I've been away from FSJ's for about ten years, but decided this is the time to get back in, while there are still some in existence. I wanted a J-truck this time, and finally found one that is pretty solid, especially for the Northeast.
It was a plow-truck, and hadn't been on the road for nearly two decades, but it must have been stored in a garage to remain as solid as it is. This is how it looked when I first went to see it after an ice-storm:
I got it home, de-plowed it, and started revitalizing it from its life of long-neglect:
I've been posting videos here and elsewhere of the work I've done, which I'll put links to here, but tonight I was able to remove the seat and carpet to see exactly how bad my floors were.
Surprisingly, the floors are solid! There is surface rust on the driver's side, but initial scraping does not reveal any serious rust-through.
The passenger-side is amazing for this area.
There is a crack in the rear floor behind the driver's-seat that I'll have to weld up, but it doesn't need full floor-replacements like all the others I looked at before this one.
There was an amp mounted under the passenger-side seat, fed by an unfused 6-gauge cable coming through a hole in the firewall without a grommet. I have no idea if I'm going to keep it, but I'm not going to keep it there, given how much space there is under the dash on the passenger-side without an A/C unit, but at least it's disconnected for now.
The seat is intact, but not great. I'd replace it with buckets and a center armrest if one came up, but for now, I'll just lube the tracks, clean the upholstery, and reinstall it. I think it has been recovered, but it does sag badly on the driver's-side.
I'm not sure if I can save the carpet, which smells of mouse-piss. I will try shampooing it, but a replacement might be necessary.
I'm very pleased.
I'll add posts below with the other stages of the progress.
It was a plow-truck, and hadn't been on the road for nearly two decades, but it must have been stored in a garage to remain as solid as it is. This is how it looked when I first went to see it after an ice-storm:
I got it home, de-plowed it, and started revitalizing it from its life of long-neglect:
I've been posting videos here and elsewhere of the work I've done, which I'll put links to here, but tonight I was able to remove the seat and carpet to see exactly how bad my floors were.
Surprisingly, the floors are solid! There is surface rust on the driver's side, but initial scraping does not reveal any serious rust-through.
The passenger-side is amazing for this area.
There is a crack in the rear floor behind the driver's-seat that I'll have to weld up, but it doesn't need full floor-replacements like all the others I looked at before this one.
There was an amp mounted under the passenger-side seat, fed by an unfused 6-gauge cable coming through a hole in the firewall without a grommet. I have no idea if I'm going to keep it, but I'm not going to keep it there, given how much space there is under the dash on the passenger-side without an A/C unit, but at least it's disconnected for now.
The seat is intact, but not great. I'd replace it with buckets and a center armrest if one came up, but for now, I'll just lube the tracks, clean the upholstery, and reinstall it. I think it has been recovered, but it does sag badly on the driver's-side.
I'm not sure if I can save the carpet, which smells of mouse-piss. I will try shampooing it, but a replacement might be necessary.
I'm very pleased.
I'll add posts below with the other stages of the progress.
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