J10 Refurbish/repaint (moved from PRIS)

[SJTD]

Looking good.

[SOLSAKS]

I agree
looks good

...a mean looking black truck.

dave in NC

[Towtruck]

Rear fenders and roll pan installed and rear window frame blacked out. A bit of aligning and a few bolts left to install. Then I just might wash it before moving on to reassembling the interior, which is mostly just bolting things back in place. The AC will be reinstalled after sitting on the shelf for a decade. Wheels probably haven't been shined up in a decade either. Exhaust paint should finish it. End of November for target completion date.

DSCN1840 by Rufus, on Flickr

[rws31]

The roll pan finished off the back end nicely. Looks good.

[Towtruck]

Thanks. I'd really like to clean up (eliminate) that busy embossing on the tail gate and make the whole back end flat...common on street rodded trucks. But not sure if that center panel will come out of the frame without wrecking it .. looks like about 75 little screws/nuts around the perimeter. Maybe just attach a flat plate over the existing panel....

[SOLSAKS]

it is politically incorrect to say it about a human these days

but can I say the truck has a nice "Arse" ????.......

can't believe how much difference that roll pan makes it look.

dave in NC

[chubbinius]

That really looks sharp! Nicely done...is it odd to think that it will be exciting to see it all shiny after a good wash? (Hope not, because I am; it's a good looking truck!)

[Towtruck]

Well, it won't ever be fully shiny because the paint is a satin finish...but it should look a lot better and more even when the white/light grey dust and smudges are gone.

A decade ago when I started messing with the look of this thing I was wanting something that didn't look like all the restified '70s C10 Chevys, but without making modifications that are irreversible. That limits what can be done to clean it up. For example, I think the rear of the bed would look better if the roll pan dropped down another six inches....that would make the rear end look more substantial. But I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to blend that in with the fenders without changing the way they curve inward at the bottom. If the fender radius dropped more vertical, then a set of super wide Micky Thompson tires would look good. But they would not look right with those fenders sweeping inward at the bottom as they do. Here's an old photo from a magazine that I ran cross long after I did the original mod of the truck 10-12 years ago. The concept photo is along the same lines of what I was wanting to do. But again, it can't be done without some surgery that I don't want to perform. I'd never find buyer...certainly not in the FSJ off road community.

jeeprod1 by Rufus, on Flickr

[rang-a-stang]

jeeprod1 by Rufus, on Flickr

I like yours better. I think your stance is better, your front bumper/roll pan looks better, the "scoop" above your grill looks better, and your side pipes look more timeless. The only thing that truck has over yours is the supercharger poking out the hood.

[Towtruck]

Kind words, thank you very much.

Here's an end of day photo from the driver side, which I rarely capture these days. Everything except the six sheet metal braces (4 on the bed and the two on front fenders) is now bolted down. Even installed the license plate, which adds just a little accent at the rear. The front roll pan goes back on tomorrow and then it's on to the interior. I'll need to send out a search party to find the AC unit....

DSCN1846 (3) by Rufus, on Flickr

[rws31]

I say just build it how you want to. Especially if your building it to drive and enjoy. It's lookin good.

[gilbedw]

Very nice truck.
I am curious and would like to know how you reinstalled and adjusted all the body parts. Which ones did you install first. Any tricks or problems you encountered. I am mixing and matching better parts on my 81 Cherokee project and will be faced with shimming and adjusting the replacement parts.
Thanks

[Towtruck]

gilbedw, All of the front sheet metal is tied to the inner valance (the sheet metal assembly with the radiator support posts). As you probably know, those support posts sit on rubber bushings. If the rubber bushings are the same thickness and positioned directly over the mounting holes in the frame, then everything else should line up pretty well. So...first that valance piece, then the inner fenders, then the outer valence, then the fenders, then the doors. I mounted all the pieces fairly loosely with just a couple of bolts so that I could nudge things around. It's really just trial and error. By the way, there are small holes for alignment pins at the forward top corners of the fenders.

Since I was messing around with changing the rake of the body on the frame, I also used a dial angle indicator (Harbor Freight) to get the cab, the front fenders, and the bed at the same angle. That involved sectioning the rubber cab donuts, and the rubber under the radiator support posts among other things. If the donuts under your cab are unevenly deformed you might have to do a bit of shimming there. The hood on mine is still slightly out of whack, and I think it's because the perimeter of the early stamping (which I selected because of the crisp shape of the center bulge and the "scoop opening") is slightly different than the later hood. Still working on that. Driver side door also needs a tweak.

Anyway, here are today's photos (still not washed). I had repainted the front roll pan and changed the mounting system, so it had to be reinstalled. The trim at the back edge of the cab (now painted black)was also installed. I took it for a drive and nothing fell off...guess I'll call it good enough for now. It gets a lot of double takes and curious looks. I have about six months of fairly steady effort invested since I took it apart last winter (took the summer off). Interior is next.

DSCN1847 (2) by Rufus, on Flickr
DSCN1849 by Rufus, on Flickr
DSCN1850 by Rufus, on Flickr

[gilbedw]

Thanks Towtruck That helps a lot

[rang-a-stang]

Body channel (3 inch drop @ front); ...

When you channeled the body (assuming YOU channeled the body), did you do a build thread on it? Did you loose footwell space?

...roll pans, ...goose neck and bumper hitches.

Did you remove the goose neck and bumper hitchES? I see the bracket for the rear hitch below your license plate but I don't see another one...

Look at the difference in the black in these 2 pictures! WOW!!! When you look at them next to each other, the first picture looks like grey primer!

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