Wiring...yeah that fun stuff

The last big hurdle to getting the cruiser on the road has been the wiring.  The rear harness and front end harness were shot.  I was thinking I'd have to make my own, but I was able to get a custom front and rear harness made by Mark Baker...aka Coolerman.  He is known for his custom harnesses and made them for a great price.  They run to where they are supposed to real easily and just plug right in.  The main issue was the main wiring harness.  For the most part it was in great shape.  The worst parts were the sections running to the engine bay.  They were pretty hacked up with the GM motor swap by the previous owner.  I was able to trace back all the wiring and remake all the new ends and new wiring.  Everything under the dash was good and ran where it was supposed to.  I also sourced a new fuse block from Cruiser parts and replaced the bad one I had.  So...all the wiring is run, plugged in and done.  There are a couple of things not connected by they shouldn't keep the cruiser from turning over!

Now the cruiser is at the shop getting its exhaust made, brakes and clutch bled, drive shaft fit in and overall get it running.  My goal is to have it driving home by the end of the week!

Finishing the Odds and Ins

For the most part, the past few weeks have been about working on the odds and ins to get them finished and bolted back on the cruiser.  For the most part its been things like cleaning and restoring the heater box and blower motor, cleaning and painting the rear view mirror, the wind shield wiper motor, glove box, ash trey, weatherstripping on the tailgate and other bits, the cowl vent and the tailgate chains.  For the most part everything came apart very easily and cleaned up very nice.  The heater box looks brand new and the new foam makes it pretty quiet.  The blower motor turned out great too!  The steering wheel took a bit of work, but plastic putty, sanding and flex coat, it looks brand new.  I also got some flex vinyl paint for the lower dash pads.  I wasn't sure how they would turn out, but overall they look brand new.  I still have the upper dash pad to do, but I'll be ordering a dash cap for it.  Overall, all the odds and ins are done, with just a small pile left to complete.

Seats!

Its been awhile since I've posted, but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy working on the cruiser.  One of the big projects has been getting the seats refinished.  The original seats that came with the cruiser when I bought it were interesting.  The passenger seat is a bench seat and original.  The driver seat was a jeep bucket seat welded to the frame, not original; it didn't move and made you sit right on the steering wheel and very uncomfortable.  After some searching, I was able to find a used original seat and frame two blocks away in great shape and for a great price!  

The first step was to tear apart the frames and get rid of the old padding and covers.  The covers were pretty rotten and came apart easily.  The padding was original in the seats...burlap covers over the springs and had pretty ratty cushions.  The frames were in great shape and the paint stripped off easily.  After a quick trip to D and S paint in town I had the pewter paint for the frames and seat backs.  The paint went on great and the seat frames look brand new.

I found a great and reasonable upholster that my painter recommended.  Daryl at Pueblo Northern Window and Tint did a great job!  The new padding is made from memory foam and very comfortable.  I also went with a gray marine vinyl which is water proof and UV protected.  That should be great for when the top is off.  Overall I'm very happy with how the seats turned out!

Its Starting to Look Like a Landcruiser Again!

I've been busy the past month or working on the Cruiser.  The biggest news of them all was getting the body back from the paint shop.  I LOVE how it turned out and the Rustic Green is perfect!  There is one spot on the driver side rocker that needs fixed and the guys at John Mares Paint Shop said to bring it back when I can and he'd take care of it.  Otherwise, it looks great!  I had lots of help off loading it from the trailer and getting set on the body mounts.  I did run into one small snag...the re-positioned battery tray was about a quarter inch to close to a brace on the firewall, so I'll have to do some sorting there, but otherwise it went on smoothly.  The body mounts went on easily and the body is now squarely on the frame.

So now that the body is on the frame, its time to get the interior all figured out.  The biggest is the electrical.  I've gone through everything and determined what needs to be remade.  I think the main harness is good with just a few modifications needed.  The harness to the rear of the cruiser is in need of total replacement as is the small harness across the front bib.  I should have all my parts sourced to rebuild the needed harnesses and will hopefully have wiring done in the new few weeks.  To do this I had to go ahead and buy the rest of the lights I needed...so I now have new marker lights, turn signals and reverse light.  They are mocked up on the cruiser now and it looks awesome!

I've also been working on the front seats.  John at the paint shop recommended an upholster and his price is just about as much as it would cost me to do it myself.  So why not have a professional do it right?  But I have made progress on the seats...they are stripped down, and the frames are painted.  I just have a few pieces of hardware to go, and the seats will be off to the shop.  I've also been sorting out the pedals, dash switches and levers.  Once the wiring is in, I should be able to start bolting stuff back on.  Progress is good and steady!

Heater Box...

While the body of the cruiser is at the paint shop, I decided to start working on some odds and ends.  First up has been the heater box.  They are notorious for being chock full of dirt, hair, lent, dead things, etc...and mine was no different.  The outside of the heater core was clogged with everything you could thinking, even a few rubber bands!  I felt like it was a biohazard to touch anything in there, it was that bad.

Luckily, it all came apart easily and cleaned up easily as well.  I used my air compressor to blast the debris out of the core, and ran water through it as well to get anything the air wouldn't get.  By the time I was done with it, you could see through it!  Next up was to make sure there were no leak or clogs in the core.  I figured it used to produce good heat (somehow even with all the crap in there), so there weren't any clogs.  I did a mix of muraitic acid and water and poured it in to sit for a bit.  All that came out was a bit of dirt, nothing big.  I did a final flush and all is good.  Next up was stripping the box and painting it.  It had a bit of surface rust but it sanded right off.  After priming and paint, it looked brand new.  The final process was installing the foam rebuild parts.  That was easy as well, but made the fit a bit snug when putting it all back together.  But, it all looks brand new, and should definitely heat more efficiently.

Floor is Done, Body is off to Paint, Roll Bar Complete

Lots of progress over the past few weeks.  A majority of  the time was spent finalizing the body work and finishing the floor.  The body work turned out great with the rear sill, running boards, the tailgate and tire carrier all lining up nicely.  I finished drilling out all the holes and made sure all the filler was sanded down where I thought it was good.  The body looks awesome!  As for the floor...I decided to go with Raptor Bedliner since I could source it locally for cheaper than I could have most anything else shipped.  The process starts with cleaning the floor to remove contaminants and make sure the surface is clean.  Next up was putting down acid etch primer.  This allows whatever you put on top to adhere better to the bare metal.  I was able to use a brushable version which saved a bunch of money, rather than buying multiple cans of aerosol.  The primer required some curing time once finished.  The final step was laying down the bedliner.  It is a two part...so you mix, and use a paint roller to paint it on.  I ended up with 3 coats down with the option of doing a fourth in the future with the left overs.  I think the floor turned out great!  The bedliner should keep it from rusting every again and provide extra protection from scuffs.

Next up was working on getting the body to the paint shop.  One of the families at church brought over their truck and trailer and several guys from work helped load it on the trailer.  The body was strapped down and we made the trip without any issue.  I think John at the paint shop was happy with the body work and said it shouldn't take more than 1-2 weeks to finish.  In the meantime I brought home just about everything else from the paint shop and it all looks great!  Otherwise I've been polishing the chrome pieces which were mostly spray painted over.  They turned out very shiny given the state they were in.  I also sanded down and prepped the roll bar for paint.  It looks brand new!  So...the next post should have the body back from the paint shop and back on the frame...progress!

Bottoms Up...and Done

My main focus for the past couple of weeks has been finishing the body work, getting the floor finished, seam sealing the under side and rubber undercoating it. I finally finished welding in the rear corner patch panels and the rockers and about as straight as I can get them...and I finally got the parts back from the paint shop I needed to finish the rear sill.  The tire carrier bolted together nicely and looks really nice with new shiny nuts and bolts.  I got the final four holes drilled out, and the latch bolt holes on the sill mocked and lined up.  My original guess to where the sill went was only off by a couple millimeters and after a bit of work, everything was lined up...and finally welded in.  Overall, the rear sill looks great...and much more structurally sound.  I can stand on the bed and it doesn't feel like its going to buckle in any more.  After that, I spent days and days sanding and finishing up the body work.  I know its not perfect, I'm not a professional, but overall I think it will look good.  At least everything is smooth...and any flaws should be pretty small.  The paint shop has been pretty good about improving what I've already done...which hasn't been much at all.  My final step on the undercarriage was to rust convert it and get the rubber undercoating on.  The rust converter went on no problem, so it shouldn't rust ever again...and the surface rust that was there, should be neutralized.  The final step was shooting 3 thick coats of rubber undercoat on.  They went on smoothly and it hides a lot of imperfections that I didn't care about since it was the under side of the car.  I am more than happy with the way the rubber undercoating came out!  It really looks great.  Next up will be letting the undercoat cure followed by prepping the floor for lining.  Once that is done, its ready for the paint shop!