KerryTGIs 1988 Hilux

[Kerry-TGI 155]

Chur

I bought this ute about a year ago, knowing nothing about cars, just needed one after snapping the timing belt on my car. I had a mate who I knew had a hilux ute, asked to buy it, here we are. 

After dealing with some rust related WOF issues, the diff fucking out broke the camels back and I've finally procured a legal vehicle so I can put this thing on the backburner. 

I don't know a lot so hopefully you seasoned folk can chip in with the process. 

There are some deeper issues I've got my eye on and will get to, rust in the pillars/rain gutter, the flipped spring set-up has flattened out and sagged on one side, the radiator appears minimally functional, and as above, the diff.

I'm dipping my toe in by giving the chassis some attention. I've pulled the flat deck off and I have some brunox rust killer on the way.

Getting some funds together to get a little welder for some panel work.

Looking forward to learning some shit, killing some time, having some fun with it and hopefully one day having a functional and good looking ute. 

 

[Kerry-TGI 155]

Made a little progress but I'm a bit limited until I get a welder sorted. Smashed the timber off the flat deck and chopped the back piece out. I think it was the way it was welded because it wasn't flat, it had a rise in it from side to side.

Pulled the towbar off, cleaned it up and rust-killed what needed it. Just need paint now.

Cleaned up the back end of the chassis which was pretty rusty around where the towbar bolted on.

 

[Kerry-TGI 155]

The fun stuff. The local panelbeater has advised me that to deal with pitted rust you need to chip a bit of it out before treatment. So I'm sitting here tapping away with a sharpened punch. Definitely an exercise in patience, but I'm thankful enough that the pillar is still intact.

[Kerry-TGI 155]

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. 

 

[Kerry-TGI 155]

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. 

[Kerry-TGI 155]

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.

[Kerry-TGI 155]

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.

[Kerry-TGI 155]

It's taken me way too long but here we are at the next step. I've had great success through setting up a savings account I can't touch easily. Highly recommend it. Quitting smoking also gave me some extra funds to put in that savings. 

I still have a few bits and pieces to get but I'm really stoked to be looking at the piece of equipment that can get this thing back on the road.

 

[Kerry-TGI 155]

Pulled the whole cab off today. Been mulling it over and given the space available it's going to be a lot easier to fuck around with just the cab in the shed and it will give the opportunity to inspect the whole thing and give it a once over.

Should've seen the water that came out of the radiator and motor. Could've bottled it up and called it freshly squeezed orange juice.

[Kerry-TGI 155]

Some of the rust is a bit scary looking but my brother has been helping me and he's pretty confident that it's all fixable stuff. He used to be a panel beater so I'll take his word for it.

This is the worst of it

Basically that rain gutter part under the windshield had failed over time and where it has leaked the most has affected the cab in particular spots

The mounts are all still good which is nice

[Kerry-TGI 155]

Bit annoying to have to do this to a new machine but it solved the problem. Fucked about trying to find a leak in the regulator when it was hissing because of a leak in the machine itself. The hissing was just the gas passing through. Who knows how much I've wasted. Just have to learn to spot weld now, gonna go see the local panelbeater and see if he has a few tips, he uses the same welder.

[Kerry-TGI 155]

I'm gonna have to do this all again, I've been cutting patches out of an old bonnet and i didn't take into account the curvature of the steel, everything is sitting a bit high from the edge.

Also no matter how slow I went, the edges pulled in right by the weld, but only on the patch side, which suggests to me that the steel may not be high quality enough for this purpose. 

In any case, I've stopped blowing holes in everything and worked out a good process for getting my patches bang on. 

Next week I'll stop being a tight cunt and get some new sheet metal, and do it all again