New Build Thread 82 J10 Honcho Sport Side

[FleetFox]

I used SEM Camel for those, the metal dash, the steering column and parts of the headliner. I was actually in the paint store this week, on my hands and knees, begging one of the older guys to spend an hour mixing up a quart of SEM dye to match the nutmeg on the dash pad and seats to dye some other bits i have left to do. The Camel is very close to the original tans that were in these trucks and it's a catalog color available from SEM in pints, qts, gals and aerosols.

A piece of advice, before dying old parts, clean the heck out of them. Dishwasher, ultrasonic cleaner, TSP, purple power, over and over. and use the SEM adhesion promoter. Follow all the instructions, don't get impatient. A lot of the interior pieces that get dyed are high touch surfaces. Over 40 years they accumulate a lot of oils from those touches. You have to lift those off or the "paint" will never stick. The rub of this off course is, the more you clean the hard plastic, the greater the risk it becomes brittle.

Anyways, OCD rant finished. Can't wait to see some pics of your rig in it's current state!

Fleet Fox

[polarfire]

I used SEM Camel for those, the metal dash, the steering column and parts of the headliner. I was actually in the paint store this week, on my hands and knees, begging one of the older guys to spend an hour mixing up a quart of SEM dye to match the nutmeg on the dash pad and seats to dye some other bits i have left to do. The Camel is very close to the original tans that were in these trucks and it's a catalog color available from SEM in pints, qts, gals and aerosols.

A piece of advice, before dying old parts, clean the heck out of them. Dishwasher, ultrasonic cleaner, TSP, purple power, over and over. and use the SEM adhesion promoter. Follow all the instructions, don't get impatient. A lot of the interior pieces that get dyed are high touch surfaces. Over 40 years they accumulate a lot of oils from those touches. You have to lift those off or the "paint" will never stick. The rub of this off course is, the more you clean the hard plastic, the greater the risk it becomes brittle.

Anyways, OCD rant finished. Can't wait to see some pics of your rig in it's current state!

Fleet Fox

Great advise, thanks! I just bought this and hope it matches the tan of my '84 J10 interior.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0085MCRH4/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A29OUNVM0LN328&psc=1

[FleetFox]

Since we're on the paint topic, how about an update to boot?
Picked up the paint mix on Friday. Many thanks to Monroe at Auto Paint Supply here in Richmond for mixing this. There is no formula, but this scrap of left over dash fabric illustrates the process:

[/url]0208212032 by highsiera

it's a secret, and it's special...

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So I have a bunch of parts cobbled together from junkyard sources, all different colors. The seats, dash and door panels are Nutmeg, most of what i have is Honey, and faded pretty bad in spots.

[/url]0208211935b by highsiera

2 hours of prep. Final clean, some masking, adhesion promoter, wait... dial in gun...etc...

[/url]0208211935 by highsiera

and like 6.5 minutes of actual painting.

[/url]0208212033a by highsiera

[/url]0208211935a by highsiera

[/url]0208212033b by highsiera

This weekend we mock up and make sure the whole interior doesn't look like a patchwork quilt.

Yes, that is an infamous HFT purple gun. Don't paint your truck with it. It's a primer gun and a rustoleum gun. The SEM dyes are really forgiving, and it was a quick shoot in a very warm and extremely dry environment. Buy a better gun from a better place for your body paint (please.)

More soon.

Fleet Fox

[SOLSAKS]

looks really nice.

precision job.

thanx for the photos.

dave in NC

[rang-a-stang]

I saw the purple gun and my imediate thought was "I wonder if he painted his truck with that because his truck looks pretty darn good." Then my hopes were squashed when you said you didn't. Those parts look great! Do they look as good in person as they do in the pictures?

[FleetFox]

I actually DID paint the truck with that model. I bought 2 of them on sale so I had a backup. The first one worked great on all the primer coats. Things went south quickly when I switched to the second gun on the base coat; and got even worse on the clear. I would have been better served using the 20 year old DeVilbiss siphon gun I have. Much more predictable. In the end the paint looks very good, but that's mostly because of a ton of hours cutting and buffing the clear so it looks like it should have out of gun. I can say honestly at least 65% of it was me, not the gun.

They look good on the table hopefully this weekend we'll all see how good they look in situ.

Thanks Rang,


Fleet Fox

[cu4whln]

Been watching.. Beautiful work here !

Looking forward to seeing this complete and out of the garage.

Probably not nearly as much as you !

Keep at it, really does look great.

[FleetFox]

Okay so I have a new rule the past year or so, if there is a 3 day weekend, DO NOT plan to get a ton of stuff done on your truck. Family, weather, one of the fates will someone how intervene. This weekend was no exception. I set the bar low and was not disappointed. But I'll do an AC update with a bunch of pics, cause this is what got done.

So took the newly dyed box up and test fitted it. Wanted to make sure the color worked with everything else. I will let all of you decide for yourselves:

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I myself was pleased, so it was time to stuff the guts back in:

[/url]0215211959 by highsiera

New core and valve:

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So after everything got dyed, wanted to put the detail back on like the originals had. Voila:

[/url]0215212043 by highsiera

Bought this pen and it is awesome. Used it on a few things like the vent cables. Here are some results

[/url]0215212152a by highsiera

[/url]0215212043a by highsiera

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And all done and ready to cram back in:

[/url]0215212317 by highsiera

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Maybe way too many pics for this step, sorry, but hey it was a lonnggg weekend.

Fleet Fox

[bkilby]

Looks great. They dye turned out nice. One thing you might want to research before putting that back in is the schrader valve that might be hiding in the port where the small tube attaches. I've read that valve needs to be removed. Kind of makes sense as that capillary tube is useless with the valve closed all the time.

[SOLSAKS]

just caught up

the lettering in silver looks great on the A/C unit.

dave in NC

[FleetFox]

Thanks Guys!

Bkilby, I really appreciate the reminder. I purchased all this stuff last winter and laid out all the details, then put it half of it on the shelf. With everything that's gotten done in the last year, I've forgotten a lot of it. Between the TSM, some notes, boxes of old pieces, I am relearning it. On the plus side, I'm so type A now that everything gets fit together 6 times before being bolted down. It's a wonder anything every really gets done.

Dave, thanks as always for the push!

Right now I am really trying to get the entire dash complete. clock, radio, ashtray pretty much done. I have the instrument cluster on my bench now, and I'm slowly bringing that back. Will try to do another progress post in the next few weeks. When stuff is bolted in for good.

Fleet Fox

[bkilby]

Hey, I know how it goes. It took me over a year to complete my dash and another 6 months to install it. Things happen. Life happens. I'm still not done with my dash. Lol Keep up the great work!

[goldhammer]

Those Molotow pens are the cat's meow, but it doesn't hold up well to repeated handling. I've used them for mirrors and such on plastic model kits that don't get handled alot. Might have to clear over them in the future.

[FleetFox]

Proof of life update. Plugging away, a little sidetracked with a house project lately. Just the weekends on the truck right now. So last post was building the interior AC, that's ready for final installation now. Plus the radio, clock, ashtray and glove box door are in for good.

[/url]0321211822a by highsiera

The seats have been done for a while, but I needed to figure out how and where to place the adjusting switches on the CJ buckets. Early XJ Cherokee to the rescue again. I found these pods and switches , dyed them, redid the decal parts, and re-pinned the terminal blocks from the original adjuster switches.

[/url]0307211325a by highsiera

[/url]0307211325 by highsiera

And the install :

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[/url]0320211347 by highsiera

Another add on that was done a bit earlier was a late model Gentex rearview mirror, This one has compass, temp and rear sensing radar for reverse. I loved the unit in my old Yukon, so I decided to add it to this truck. Only few extra wires.... opted out of the reverse sensors, did not like the aesthetics.

[/url]1212201452 by highsiera

Finished product, hard to get a clean shot, getting cramped in there:

[/url]0321211821 by highsiera

So next few weeks will entail the instrument cluster and the last of the dash and accessory wiring. This will include a dash mounted fuel tank switch, inverter, console, CB, and a 3 gauge pod beneath the AC unit. Most of the wiring for this stuff is in, just need to fit things up and root out the gremlins, Will post those in the next few weeks as they get done.

Lastly, special thanks to Sam for spending way too much time with me last weekend re-aligning the hood. It's getting warm now, so I want to get the dash done and get the exterior prepped for stripes. Some spot paint work and a final buffing. Then I will go back and finish the door interiors, maybe, we'll see what strikes me... or where I need to get parts out of the way to make room for something else.

Back in a bit,

Fleet Fox

[SOLSAKS]

man it is looking great.

superb work.

ready for highway pics. dave in NC