In which a 4x4 620 is built

[RCStealth]

My wife calls it "my other wife," lol.

Haha, I feel ya on that one.  Don't have a wife yet, but my boss just says, "You get that piece of shit done yet?".  I just laugh and shake my head no.  Luckily he's a car guy, so I'm in the clear puttin some extra time into my other "not job" baby.

[SandyMush620]

Fail.

 

 

Because a new one would compliment the paint job!

 

I guess there are limits to my patience.

[SandyMush620]

Today I stripped the roof and started repairing the gaggle of dents in it.  Looks like someone did a Mexican hat dance on it.  They must have hammered the paint on the roof because it was thick and tough, so I broke out the aircraft stripper.  It's messier but nearly effortless.  You still have to follow it up with 80 grit on the DA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also started to strip a door while waiting for filler to set.  It looks like it was optioned with the quick-change mirror package since it has so many mounting holes.

 

 

 

[]2eDeYe]

Excellent progress :D

[jrock4224]

nice job on the chemical stripper .... reminds me i need to finish stripping the doors on my car........ nothing like realizing your gloze has melted and feeling the ski burn associated with chemical stripper......why  im lazy and try and safely use nitrile glves instead of going and getting the solvent gloves slips my mind....oh im lazy..... nice job spreading the filler ....looking good...

[SandyMush620]

Today I finished working the roof and stripping the windshield area and gutters, and reapplied self-leveling seam sealer in the gutters and other seams.  Then I primed it all up.

 

 

 

I still have the right side and back of the cab plus both doors to work.

 

 

Slowly getting closer to color.  Speaking of which, I am now considering Steel Blue, as seen here:

 

 

I think it would look good with white wheels or the aluminum 17's, while being unique but not gaudy.  Opinions welcome.

[RCStealth]

The dark greyish-blue with white should be a killer combo.  Personally, I would want the blue to be a little bit darker to offset the bright white of the wheels.  However, I don't think that these colors would look bad at all.  Hard to tell how dark it is in person, maybe it's darker than I'm thinking from the picture.

[]2eDeYe]

great color :thumbup:

[SandyMush620]

The dark greyish-blue with white should be a killer combo.  Personally, I would want the blue to be a little bit darker to offset the bright white of the wheels.  However, I don't think that these colors would look bad at all.  Hard to tell how dark it is in person, maybe it's darker than I'm thinking from the picture.

 

It may appear a little light because of the reflection of the snow in the paint.  For more pics, Google Image steel blue Jeep and browse through the results.  There are a couple shades, so disregard the bluest ones and check out the blue-gray shades. 

 

great color :thumbup:

 

I think so too.  We are going to try to make it with some leftover basecoat from repairs and paint jobs, but if it's not really close, I'll subcoat with it and follow up with the right stuff.

 

I keep picturing the bright white DATSUN decal on the tailgate over this blue.  Mmm hmmm.

[SandyMush620]

Today I am working the back of the cab. 

 

 

A previous painter let chemical stripper run down the cab, otherwise I would just scuff it up and spray over the existing paint.  Now it has to be stripped to bare metal.

 

 

There is a little rust over the gas tank to address, but otherwise the metal is in good shape, so maybe I can get it in primer today.

[SandyMush620]

 

 

 

[SandyMush620]

It's been a productive weekend so far.  I managed to get the rest of the cab in primer, except for the doors.  I also took a little time to clean out the cab and turn the truck around.  Amazing how fast stuff piles up inside the cab when you are working on one.

 

I took plenty of pics today; hope everyone's okay with that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If I go in tomorrow I will get on one of the doors and see how far I can get with it.  Still checking CL every day for a transmission or another parts truck with a good trans.  Or a KA donor truck.  :)

[K_trip]

- removed -
 

[SandyMush620]

Been lurking on this build, time to speak up I guess ... I LOVE IT :)

 

I really like that blue 620 on the first page, what a great inspiration.

I have a 620 I want to sell, but if it doesn't - maybe I'll try something like this?

 

Thanks for speaking up; it's nice to hear what people are thinking now and then.  The swap was really pretty easy.  I think a person could be driving one in a matter of days if there were no hangups--like transmissions--and no need to restore the body.  If my truck looked like Jun's (on the first page), I would have rocked it as-is too.  It's got just the right survivor look.

 

If you do the swap, I hope to see a thread.  :thumbup:

[]2eDeYe]

Man, this thing is gonna be so clean :sneaky:

[heretic]

I don't know how I missed your thread. THIS is a bitch'n build. Keep up the great work. 

 

PS- this is the same color as my truck. I prefer the M&M green but this olive green is a close runner up.!

 

If my paint code number is still legible  I'll let you know what it is.

 

 

So in other news, this is one of the colors I'm considering.  It's a love it / hate it color, but I think it's sharp.

 

[SandyMush620]

Thanks heretic. I do think an olive green 4x4 with 235/75-15 BFG AT's on white steel wheels would be stare-worthy.

[DRIVEN]

I really like the green.

[heretic]

I absolutely agree.!!!

 

Paint code #616

 

Thanks heretic. I do think an olive green 4x4 with 235/75-15 BFG AT's on white steel wheels would be stare-worthy.

[SandyMush620]

Today I stripped the inside of the left door after removing the door handle, lock cylinder, latch, window channel and glass. When I started this project I didn't really intend to disassemble quite to this extent, but the details are what makes for a clean job, and I want this truck to be nice. I was hoping to avoid a lot of hand sanding on the upper door frame, but the red paint wasn't holding up to a blast of compressed air, so it had to go. The original white paint is still in good shape in areas like this that aren't exposed to elements much.

 

 

 

There was a small dent in the lower door to address...

 

 

...and I resealed some seams that I ground out while removing the paint. This is controlled-flow seam sealer, which self-levels enough to eliminate brush strokes but won't run off on the floor, and I used a masking tape technique for clean edges:

 

 

 

 

Poor lighting = blurry pics.

 

Then I masked it up and primed it.

 

 

 

 

Tomorrow I can turn the door over and work the outside.

[SandyMush620]

I got the door skin stripped and DA'd, but indecision about which mirrors to use held me up on working the sheetmetal. There's a gaggle of holes from different mirrors being mounted over the years, and I don't want to start welding them up until I have new mirrors and know where they will mount. The old mirrors have actually grown on me, but one is dented and they are starting to surface rust. Ok, the pics.

 

Here are the mirrors I am considering. They are OE for an F150 through the 80's, but are considered universal because of the simple mount that fits a lot of doors. I had them on a LUV and liked the big mirror on a small 4x4 look.

 

 

This is a pic of the shotgun blast of mounting holes in the door:

 

 

This pic shows the difference in finish between single-action mode on the DA sander (top half), which is quick-n-crude, and dual-action sanding (bottom) with the same 80-grit paper, which results in a great finish for adhesion of primer to bare metal.

 

 

I coated the door skin with primer to prevent surface rust since it will likely be a week before I can get back on it, and I disassembled the other door in preparation for the same treatment.

 

Getting closer to paint-ordering time!

[SandyMush620]

Well, I haven't done much to the truck in the past couple of weeks because of other things that just couldn't be put off any longer.  Like building a new fence because the golden retriever is big enough now to clear the old one.  But I have ordered a new front bumper now that they are available again, and a set of door mirrors--the style shown in my last post.  I also have the inside of the second door in primer.  No pic because it looks just like the one posted above. 

 

I also scored a 5-speed from the father-in-law that is supposedly good but has been sitting on a dirt floor for about fifteen years and is reluctant to turn.  Feels like it may be dry inside.  Maybe I can make a working trans from the two.

 

This project will be back in full swing soon.  There are a lot of holes to plug in the doors, which I want to do only after the new mirrors are in-hand, and other straightening of the door skins to do, but there's always plenty of block-sanding to be done while I'm waiting.

[greybeard]

I have not signed on to this site for a while, so this is the first I've seen this thread...

 

I have to say nice work, it's looking great

 

I did this conversion in the 90's and built the truck in my avatar,  I explored the Mojave with it for many years....

 

I have no build thread because there was no interwebs...

 

This truck is now in the hands of Jun and is the Blue truck at the beginning of this thread.

 

When I built it I used mirrors for a Chevy LUV similar to the ones you have pictured only a little smaller. it gave the look I liked.

 

I like the Green you have pictured, and it needs the white DATSUN lettering on the tailgate for sure.

 

one mod I considered but never did was to mount a 521fuel tank / fuel door to have dual fuel tanks (521 tanks are on the other side of the truck)

 

again nice work and good luck an you build.

 

John.

[Spoona_Jay21]

if your still up in the air on a color, are you thinkin gloss only? if not i suggested this color to another member. love to see a 620 in this color.

 

Star Blue Metallic VW paint code LD5T. it is a 2 year only (89-90) Wolfsberg Edition only VW color

 

not too flashy but will turn a few heads. here is a pic of a Jetta in that color

 

[SandyMush620]

Ok guys, first of all thanks for the interest in my thread, and for the input.

 

I have not signed on to this site for a while, so this is the first I've seen this thread...

I have to say nice work, it's looking great

I did this conversion in the 90's and built the truck in my avatar,  I explored the Mojave with it for many years....

I have no build thread because there was no interwebs...

This truck is now in the hands of Jun and is the Blue truck at the beginning of this thread.

When I built it I used mirrors for a Chevy LUV similar to the ones you have pictured only a little smaller. it gave the look I liked.

I like the Green you have pictured, and it needs the white DATSUN lettering on the tailgate for sure.

one mod I considered but never did was to mount a 521 fuel tank / fuel door to have dual fuel tanks (521 tanks are on the other side of the truck)

again nice work and good luck an you build.

 

John.

 

John, I think you did a great job on the blue truck and I would love to see any other pics you may have of it.  Feel free to post them here if you have any.  The one I have is probably tired of me staring at it, lol.  I may have said it already, but that truck has the perfect stock survivor look, and I think it would get a lot of attention around here where 620's are rare.  Lifted, lowered, and custom all have their place, but originality never goes out of style, IMO.  The dual tank idea is interesting but isn't likely to happen because I found out recently that I am running out of time on this build.  My dad is going to retire in a few months and my shop access will go away (and the grading isn't even complete for my garage yet).  :(   The good news is that the mirrors have arrived and I should be beating on the doors this weekend. 

 

if your still up in the air on a color, are you thinkin gloss only? if not i suggested this color to another member. love to see a 620 in this color.

Star Blue Metallic VW paint code LD5T. it is a 2 year only (89-90) Wolfsberg Edition only VW color

not too flashy but will turn a few heads. here is a pic of a Jetta in that color

 

SJ that is a pretty nice blue, not all that different from the Steel Blue.  As far as sheen goes, I have considered a satin clearcoat.  I've never sprayed any sheen less than gloss on anything larger than a 2-ft square piece of carbon fiber, but it did flash evenly, which would be the main concern for a consistent look.  The trouble with a non-gloss finish is the inability to easily fix problems, like runs or scratches, by wet-sanding and buffing.  It's also not easy to match if you have to repair and respray a panel.  I'll probably stick to gloss this time.  Still not 100% decided on the color, but still leaning toward the blue.