Another survivor found - Max Keough's K125CR

Haha, thanks Browny, you've got a big heart . 've been a bit tied up, I'll put some money back in the meter tonight

Just let me know if you want some batteries for the torch as well

Thanks for all those who pm'd me offering a loan.........

I had the painter come over on the weekend and he had a very close look at the paint on the cab. It's been on there 17 years and by all counts it looks as though it was taken back to bare aluminium before it was painted. There is the slightest bit of electrolysis here and there but all the spots are no bigger than a 20c piece apart from the steel plate along the back of the engine tunnel opening. So on his advice and also knowing that Detective agreed (definate piece of mind knowing the experience you have had Phil ) I was able to carry on.

He gave me instruction and left me to it, first thing was to attack the striping............

I used oven cleaner and, with two applications, it was gone. Finished off with the pressure washer and it is spotless. I'll need to remove a few more bits such as the grill above the passengers headlight (for the fresh air), air cleaner brackets, exhaust bracket and back window. He also wants the air vents out of the door and sleeper area as they are literally swinging in the breeze and may obstruct the paint. He does nice work (my visit there last week saw an XU1, Phase 2 Falcon, 37 Ford, 59 Chev Conver, Willy's Jeep, Mk 2 Jag, EH Holden........not your average panel shop) and is looking forward to tackling mine as it's another unique vehicle for him .

Also, Max had told me the names of the colours of the blues on the truck, pretty good seeing as though it's second and last blue paint job was around 80/81. The colours were Majestic Blue and Vibrant. I put Detective on the case and he came through with 2 codes for me, one of which was Majestic Blue............

This was the thin stripes around the cab and the chassis colour and is spot on after being able to hold this painted sample to the remains of paint around the truck. I was drawing a blank with the Vibrant blue when Max called and said that his mate, who's been minding Max's old house until he returns from the States (only been 13 years so far :) had found some old paint tins in the garage..................

And there it is! Last thing I expected that's for sure. Colour matching is now the least of my dramas. Next I need to pull the remaining things off and sand the whole cab lightly then in around 4 weeks it'll be heading for paint.

...no worries Bruce .. she looks like she's in hi-fill already !

...also Bruce the fresh air (heater) vent above the LH headlight was riveted prior to paint at the factory...there's no need to undo it....cheers mate, keep at it

Hi Phil, it has a bit of electrolysis around that grill vent, that's the only reason she's coming out. What's the story with old striping bleeding through new paint? I've had a few guys warn me about it and say that even if it's taken back to bare metal it can show through.

I figure that you've seen that before..............is there a product or a solution to stop it happening?

...a lot of reds and some greens will bleed through new paint, and will show mainly on a plain white cab but with the scheme going on your cab and all the pinstriping afterwards, any bleeding would be very hard to notice...

....seeing that you have removed all the green thick lines i don't think it will be an issue....cheers

Have to agree with Detective.
Have a look at these before and after shots of a rim at the polishers i visited last week in Sydney.
Maybe an option when you get that far instead of back breaking hand polishing.

They look good clarkie but I actually get a kick out of polishing alloy

Keep on rubbin Bruce,hope your home tonight a truck load of rims are getting dropped off to polish need them ASAP
Chappo

Well I finally got back into it on Friday night with the intention of pulling the headlining out in the sleeper area at the request of my painter. I had always planned on leaving the sleeper area trim intact due to the risk of damage when pulling it out and also the amount of work where, as I was thinking, I could clean and detail it all in there without disturbing it. Well, that was short lived :'(

Seems that the first thing that was screwed in at Bayswater was the headling in the sleeper - therefore it's the last thing to come out >. Also, there was some cracking behind the mounts for the aircleaner pipes, if you remember they look a bit like this when new...........

...........and the vibration over the years had caused a bit of damage. The painter wanted all the brackets etc off so you guessed it, no sanding over the weekend, just a bit more stripping down!

Those big brackets are aluminium and are bolted through. I thought they were bolted in using nutserts but they were all bolted straight through with nylocs. So off with the trim, very very carefully.........

And to my surprise, it revealed this! The foam used for the insulation is the same 70's rubbish that was used nder the material in the headlinings of Jags, Magna's, Mitsubishi Colts etc - remember those, the ones that would drop down around your ears? I spent many hours cleaning the foam down before remaking the headlinings during my days as a motor trimmer. The foam would just disintegrate, kinda like it has done here............

This stuff was everywhere and took hours and hours to clean up but the result was worth it and I'm sure glad I listened and went the extra mile. It'll be a lot quieter inside once I've finished with it . The material I removed was very brittle and I was relieved to have it out without damage

Then it was onto the aircleaner and exhaust removal with the help of the old man, pretty straight forward.......

But the damage was slightly worse albeit repairable. The fibreglass is cracked a bit but the damage is behind in the aluminium frame

Not too bad I suppose, just a slight setback. So next week it'll be time to sand it back. It's the wifes birthday so I think it'll be great if she and I spend some quality time together with a whizzer in the garage