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First, further investigation into the rusted driver’s floor. This happened because the salt and melted snow ran down from the dead pedal along the edge of the floor under the wire bundle.
This is a simple fix. I’ll just split the factory spot welds and put in a new 90 degree piece from rocker to floor. You can see the good metal underneath the seam sealer, so we’ll weld there.
Also took a whiz wheel to expose the body mount. No problem there, and we know what the underside looks like…dripping goo.
This was in two pieces. First, pick off all the old gorilla glue that didn’t hold it together This is where the breaks were. Gorilla Super Glue Gel is perfect for the old ABS plastic.
Now some interior panel work.
More dirt and tape goo. My recipe is really hot water to soften the tape residue, Dawn dish soap to remove the dirt, then Goo Gone on the tape residue, then Dawn again to prep for painting.
On this panel, I actually tried gasoline to remove the goo. Yes, it works better than GooGone, but have to do it outdoors and I don’t know how the plastic will stand up to it if you leave it for a long time.
Then I needed another patch piece and looked around the house and eventually found the backing in an LP record picture frame was just about identical material.
This is the patch piece. Creative clamping with a cutting board.
I cleaned the tape goo and dirt off but will do the fabric later with the seats when i rent a carpet steamer. I’ll straighten the wrinkles in the vinyl with a heat gun and paint the frame of the box.
Last edited by Melrose 4r; 02-05-2023 at 05:13 PM.
I started taking a good look inside the quarter panel to see how they did the body work. They used front fender edges to repair the rears. Good concept, poor execution.
What is this, covered in bubble wrap and tape?? It’s a relay.
Last edited by Melrose 4r; 02-06-2023 at 08:36 AM.
Nice find on your 4Runner…and GREAT progress in a short amount of time! That console was in pretty rough shape. You really worked some magic on it and that SEM paint makes it looks brand new. Look forward to following the rest of your build!!
Nice find on your 4Runner…and GREAT progress in a short amount of time! That console was in pretty rough shape. You really worked some magic on it and that SEM paint makes it looks brand new. Look forward to following the rest of your build!!
Thanks very much. I’m planning for more progress this weekend. Stay tuned.
This week I got two new sets of door hinges - the ones made in Thailand, a Carfax, and a receiver hitch.
The Carfax goes back to 1994 when the truck was in Trenton NJ with 71k miles on it. It was in NJ and PA until 2005 when it arrived in Vt with 130k. Good to know it’s not reported stolen and never had an accident reported. You can’t tell by looking at it.
The hinges I will attempt to put on tomorrow. I think I am going to put a 2” receiver on the front, but still needed one for the rear.
Last edited by Melrose 4r; 02-17-2023 at 03:22 AM.
Good progress this weekend. My son pulled and cleaned and painted the interior panels. May have to go darker on the gray. Spent an hour cleaning goo off the tailgate and hinge areas so that you can now touch it without getting dirty. Got the console mount welded back to the floor
02-05-2023, 03:45 PM
