I've only had the '77 for about a week and I had to get the fenders off to get a look at the body. Overall, the rust on this truck isn't bad aside from a few small spots. Not terrible considering the age.

Fender off:



Scraped off all the black coating, and tested various areas for rust. Next step is to cut out the rust and weld in new sheet metal. I'll also wire brush the rest the best I can. I do not have access to any kind of sand/media blaster so this is all I can do.



Once that is all done what should I do next? Would POR15 work even though I cannot sand blast the metal? I know brushing and sanding will not get it down perfectly. What is my next best option?

Also, when reattaching the fender... what do I replace this with? Some kind of black silicone to seal the top of the fender?

 

Well I went ahead and ordered some of the POR15. From what I've been reading this stuff should work out great.

 

Doesn't look too bad cant wait to see the pics after por treatment, no clue on what to reuse for the seal you mentioned

 

Yeah, POR15 is your best bet. Follow their instructions and you'll have a darn near permanent fix.

 

id just put a thin layer of silicone on there. it will letit come off easy, but will also keep it from rattling while driving

 

Ordered it today but won't get it here for 2-3 days. I know you can just apply POR15 on the rust, hence Pour On Rust 15 , but I figured since I have the time I will cut out and patch as much as I can for now.

Getting started:


Had a hard time getting a good ground with the welder today. First time I've welded on the toyota... man the sheet metal is thin. :O Took a few minutes to set the welder up correctly to not melt huge holes in the metal. I'm pretty happy with the results aside from a few half ass welds I ended up with.

2 hours later... didn't get too much done.

 

Also, do the late 70's toyotas normally not come with some kind of wheel well plastic? I'm going to apply POR15 to the entire wheel well eventually so it should be fine, but I'd like an extra layer of protection if possible.