1963 J-200 SLOOOOOW Build

[bkilby]

The truck is looking great!

[Frank Ziebert]

NICE!

[Kaiserjeeps]

Holy Moly that looks GREAT!!!! Yes stop being so hard on yourself. We are ALL amateurs... I have been so busy trying to get paint on and traveling that I have not had much time to sit still long enough to post up. But I had to on my way to the shop this morning.. Wow Greg, You are a motivator big time. I showed Liz too. You got a big long woooooow!
The truck is just awesome. And thanks for showing the seals going on. I am building a piece to try and help me make SS staples for when I put them on Sadie.

Yes that was a firetruck. I with a neighbor bought a Tanker brush truck that was retired from a local dept. 1350 gallons on the back and a two cylinder Wisconsin to push two 50 foot streams for 40 minutes. I worry a lot and the 28K acre fire we had just up the road in 2015 did not help. It's as dry as a bone here now and everything is brown and brittle again. Mid 90's for temps all week and lightning coming soon. No I don't get nervous.

The truck is looking great Greg. And I see Frank is just about to squirt paint on. I enjoyed his pictures with Todd there. We coasted through everyones threads this morning. Cool beans guys.

Now where is my sandpaper?

[EKWagoneer]

Dang that paint is lookin' good!
You are making everyone else look bad with how fast you're working! (But keep it up!)
If you're happy with it ya can't complain too much.

Ely

[63J200atLSU]

Thanks guys!

I've pretty much made the truck my full-time job this summer. I'd been stocking up on things to knock out some big list items during the semester, and I've just kinda let myself go nuts.

I am pretty much amazed at how much I don't care about all the imperfections in the bodywork, the overspray here and there, even the accidental booboos that have happened since the paint. It's just starting to feel exactly like the truck I want it to be and I am stoked.

Elizabeth's brother came over and helped me out with the hood. That's definitely a two man job. This old truck is starting to look right pretty! I also rewired the headlights and put the grille back on. Couldn't stand that open hole anymore, was like looking at grandma without her teeth in.



Also, a small-yet-not-insignificant thing that got done yesterday was I got the rear glass in. That was nerve-racking. I don't know if you've ever tried to find a replacement rear window for a small window cab, but there aren't many around. I suppose I could've had one cut if need be, but I'm glad it didn't come to that. Found the weather strip profile on accident on ebay and it matched the old seal exactly. Cut to fit, applied sealant. And much finagling later...



Today, the goal is to remask/respray the pie pans and get the electrical sorted out again. I had everything working before I disassembled the dash. That should be a fun exercise in memory games... I have all of the other gaskets and window channels coming in soon, so the doors will be sealed soon, at which point the only glass left to mount will be the windshield. BJ's windshield gasket is backordered, but is supposed to ship before the end of the week, says Ryan. I'd also like to get the seat test fitted, but I don't know if I'm brave enough to do that with just me here. I would hate to mess up the sills/rockers. The mounting points are good to go though. I did not realize they were still intact, although covered up when I redid the floors as the seat wasn't attached when I got the truck. I'm actually pretty sure the seat is from a Wagoneer or Cherokee as it has an ash tray on the back of it...

And what the heck, I'll probably try and get the floor sound dampened today. And paint the glove box door and mirror if the weather cooperates...

[jeepman1]

keep on truckin'

Man, that's looking great! After buying a house this spring and finding out it has as much to fix as my old j10, I just haven't had the energy to get out to the barn and work on it.. your pictures have given me hope! Thanks

[Kaiserjeeps]

Boy no kidding! That looks super!

[KaiserMan]

That's really looking great. You picked a perfect color, it really goes well with the dash.

Do you happen to have a link for the seal you used on the back cab glass? The one on my 63 has shrunk.

[63J200atLSU]

Hey Thom! Here's what I used. That's assuming, of course that the old seal was the correct ones, but it matched the glass thickness and metal thickness, so I'm optimistic!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/291413069312

[rang-a-stang]

Is that lizard skin sprayed on your floor pans? If so, any advice/recommendations on it?

[Frank Ziebert]

Is that lizard skin sprayed on your floor pans? If so, any advice/recommendations on it?

I know you addressed this to Greg but......
I have both lizard skin heat and sound sprayed to both sides of my LJ' s tub and fire wall and I used their "special---$$$$----lizard skin sprayer.

Would I do it again? Nope!
For the prize of this stuff I was hoping for a LOT better reduction of sound and heat than I got!!!! I would use anyone of the undercoating sprays from any of the big name guys like Duplicolor etc. Oh, and that special sprayer---just another undercoating gun at at four times the price. IMHO

[rang-a-stang]

Copy that, Frank! exactly the kind of info I wanted!

I have Eastwoods budget undercoating gun (was $8 when I bought it years ago) and asked Eastwood if it could be used for lizard skin and they said it could.

Bummer to hear on your results. I am not so worried about heat but I do want sound deadening. I don't want to pay the money or have the added weight of Dynomat and was/am hoping lizard skin is a better option.

BT

I LOVE the rims and tires on your rig! What are your plans for them? Are you gonna throw a coat of paint on them, leave them, or replace them?

[Kaiserjeeps]

I coated the entire inside of a 83 Subaru GL wagon with Lizard skin. (I know, I fix odd things) I could not tell the difference when I put it all back together.
Essentially a waste of time and money.

Thanks for the link Greg.

[Frank Ziebert]

I coated the entire inside of a 83 Subaru GL wagon with Lizard skin. (I know, I fix odd things) I could not tell the difference when I put it all back together.
Essentially a waste of time and money.

Thanks for the link Greg.

Exactly--and on the floor of my LJ it does not hold up to foot traffic.

[63J200atLSU]

Copy that, Frank! exactly the kind of info I wanted!

I have Eastwoods budget undercoating gun (was $8 when I bought it years ago) and asked Eastwood if it could be used for lizard skin and they said it could.

Bummer to hear on your results. I am not so worried about heat but I do want sound deadening. I don't want to pay the money or have the added weight of Dynomat and was/am hoping lizard skin is a better option.

BT

I LOVE the rims and tires your rig! WHat are your plans for them? Are you gonna throw a coat of paint on them, leave them, or replace them?

The floors are actually the roll-on herculiner. In all honesty, I think I chose it to cover up some of my first welding attempts, but I'm also going to sound mat (I'm using noico, which is a Russian knock off of dynamat. Definitely does a great job with noise and vibration reduction, I think it's $60 for 50 sq ft on eBay) them an also carpet them. I might be going a little overboard to compensate for the non-floors the truck originally had, but I think it'll make for a cab that feels tight as a drum.

It's funny you ask about the wheels and tires. People ask me when I'm getting new rims all the time but I'm sticking with these rims! I found a guy on the Facebook FSJ group who had a pair of NOS Kaiser era dog dishes that I picked up. They're amazing. So I'm going to blast the rims and get a good coat of paint on them, but I think I want to do that after I get new tires. I'm planning on doing an all terrain radial just for safety and drive ability and I think the all terrains would look closest to the super traxion tread profile (that would be my first choice if I felt ok with bias ply tires for lots of driving... may go that way anyhow). That way, the tire shop can mount and balance the tires on the old paint and then I can make them pretty after. I'll keep the posts coming!