Ryoken's Guide to Rust Treatment and Bodywork 101

[Chief Brody]

Does your driver's seat lean slightly towards the center of the truck?

Never thought I'd say tripod mirrors look sexy, but those do look damn good on there!

I think it's an optical illusion because the passenger seat is fixed in place...the drivers seat is pushed all the way back making it appear smaller and I am shooting with an almost fish-eye lens...
That said...it may not be completely straight as I never got all the pieces to complete the mechanism under the seat that allows the seat to travel back and forth...it is a bit loose but there nothing I can do about it unless I run across a complete 73-75 seat frame with the "sled" components.\

Actually I have that backwards...the drivers seat is in front of the passenger seat...

 

[Chief Brody]

Anybody know where you can get the rubber stop that goes inside the door and prevents the window glass from bottoming out?

Both doors are missing them...I am wondering if that wont cause trouble when I get the window seals clipped in...doesn't that stop prevent the window from going below the rubber seals?

 

[Chief Brody]

Oh...and I am missing the spring on the passenger door handle...haven't been able to find one of those anywhere either...can't put it on till I get one...

 

[Chief Brody]

Does your driver's seat lean slightly towards the center of the truck?

You are right...I went out and looked at it straight on...I was able to tug on the seat and bend it up straight...wow...those frames aren't exactly un-movable...If I really leaned into it I could bend it the other direction.

 

[y5mgisi]

All i know is the thing is looking incredible! Better and better! When do you think you will have the dash on?

 

[Chief Brody]

All i know is the thing is looking incredible! Better and better! When do you think you will have the dash on?

Dash is expensive and with rotator cuff coming up...I'd bet next year.

Dash may be the last big ticket item...around $350 shipped

I got the old dash with a cover that I could paint and use temporarily...but I just don't think the covers look as good as the real whole dash pad.

I may paint it and glue it to the old dash and see how tight I can get it to fit on there...

 

[y5mgisi]

Gotcha. When is your surgery?

 

[Chief Brody]

Gotcha. When is your surgery?

end of October...about 14 days...that's why I have been installing stuff like a madman when I have time...

 

[tRustyK5]

Is it the seat bracket flexing, or the floor? I can't recall how the early 70's seat brackets were.

It was the straight on pic where I first saw the lean.

I have 6 spare doors here, but the only manual window doors I have are on my Blazer. That being said, I could rob rubber stops out of my spares for you. Not quite sure what it is, or where in the door it is though. Are they hard to get to?

 

[Chief Brody]

Is it the seat bracket flexing, or the floor? I can't recall how the early 70's seat brackets were.

It was the straight on pic where I first saw the lean.

I have 6 spare doors here, but the only manual window doors I have are on my Blazer. That being said, I could rob rubber stops out of my spares for you. Not quite sure what it is, or where in the door it is though. Are they hard to get to?

It's not the floor

The rubber stops apparently have "prongs" that fit into two holes that are in a "cross beam" that is permanently fixed in the door...
I'd probably have to take the glass out again in order to get the rubber stop in...maybe...

How's this?



And the rubber stop holder inside the door:

 

[Chief Brody]

Also need to ask RYOKEN if I can sand these fiberglass door caps? See how rough that outer edge has become? The rest is smooth as glass...I figure that edge is supposed to be smooth as well...

 

[Chief Brody]

By the way, the passenger seat sits higher than the drivers seat. I would be curious to know if Craig's is that way too?

The bracket is totally different for the passenger seat because it has to lift and fold over...

 

[livid4dirt]

Wow Chief, every new photo you post up just keeps looking better and better. Awesome Bro!

 

[tRustyK5]

Treat those door caps like they're made of gold...the repros are crappy plastic that doesn't even closely resemble the original. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say a thin coat of filler over the rough, then sand carefully to smooth and flat. Prime, paint blah blah blah.

I'll see if I can't snag those rubber stops out of my spare doors for you.

 

[tRustyK5]

Seats look much better to the eye now.

Is there an under the radar way you could shim up the driver's seat to match the passenger side?

 

[Chief Brody]

Seats look much better to the eye now.

Is there an under the radar way you could shim up the driver's seat to match the passenger side?

I'm sure you could with plate steel spacers, but I want to find out if that's factory first...they may be supposed to be that way. Also, I need to get all 8 bolts in the drivers seat...I only have 4 right now...one on each leg and there are supposed to be 2 on each.

 

[Chief Brody]

Is it possible that the outer edge is supposed to be textured that way to match the top?
Because the fiberglass top sort of lines up with that when it is on

 

[ryoken]

why is it raw on the edge? and initially it looked like it was all dried out on the edge, like it would have hairs showing, etc.. but it's hard to tell from the pic... or is the surface just a pebblegrain like the tops have?

 

[Chief Brody]

why is it raw on the edge? and initially it looked like it was all dried out on the edge, like it would have hairs showing, etc.. but it's hard to tell from the pic... or is the surface just a pebblegrain like the tops have?

I don't know, but both sides are identical...raw on the edge...maybe it is a grain,,,wish I knew...my initial thought was it was fiberglass hairs,,,but to have both of them exactly alike is not likely.
They should be black on that edge though...shouldn't they?

 

[Chief Brody]

OK...so a little wetsanding reveals that this is fiberglass hairs...not a textured pattern.

So I am good there...

Second problem is that there is some kind of rubber thing that used to be in the glass channel part of these that dry-rotted out...what could I fabricated to put in there...it guides the glass...