used elsewhere in your build, but again depends on how you sit. Your welder friend with a grinder, a wire wheel and patience will get it done if you have time. BTW, I find the fact that you know nothing about what your doing, but are still jumping in with both feet, greatly entertaining. Not in a negative way at all, so don't take that in a bad way. So many people wouldn't approach even attempt a project like this. You will learn alot about your truck and yourself in the endeavor and should have a great running, smooth driving, reliable pickup. ...and oh yeah here'sthe thread for electrolytic rust removal http://forum.ratsun.net/showthread.php?p=40951#post40951 Quote Link to comment
MrRobatoGato Posted March 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 Thanks for all the help... and words of advice...I saw the rust removal thread and thought I'd need a big tub.. Ha.. I always wanted to become body restoration guru and I guess I found my dojo... engine bay is almost stripped.. I'll post pictures of what I've done tonite... back to work... thanks -Anthony Quote Link to comment
Figbuck Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 BTW, I find the fact that you know nothing about what your doing, but are still jumping in with both feet, greatly entertaining. ]2eDeYe, another classic line.:lol::lol::lol: Mr. Gato, I have been where you are... probably everybody on this board has been at one point in time. Take some time to go back and look at old threads if you can. The site has only been up for a year, but there is a lot of info to be mined. This past summer I did what you are starting more or less. Redeye has started a list of tools and stuff. After doing a lot of paint stripping this year, I learned a few things the hard way. That would be the HARD WAY! I have always worked hard all my life, and done some fairly nasty dirty jobs. Work smarter not harder. Listen to the voices of experience. My tool list would include a Miller mig welder. As much power as you can afford and the gas bottle. Don't mess with shielded wire. A good auto darkening helmet too. A high speed 1/4" collet electric die grinder. An electric 4" angle grinder. A BIGGASSED compressor with a good regulator and filter system, so you can run pneumatic die grinders. A big assortment of 1/4" grinding bits and carborundum cut off wheels. I bought two cheap Colbalt brand 1/4" air grinders from Loew's that have held up well to some serious abuse. I used a small hand held sand blaster. Mklots has a thread about the sand blaster that he made for ten bucks. They are great for small stuff and getting into hard to reach places and irregular surfaces. Sand blasting is very usefull but has many drawbacks. Check out the various chemical strippers. A gallon of aircraft stripper will help you out of tight spots throughout the whole project. I know people that have stripped entire cars with it. Toxic nasty dangerous, but very helpful. Check out the various acid washes that are used in the automotive refinishing business. I used Navel Jelly for some things that are heavily rusted, Ospho for some conditions and a product called RustMort by SEM. I used PPG metal cleaners and conditioners also before painting to kill surface rust that will bubble the best primers and paints in a short time. The best thing that I discovered after I had hand sanded the bed for two whole days, was how to make my own sanding disks. I found some 2" sandpaper discs in a 5 pack at Lowe's. The are made to screw onto cheap little mandrels that have a 1/4' shank for chucking into a drill motor. They worked great in my air die grinders but they wore out fast. I had a big cardboard box full of Aluminum Oxide Open Coat sanding belts that are used by Hardwood floor installers on their floor sanding machines. Once the belts stop cutting they change belts, and they go through grits from #36 to #50 to #80 and #100. Perfect for stripping paint to metal without gouging it. I realized that I could save the plastic backing with the threaded part, so I ended up with a dozen of so of these plastic backing peices. I tool a pair of sheet metal shears and cut a big pile of circles of different sizes & grits. I got a hot melt glue gun and fasten these disks onto the plastic backing pieces. When you waste a disk on a sharp edge or it wears out, you can peel it off an hot melt a new one on. I found that if I make them about two and a half or three inches, they will bend into contours and corners. It's like a Dremel on steroids. The pneumatic grinders that I got are the smallest that they make. I got angled hose fittings too, so that I can get either the straight one of the angled grinder into almost any spot. With a pressure regulator you can adjust the rpm and/or torque to suit your application. I swear it's the best thing since sliced bread. Blows away any kind of flap sander wheels or stupid homeowner paint strip pad things you put on a drill from Home Dopot. When I got this system worked out, I kicked myself a thousand times thinking about how hard I worked and how much time I wasted to do a crummy job of stripping paint. I would figure out what kind of paint system you are going use before you get too far into the process. PPG has a line of paint called OMNI that is a third the price of Imron or Deltron lines of paint. Omni has an epoxy primer for about $24 a quart including the catalyst. Once you strip to bare metal, unless you primer it right away, it starts to rust again right away. Last but not least, I found these disposable blue gloves at Industrial Finishes that are pretty tough. Good luck... keep those cards and letters coming. :D Quote Link to comment
MrRobatoGato Posted March 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 Figbuck...I was lazy but... put your photobucket pics on a slideshow and watched... you did some work... it was inspirational... and helped alot...looks like I I am following in your footsteps... thanks for the words of advice...and tools list... My workspace... the bed and chasis are currently sitting outside I could bring the bed inside but there are space issues... Quote Link to comment
Figbuck Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 Well at least you have a two car garage. It's still too small, but you have to get used to cleaning up and only doing one or two things at a time. I only had a one car space and that's why I couldn't really pull the cab and engine all at the same time. No place to store parts I'm not working on. Sometimes it gets kind of frustrating to do what I did. You might have a way easier time of things in the end. You can clean everything, do the repairs, alterations and paint prep all that stuff, then paint and assemble. I kept getting out of sequence and was sand blasting, welding and grinding around other parts that were already cleaned and primed. I thought it would take me twice as long as I thought it should... but I was wrong... it was twice as hard and four time longer. Here are some pics of my hot set up paint remover tools. [/img] [/img] [/img] Oh yeah, if you use a good epoxy primer and sand well enough to give the existing finish "tooth", you don't really need to strip back to metal. I have had pro painters tell me one of the most important steps in painting is to wash everything with industrial detergent. I use LPS concentrated cleaner. I have used Trisodium Phosphate to soak parts too before paint. The idea is to get rid of dirt and oily road grime before you sand so you don't grind it into the existing finish. I had sprayed three coats of cheap marine enamel over rattle can primer a long time ago and it all had to come off. Also, there is a product called POR. Paint Over Rust. It's a little expensive but works great in many situations. Another thing that I learned way to late in the process, I don't know if this will relate to you or not. On the '73, '74 620s, the radiator core support goes straight across for the smaller L16 & L18 radiators. I can't find replacement radiators and the L20 radiators that are easy to get don't fit. The '75 thru '79 620s core support have a little different design for the bigger L20 rad.I should have welded up the later model core support while I had it all apart so I could use an L20 rad when I swap engines. Onward... Quote Link to comment
djlotus Posted March 4, 2008 Report Share Posted March 4, 2008 Not that I can add a whole lot to the conversation here, but with the mention of POR-15, I came across this stuff: http://interstateproducts.com/rustkiller.htm Does the same thing as POR-15 and is about 1/3 the price. I'll be giving it a go on my 510. As for what you've got ahead of you, whooo boy, you are gonna get to know that truck pretty darn well! Good luck with your project man! Quote Link to comment
MrRobatoGato Posted March 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 Yeah A Two car garage with the space of a one car garage. All this body info is great.... Now I need a nice clear day...I love the northwest. Quote Link to comment
MrRobatoGato Posted March 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2008 Not that I can add a whole lot to the conversation here, but with the mention of POR-15, I came across this stuff: http://interstateproducts.com/rustkiller.htm Does the same thing as POR-15 and is about 1/3 the price. I'll be giving it a go on my 510. As for what you've got ahead of you, whooo boy, you are gonna get to know that truck pretty darn well! Good luck with your project man! Tell me how that goes. Quote Link to comment
MrRobatoGato Posted March 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2008 Por 15 it today... We'll see how that goes in the morning... Quote Link to comment
datsunfreak Posted March 9, 2008 Report Share Posted March 9, 2008 You've all probably seen my engine bay... everything okay until the battery tray... What would you do to cure this problem. Cut out the tray and put the battery in the back. ;) Quote Link to comment
MrRobatoGato Posted March 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 Thats an Idea... Hm... pictures tommarow...I'll have time... Toyota Seat for a Stock 521 Seat? Anyone want to trade? Overhauling my suspension front and rear. Where would I shop.? Quote Link to comment
]2eDeYe Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 http://www.rockauto.com is a good place to start. Quote Link to comment
MrRobatoGato Posted March 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 That site did help...Thanks. Quote Link to comment
Datsun4u Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 You also may want to try kragen if you have one up there. I got all the bushings and swaybar kits. Just about every thing for the front end. You can find them online too at http://www.kragen.com Quote Link to comment
kiznook Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 Would be Shcucks 'round these parts. Better yet, go down to Bartosh Import Auto Parts, on evergreen blvd. @ V st. just a coupld blocks west of crosley lanes Quote Link to comment
MrRobatoGato Posted March 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 Primed... Lacquer Thinner was working but then it didn't...I was wearing gloves but they kept getting snagged on the chasis.. I probably would have called cost less... all the phone book is impossible.. I'll check it out... Quote Link to comment
lynchfourtwenty Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 costless 254-5710 .. i have it memorized haha! anyways most of us dont use shops and we do our own work.. its like the ratsun way.. theres nothin u cant do to these things really its all very simple.. when i started out i didnt have a clue what i was doin.. still dont.. but i keep on tryin.. Quote Link to comment
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