Old Brahma Shell Restoration... (slow going & pic heavy)

I rescued this "free" Brahma shell from the side of a road. I believe it fits 1st Gen Long Bed... Thankfully, it was sitting on top of a 55 gal. drum and I had a piece of plywood in the bed, so I was able to roll it up & slide it into the GMC by myself. It was covered in moss, filth, insects, & spiders. But, after a good sweeping off, turned out to be in really good shape. No cracks, all glass intact and windows slide fully, and even the screens are intact & have very minimal damage. The rubbers (mostly good) and the hardware will all have to be replaced, and the rear door will have to be realigned, but it's solid. I took it to the quarter wash just to get rid of some of the more severe crud that was caked on. Took it home and washed it some more. I'll have to remove the brace, the side windows, and rubbers, etc. to get it fully cleaned out, but I'm pleasantly surprised at it's solidity. I'm sure it's pretty old, too. The original Brahma decal was small & in the corner of the rear window.

Dimensions: 88 X 60 X 27

Before washing...

After cleaning...


Does anyone know where to get replacement parts for truck caps? For this, or in general? Thanks for looking!

 

Wow that's a blast from the past. I bought a Brahma new back in 1986 for my then first new Toyota truck. They were the brand back in the day

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=truck+cap+replacement+parts&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

Several links you can look through...

 

^Thanks! It's been a bit difficult to find any info on it.

 

I got the windows & inside as clean as it's going to be and reset the center brace, but haven't epoxied it in(I might want to make a duplicate for strength). Finding new window molding will be the biggest challenge, t-bar handle lock & locking rods are pretty easy to source online. I don't want to get too carried away with the project just yet, seeing as I have no suitable truck to put this on... I pulled off the rubber seal off of one window and just found some crud underneath, but the aluminum frame is in nice shape., just needs a good cleaning. The side rubber window seals are in good shape, but they have shrunk over the last 30 or so years and obviously during it's former service from the random caulking spots...

 

looking good on the restoration!

 

Thanks! It's slow going, but with every cleaning it keeps getting nicer. I've finally committed about $8- (in new replacement screws) to the project...

 

Been pretty busy lately, but I decided to get bold and redo the left side window, while the carpets were being cleaned. I'm now in for a total of $28 in materials...

Removed all the old rusty screws and cleaned the surfaces...

Took some steel wool to the frame just to clean it up a bit. Glass started to come unsealed, so I had to redo it. Re-gooped, kinda sloppy, but it was my first time doing so and it cleaned up for the most part...

For contrast, unfinished side... Finished

Re-fitted the outer window rubbers after a good cleaning and warming in the sun. Still short, but at least the corners look somewhat nicer.

More contrast- undone... done...

Cleaning up the brace. Before & after...

 

Got both sides completed, same process for both. I'll install the brace at the end of the restoration. Some of the screws for the frames aren't quite anchoring, so I'll get some wider ones or marine goop them in, and wait before permanently setting the brace in epoxy.

Before & after...

 

looks like you're making good progress on the restoration.

 

Thanks! Yeah, it's gone suspiciously easy, so far...

 

Any updates to this? I have one as well...

 

I made a lot of progress on mine yesterday- brought it over from the neighbor's house, started scrubbing on it with a pole brush, said screw the nonsense and got the pressure washer on the job... cleaned up rather nicely.

Then I removed the tool box and bedliner in my truck and put it in place... only to find it's about 2" too short and not profiled to seal against the cab. So, it and the bedliner are on the curb now with a "Free to good home" sign, and will go to the dump if it's not gone by Saturday. I also called all my friends that have trucks asking if they could use it. I will more than likely be making a dump run Saturday.

 

Throw it on Craigslist for a hundred bucks before you trash it

 

I don't do CL. I don't want strangers coming to my house, and I'm not going to try to figure out how to secure this only to remove it. It goes in the trash or it's free.

I called up a friend last night to offer it to them for his wife's truck. she's wanting details, what year, model, etc. What part of "free" and "I have no idea" is unclear? But then, she's well known among our circle of friends to be an idiot.

 

I'm sure you could get $75 or more for it, but if it's not worth it for ya that's your call. I'd at the very least try and trade it for a case of beer before adding it to a landfill. No need to meet at your house, go to the nearest well lit parking lot - some c clamps work fine to mount up a cap for a short trip.

 

As I said already - " I also called all my friends that have trucks asking if they could use it."

 

Why not list it on the various Tacoma forums? As noted, you can meet folks plenty of places other than your house. Lots of dirtbag climbers and college kids would be happy to get a free or almost free shell.

 

Because it doesn't fit a Tacoma, and i don't want to deal with people asking "what does it fit". I've already had plenty of that with locals i called offering it. "Dude, I don't know... that's a big freaking part of why it is free".

Also, it was gone when I got home today, so we can quit beating this dead horse.

 

Ha! Fast forward 4 years and I am in the same place as Navelfunk, the OP. In fact it is an identical blue Brahma canopy, which fits my 1989 Toyota SR5 4X4 Standard bed pretty nicely. It was 3/4" short, so I added an aluminum flange on the front enough to cover the edge of the bed. I could have schooched it up perfectly flush, but the rear hatch would not lock.

Mine is in the process of being painted "Smoke Grey" with a quart of Rustoleum Oil Enamel and a 4" foam roller.

Somebody was nice enough to post it on Craigslist, but I had quite a drive to go get it.

These old threads are super valuable to those of us who follow in your footsteps. Thank you OP!!!