johnnyonthespot Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Mission Improbable: I have been busy trying to work on my Toyota Dolphin as much as life and the condominium nazis (my neighbors) allow... SO i thot it may be useful for me to post pictures of my project and discuss whats going on and get some ideas bounced back to me from out "there" in toyotaland... also I just realized that my posts are starting to get pretty scattered... From now on my before and after pictorials of my 83 dolphin can be concisely viewed in this thread... this will help me by keeping things more organized and giving me a place to go ramble to myself late at night like i am doing now... o wait its 730 am ... wow it is late. Meanwhile Back at the Ranch: i bought my toy about a month ago and it had probably been sitting for years... although a dealer owned it and was starting it periodically... the vents had cracked and caused leaks that basically had destroyed the ceiling above the fwd sleeper and also around the smaller vent over the dinette... despite these leaks and a cple smaller ones that i already fixed, the floor remains SOLID throughout the entire motor home... This is how the FWD sleeper Area looked when i bought it: Reduced: 93% of original size [ 900 x 678 ] - Click to view full image Reduced: 93% of original size [ 900 x 678 ] - Click to view full image underneath the plywood was hideous rotten wood that literally had to be scooped out... this is where its is at NOW after some demo work: Reduced: 93% of original size [ 900 x 678 ] - Click to view full image Reduced: 93% of original size [ 895 x 548 ] - Click to view full image if you look in the above pic there is a fresh board with a fresh white bead of sealant against it at the front of the sleeper... that had to be replaced... that replacement involved removing a weather strip on the exterior underneath the cabover... taking out 18 rusted screws that held in a rotted water damaged board... that single board and screws serve the purpose of securing two MAJOR seperate exterior aluminum panels together... hence the 18 screws from the exterior and replacing the weather strip, resealing everything meticulously... it turned into a 4 man/hour job! just to replace that one board that served a hidden purpose... but when it was done and we started replacing the screws.... things fit back together more solid than previously and we removed a sag... I now have to buy some butyl tape to reseal the windows and also some new vents and roof sealants... then after i get all that i can re-panel everything... its worth it! i just gotta keep telling myself that! I did get some Reflectix Foil/plastic insulation to line the cab sleeper area with... I am very impressed with the product so far... thanks to whoever on this forum pointed me to that stuff! I also have oak framing material and some lighter framing boards as well... i am just wondering what kind of adhesive to use tandem with the woodscrews to fasten the new supporting framework together... ??? if anyone with more experience reading this would like offer any great advise or "while you have it apart, one thing you might want to do is:" consulting would be great... i like the hint stolen from some1 on here about installing pvc conduit for future wiring projects... sincerely, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyonthespot Posted June 9, 2008 Author Share Posted June 9, 2008 little things sometimes really do mean alot... The Ole' 83 Dolphin had really rough looking mirrors... lots of rust, paint flaking, discoloration... against white paint no less... I recently spent a whole day just removing my mirrors, wire-brushing, masking, priming and painting them and i think it made a noticible difference... BEFORE: AFTER: I decided to go with the highest quality Rustoleum Automotive GLOSS BLACK Enamel I could get... I used two cans on the Mirrors Project... and I barely had enough that I went ahead and painted the air filter cover with a nice coat as well... my rig IS a serious piece of Caca compared to some of the Toys on the forum here but i sure am having alot of fun fixing her up... one task at a time... sometimes i even get volunteer help... I was totally inspired by YostFX's 'Rader and I really want to paint my wheels gloss black too... I hope he doesnt think I am jockin his style too bad but wow.. that looks real neat on his wheels... YostFX's Wheels: Do I have to take my wheels off to paint them? something tells me i probably should.... but then i gotta torque em back down and all... guess at least then id know they were torqued to spec!!! seriously, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coach Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Not one of these pics came thru for me. Did anyone else experience this? I am logged on as a member. Thanks Coach Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yostfmx Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 (Pics worked for me) No problem, and yes you do/should take off the wheels to paint. You don't really need torque specs, just crank them down to what feels right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JordanB5000 Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Pics worked for me too. Nice job Johhny. We are redoing our intereior as well. Not because of damage though. We are just trying to get out of the 80's; brown shag is/was not our thing. Will post more before & after pics soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turtle Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 What I have used for decades as "rim paint" is Hammerite brand "hammered finish". http://www.hammerite-automotive.com/ It is designed so that it can be either sprayed or brushed on and it "fish eyes" to a very cool hammered look (and it is tough as nails) http://www.toymike.com/diesel/pics/paintedRim.jpg http://www.toymike.com/diesel/pics/rearRim.jpg You should be able to find it locally Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyonthespot Posted June 10, 2008 Author Share Posted June 10, 2008 What I have used for decades as "rim paint" is Hammerite brand "hammered finish". Hey thanks Mike... I will look into it... the hammered finish may be the best way to hide the imperfections underneath as well... here is a pic of my engine compartment...only thing i have done so far inside there is check fluids (NO LEAKS! so far...) and paint the air filter cover... trust me it looks vast oceans greater than the rust did before the paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyonthespot Posted June 11, 2008 Author Share Posted June 11, 2008 Today we took "Flip" the 83 Dolphin to the only car wash in town with a TALL PORT that an rv could spray off in... I was amazed at the amount of grime from cincinnati pollution (Vine Street) that had built up on this thing from the previous owner(s) i scrubbed it for an hour... i was stoked to see how much dirt actually washed away.... maybe lbs of dirt... i wouldnt doubt it... it looks way nicer now just from a good LONG OVERDUE swabbing... after that we FLIPped out to Hueston Woods State park and enjoyed a nice 25 mile joyride... seeing the old beast cleaning up really makes me proud to own her... so proud i wanted to photograph the original manuals and maintenance history/receipts... these are only SOME of them... MANUALS: RECEIPTS: is it normal for a vehicle to have this many repairs at 100,000 miles? Does this documentation increase the value of the vehicle? I can tell exactly how many water pumps, clutches, brake repairs, tires, tune ups, sealers, thermostats, batteries... etc etc... many of them list the mileage at time of repair... I remain fascinated by the documentation that was included with this Toy. as you can see from the pics it still needs thorough cleaning... but no point in doing that until i get the construction finished... more soon... any suggestions/brainstorming is most appreciated... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyonthespot Posted June 14, 2008 Author Share Posted June 14, 2008 Spent the morning moving fwd on repairs... so far today before 11 AM i have: 1. checked the oil, coolant, topped them off... 2. put some carb/fuel system cleaner in the tank 3. adjusted my idle 4. removed and washed curtains 5. did demolition work on water damage around the dinette vent 6. Started sawing oak boards for ribbing/framework 7. lined the cabover with Reflectix in anticipation of building the framework that supports the cabover sleeper... I really like Reflectix, its lightweight, amazingly effecient and its very easy and neat to work with... and I will definitely need more for the walls and ceilings!!! this is before Reflectix: here is the current state of things: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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