Kerry-TGI

@tortron so basically there is a level of acceptance required that if you tutu with these areas you'll have to customise. I was lucky enough to bump into a bloke earlier with an 84 hilux and he let me have a good look and take a couple pictures. I can see whats happening with mine now, because the drip rail/gutter used to fold into the pillar on the upper section, where as I'm sticking it to the outside. So the door ends up a bit closer to the gutter. I think I'll just trim the door seal on the upper section. Gonna be a bit of dicking around taking out my welds and dropping the gutter here and there to make up for where the pillar ended up a bit off. Something that was interesting to see from looking at another vehicle, the lines/gaps were not perfection, and I guess they probably never are on these older models.

Could use a bit of advice if anyone's handy. I've fluked a fair bit of stuff by replacing pieces at a time while leaving enough structure to not lose the shape. There was a bit too much rust in the driver's pillar to play it that way and I had to do a bit by eye. Its not a mile off but there are some discrepancies. between the two white marks there is a bit of gap on the seal, 1mm or more. I figure my options are as follows. I could take out my welds and try to sit that section away from the pillar slightly. The body line is close So I don't know if I could just build a little bog into that section, I don't know how it would hold up against the repeated closing. Then this back section seems to fall away to a degree But I don't have any good pictures to say whether it usually does that. It tapers towards the mirror so maybe it just does that. Maybe I could even say fuck it, it's only a hilux and just leave it. Advice welcome and appreciated

Seat bolts in pretty nice! Lines nicely with the back. Appears to be a slight height issue, but I'm not gonna stress about it for now because this seat is from a 4runner so I don't know whether it ever sat perfect, and I'm not using it again. I've got an idea that the floor is subtly different on the passenger side, I know it is in a surf for sure. In any case, nothing that couldn't be sorted with a bit of tweaking and packing. Pretty happy with that, bit of a milestone. Now to clean it all up.

Ended up taking a punt on it, made some blocks from measuring underneath the other side, tried as best as I could to measure from certain points, it's a little bit arbitrary, think it looks all good though. Hopefully my flatmate can help me lift the seat in tomorrow and see where it sits.

Not too sure how to get this thing sitting right other than to just wing it by eye. Any tips or ideas would be greatly appreciated

Got the other gutter made. next on my laundry list was getting the seat rail back on the passenger side. However the floor there was sitting poorly. It was the first work I did on the cab and it was in the back of my mind that it was not very good. I propped it at the time and it had caved on that, and the majority of the welds had shit penetration and deformed to a degree that cleaning them up made the steel really thin. Cut a lot of it out and did it again. Bit sad because it burned a fair bit of my gas and who can say when it will be ok for the re-up. But it had to be done. Couldn't live with the state of it.

Sorry to treat you like an encyclopedia mate, are you able to explain what is different about that process which causes those parts to spit fire when welded on?

Anyone know what the deal is with these little bands of some other type of metal in the pillar?

Needs a bit of back and forthing but I'm not dissatisfied with it

Had a crack at making a rain gutter today. Fuck all tools around at the best of times so I used my old flat deck as a crude jig and smacked the steel around the edge of it to create the angle.

For whatever reason, this side didn't come up as nice as the other side after welding. I think possibly what I cut out released the tension that was holding the body line where it was, but I don't really know. I was able to get the other side pretty close just with the steel but this one needed bog to create the line again. Real cunt of a job especially when I don't know what I'm doing. I've got it pretty close, I think. Possibly the inconsistencies that are still will be better smoothed out by a high build primer. Feel like I'll keep going round in circles trying to get the bog perfect.

Got the drivers side pillar all sewn up

Gone a bit stagnant on this lately. I started out thinking I was just doing the pillars and so much more has come out of the woodwork. Been feeling a bit too much like hard work after coming home from work. Decided to get back into the pillars to see if that kicks me in the guts and it already is. Got the passenger side done over the weekend. They've kinda been a hoodoo over me since it first failed the wof because of them, I think seeing them done is going to make me feel like I'm going forward rather than backtracking to them.

Is there a legit way to get these little plates remade? I should've removed it at first, must've touched it with the grinder at some point.

Made myself a welding/tool trolley thing. Left enough room for the next size up gas bottle when I can afford it. The gas bottle holder is just a strip of sheet metal welded on one side with a tiny bolt through the other. Could do a draw or something on the top shelf, gonna use it for a bit and see what comes to mind