Little Red Wagon

[eaglescout526]

Well. The drivers side bed took me the whole weekend to sand. Got the decal removed with that rubber eraser for the drill. Dropped the trans and fixed my slave cylinder issue. Hate these things and how they pop out. I should be good for a while. Now what sucks is one of my fog lamps glass broke, so replacing that glass is like replacing a Marchal. Anyways the progress shall continue without this trans hiccup. 

[eaglescout526]

Damn. I really need to remember to take pictures of my progress. But I forget and am excited. All the sanding is done except for the upper half of the drivers side door. Once the passenger side is all good and painted, then the drivers side will be sanded and finished in one shot.

 

Good news is there was not a single ounce of bondo anywhere on the body. Bad news is there is some body damage that just minor dents that were fixed using a stud welder and some bondo to fill in. Otherwise all rust has been addressed which there hardly was any for an AZ truck. Now to fix the tail gate and get that done up too. 

[eaglescout526]

Um. I’m speechless. She’s not perfect and still has some areas that need to be touched up due to running out of paint but wow!

Sorry about the light. Just got home. 

 

Theres some issues to address and clear to be coated but holy crap! I have a painted truck! 

 

I can see some dents. Lol. She’s a thirty year old truck. I was lucky to see any before this happened. But I’m thankful and appreciate the work that has been done 

[JMO413]

Looks great 

[buxmj]

Great work!  

 

Buck

[eaglescout526]

Thanks gentlemen. Just need to go get more paint and clear and she will be ready for badging and decal. 

[eaglescout526]

Well she needs another coat of paint. Now the surface is completely smooth. I went and wet sanded all the bumpy bits of paint with 1000 grit. But I still like the job none the less. She should look better with a new coat and a good buffer. 

 

Here's a better pic. I still need to do the tail gate. 

[eaglescout526]

So I would say Little Red is about 80% complete. Everything is now back on except the decals, running boards, tailgate cover, bed mat and the door panels.

I like the paint and the job we did. Not factory perfect but still. Course she looks like a red brick with white walls and 15" aluminums right now. I'm impressed with myself that I got all the nameplates in or close to the factory locations. I love it!

I think I should probably polish up the paint first before the decal but that will see if the decal gets put on tomorrow or not. 

 

Also a spectacular and my favorite touch is these decals:

 

I asked my girl to whip me up a couple AMC logos with her vinyl cutter and she delivered. When I went to get the Cargo lamp and switch plate the other day, I was greeted by another member(MJCARENA) who was selling those parts on CL. He likes the decals but told me I cheated but still liked them and called them a nice touch to the lamps. 
 

New things to install/do: vanity mirror visor, cargo lamp bezel(will cut and splice with fog), AMC radio(still), fuel tank hose to cannister, spray in liner, newer drivers side mirror. I think that's it, for now.

[eaglescout526]

Alright. Since I’m or side decorating for the holidays. Might as well show y’all before the Pioneer decal goes on. 

 

[rylee144]

Your truck is looking so good. Love the grill and new paint

[JMO413]

1 hour ago, eaglescout526 said:

Alright. Since I’m or side decorating for the holidays. Might as well show y’all before the Pioneer decal goes on. 

 

Beautiful! Love that grill and the stickers on the for lamps are awesome. That sure is a good looking truck!

[fiatslug87]

Looks great! You have AMC rear mud flaps you lucky dog! I've been looking for a set.

[eaglescout526]

2 hours ago, rylee144 said:

Your truck is looking so good. Love the grill and new paint

 

58 minutes ago, JMO413 said:

Beautiful! Love that grill and the stickers on the for lamps are awesome. That sure is a good looking truck!

 

20 minutes ago, fiatslug87 said:

Looks great! You have AMC rear mud flaps you lucky dog! I've been looking for a set.

Thank you gentlemen and Mike, they were NOS but they were just too awesome to not put on! I love it, a lot more of what I have done and added pops out at you now and doesn't blend with its age.

 

Still need to put on the running boards, looks lifted without them.

[eaglescout526]

Well...still no decals on her yet. Still driving a gorgeous red brick. But on the other hand the bed has been sprayed with a spray in liner so I don’t have to worry about painting that only just to have it get screwed up. And the bed mat is back in as well. Need to let the paint on the tailgate cure before adding the chrome wrap over. 

 

 

Also scored a neat NOS bug shield. Hate how it has a giant MoPar sticker on it but oh well. The weird thing is that this part has a MoPar label but yet has the AMC number which makes me think that the part changes were not as immediate as they could’ve been back then. 

 

 

I think I’m gonna knock out a few things this weekend so stay tuned for hopefully a few neat pieces to go in. 

[fiatslug87]

[eaglescout526]

One thing down. Few more to go!

 

 

One NOS vanity visor installed. Thank you @coheed for the MJ vanity wiring harness!

[eaglescout526]

Front skid plate halfway installed. Currently letting engine shock mount bolts cure in vinegar for rust removal(that's where the skid plate mounts on the pass side). Next will be the tow hooks and putting the running boards back on. Then hopefully the front bug shield.

[eaglescout526]

Skid plate finished and running boards are back on. Time for a sammich and some Pepsi-Cola

 

 

Shes coming together. Bug shield, AMC radio and tow hooks. 

[fiatslug87]

Are the hooks chrome or black? Sorry can't wait.

[eaglescout526]

8 hours ago, fiatslug87 said:

Are the hooks chrome or black? Sorry can't wait.

They are chrome. I thought about painting them black but decided against it. Now I do have a pair of towing eyes that I have never seen before that are black. 

 

I don't blame you. I can’t wait either. I had to spend a day thinking about how to cut the hole in the dam. 

[eaglescout526]

Well I got off work early but due to the dastardly rain, I wanted to start the tow hooks but can't. So I made use of my time and rebuilt a couple ratchets that have taken a toll from working on LR. Nice to have rebuilt ratchets, not fun to rebuild.

[eaglescout526]

Working at a dealer has its benefits and I love it. I had my brakes checked out for a spongy feel(by a former AMC tech who does brakes and steering) and it turns out my young dumb butt put the drum shoes on backwards the second time but did it right the first time. Live and learn. While at it she got her drums trimmed up and was recommended to replace the now leaking 30 year old wheel cylinders. I could rebuild them but I will determine that when I get the new ones installed.  

 

But this weekend will be tow hooks 

[eaglescout526]

Well I got a couple things knocked off my to do list and one kinda failed. 

But first tow hooks

 

 

Here's how I did it. I took a Dremel cut off wheel and just slowly worked a straight line on the air dam to the point where I could get it to flex and fold to allow the hooks to go through. It’s ugly I will say that. Would’ve been a lot easier if I just did a hole, but what’s done is done 

 

Cleaned up my area of the garage and broke two bolts off of the bumper bracket to change it out. I might goof around with it and try to remove the broken bolts tomorrow. 

[JMO413]

Looks good to me. The person that points that out is really looking for something. That's a beautiful truck you have there!

[eaglescout526]

39 minutes ago, JMO413 said:

Looks good to me. The person that points that out is really looking for something. That's a beautiful truck you have there!

That's fair, someone really would have to be a stickler if they were looking. But it doesn't actually look noticeable with everything in place, pretty much hidden if anything.