The Poor Man's Almanac

Here it is, the reservoir, it came with three outlets to choose from, I used the bottom one. Just cut the tip off.


And here you can see the pump, just sitting there and the clear tubing used from the pump to reservoir. I didn't bother to fill/cover the hole the old reservoir came up through and so far it's stayed clean, thought for sure it fill up with water/mud /snow etc...


I no longer have the box so don't know the part# but it was just a cheapy from Advance Auto Parts.

 

Thanks, BDN. I'll be doing something very similar to that.

I've mostly been just using the truck while waiting for money to materialize, which happened last week.

This Durabak stuff is amazing, but as much time as I spend in the cab, the green was really getting to me.



I wasn't particularly impressed by the lack of any drainage from the cockpit, either. So, using a hammer and a center punch, I rectified that gross injustice!



Which made a a world of difference while cleaning off the cockpit deck. Highly recommended. Then I started applying the black Durabak; the previous stuff had been sitting around for years, but this gallon was fresh, and behaved very differently from the old stuff.

For one thing, the poly starts to cure in the can as soon as you open it. Don't expect to use half, then use the other half a few weeks or months later. For another, it dries much quicker in 70 degree weather than 65 degree weather. I literally had to stop everything else I was doing and just apply coat after coat until the container was almost empty.

On the upside, the fresh stuff cures much more quickly, so there was much less waiting around; I finished the last coat on Thursday evening, and reinstalled the interior this morning.

Here's a shot from 3 coats in; to my eye, there was still a very definite green cast to the black, but it doesn't show up in the pic. Fortunately, I still had well over a half-gallon at that point.



Given the fairly limited size of the cockpit, I ended up putting 8 coats on. I was hoping for a "rubbery" feel on the floor surface, and that's what I got. Black as night, too.



With the interior bits reinstalled, it looks magnificent to the eye, if a bit reflective in pics. I even managed to snag a pair of nice rubber floormats from Autozone. 10 bucks.







Like I said, not nearly so reflective to the eye; it really came out nice, I'm stoked!

At the point when I was most annoyed with the whole process, this arrived:



Ordered in February? Received in April. Not especially impressed with the vendor, but at least the kit is here.

It'll either be that, or installing D-rings in the bed, for the next project. Cockpit is looking good for now, but when I do get around to the next upgrade, it'll be fixing what's broke, and installing an OEM radio.

Happy Easter, TW!

 

That black Durabak turned out nice!
Looks great!

 

Yes, I'm totally stoked on the results, myself. If i'm in the truck when I'm awake, chances are I'm in the cockpit. Driving, or just sitting around reading, surfing the Internet on my phone...I spend a fair amount of time there. The black Durabak and rubber mats make it alot nicer than it was when the floor was carpeted. I like the way the shifters look, even. The cockpit drains now, and, can be easily cleaned with a bucket.

The last significant project for that element of the vehicle is getting an AM/FM/CD unit. There's a few other bits, but nothing of real importance or necessity.

The bed, however, hasn't changed at all for the better, except inasmuch as I keep getting better at organizing everything. Here's how it looked this morning, not atypical for the day after a gig or travel:



I've had these D-rings for weeks, but I needed 6 bucks worth of stainless screws and such to mount them properly.



I've been mulling over the best system for stowage all this time. I've seen the common method of building plywood compartments that can be quickly removed, but that doesn't appeal to me, for whatever reason. The guy who lives in Baby Taco uses the screws on his windows to mount stuff. Alot more flexible, but I'd prefer something sturdier.

I think that's gonna end up being shelves of some kind. But, exactly what kind, I'm not yet sure. Got some ideas. Rather than wait for me to muddle through that, I figured I'd use up some of the boards I have lying around and get SOMETHING going, and maybe gain some insight that way. So...









The way I rigged it, with the 4" bolts, I needed some wood to compress against the truck bed, and the pieces on hand fit the bill. As shelves, they're very shallow! Which I figured would totally suck, but at least I had the D-rings now, and lots of bungee cords.

But I have alot more room now than before.





Just a picture of my bed: Coleman sleeping bag with Thermarest air mattress and doubled up feather bed inside. Another sleeping bag on top of that, and a nice, thick wool blanket. Cozy.



After everything, including a couple items that weren't in there before due to lack of room...was reloaded and secured, I still have room for more stuff. Wider shelves will effectively create even more room.



I'll live with it for a while and see how it goes. One thing's for sure...that 3rd taillight is getting fixed tomorrow. I am sick of looking at it in every pic of the bed!

 

Hey man, good job working with what you got. Your interior turned out nice, and everything else is coming along too..
I hope things get better and better for you, keep your head up.

 

That damn windshield wiper reservoir is broken in almost every 1st gen Ive seen.Good job making the best out of what you have.

 

I like the shelf idea, they don't look to narrow to me, I might have to do something similar for camping. I never have a safe place to set my spectacles.

 

I'm sure I'll come up with something better for my specific purposes later, but just as is, with 1x6 pine for the shelves, and those D-rings...much better than without, for very little money and damage to the truck.

What a weird idea to do that, when there's enough room inside for a much simpler reservoir?

Took my time today getting the 3rd taillight wiring trussed up. I think I'll go camping tonight, and finish the job of actually wiring it up to the harness, another day.

But, its outta the way, at last.

I have...had...a few feet of heatshrink, so I threaded the wire through that, which took a good while.



Some spare airplane parts:



And, done:





I have a few options for wiring it up, I'll mull those over at the campfire tonight.

 

Nice set up! I lived out of my single cab 83 yota with a topper for years in college. I first had a set up like about what you had. Little more getto, I used beer boxes for storage in the topper and stuffed duffle bags in the cab at night.
This was in Norcal so I froze my ass off that first winter, even with two mummy bags.
Then I built a platform bed with some scrap lumber I found, I based it off of the wheel wells.
I gained some storage under the bed but it was tight. It was much warmer in the winter.
Just a idea.

 

I'll have to test it out this winter in the Sierras, but between the polyfil, the feather bed, and the air mattress, plus being in a bag on top of that, with a wool blanket over THAT...that's waaaay more bedding than I use when I go camping up north. Used to live up there, love snow camping.

We'll see, though. I can always build something later if I have to.

 

Good times.

Decided on a panel connector just forward of the tailgate for the 3rd taillight, but haven't gotten around to it yet. Nice being able to get in and out without that infernal wire in my face.

The body lift is just a matter of time, waiting on my son to have a day off from work. But, I've been doing alot of research on tires, because I need some. Been saving up, and soon...33x10.5 is the plan. Whether this next project turns out to be helpful to that end or not, remains to be seen, but after looking at so many build threads since joining, I know that it won't do no harm.

Time to get some of that extra sheet metal out of the way. I had no idea how this was going to turn out. All of my experience with a hammer and dolly is documented right here in this thread. Will it work? Will it look good? No clue.

Before:



The first cut, which just followed the line of crud left by the old fender flares:



I extended the wheelwell forward a bit, but didn't get a good pic. Then, I just started bending the sheetmetal with pliers. When the angle was too much for the pliers, I switched to hammer and dolley. Not wanting to screw it up, I took lots of breaks to examine and think about what I was doing...



There's also a small tab on the inner fender that no longer serves a purpose:





I'm astonished by how good it came out, what do you guys think?

 

Gave the passenger's side fender the same treatment today:



Made a template from yesterday's scrap to doublecheck my masking; the lines follow pretty obvious landmarks in the fender's shape, but I wanted to be sure.



It was much easier this time, thanks to what I learned yesterday, and I couldn't be happier with the results...



Preview of a future project:

 

Made some progress on the rear fender, passenger side:





Still have some massaging to do, but I'm done for the day. It's freakin' hot out!

 

Finally had another chance to get the grinder out, finished the driver's side rear fender. Still a bit of fine tuning left on both sides in the rear; for example, still have to hit the structure behind the outer sheet metal at the tailgate with a belt sander to even it up. But, when it's all done, it'll look just the way I was hoping.

Before:



After:

 

Finally making some actual progress on the paint:

 

The pic above makes it look a little funky, but the trailing edge of the fender is dead straight, looks fantastic.

The passenger's side was actually about 1/8" lower than the driver's side, but just a few minutes with hammer and dolly, and it was spot-on, and held up to the straightedge.

Really surprised how easy it was to get the hang of it. Anyways, the bed is pretty much done for now:



I'll deal with the inner fenders and such later. Much later, unless I've got much more paint than I realize!

 

I was really loathing the notion of tearing apart the doors, so I painted some other stuff instead.

Hood and cab outers. Finally starting to look like a green truck:

 

Wait, so what is that green paint and how are you applying it?
Looks like a perfect OD green. It's going to be a hot Tacoma when you're done with it...can't wait to see it.

 

The paint (and the high-zinc primer) is from Gillespie. I've relied on them for several period-correct Jeep paintjobs in the past. The color is perfectly correct, and the formula is also perfectly correct. So, my truck will laugh in the face of mustard gas attacks while I choke to death.

I use aerosol cans, but you can order from Gillespie in quarts and gallons, too. Real military specification olive drab makes my work look MUCH better than it ever would, otherwise.

I've been using 2/3 coats of primer, and 3/4 coats of OD, which is a bare minimum. Masking off the windsheild surround instead of removing it; slinging paint over bolts, etc. Doesn't much matter. I can get as picky as I want while repairing the inevitable dings and scratches.



If you're looking for something more specific than that, like the yellow used on German tanks in Africa during Operation Torch, talk to the guys at Burbank Paint. They do most of the paint you've seen in movies, and they have the mil-spec formulas, too.

 

The color looks fantastic! You're making me want to repaint my truck now, lol. I like my red but it was not a choice, it was just on the lot for the right price. I like the green much better.