Landcruiser Unplugged...literally!

Well...its been a couple of weeks, but I have managed to get a couple of days of working on the Landcruiser in.  For the most part I've been working on the dash...what a mess of wires...half not connected to anything...half that probably shouldn't (they are brittle and cracked)...and most stuck in place for one reason or another.  Most of the plugs and connectors came undone pretty easily.  A few plugs were full of dirt...its hard to believe the rear lights worked at all.  But with lots of yanking and pulling and figuring out what was still connected...the wiring is out of the dash...actually the whole front end.  I'll get the wires that head to the rear of the car when the body comes off...easier that way.  I've also managed to get most of the dash out...I have one knob (a rusted in hazard light switch)...one turn signal dash light cover (again rusted in) and the speedo cable frozen in place on the backside of the instrument panel.  They are all soaking in penetrating fluid so hopefully next time I'm out there they will finally come off. 

Today I managed to get the heater off with a little bit of antifreeze spillage.  I was actually a little surprised at how much was in the lines and in the heater itself.  But the heater is out and ready for restoration. 

I've also ran into a few snags up under the dash....mainly the 4WD shifter and the parking brake lever.  The 4WD shifter is ready to come out if I could get the rod released from the linkage that runs under the hood.  I was able to get the clamp holding it in place off...but the clamp has bent into place...so I have a feeling it will take a bit of hammering to get it off.  Otherwise everything else with it is ready to come off.  The parking brake is almost off as well...1 bolt I can't get too!  I may have to wait until the pedals come off and the steering column is out. 

I haven't made much progress on the body since I've been concentrating on the inside.  I did get the running boards off...or whats left of them.  They were rusted through pretty badly and the piles underneath are proof.  They will be replaced in the end.  The roll cage is still on there...4 bolts left and hopefully loosening up in penetrating fluid.  I guess once I get the dash done and the roll cage out...I can start working on taking the body off the frame...only 12 probably very very rusty frozen bolts...

More Busy Work

So I have managed a couple of more days working out on the Cruiser this past weekend.  My main goal was to work on the fenders and the roll cage.  I managed to get one fender completely stripped of paint and my technique seems to be working well.  The outside of the fenders seem pretty good...minor rust along the wheel well edge, but nothing major.  The top has some areas that are pretty beat up, so I'll need to do some pounding on them to get them straightened out.  Again...nothing too major.  Now the inside of the fender is a different story.  While the rust isn't terrible, there are a couple of areas that will take some work.  They sanded out pretty well and most of the surface rust is gone.  But there are a couple areas that are flaking pretty badly.  My plan is to grind out the bad areas, put rust converter on the whole inside of the fender and fill to smooth.  The other fender is pretty much clear of paint and just needs to be sanded down to remove the surface rust.  Still a long ways to go, but they are coming along.  I also managed to get most of the paint on the aprons removed.  Hopefully a Dremmel tool comes out of Christmas this year since there are a lot of tight spaces I can't get the sander into.  All in all the paint removal process is going great.

The roll cage on the other hand has been a real pain in the rear.  I had one post where I managed to get all the bolts out...including a 6 inch bolt...out, while none of the others have budged.  Well I let them soak for a week in penetrating fluid and beat them with a hammer...and guess what...all but one are out!  Of course that one won't budge...I can't seem to break it loose no matter how much I beat on it and soak it in fluid.  I'll keep at it though and hopefully I can break it loose soon.

I've also been working on dismantling the wiring.  There are so many unconnected wires its unreal.  The wires that are there make me wonder how the heck anything actually worked!  I managed to get the heater off the firewall but can't completely remove it until I drain the radiator.  Anybody have a 5 gallon bucket I can have?  As for the wiring...I think I have one side done...the easy glove box side.  I also got the turn signal switch disconnected and labeled.  There are a ton more to go though...

So for now its continued paint removal...wire disconnecting...and start soaking the body mounts in penetrating fluid so I can get the body off.