mbomberz1

If your reading this, your probably waiting for some parts to come in like myself. Keeping these things on the road while looking decent forever does not come cheap or easy!

I have owned this truck since high school, I got it in 2002 from a trade with my cousin.

My main goal all along in owning this truck was to keep it mostly stock, reliable and capable for any weekend adventure that might come my way. I really love taking it out camping, dirt biking. It has never left me stranded, even with the legendary 3.0 under the hood. Which I have learned to love! Sure it is a pain to work on sometimes, and maybe a little finicky but honestly its never given me a reason to doubt if I can get somewhere.

Paint Job Complete:



Here he is before the new paint job:



Currently I am in the middle of a full home job repaint. I have been wanting to start this build thread for a long time, but it always felt a little daunting trying to think back and document everything. Nevertheless, here is a start. I will do my best to fill in the history as I go for those interested. For me, this will serve as a place to remember all the work that has gone into this truck, and hopefully a good spot to get to know a few of you guys better!

I repainted this truck one time before, back in 2005, it was quick job, just basic sanding, tape off and respray in my dads truck shop. I didnt know what I was doing, and didnt have the time, money or tools to do it right. We used a single stage OEM metallic gray that came out less than ideal. It had a lot of mottle in the metallic, which I learned recently is hard to not get when using a single stage, especially for someone who has not painted in years. It served ok for the 10 or so years it was on there, as my original paint had severely faded and started to bake off on the hood and roof by then.

Ever since, I have been wanting to take it out of service for a few months and really get a good paint job on there that I would be proud of. As I'm sure you know, its quite a big job. I am fortunate enough to be able to occupy the side yard at my parents place while doing the work. My dad has been a mechanic most of his life and has most of the tools you could really hope for at home. I started this 2nd paint job in the middle of Feb 2016, slowly practicing my body work, acquiring tools and wasting more time than making progress while learning the ins and outs of the whole process. The main thing is that I am enjoying seeing things go well, little by little on this 2nd job.

Here are a few shots of my current progress. Please feel free to point out anything I might be doing wrong, I have been doing my best to research, take it slow and do everything the right way. I really want this job to come out as best as possible for a back yard job.


Start of the 2nd repaint:

Before I had committed to the full job, I started tackling one major thing that was bothering m. I had some rust breaking through on the hood, I assume from some water getting under the original paint job when it became really dry and porous. It finally came through the respray I did originally, slowly cracking off parts of the paint in a few areas. My goal was to prevent any damage to the hood until I had time to get the real deal under way.



I was not really planning ahead, I was mostly just focused on getting the hood protected and cleaned up so I didn't have to cringe every time I got in and out before I felt like I would have the time and energy to do the full job.

5 Paint and primer cans later:



It came out pretty good for rattle cans, I buffed it out and waxed it a few days later and it started to look really good. That was all the itch I needed, that weekend I decided to start the full project. I talked to my dad and got the side yard cleared out and started taking everything apart:



Breaking ground!




After the first weekend or two, I had messed around enough with spot puddy and sanding and puddying again. Finally to realize I just needed to get some actual body filler.



I finally bit the bullet and pulled out the Xtra cab quarter windows, I was pretty worried about breaking them, but It all worked out in the end. Slowly tackling one hurdle at a time. There is always one problem or another to figure out.



Speaking of problems! I have been going over the solution to this one for a while now, and finally I think I found the a good way to do it. I had my bed Line-Xed 5 or so years ago, and I really did not want to have to mask up against the bed liner on the bed rails. I couldnt bear to have a paint edge that would be prone to chipping. In the end I found I was able to peel off the liner on the rails using a really sharp puddy knife. I was able to get both sides and the tail gate removed with out disturbing the interior of the bed too much. The bed liner came off these rails all in one piece each, I am hoping I can use some type of adhesive and glue these back on over the new paint job in the end. if not, i will just have the bed rails sprayed again after the paint is good and cured.





Lots of sanding, filler and sanding later, i finally felt like I had the tail gate in a good spot.

mbomberz1

After a lot of poking around and reading I finally got a spray gun setup working. Now, I have never sprayed anything but cans before, so I was pretty nervous about this. But figured spraying something as flat and easy as a tail gate, laying down with primer couldnt go too bad. And it came out ok! I have been watching as many videos as i can online, not that it really gives you the feel for it, but I certainly feel like it has helped me some with my confidence and starting at least one step ahead from nothing.

I got a mediocre all around gun, its a Devilbiss Finishline FLG 4 670, it comes with 3 tips, a 1.3, 1.5 and 1.8. There quite possibly is a better gun for the money, but so far this one seems to be working out really well for me. Got a few more bits, an ok regulator with drier, an extra last change oil water catch and a decent hose with high flow fittings. Now I know my compressor probably is under powered for full time use, but testing it out, so far its been able to keep up really well with the gun. We will see when I get to the full job at the end though! I wish I had the specs on the compressor and all, but its just an old one my dad has had at the house since I can remember. Its around a 25 gallon tank with what appears to be a 2-3 horse motor. Its hard to make out anything specific though.



Here was the first attempt, it went ok. really just getting a feel for setting up the gun for primer and trying to feel how fast its laying down material.




Next up was the doors, I really want to do a full color change, including the door jambs and anything else that makes sense. So off the doors came, I ended up masking off most of the doors except the front panel, as the inside doesn't really need any primer. I plan to just do a final seal coat on all of the surfaces that dont need any body work and sanding before paint.

But of course the weather is playing games, out of nowhere a short burst of rain came down right as I had finished my pattern test of the gun. At least it wasnt right after I put down the primer!




But all was well, after waiting out the rain, I laid down two coats of primer on the doors. I was really curious how the doors were going to look after, especially the passenger side. It seemed to have had a little misshap in a prior life that had some bodywork I didnt know about. So there was a lot of rework on my part trying to get it flat again. As far as i can tell, its looking pretty good. I am waiting to do the final sanding and guide coat untill im ready to do the whole truck at the end so I wont know for sure just yet.



Started working on the bed, lots of little dings over the years, I assume from tie downs and flopping over the bed side loading up the dirt bikes, and who knows what else. Lots of door dings to take care of too!




Now for some actual work, the underside of the hood. Several years ago, I ended up running over a trash can on the freeway, was going too fast to swerve and completely avoid it so I just had to take it head on, ran over with with the right side wheels. At the time, i checked and all seemed ok, but what I didnt see in the dark was that the battery had shifted over jsut enough so the power steering pulley was slowly cutting a hole in the bottom the of battery. A week later, i smell battery acid after pull up, and open my hood to see it sprayed everywhere. I cleaned everything up as best I could, but this ended up causing a lot of small surface rust spots down the road. This was my chance to fix it. Now I cant fully get everything, I am sure there must be some rust under the hood bracing that I wont be able to clean up, but I got as much of it as I could. Sanded back everything with rust, use some rust disolving gel on a lot of it and brush out all of the bad.



Finally getting ready for a sealer coat, paint and clear!



Coming along ok, some spots should have been smoothed out a little more, but it is just the under side of the hood.



And now for the color! I am using the under side of the hood as a test panel for myself. It was stressed to me a lot, do not paint in stages, and do not allow more than 24 hours after your sealer coat to finish the job. So I did a sealer, base and clear coat to the under side of the hood to get a better feel for how all stages of the paint are going to lay down, and what its like using the gun for base and clear.

I am going with a solid color, non metallic this time. As I dont want to do all this work only to screw up the metallic. So after a lot of looking around the last few years, I finally found a color I really like. Some might find it a bit bland, but It has really grown on me.

I am painting it a Dark Gray, color code 7A1, from some fancy Porsche. I really like how its got a nice deep but earthy feel for a gray color. Seems to have a lot of depth, and looks quite good in the sun and shade. I really like the original metallic from the factory and think gray looks great on these trucks. So I went for this one as a compromise.

Here is the base after 2 coats:



Hard to get a feel for it before clear. After it flashed off for a good 45 minutes, I laid the clear on, 2 coats, final one was pretty wet.. Not that I know what im doing, but it came out ok. I got one small sag, but overall not too much orange peel. Just a little bit of an inconsistent finish since I am not very good at keeping the gun height and overlap the same yet, especially with the varying height of the under hood features and bracing.

I am quite happy with this first try, although there are a few too many more bugs than I had hoped for, I know that is what I get for doing a backyard job:




Here you can see a bit more of the dust bugs and crap in the clear, I dont plan on worrying about the underside of the hood much, but plan on being extra careful about cleaning out the area and laying some water down before the final spray to help eliminate what I can.



A few days later in the sun:




A video of the finish, just after spraying:
https://goo.gl/photos/DeiGfsYhVJEKtGdp7


Well after that little bit of a confidence boost, I headed back to priming more of the truck. Got the first major section of the body primed, right bed side.



It came out straighter than I thought it would, everything looks ok so far which I'm am really relieved about!

Front end bits, so many rock chips to take care of.



After that, I finally decided to tackle the last remaining problems I have been putting off. I finally pulled out the rear window, which while hard to start, ended up coming out easier than I expected. And then I got the rest of the windshield trim removed. The trim is such a pain, I am dreading putting it back on, because I know its not going to go well. I am very tempted to order a new set online, but when I added it all up, its almost $500, for everything, which is just too hard to justify. What I really need is to get a new set of clips and fasteners for it, take it to a window shop and have them do it. But its just not that easy! I dont know how many of the at least 5 different types of clips I need, some seemed to be missing. If i come up with a good solution, ill let you guys know

Rear window masking job, im torn weather I should back mask it from the inside and try to get all of the window seal metal painted, or just do what I have here, and put the masking line well under the gasket. The reason im doubting the cleaner method is that it seems a lot of the head liner is glued and wrapped around on the edge where im currently masking, and I dont want to disturb that if i can help it. Any ideas?



Here is my plan for the hood masking, going to try and take care of all the exposed frame, and color match that, while leaving the interior of the bay untouched. If i had the engine out, sure I would paint it, but that is just one huge step too far for the scope of this project. I can dream though! It would be so nice to have a smooth cleared finish in there that is easy to clean up.

mbomberz1

As for non paint related stuff, I think that can go here. Its hard to find a good way to organize all the things over the years, especially when I have the paint project taking up my full attention right now. So this might be out of order, but that shouldn't matter too much.

A few of you might remember, my truck was stolen at the end of 2013. That was a really ˟˟˟˟ty thing to go through. At the time, I lived in a Townhouse, with assigned parking spots for any vehicles you didn't have room for in your tiny garage/driveway. Since this truck isn't my only vehicle, I had to park it in an assigned space farther down the court where I lived. I usually only drove it on the weekends at that time and went to go get it for a Saturday morning coffee, only to see it was not in my spot. It took me a few seconds to realize.. It was gone. I called up the sheriff and a deputy came shortly after to take down a report. My best guess was it could have been gone for over a week before I even realized it. Fearing it was probably long gone at that point, I was really upset about it. I still had my newer Tacoma, but it just will never fill that same spot for me that this truck has. I spent the next few weeks driving around doing a double take on every Toyota pickup that went by. Its funny how your mind plays tricks on you.

A month after it went missing, I was on the first real vacation of my life in Hawaii. It was great, first time I felt like I had actually relaxed in a long long time. With 4-5 days still to go on the trip, I had just gotten back to the room in our hotel, and noticed I had a missed call and voice mail on my phone while I was out. I couldn't believe it, the Sheriff said they had found it! He left me some details about where it was and a number to call.

They found it in Oakland, and had it towed to A & B impound. Perfect. The only problem was, I am the only person allowed to claim the vehicle, and they were charging me 75$ a day to keep it there plus whatever other fees they felt like. Even though I clearly did not cause any of this! So 6 days later, right after getting back from my trip, I organize with my dad and a friend to go recover it. Again thanks to my dad who always seems to have the right things hiding somewhere, we head out early in the morning with my Tacoma to pickup the trailer he built for a tractor he used to have. I was really nervous, the only information I could get from anyone about the condition of the pickup was that it was 'damage'. After trying to get all the correct paperwork sorted with the Oakland PD, we finally got to A&B. The bill was almost 700$ to get it out. I couldn't believe it, but I had no other option and wasn't about to lose the truck for that. They slid my card happily and told me to go out front, they would drop it out there for me. Almost an hour later, someone comes to open the gate to their yard, and I see off in the distance a forklift driving backwards holding the back of my truck up, pulling it on the front two wheels. I promise you, it was not a good first impression! But slowly, once they finally made their way to the street where we were at, I gave a little sigh of relief. It didnt appear to have been in any accidents, and nothing critical was missing. Here it was after we put a gallon of gas back in it, and started it up for the first time to get in on the trailer:



Despite missing some stuff, bed tool box, wheels, tail light, right front locking hub, a full tank of gas and anything I had left in the cab worth more than a few cents, it was in good shape. They were kind enough to leave me with some trash, dice.. and actually hidden between the driver seat and the center console, a shaved down Saturn key they used to steal it. Oh and 3 different sized tires and wheels, plus my spare.

Realizing how lucky I was to have it back in one piece, we loaded it up, and I got one of the best drives of my life. Towing home my favorite Toyota Pickup with my 2nd favorite



So happy to have it back.

mbomberz1

Once I got it back, I really felt it was time to pay it some extra love and fix all of those little things that add up over the years.


First up was a new set of wheels and tires as the severely mismatched and flat tires/rims just wasn't going to cut it. It was quite a bummer that my old ones went missing, they only had maybe 8-10k miles on those BFG ATs and hardly were worn at all. Buying all new again was pretty frustrating, so this time I just went with your basic steel D window wheels. Hoping that they make it a little less desirable to try and rip off.

32" Michelin Kevlar MTRs in load C. I really like these tires, although a bit heavy with the steel wheels. Though they have been wearing a bit funny after the first 10k



This was a long over due upgrade that solved several little issues and overall just made the truck feel nicer to drive: New short throw marlin crawler shifter + ball and socket shift seat.



I installed a 2" body lift on the truck years ago so i could fit 32"s with out rubbing, and while I dislike having a body lift it works ok. I really have not wanted to get into ball joint spacers, and definitely no drop bracket lifts. The whole SAS idea sounds nice in theory but for what I use this truck for, and what I want to do it just doesnt make sense. Cutting out all of the IFS stuff would just feel wrong, as I really want to keep this truck as original as I can while still using it for weekend fun.

After that, I found someone here on YotaTech who was thankfully selling a single manual locking hub, it had some cosmetic damage, but better than no 4x4! Still looking for a clean outer dial casing if anyone has one. Mine has some rock rash on it.



Spent some time trying to revitalize the interior, a lot of the things you want to replace are no longer made by toyota, but you can still find some stuff. I was really happy to get a new heater bezel in there. That was one really bad eye sore before.




Found a relatively cheap shifter boot leather on ebay, it did just the trick!



At the same time, I ordered up a new piece of leather to try and give recovering my center console a try. They sent the wrong color, but it will do for now. Cheap ebay crap. Used some 3M adhesive spray and some extra foam I had lying around. It looks a lot better than it used to. My old one was torn up and shedding brown ancient foam everywhere. That was one other small casualty from the theft, I had a pair of shorts covering up the console, hiding it!



While I was in there, I figured I would try to see how clean I could get the carpets. I had never had them out before and It was definitely time.





I ended up using some 'Super Clean' degreaser spray cleaner on the carpet and it came out really great, couldnt believe how much soiley crap kept coming out. But that water finally ran clean and I let it try in the sun for the day before reinstalling it:




After all of the reupholstering fun I had on the center console, I took a stab at recovering the bench behind the seats int eh Xtra cab, bought some fabric, straightened out the metal lip that became fairly bent over the years and started covering. It came out ok, not sure if the color really matches to my liking, or the material type. But it will do:






I still have a lot to do on the inside, most of which I are replacing parts that are no longer available. My dash pad is very cracked, as well as a few other pieces of interior trim that I cant seem to find. There are so few toyotas in the pick n pull yards around here. When you do find one its torn up. But I probably haven't really spent enough time digging.

I had been eyeing a Softopper for quite a while at this point, and finally decided to pull the trigger. Finally getting a little bit even with you 4runner guys! Now I can sleep in the back of my truck too Works great for camping, just load up the truck, everything is covered and contained, then setup camp and sleep in side!



Well after that, there was still quite a bit to do maintenance wise. Tore up most of the engine bay, and put in a new Radiator, hoses, waterpump, timing belt, idlers, valve cover gaskets and a adjusted the valves. It had been about 60k since the motor was rebuilt and since I was in that far already, I thought it would be good to get it done now. My original radiator was sprining a few too many pinhole leaks for my liking and it had already been redone once.



While I had everything apart, I thought it would be a good idea to do some cleaning up as well. During the battery-trashcan incident, a lot of my engine bay took a turn for the worse visually. My valve covers had some white splatter markings from the acid, and my plenum was really oxidized. I used some VHT wrinkle paint and did them up in black to help cover up some of the bad. Then to top it off I ordered up a new engine badge to seal up the deal! It sure is nice not having to stare at those acid etched things any more.



All back together:



Things never seem to be done, always one more thing I would like to polish up it seems. This time I thought it would be a good idea to finally go through and upgrade my charging and ground wiring system. After a lot of back and forth, some thinking and a ton of helpful advice from RAD4Runner (very helpful guy, thanks man!) I had everything worked out. I put in a new 130 amp alternator from LCEngineering as well, the reman in there had a bearing that was going out.

New fusible link from the fuse box to battery:



and how I did all the other ground and charge wires, in 2 Gauge:

rustED

iTrader: (2)

Nice looking truck, I really like the color! Look forward to seeing pics of it when your finished!

Gizler00

iTrader: (1)

Very nice Truck. Great work on the paint.

I will own 2nd gen excab someday!!

mbomberz1

Thanks guys for taking a read, it's nice sharing the work you do with others who understand why you would spend half your free time either talking about or working on Toyotas I am hoping to have it all wrapped up here in the next month or so. Really though, at this point I'm starting to think it might take me a month just to put it back together. I really only get time on the weekend to head over and work on it. It can be frustrating not working on your truck in your own yard, but I really can't complain. It's all too convenient having an actual mechanic there (dad) to ask for help any time I get myself in to unfamiliar territory.

You guys did it right though, I wish I had a 1st gen runner! My only worry would be having double the plastic bits and interior pieces to try and keep in check, I have a hard enough time with just this 2 seater keeping the aging interior not looking too weathered! Seems like every time I have it apart I cringe as one more 100% unique fastener crumbles in my hands!!!

-Ryan

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

I really enjoyed reading your progress and how things are looking. As far as the bugs and a sag in the clear coat, that can be worked out when you color sand it. I have painted in the shop and still get bugs. Urghh!!! When it is all back together and looking good, you are still going to enjoy it every time you see it shined up sitting in the drive. Paint and body work takes patience but is the most rewarding in my opinion.

As far as the windshield trim, I suggest taking it to a shop and having them to remove and install the trim. I have done it and the clips are so brittle they are going to snap on you. Replacements are not very expensive. Even the windshield shop I use has a tough time with the trim. If I recall right, my local shop just charges $20 for the removal and install. Well worth the frustration to me.

Great job!!!!

arlindsay1992

iTrader: (8)

Looks like you're doing exactly what I want to do to my 4Runner. Even the same color. Looks like great progress, I'll be keeping watch. Good luck!

mbomberz1

Terry, I am sure you have spent more time than I have sorting through the parts diagrams. Have you found a good way to identify how many of a certain component is required? When I can finally figure out what small bit I am looking for, I can never tell how many I actually need!

Stevesk88

Nice looking truck. After beating up mine for the last few years I'm going to get a strait truck and cab swap to have a clean body for paint. Yours is looking good so far man!

mbomberz1

Thanks Steve, I took a look through your build thread, what a journey! Good luck with the body swap.

Well I got some mail today, a tiny box full of little tiny hard to find bits and pieces. Most of which broke the moment I tried to remove them. Others, that have died over the years.. Cant wait to start putting all of this back together!



I'm not sure why but its so interesting to me to look at these old new parts. Pieces that are for my almost 30 year old truck, but are brand new. Seeing these brand new actually flexible pieces of plastic. No sun damage, not dried out. Crazy.

chriscorpus

looks great!! Wish my toyota looked this good! Subscribed!

rustED

iTrader: (2)

It's nice to read your story and see all the work you put in it to it, glad you recovered it in one peice after being stolen!

TrafficTechII

iTrader: (1)

Wow! great job

jakey poo

Happy to see you got it back in such good condition, my first rig was an '88 single cab, it was stolen and totaled. Love your color choice, can't wait to see it finished.

mbomberz1

Finally an update.. Jeeze what is taking so long??

Well I had to take a break from the project for the last few months unfortunately and I have decided to let the professionals finish the job for me. Some personal stuff came up and this is the best route to take right now. I really wish I could have finished this job myself but at this point I will just be thrilled to have it back together and driving in the near future.

Dropped it off today to get painted. Same color and everything, the shop is just going to pick up where I left off and finish up. There is no real body work left, I just asked them to paint it in pieces like I was planning to and to primer and block check it in case i screwed anything up along the way.

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

Glad you got your truck back, it is like having a family member kidnapped!!

Dentmstr

Just read up on your thread, I can't believe you got your baby back, and in such good shape! The build looks great so far, I'm sure your anxious for the paint work to be done so you can start the re-assemble process. I'll be following along to see the progress. Keep up the great work. Those valve covers and intake turned out great!

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

I have 10 bins that I keep nuts and bolts in that has all the sizes I need. For clips and odd things, I have 3 different Harbor Freight trays that I keep those parts in. I have been to the yards and built up enough parts that there is only a few things that I need to get from the dealer. About the only thing I have to get at a dealer is the trim clips behind the doors and the door clips that hold the rods to the latch assembly. Those clips are about the only ones I need to buy. Sometimes I will buy new grill clips from the dealer as they are not so brittle. Dealer I use has some great diagrams. Those 3 clips is about all I need to get from the dealer. If there is something in particular that you need, let me know and I probably have it in one of my build threads that I can get the information for you.

The trim that goes in between the door and extra cab glass get at the dealer. The top and middle clips are the same, the bottom one is different. https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116.../#post52296820

To re install the door rods to the latches, they are different colors and side specific. Most likely you broke those trying to get the latch out as they are brittle. Get those at the dealer. I cant find them anywhere else but the dealer and they are cheap enough. https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f199...l#post52311581