Kerry-TGI

Getting it ready for my hopes and dreams of getting a welder. I figure if I weld this section in, I can then cut out the opposite face and do the same. At least that's my naive plan.

Is this the predecessor to the nissan skyline? I need to show this to my workmate. The front end looks like a Datsun ute so that would make sense.

I think I killed a bunch of spiders inside my ute roof today. I was cutting off the last spot weld on the upper section of gutter and it started smoking. I stopped and the smoke stopped, then it puffed out intermittently from inside the roof, then it started smoking out the other side for a bit, before stopping entirely. A tiny albino spider limped out of the side I was working on and I put it out of its misery. I may have killed off a unique subspecies of albino hilux spider.

Drivers side pillar is pretty fucked. Think I'll have to chop out the section that was under the gutter, the rest of it should be treatable same as the other side. Don't know why its so much worse on the lower section, but better on the upper.

The ultimate koha

Cool. Sorry for pestering ya man I'm just filling up on the knowledge.

I'd like to think I can call this lower section treated. Ended up moving on to a drill and drilled out every black spot I could see. Took ages and got a few sore body parts but quite satisfying. Just one more little area to drill and the rest is not pitted, thanks gravity. As you can see the gutter has been fucked off entirely. I kinda had an idea this might need to happen but hoped it wouldn't. The entire thing was a liability and I really do blame it for the way the pillars have gone. I'm just gonna focus on getting the pillars right, and the gutter can be an afterthought for now.

What's the best methodology? Try not to drive in the rain if you can help it? All I have is an open shed which is more than I've ever had. And what do you guys think of this product? I like that you can get a wand for it to get right up in there https://www.hardypackaging.co.nz/products/3m-cavity-wax-plus-08852?variant=39072953933

Overkill is exactly what I need to sleep well at night. Thanks for the advice

I took a section out of the pillar to see whats up there and solved my mystery of how the gutter is fitted. Its spot welded inside there. So on a positive note most of the serious looking rust was just on the remaining piece of the gutter, but shining a light up there shows that the inside of everything has a very light surface rust. The seal must've broken in parts and let oxygen in there. I guess my next move is to get a wire brush that can fit up in there and then brunox as far as I can get it. I guess what I need to know from you guys is that once that rust is actually inside the body is that the time to call it a day, or once the pillars are welded shut will it pretty much go inert?

@Ghostchips that's the line of thinking I've slowly moved to, my understanding is growing as I go. The plan started as taking out sections and repairing it, then has developed into cutting the whole things off and giving the pillars the attention they need, cleaning them up and then figuring out a channel afterwards. Its just the rust inside there that scares me, but hopefully under the light of day tomorrow it'll be less daunting. I'm just gonna cut the whole thing off and see where I'm at.

I think the dream might be over, at least for this cab. I cut into the upper section of the rain channel and it's kinda sandwiched in there with a hollow part to the outside of the pillar, which is filled right up with nice dusty rust. I'm gonna do some more chopping tomorrow to really see what I'm looking at, because I don't understand how that part is fitted. But as of right now my feeling is that I may be pushing shit uphill.

@Otodat can you clean it without the paint coming off? That's my main concern. I used this cheap primer on the back end of the chassis and it held up nice on the brunox but I wouldn't be too confident about its durability. Hopefully I can use it in conjunction with a higher quality top coat but I've heard different paints don't blend too well.

I'll look into it, thanks. I left the brunox too long if anything, could that have played a part? I did try the primer and that was what reacted, the paint kinda rippled on it. I'm on the west side of lake Taupo.