78 replies to this topic

[KTS]

Well, got some time to work on going over the mini again today, been kicking around different ideas of where to place bits while I don't have time to start tearing into it majorly until around Christmas between semesters. I did get under it though today and started peeling back some of the rubberized undercoat to see what lies beneath. The bad news is the driver's side floor is rough, and it is just patched from the top side over rusty spots, so its looking like a new floor make be in the works for the pickup.

 

that's a bit of a setback.  what's the rest of it like under there ? 

[catch_me]

 

Well, got some time to work on going over the mini again today, been kicking around different ideas of where to place bits while I don't have time to start tearing into it majorly until around Christmas between semesters. I did get under it though today and started peeling back some of the rubberized undercoat to see what lies beneath. The bad news is the driver's side floor is rough, and it is just patched from the top side over rusty spots, so its looking like a new floor make be in the works for the pickup.

 

that's a bit of a setback.  what's the rest of it like under there ? 

 

It is hard to say, I really need to work at getting the rubberized underliner they put on off to really asses it all. I know there was a major amount of body work done on it by a MiniMania recommended shop with the previous owner, but there was no pictures available showing exactly what and how they did it. It appears as though everything in front of the cab was replaced from looking at what I can see the an spots I peeled the underliner off, but the floor is rough. There are a few placed where silicone has been used I'm guessing to cover rusted weld joints, and a lot of light patches over rust areas. Someone did a good job on the passenger side replacing panels in the floor, but the driver's side still has a lot of issues and patches were just placed over rusted floorboards from the looks of it. It looked like just rough patches from the top side, but underneath they just sealed in the old rusty bits to which is not right. I know it had rust problems to start from being imported, because things like on the tunnel by the shifter show areas of rust damage. At a certain point I am better starting off with a full clean floor than trying to work with this and regretting it later in the build.

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[KTS]

i see what you mean - that's nasty 

 

Fortunately, there is some choice in what to use if you do decide to replace the whole floor...

Edited by KTS, 29 October 2019 - 04:14 PM.

[catch_me]

i see what you mean - that's nasty 

 

Fortunately, there is some choice in what to use if you do decide to replace the whole floor...

 

Yeah, I thoroughly looked through Ben's work again last night on your pickup, and likely would follow a very similar path for the floor. I really hope the floor is all that is really rough though, it looks like there are not really any other major patch spots like you had all over in the bed and such that were not finished well. I think this pickup just had some work done the right way when it needed it, and then some work they tried to cut corners, which I hope is only in the floor.

[catch_me]

A bit of an update, after finding the floor to be in worse condition than anticipated under the rubberized undercoat, and seeing some joints in the cab where I decided to scrape the two thick layers of white and red (under the white) off, there are a few spot with silicone over surface rust, which is concerning, as it means the body was not properly striped before its restoration the previous own had done by a shop. For that reason, I likely will sadly have to blast the body again myself, in order to figure out exactly what the bare metal looks like at all the joints and panels. That being said, since this is going to be a rather unique built, I possibly have an idea for the floor that will make it an even more unique and special build.

Edited by catch_me, 08 November 2019 - 02:31 PM.

[KTS]

Not ideal, but probably better to find out if there's anything else awry now and avoid setbacks further down the line

[Ronski]

This looking like a really nice build, shame they cut corners on the body restoration.

I have one request though , please rotate the pictures to their correct orientation.

[catch_me]

This looking like a really nice build, shame they cut corners on the body restoration.

I have one request though , please rotate the pictures to their correct orientation.

Im working on the picture orientations, every time I try to get it right, they keep ending up wrong again, I hope to get it figured out before I post more when I get a few good weeks to work on the car in December (hopefully will get it on a rotisserie as start doing some blasting on it).

[catch_me]

Finally got some time to work on the pickup again, and dropped the rear subframe. It looks to be in good shape, but I will not know perfectly until I sand blast it. Also, on a side note, looks like in a previous life someone even used this pickup as a towing vehicle of some sort, as it appears there are brackets for a hitch attachment bolted through the bed. Would be interesting to hear the story on them.

 

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[catch_me]

Also got the front subframe and engine pulled out last night! Sitting on rolling dollies now to move it around. The front subframe is in really good shape it appears too, no major noticeable pitting or other structural issues.

 

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Now have the shell almost clear, so the next things is picking up a rotisserie, and mounting the shell up so I can start doing some major undercoating removal to asses what really lies in the crooks and crannies of this body. There are some areas I found under the white and then red paint below that are silicone sealed over surface rust in corners, so I want to final all the areas like that and take care of them properly.

 

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[KTS]

looks like you've got a lot of scraping to do - Hope for the best but prepare for the worst !!

 

the fuel tank would sits to the rear of those brackets under the load bed, so i can't see them being anything to do with towing hitch - more likely something to do with holding the tank in place, especially if non-standard

[catch_me]

looks like you've got a lot of scraping to do - Hope for the best but prepare for the worst !!

 

the fuel tank would sits to the rear of those brackets under the load bed, so i can't see them being anything to do with towing hitch - more likely something to do with holding the tank in place, especially if non-standard

 

The tank is the stock tank, already thought of that. And the holes in the vertical part closes to the rear of the pickup are lower than the tank and subframe. I put a rod through them that was level to see if there was interference from something mounting above. That's what made me think possibly some sort of towing adapter, but I will never truly know. 

[catch_me]

Should have the body up on the rotisserie this weekend. I chipped away some of the paint in a few areas where the clear was cracking, assuming there was bondo (body filler) below, and found out there is quite a bit on the entire passenger bed side, some of which is covering a few rusty areas it appears. Previous owner paid a lot for a reputable body shop that ended up just cut corners and cover up things sadly. It is pretty thick too as shown by the calipers depth measurement!

 

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[KTS]

not a good sign.  

 

time to get it blasted and find out what's underneath...

[REVVIT]

Seems crazy going to all the trouble fitting all the trick running gear and not doing the body to match..unfortunately this happens a lot with so called specialists..I'm sure you will sort it though to match the rest..