Saving the Hawaiian Rust-bucket!

Here are some pics of the rear storage areas (jack and rear washer fluid pouch).

Jack area (driver side):













Washer fluid pouch area (passenger side):

Here are some pics of the areas next to the passenger seats:

Passenger side:

Down by the rocker


Up by the window


Driver side:

Window rust:







Firewall rust:









Rust behind clutch fluid reservoir:



Yeah, I thing you get the idea...

Ok so I’ve done some deep searching for rust and have narrowed it down to several areas. The hatch area in general was pretty good. I sanded down the worst areas and after a deep scrub, laid down two coats of POR-15. It looks really good, but that stuff is HARD to find on island.

Sorry for repost of first image, I figured it would make for a neat before and after:







I also removed the wiring harness from the engine bay. Had to pull the intake manifold assy out. The 2J will get a rebuild later on so it's not that big of a PITA. Below are shots of all the dash support metal before and after sandblasting and application of 3M undercoating. Leaves a very nice texture.





And finally a naked firewall.



I will probably start cutting out the rusty bits either tomorrow or next weekend. Aside from using piano wire tied to wood blocks, how else did some of you get your windshield out?

No cutting done today but after talking to a buddy, I will hold off on cutting once I have dialed in my new toy.





Aside from that, a lot of my other purchases for the restoration have come in.

2 packages of SecondSkinAudio Damplifier Pro (80 sqft to be safe)


86 Wiring Guide


BillyM goodies


RaptorRacing goodies





Much more to come...

As far as progress, I checked for rust under the midsection of the car and found none. I decided to move forward with coating in POR-15 as well.





Hoping this doesn't come back to bite me lol.

Just messing around with some painting options. I really like the two-tone idea but I want to put a little spin on it.
It's just a basic paint application but its about getting the idea out there so don't judge to harshly.

I have settled on the paint design for now. Getting all ducks in a row.

Texasissouth said:

Whats a mock up of the final design?

Click to expand...

What do you mean? I used a basic paint program to get an idea of what I want it to look like. I saw a Shelby GT500 with a really nice black and grey paint scheme. Loved it ever since.
Kind of like this:

I was able to get out to the car this past weekend and remove some extra pieces.

On a whim, I decided to remove the old sound deadening from the drivers side floor panel… well, I was and wasn’t surprised. There was a rust hole that ate through to the frame rail. I’m going to first cut out a small area to see the extent of the damage, then fix and patch.

That being said, I decided to remove the sound deadening for the whole front half just in case. No other problems found.

On a positive note, I received my repair manual as well as my accessories from '82Supra (thanks bud).

School's all done and it's time to update.

The tail lights had water and dirt that had accumulated inside and I wanted to do a deep clean. I put them in the oven for 10 min @ 200 degrees and was able to remove trim, lens, and assembly with little effort. I then threw them all in the washer for a thorough cleaning. Very effective. I am working on painting the trim and sanding the lenses, so I will post prog pics later. For now, here is where I am:

In my limited spare time, I decided to start working on the spare subframe parts (mainly diff mounting bracket). This piece came in addition to the car. I wanted to prep it to receive the Whiteline sway bar and make installation easier. I don't have a blaster close enough so I used a stripping disc and removed all grime/rust/paint. After a deep cleaning, I hit it with etching primer followed by a satin black finish. Final pic shows the entire assembly together with sway bar and Superpro bushings (purchased 12 years ago, never used...).





The bolts are gold zinc plated from T3 (Flo's Toyota bolt kit). Very necessary replacement.

This past weekend I was very fortunate to have received the rest of the subframe parts for this car from the original owner. I now have an extra complete subframe set for this car. This set is going to get the same treatment as the diff mounting bracket. I have the front crossmember in my storage area while I work on the rear. These parts will most likely get bead blasted.

Ah, sorry if this resto seems all over the place. I'm limited to time and space. Not much time, and very little space. That being said, I also cleaned up the b-pillar panels and the badge. Not in the worst condition but I wanted to touch them up. The badges were pretty faded. What you'll see is after 800 grit sanding and polishing pad. The pillar panel's are not quite finished. I'm still learning how to apply spray paint properly so it doesn't look like a cheapy job. I'm using Duplicolor Acrylic Enamel gloss black on all trim for now.

Ok so I'm back to a regular schedule now and have been able to put in some good time on the car. I decided all the small projects, while important, are distracting me from progress on the rust issue. I decided to take the move forward and attempt to tackle the biggest issue, the roof/hatch.

WARNING! I HAVE NEVER RESTORED A VEHICLE TO SUCH A DEGREE. EXPERIANCED BODYMEN, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

In the name of progress and learning, I cut through the c-pillars and the rear part of the roof. Not the best way to go about this kind of job. I will now have to back track and reinforce the areas I cut (4 total) and will be using JB Weld on the roof so as to avoid warping with a welder.

In order to fix the issue, I will be cutting out the top layer spot-welds so I can remove the roof skin from the under part. I will have to cut along the body contour line a little bit down to the hatch. Once the top and bottom have been separated, I will work some sheet metal into sleeves that will eventually be welded in place, connecting the replacement piece to the body. And if that doesn't make sense, hopefully the pics will sort that out.

Mocking up the areas to cut



Cutting complete!



Sizing up the replacement



Like a glove



After a phone call with a professional, my stepdad, I began the process of removing the roof skin. You'll notice the copper weld that was used in the factory seam. I will cut along the body line and stop at the copper line, and I will then cut in towards the hatch. The roof skin will be cut into three pieces and will be reinforced later. If anyone is curious, I bought a spotweld removal drill bit. This was totally worth it as I didn't have to drill completely through multiple layers of sheet metal.





More progress tomorrow! Not wise to run an angle grinder at 10 pm next to officer housing.

Ok so it's been a while but y'all know how this business goes. I've found some time to get the replacement in and tacked down in several places. Due to miscalculation in my initial cuts, there are pretty large gaps between the steel so I will need to do a good job with reinforcing the welds. We'll see how far we get lol. After tacking it down, I did hatch fit test to make sure everything is still good. Absolutely golden. Slowly but surely it is moving along.





The idea behind using sheet metal screws is to bring the secure the backing to the car really tight. They will be removed later.