Preparing for Paint

[JoeIsuzu]

Hey Jack, When I had the bed off my truck, I went to harbor freight and got a set of those magnetic trailer lights so I could stick them on the frame and still drive legal. You may not want to drive it while you have the bed off. Just a thought. I drove mine around for about a month that way. Phil

Ed, there's no need to drive mine without a bed. I have the original still on it, and the "new" bed just need some relatively minor rust treatment. I plan to get that done, then swap the beds.

Jack

[trash80]

Hey Jack, When I had the bed off my truck, I went to harbor freight and got a set of those magnetic trailer lights so I could stick them on the frame and still drive legal. You may not want to drive it while you have the bed off. Just a thought. I drove mine around for about a month that way. Phil

Ed, there's no need to drive mine without a bed. I have the original still on it, and the "new" bed just need some relatively minor rust treatment. I plan to get that done, then swap the beds.

Jack

Not going to wait for the fiberglass bed?

[JoeIsuzu]

FIVE years later, and now I think I may be ready to get the P'up painted. I met with a guy from a restoration shop today. He took pics, and said he'd get back in touch with an estimate. After talking with him, I've come to some new (and slightly painful) conclusions:

1. The side cladding is gone for good. I have all the parts, but they'll look bad on shiny new paint.
2. The chrome windshield trip is likely gone, mainly because the window gaskets for the chrome inserts are no longer available.
3. The chrome rain channel trim is gone. The plastic behind it is too deteriorated.
4. The rubber inserts (LS trim stuff) on my front bumper are likely gone. I discovered that they're getting loose due to deterioration.
5. With all the other LS trim goodies going away, it's unlikely that I'll keep the two-tone paint scheme.
6. Wow, I wish I'd managed to get the P'up into the garage during that hailstorm.

Jack

[soot fart]

My condolences Jack. Getting that rubber off the truck ain't much fun. Razor ice scraper and eraser for your drill worked for me. I guess you realize that someday you'll see one restored selling for $40,000 on Barret-Jackson. hehehehe bad Jerry

[JoeIsuzu]

Well I'm pretty bummed out. The estimate ended up 50% more that i was expecting. And that's not including the interior, or tires and rims.

Jack

[luvcamas]

a good job in our area would run 5000 to 7000 grand

[JoeIsuzu]

a good job in our area would run 5000 to 7000 grand

Maybe I should bring it up there. That was what I was expecting here. The estimate was over $9,400. And I still need to redo the interior.

Jack

[JoeIsuzu]

Here I am, 9 years later, and still not repainted. I have got an estimate Wednesday, and it was $3,500. It will be a base coat and clear coat. They will remove all trim, but not glass.

Unless shipping is exorbitant, I'm buying a pair of NOS doors from Paul ("Minty's Parts"). This solves the problem of the old mirror mounting holes.

I gave the paint shop a choice between the original hood (with hail damage) and tailgate (with some damage and rust) vs the '86 turbo diesel hood and tailgate. They recommended the '86, so that's the plan.

They put me on their calendar for September 5, and I think they said their turnaround time is about six weeks.

So at least we finally have a plan!

Jack

[JoeIsuzu]

Things are finally moving along. I've spent a crazy amount of time trying to make my power mirrors fit. No matter where I mount them, they won't fold back without the window trim interfering. I finally decided to use a pair of thick washers as spacers. That means I will have to use some sort of RTV or other sealant around the mirror base. I marked up the old door, to make a drilling template. The unfortunate part is, I failed to indicate which set of holes offered the best mounting location, so I will have to re-mount them one more time, to confirm. I do NOT want to drill the new doors in the wrong location.

Today, I unboxed the doors from Paul ("Minty's Parts"). Paul had packed these for shipping a couple of years ago, but the buyer never came through. He did an amazing job keeping them protected from damage.

For what it's worth, the retail cost of shipping a pair of doors across country is pretty crazy. If I did not have a substantial retiree discount with FedEx, the shipping cost may have been a deal breaker.

Once I'm done with this project, I anticipate having a few parts to give away:
- Original doors (one with 8 holes, the other with its original 2 holes)
- Tailgate
- Hood
- Tailgate
- Bench seat

Jack

[puttputtinpup]

Looks like you've been a victim of a driveby! You gotta get out of Memphis, my friend