The Hungary Family 4-Runner (circa 1984)

Sweet! That will be slick. Too bad they wont let you spray, but $200 sounds pretty good still.

Java: Man, I went back and forth between this guy, sticking with Maaco, or pushing the Alfa out and spraying it myself ever since I stopped by last Saturday (mostly because the guy didn't seem motivated/interested at all the first time we chatted). Mrs. Hungary said it best: It's not the Alfa...

SO I met with him again today and set up an appointment. Like I said, the guy wasn't in the mood to chat last time, and this time didn't look like it was going to be any better. Once I had him out of the building though and looking at the truck he started opening up. We talked about the paint I bought (good) and he pointed out a few areas on the truck that were still "shiny". I'll have to touch those up before we spray.

I've been wet sanding with 1500 grit for a final, and he said just to scotchbrite it. Wet or dry, doesn't really matter. Then a soap/scotchbrite wash, followed by a good water wash and she'd be good to go (I have to do the masking). The turn around would be about 5-days and due to schedule issues (on my part) the earliest we could get her in was the 15th of september. On a side note this guy has a wickedly huge project of a '65 Impala going on. 327 4-barrel, he's got the entire front clip off, and the rear pass quarter panel cut off... I wish I still had something Impala-ish laying around for a gift/bribe.

Anyhoo, so there ya go! T-minus-21 days.

(on the subject of not being very chatty, I figure two things: 1, it's not a business, it's the base's hobby shop. I imagine he gets the same hourly rate whether he's painting my 4-runner or working on his project. 2) I imagine he gets TONS of dwinging sicks in there every day asking about paint for projects they have no intention of completing. so I wasn't really bothered about it all)

Jo idők

T-minus-17 days

That shiny stuff is harder to get rid of than I thought, maybe I'm just being overly anal. I went at it with some 600 (my original advice was 600 then 1500 on the parts that needed no other work) and was going through paper like crazy. I switched to 400 grit on the DA sander and things went lots quicker.

Still though, I woke up an hour early and only finished the cowl panel, hood, and drivers fender...

I know I said body work was kind of therapeutic before, but I'm starting to swear at my sandpaper now.

Good times

T-minus-9 days

The starter went out in the pickup. It's been acting up a bit lately but I can usually get it to turn over with a good whack from a 2x4. Today though, no amount of whacking got it to fire up so I had to drive the 4-runner in the rain (hey, on the bright side it got a nice water rinse!)

It was a bit of a mad dash to get it road-ready at 5am (when I usually leave for work) but I got the wipers installed lickidy split, and even remembered to snag the radio antenna off the pickup so I could have some tunes this time. Unfortunately I forgot mirrors so merging into traffic was a lot of fun Short story long I still made it to my desk with 5-minutes to spare.

To make me feel better I ordered a face plate for that clarion radio I had at lunch. I'd say "here's hoping it works" but for $9.94 I really cant go wrong

Good times

... all that effort in translating a Japanese address, and then "made in China"?

Hungary Bill wrote: To make me feel better I ordered a face plate for that clarion radio I had at lunch.

Ah sentence structure... For the record, I did not have a Clarion radio for lunch

I swear the Tuesday after a holiday is worse than any Monday

In reply to Hungary Bill:

Yeah Tuesday after a long weekend sucked.

T-minus-6 days

I'm getting pretty good at this camping-tetris! Last time I had to hold stuff back while I rolled up the window. This time I have a bit of free floor space (keep in mind the cooler isn't in yet)

After work we load up the cooler and then it's off to the sticks till Sunday

Good times

Going up to lonesome again?

We sure did! And man did we have a good time

I told myself I wouldn't take as many pics this time because most of it had already been covered.... Apparently I was wrong

The youngest took a turn driving...

There were the usual camp fires and lakes...

And then!!

We kicked it down into 4-wheel-drive and took the road less traveled

That lake down there is where we camp (and that's pretty high up in elevation already )

The youngest made a new friend (and so did I!). That's Landon, and his dad (Adam) is a fellow 4-runner and rotor-head.

And the clouds rolled in as we were headin home.

So a few things:

• I did an awful job taking pictures of the 4-wheeling spot. It was really just a steep hill with some loose rocks and obstacles, but fun none the less. I also kept it in low-range because I liked the gearing when things got pretty darn narrow and rocky

• When we got up there on friday we had the WHOLE place to ourselves . Lots of hootin and hollarin went on the next morning while we did our "echo checks" (the mountains checked good for echos).

• This is probably our last camping trip for the year. We had thought briefly about doing some winter camping, but with the youngest not yet walking we figured we'd probably wait till next year. But that doesn't mean we're staying away from the mountains by any means

All in all, VERY good times

(now the frantic rush to get her ready to paint by thursday...)

On the down side, I did break some plastic when packing...

No big deal really. I haven't decided whether I'm just going to remove it, or if I'll do like someone else did on the passenger side. Not exactly a big priority for me right now, but it DOES look like there's a bit of storage space to be had with those panels removed...

T-Minus-3 days till paint

Looks like good times! There is a ton of storage in the body cavities, but you have to be careful as to what you put in there as things will dent it from the inside bouncing around.

Hungary Bill wrote: On the down side, I did break some plastic when packing... No big deal really. I haven't decided whether I'm just going to remove it, or if I'll do like someone else did on the passenger side. Not exactly a big priority for me right now, but it DOES look like there's a bit of storage space to be had with those panels removed... T-Minus-3 days till paint

Looks like a perfect application for corroplast! I'm surprised to see how fragile those panels are.

Trip looks like it was a blast!

Mezzanine wrote:

Hungary Bill wrote: On the down side, I did break some plastic when packing... No big deal really. I haven't decided whether I'm just going to remove it, or if I'll do like someone else did on the passenger side. Not exactly a big priority for me right now, but it DOES look like there's a bit of storage space to be had with those panels removed... T-Minus-3 days till paint

Looks like a perfect application for corroplast! I'm surprised to see how fragile those panels are. Trip looks like it was a blast!

iiiiinteresting. I actually had to look that up

I think I remember GRM doing a segment on repurposing old political yard signs. I may have to dig that one back up

Looking forward to seeing the paint job. Great work.

Hungary Bill wrote: I think I remember GRM doing a segment on repurposing old political yard signs. I may have to dig that one back up

That's the stuff. Coroplast is what most political signs are made of. Kydex could also serve very well - I've got lots of experience working with it if you want some help molding or shaping the stuff.

T-Minus-2 days!

Today was water wash day! Taking the painters advice (from my last visit) I used grey scotchbrite with soap for a first water wash, then rinse, then a water/scotchbrite scrub, followed by a rinse. I didn't want to drag out a water hose so I used my old tire sprayer from my autocross days (this thing had layers upon LAYERS of dust on it)

That big grey patch under the passenger's door wasn't there the day before yesterday. I forgot to mention yesterday that my OCD kicked in and I decided to address a ton of rock chips I had been ignoring. There's no real rhyme or reason why I decided right then and there, but yeah. No time like the last minute. All it really took was some build-up primer and she sanded pretty smooth.

I drove the truck to work today to check it out in the sunlight and maybe do another rub to get the dust off. If all goes good, I'll be masking tomorrow morning and then it's just a drive to the paint booth on Thursday!

Good times

Woohoo Getting close to color!

Mezzanine wrote:

Hungary Bill wrote: I think I remember GRM doing a segment on repurposing old political yard signs. I may have to dig that one back up

That's the stuff. Coroplast is what most political signs are made of. Kydex could also serve very well - I've got lots of experience working with it if you want some help molding or shaping the stuff.

You know, I may be hitting you up soon. I'm still undecided on the roof rack we were talking about

To bring everyone up to speed I've been looking at roof rack options that don't permanently alter the vehicle (so no welding to sheet metal, or drilling holes in the fiberglass roof). So far options have been pretty limited, and even more so since the removable top's drip rails are fiberglass and not what I'd consider "strong enough" to support very much weight.

Then I came across this picture:

Initially I thought some flat steel bar stock (maybe 3" wide) would slide between the cap and the bed rails and would share the same mounting points the roof does. Then I pulled the cap off and remembered the bed rails are stepped....

So I'm not quite sure how to proceed (just bend the flat bar stock to match?). That's probably where I'll need expert help (in the form of Mezzanine, who is the guru of all things metallic. )

But me being me, I had to go full KGB on the poor guy who took the picture (and posted it in an overlanding article, which lead to an instagram page, and then to a FB profile... you get the point). Assuming my request for info doesn't result in a restraining order, I'd really like to know how HE tackled the situation. Or better yet, if this is an off the shelf item I can just order online.

Good times

PS

I'll probably skip the bike racks. I was thinking jerry cans (or other equip) instead.

I have seen "artificial gutters" used on many a 4runner top. They have a backing plate.

My only beef with those is the drilling of the holes. I'm a little wimp when it comes to making mods I can't easily change back

(I'm always afraid I'll change my mind or something down the road and not be able to put it back the way it was)

This may be an option with some sort of small roof box...

Then I'd just keep it clamped to the metal portion of the roof rails

Love this. Only just found this thread. Can't wait to see the paint.

Can't wait to see the painted version of this.

Thanks guys! Tomorrow's the big day, and man am I stoked

Yesterday I got a bit antsy on my lunch break and broke out the masking tape. Long story short, I drove the truck home looking like this:

(you get the idea)

I was met with a few odd stares from commuters on the way home, but a few folks in "cool cars" gave me nods of approval. It was a hoot to say the least

This morning I decided I'd better start getting the final touches ready on the truck. I'll be dropping the truck off at about 3:30 and Mrs. Hungary will be there to pick me up around 6, so I need to have it "paint ready" in 2.5 hours.

I thought it'd be a good idea to get some lengths of paper cut to size.

With the paper I did the wheels, windshield, side windows, front and rear bumpers, side skirts (well, just a little something to catch any under spray), and the grill. I'll probably remove the front corner markers, side mirrors, and tail lights when it gets to the booth, and think of some way to mask the area the removable top usually covers... Should be interesting.

Anything that cant be stuck on the truck now (read: all of the above) gets rolled up, labeled, and stuck behind the drivers seat

I'm hoping for a "wham, bam, thank you ma'am", but I get the feeling it'll be a mad dash come D-hour.

T-minus-25.5 hours

Cant wait! What color are you going again?