ckhorne's 1967 project

[ckhorne]

I have a fairly rust free windshield frame, three vents if I recall so it pre-67. It is sand blasted and primed if I recall. If you have any interest just let me know.
L60Boerne.

Absolutely - that could work out perfectly! I'll send you a PM.

[Volkmann77]

This whole thread is inspirational for sure. I really need to make more money in order to get some stuff done on my Patrol.

[mad4hws]

I really need to make more money in order to get some stuff done on my Patrol.

I think many of us share that same sentiment!

[ckhorne]

Life keeps getting in the way of progress, but things continue to move forward.

The past couple weekends, I prepped the interior bed and front areas for bedliner. My initial thought was to take it to Line-X to get it professionally done, but that would have required a trailer I didn't have, and I was fairly particular on where I wanted the bedliner. So.. I did it myself using Custom Coat.

The PO had coated the inside with some kind of tarry substance that was a huge pain to remove. I didn't remove the existing coating to bare metal - just enough to remove most of it and to ensure I had plenty of bite. Note that I had replaced my gas tank with an aftermarket one, and had no need for the access panel, so I welded it in place.

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After spending several hours masking everything off carefully, it was finally ready to spray. The kit came with the bedliner, the hardener, and the spray gun. Just pour in the hardener, shake for a few mins, and screw on the spray gun. I bought the 8 liter version, but ended up only needing 6 liters by the end, and I sprayed fairly heavy.

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It ended up not being as thick as line-x, but came out really nice in the end. It doesn't hide imperfections all that well, either - I should have welded that gas tank access panel on there cleaner.

I was hesitant at first to do it myself, but I was amazed that it laid on as well as it did - very consistent, and not difficult at all (especially compared to painting car bodies). Time will tell how well it adheres, but so far, I'm very happy with the results.

[Edgar]

That looks great! I can only hope mine might one day look as good.

[ckhorne]

I got my seats back from the upholstery shop, and was very happy with the result. I was looking for something that was slightly fancier than stock, but still somewhat period.

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Then I (finally...) was able to mount the reproduction soft top frame and canvas top I got from rrodriguezsal in Columbia. I set it outside in the sun for several hours and kept stretching it for a drum-tight fit:

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[ckhorne]

My Patrol didn't come with any interior mechanisms for the hood latch - the PO had installed Jeep-style hood catches and cut out the original hardware, so I had to find an alternative.

I finally just tried a generic "Bear Claw Hood Latch" for 20 bucks on ebay, and with minor adjustment, it worked well.

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[RiverPatrol]

That looks freakin fabulous!!! The soft top fits perfectly, everything looks great. Congratulations!

[Edgar]

The seats look amazing and the canvas top is awesome. I can't wait to get to that stage and get Raul's top on Edgar.

[ckhorne]

I've made a lot of progress on a bunch of little things recently.

I spent a few hours welding and otherwise trying to restore my original heater box - rust had won the battle and the war. I finally scored a heater box and core on ebay, and it was in near factory condition. I was almost giddy at the fact that it had almost no rust or dents and the heater core was in good shape. I sanded it down and painted the heater box and flushed the core a number of times. I even saved and reapplied the original sticker, even if it's not visible... I happened to have bought a new heater gasket several years ago that I finally was able to use...

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And installed:

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I was shocked at how much heat that thing puts out! Naturally, I tried it in 95 degree Georgia weather, and I happily sat in the Patrol, with the heater on full and a big grin on my face, but now the winters won't be nearly as cold when driving.