Decals

Shane Walters, a Land Cruiser enthusiast in Oregon, makes reproduction decals for Land Cruisers. Nearly all of the ones on my truck that I did not have made myself came from him.

At left is a reproduction of a decal that was found on the back rest of the jump seats that Walters had made. I bought a set a few days ago. They are about an inch long and the color of masking tape. I recall a piece of one of these decals on my jump seats, but it was removed long ago when I had them sand blasted and repainted.

Walters' eBay Store is full of reproduction decals that have long been discontinued or were never offered for sale and his work is second to none. Little details like these make a big difference and really finish out a project well.

I'm trying to help him with a part decal for the rear heater, the last decal that is missing from my truck. At least the last one that I know about.

Copper

Last week, I drove my truck to a friend's house for dinner and began to smell gasoline on the way. Once I got home, I noticed that the OEM steel fuel line had rusted through and needed to be replaced. It's no surprise that these have been discontinued, so I had to come up with a way to manufacture a replacement on my own.

I once owned an MBG and loved the copper fuel lines that it had, so I thought that this would be a better alternative. Though not original, I thought copper would look good and more importantly would last so much longer than steel. I have no idea how one would shape steel tubing of this size, but copper is easy to bend and would still allow for the use of the OEM ball sleeves and compression nuts.

The break occurred just above the fuel pump and the gasoline that leaked out sprayed onto the side of the block, taking off the paint. I still had a bit of black engine enamel left over, so I touched up the block and installed the new gas line. Works like a charm.

New wheels

When I purchased my truck, it came with a set of GM wheels from a 1980s Blazer that looked terrible. I sought out a set of OEM wheels from a friend who has several old Land Cruisers in various levels of disrepair on his property here in town. I had them powder coated, but they were not in great shape. Rust pitting and nicks in the metal made them less than perfect and the powder coating failed to coat them along the welds very well, so they began to rust right away.

I began purchasing OEM wheels from Toyota and after a few months had a complete set. I then bought a gallon of gray paint that was supposed to be matched to the OEM color from Cool Cruisers and had Jim paint them for me. Once I picked them up, I had them installed today.

They look fabulous.

The little things

Bob Hoyt makes reproduction inspection stickers for restored automobiles, sort of icing on the cake. He scans those that people send him as they find them and makes a very high quality sticker that is exact in every way. They are really pretty amazing. He doesn't have every year from every state yet, but he has a 1973 sticker from Arkansas so I bought one.

My hope is that not only does it make me smile to have a neat addition to my truck, but that perhaps folks will see the date and figure out what year my truck is. Not that being asked that question bothers me, it's actually fun to answer questions, but it might be fun to be able to figure that sort of thing out when I am not there to tell people.

Delivery day

Brad helped me hang the drivers side door and then affixed the bumper for the hood on the drip rail. This was the only time that I had a chance to take a photo of him since his hands were full and he couldn't stop me. Brad's one of those guys you find in a business who is totally essential to have on hand. He's a total pro and knows his business inside and out.



The door limiters on my truck, like so many others of this vintage, had lost the hasp on the door to rust many years ago. We repaired the hole left behind and used a set of hasps from a Honda Civic to go with a reproduction limiter from Specter Off Road.



By the day's end, my truck was assembled nearly entirely and ready to drive home.



I need only to recover and install the jump seats and to bolt on the windshield hooks.



Doesn't it look amazing?

I can sit down now!

I hung one of the doors and spent the remainder of my time this week installing the interior in my truck.



The driver-side door is assembled, but I will have to hang it next week since I ran out of time today.



But just a peek at the finished side is really very exciting. Doesn't it look great?

Roof over my head

Using 3M spray adhesive, I installed the headliner and installed the cap onto the hard top. This was a physically difficult task and required Brad's help to complete, but it is so great to see it on finally. The interior has that new car smell now.



It looks like a Land Cruiser all of a sudden.


Next week, I'll assemble the other door and install them both.