Another 70 wagoneer build

[chubbinius]

Those are really looking nice. Your ingenuity and creativity are incredible to see recreating the originals so closely. Nice work, I will be watching when you start selling them as well.

[Kaiserjeeps]

Darn power bumps. Been trying to post for a while.

SJTD the backing plate overhangs the actual stamp pattern metal in some areas. So the heat from the overhang is causing some mild blistering. It is subtle but there. The stamps part that makes the impression I want to be square with fairly sharp edges. That makes the best imprint.

And Chubbinus, I hope to be able to sell these later. They are a lot harder to make than it looks. But as I make them I find ways to improve the process.
And it would help if I put the stamp on the right way. I had enough vinyl for the work, but I accidentally placed a rear door stamp on upside down. I rotated in in the oven and forgot to correct it on the way to the table. So I am going to by several more yards of vinyl tomorrow. I will get enough for at least 1-2 more sets.

I am tired. I need a camp out. My jeep run got canceled. I should have loaded up and met Frank Ziebert over out of Yakima when he went to the Nachez shoestring trail system. Maybe next year. There is a lot of stuff that absolutely must get done this summer. As I like to say about now.... It's gonna snow any minute now.

[Kaiserjeeps]

I think Bill should seriously buy this to tow behind Sadie! Same color even.

I would put the tow hitch back on.

https://spokane.craigslist.org/boa/d/spokane-1969-fiber-form-17ft/6929730926.html

EDIT: It was a 1969 17 foot Fiberform boat with a green and white hull and deck. The green was a dead ringer for Sadies green avocado mist. It matched perfectly. It was styling!

[Kaiserjeeps]

So where was I? I took a couple days off to think on some ways to do the next steps with the door panels. Then we had a stunning lightning and at least a 60-75 mph wind storm followed a three day power outage. That changes what the day entails.
My wife and I watched for over two hours a near constant lightning storm that we could never count past 5 before another flash. Satellite imagery counted 2512 strikes. We lost several trees and fortunately no real damage to cars or buildings. I spent two days on a chainsaw and we went for some drives to look for smoke a few times. Lots of generators running up and down the road.
Next month lightning will be very bad.
So a little excitement on the weather front....

OK so I have the rear panels on. They are not perfect, they have some things I need to work out. But they will do for now. They look a lot better than the originals that I tried to save.
My replacement camera takes lousy pictures. There is better detail than it looks. It must be the light reflection because the ribs on the upper stamps are all there and defined. Oh well.

I am ordering some black pinstriping for the upper chrome strip. There are three black bars that should be there. The lower chrome strip has a black stripe that is not correct or original. But I like it and it will tie in very well when the top strip is done.





I had to make my own staples. The super short staples are not available anymore. I bought some corrosion resistant staples and put them in a vise and carefully cut off the legs with a dremel and a cutting disc. Tedious stuff.



Found the flexible caulking and attached some 6 mil plastic like the original plastic. Maybe on the front doors I won't be so tired and will take the time to punch the window and door crank holes with a gasket punch. It would look better. But it works.



On the door with everything on. Some bumps and dips that might not happen if I let the adhesive dry for a day. The foam crushes and stays with damp glue.



I know I posted this already. But the perfect door panel clips are Auveco
12134 Chrysler 79 and up.



When I step back and look at all that parts I have had to hand make, its pretty cool.
I will have the fronts and back panels done soon. Then the seats go in.

[SJTD]

Maybe on the front doors I won't be so tired and will take the time to punch the window and door crank holes with a gasket punch. It would look better. But it works.

Nah, what you have there is a pretty good seal between the plastic and the shafts.

[Kaiserjeeps]

I am all wore out. I have not made it to bed before midnight for almost two weeks now. I have had a couple set backs with Sadies build, nothing I can't overcome, it just adds time and work. On top of that last Saturday evening coming home my wife spotted a HUGE forest fire a mile down the road at a neighbors place. He was in Oregon and had a locked gate. I raced home, grabbed bolt cutters, and a 1350 gallon brush truck we have here and zipped down there to try and stop it. It was crowning up the trees and spreading fast.
As I ran out I told my wife to call 911 and come down. I was able to slow it and start to make head way when the fire dept 16 miles away showed and same with the DNR wild land fire fighters who also showed and they were 30 miles away. I personally put 2000 gallons on it and also filled the DNR truck water tanks 3 times. It was pretty much insane and right on the edge of getting away from us. Pure luck my wife saw it as we drove past. We would have been evacuated by now.

Today driving to the next town over to get a full sheet of aluminum for the press table, I spotted a fire on a rail line. I ran to it with a dinky water bottle and poured the whole thing on a burning railroad tie. Turns out it was caused by a dragging brake on a train that had just passed. OK thats enough of the fire stuff for me. It is bone dry and has been 99 degrees at the house. I went to Home Depot and bought a large fire extinguisher for the truck. No more fires Mkay?

So all the work I did on Sadies dash pad has failed. I had discovered the 4 way stretch vinyl had shrunk and un-bonded itself. It is a royal mess. It has pulled out from the edges and the defroster holes. It has to come out.
It took me two weeks to get a good used one from someone I know. It is in very good condition and I will put it in shortly. Doing this with the glass in place is going to be very difficult. But I will make it happen.
Take a look. I was pretty bummed to see this.



The other problem was with a new door panel that I was just about done with. I accidentally cut the vinyl with a blade trimming the back side foam.
I was almost done and trust me.... that was a bad day. I now needed to make another half day trip to Spokane to get more vinyl. I just did not have enough. So last Friday was a road trip. I got enough for a couple more mistakes. And by pure accident found a correct planel clip fastener for the back panels. I forgot to take a shot of it with part number, but will post when it goes in.
I no longer use a blade to trim. I use an air sander with a 36 grit roloc and it works well and is safe from a mistake like this. Right on the TOP edge...



So in my absence I have again modified the press table. I took off the 3/4 plywood and put 1 1/8 flooring plywood on in place. Plus today as I mentioned I then put a cover made from 1/8 aluminum sheet. It is very flat and smooth now.

PLUS, I also modifed the stamps. I was getting heat burns and small blisters from the backing metal. Next to the patterns. So I carefully cut out gasket material and using high temp RTV sealant, glued the gasket down to leave only the embossing metal visible. Well it worked perfectly. No more heat damage on the vinyl. Today I was able to finish embossing all interior panels. I will glue them to the backing cards or panels tomorrow. The rear panels came out exceptionally well.

The biggest and hardest stamp to do. Note the new table top.



Modified stamps with gasket material.





It was great to get such good results and solve a visual problem.

So I will post pictures of the interior when it is in. I am waiting on several cans of 3M Cavity Wax. I will be be spraying it inside each door and heavily in both quarter panels especially above the rear wheels. I replaced a poop load of metal, and it won't rust from the inside for years using cavity wax.

I am down to just a couple things left. This build and thread is almost done.

Start making room for Sadie Bill.

[SOLSAKS]

almost done ?
wow, a long road to this point.

I know you were bummed about dash and door panel
I did something similar on a new door panel once

the work stretching the vinyl over the dash was so perfect
and now to see it shrink and do that ?

bum-mer for sure.

please take full shots of Sadie when done
from all angles so we can enjoy.

dave in NC

[Kaiserjeeps]

almost done ?
wow, a long road to this point.

I know you were bummed about dash and door panel
I did something similar on a new door panel once

the work stretching the vinyl over the dash was so perfect
and now to see it shrink and do that ?

bum-mer for sure.

please take full shots of Sadie when done
from all angles so we can enjoy.

dave in NC

I will get a bunch of finished shots for sure. I noticed the vinyl lifting in the eyebrow area on top of the pad a while back. It was not very noticable unless you touched it with a finger. Then the whole thing shrunk and pulled loose. There is not even enough material to put it back. I was also super fortunate to find a good used one. It came out of one of the camper specials that am no longer buying. I convinced them to sell me just the dash pad.

I would like to try and make a brand new dash pad someday. Maybe this winter when the snow is deep and not much else to do. I have been thinking about how to go about it as I do stuff. Probably a learning curve there also.

I am gluing the embossed vinyl to each backer board or card today as some call them. Then I will let them sit for two days and let the adhesive dry. The finger dents from handeling go away that way. The fronts look way better than the rears I put on. I will most likely remake all new panels this fall for Bill. Out of the shiney headliner stuff. I think I like it better. Anyway, I should have them done in a couple hours. Then a two day shop clean. I am starting to not be able to find stuff. I am a messy shop guy.

[Kaiserjeeps]

The interior panels are done. They look pretty good for a first run and being a total amateur. I changed several methods along the way. I will apply them on the next set. It was a long process. All I am waiting on is the cavity wax to show up. A good inside metal panel soaking and on these go.



The nickel plated thumb grommet was obtained from CB Gitty cigar box banjo supply. It was called a candle holder. It is a dead on match.



The 3M black pinstripe showed up today. Looks almost like original.





Next time I am going to try the higher gloss headliner vinyl. It seemed to have better definition on the embossing.

More soon.

[Kaiserjeeps]

I know jeeps always mark their spot. If they don't they are probably empty.
But this is something serious. I replaced the front seal when I installed the transmission. I must have bumped the spring off the lip or something. I have a new front seal and a front pump cover gasket on order to arrive tomorrow. I plan on removing and replacing it later this week. I hate doing stuff like this twice. It is leaking from the inspection cover under the torque converter.



So I mentioned waiting on cavity wax. I sprayed quite a bit of Eastwood internal frame paint in some of these spots. But I know sealing out oxygen is the ticket to long metal life. The instructions say to apply several passes after paint. So I did.
I used two full cans of it.

The cavity wax from 3M.



You need to use these. Three spray wands with really cool side spray nozzles that are ten times better than what comes on a can of internal frame paint. Really good material distribution. Better when you twist the can as you draw the wand out as you spray.



This was the area I was most concerned about. The rear wheel well edges.



It is white and messy. It creeps and runs where you can't reach.



The nozzle's fit into small bolt holes. Perfect!! Inside the tailgate door frame.



Inside the tailgate itself. I really soaked it then closed it so it got in the seam where it tends to rust first.



I put the 3 foot wand way up inside the door pillars. I also removed every floor plug and really soaked the hat channels.



I got it all. Front to back.

So I needed to make some black kick panel covers. I did not have a decent pattern so I ended up making one. After a couple new patterns with corrections, I made two out of the same black backer board I make the firewall pad sets out of. I soaked both over and over with wood hardener to make them water resistant and more durable. The slot is so I would not have to remove the vent cable.



Installed and done.



In went the carpet and interior panels. Same with the door sill plates. It is almost complete with seat belts, seats, and the replacement dash pad left to still get installed. I have been driving it around the shop to work on it here. Thats cool.

I had a small challenge. The front doors had screws in the bottom of the door panels to hold them on the door at the bottom. And I needed to accurately find the screw holes so I could punch through the new vinyl. I put a button head screw in the holes and installed the new door panels. Then carefully lifted the panels and put a very small dab of copper hi temp RTV on the screw heads to leave me an imprint of where to drill. It worked like a charm and the screw holes got drilled without hunting around and wrecking the new panel.



The back side of the new front door panel.



The 4 screws landed and tight.




From the back. Not perfect but it will sure do. A lot better than trying to restore used panels.









It is starting to look like an old wagoneer again.
The days are getting shorter. The sun is setting more south every night now.
Soon Sadie will be in Seattle getting rained on.
And I will be here at home eyeballing my wagoneer.

More soon.

[bkilby]

As always, remarkable work! Everything looks very nice.

[chubbinius]

From the back. Not perfect but it will sure do. A lot better than trying to restore used panels.
...
It is starting to look like an old wagoneer again.
The days are getting shorter. The sun is setting more south every night now.
Soon Sadie will be in Seattle getting rained on.
And I will be here at home eyeballing my wagoneer.

More soon.

That looks wonderful! I wish my armrests and panels looked even half that awesome.

Your carpet looks to lay out very nice and smooth...could I be needy and beg a picture of the rear seat/wheel well overlaps and how you worked the cuts/carpet in that area, pretty pretty please?

Bummer on the territory marking, hopefully it was just a simple seal twist/tap that got it out of place.

Thank you to for always not only sharing the incredible work you do, but all the tips, tricks, and products that you use to make it work out! That's priceless to new folks like me. (Adds 3M Cavity Wax to the list of stuff I need for future ideas)

[Kaiserjeeps]

No sweat Chubbinus, I will take some pictures today.

Thanks!

[Kaiserjeeps]

Well I am assuming you wanted pictures of this end. Not much to show back there by the tailgate. The wheel house carpet came with long ends. I trimmed them to fit just under the floor carpet in back, and to be held in place by the floor carpet up front there. To tuck down to the floor and be held there. I could not get the factory black plastic surround to fit with all this carpet. It was not made for it and just would not work. So back on the shelf it went.

I will add that I did find a place down in Spokane that can bind and edge trim the floor carpet where I cut it. So hopefully in a day or three, I can take down the carpet to be finished there.

No screws in yet. But my hand is holding all of it down and that is how it will lay.


The bottom cut that goes under the floor carpet.



The factory screw hole that will hold the floor carpet in place. A typical place for rust to start once the paint is broken.



And the clips that goe on the end of both rear panels by the back door lock pillar. I said I would post the part number. Plus door panel clips. Both Auveco products.



And one of the most enjoyable moments I have ever had on the internet since it's creation. I found the rear panel thumb hole grommet. I know I posted it a while back, but I am posting again in case someone wants to replace theirs and is looking with a search feature.



Today I am working on seat parts, and the dash pad. I am using a new silver color from Cerakote and refinishing the rusty interior of the front seat back ashtray. It is the brightest silver yet and would take a second glance to see it was not zinc plating. Previously on the small parts and hood hinges, I used satin nickel. Also a good color but a shade darker. I painted the ashtray front cover satin glacier black. The same as what went on the front grill trim.
I had to cut factory rivets to get the two parts separated.

Anyway, lunch is done and I had better get back to it.

[chubbinius]

Thank you so much!

Al, you are truly a gentleman and an artist! Thank you so much! That is exactly where I was asking about. I have the set with the mass backing for mine and have been holding off cutting it as I have been trying to determine the geometry of which piece should overlap which.

I'm hoping Marshall's Industrial Hardware by me will have those Auveco clips in stock too. Thank you so much!