tim292stro's M1009 (formerly math1960's)

[tim292stro]

Alabama Army National Guard DRMO turn-in black spray paint special (that's a mouthful)

Yeah, there is camo bleeding through the 383 green all over the place. It looks like they sprayed it green until the spray gun clogged up and then rolled the rest until they got bored Where the passenger front fender meets the hood there is very visible 383 Brown and lusterless Black - the roof of the truck was not coated very well, so I can see the old-pattern 3-color NATO black outline, even more so when it's wet. But hey, at least I know what to paint it

 

[emeralcove]

Tim and CUCVLOVER, have either of you had areas of the fiberglass roof start to deteriorate where the gel coat is gone and the glass fibers are exposed. it seems to happen first with the darker paint areas. I had to clean it up the best I could and recoat that area with resin and then paddle sand it back smooth. It is a very time consuming, physical energy sapping, boring task. It might be worth a quick inspection to determine if it is started because even rattle can paint will "buy you time" until it can be repainted properly and avoid the time spent to repair the fiberglass. Mine is an '86 so it is newer than most but came from Nellis AFB in the Las Vegas desert so the UV exposure was pretty bad.

 

[Another Ahab]

I don't know if it's any help, but kayakers might have some solutions to those UV problems with some of the products they use on their boats.

Maybe so; maybe not.

I'm a caonoer myself (kind of like a canolder, but more recent); don't know much about kayaks.

Here's a link that might give you all a start into checking that out:

http://www.paddling.net/​

 

[CUCVLOVER]

Tim and CUCVLOVER, have either of you had areas of the fiberglass roof start to deteriorate where the gel coat is gone and the glass fibers are exposed. it seems to happen first with the darker paint areas. I had to clean it up the best I could and recoat that area with resin and then paddle sand it back smooth. It is a very time consuming, physical energy sapping, boring task. It might be worth a quick inspection to determine if it is started because even rattle can paint will "buy you time" until it can be repainted properly and avoid the time spent to repair the fiberglass. Mine is an '86 so it is newer than most but came from Nellis AFB in the Las Vegas desert so the UV exposure was pretty bad.

I don't have a blazer so I can not answer your question as far as blazer specific fiberglass issues. But I do know what you are talking about from my experience around bass boats. I have seen what your talking about when the gel coat is so far gone that you can see the fiber glass fibers. Here is a gel coat repair that you do your self on boats which might work.
http://www.westmarine.com/gelcoat-repair

Fiber glass is fiber glass so bet that it would work

 

[tim292stro]

No I have not had any gel coat issues, that said I also haven;t stripped off the paint covering the rear top - so I'm certain that I should reserve a concrete answer for when I have better intel.

Yes, fixing fiberglass finishes correctly is time consuming, but if you want the result you have to put in the work

 

[emeralcove]

If you don't see the glass fibers exposed the paint is protecting the gel coat. It seems the gel coat goes pretty fast once the paint is gone and it seems worse in the darker colors of the camo, like the retained heat breaks down the paint and underlying gel coat faster. basically good news on your behalf since it hasn't happened. it probably affects "desert" vehicles far more because the fiberglass top on my '80 K-5 suffers the same problem and it has been in southern California for going on 36 years.

 

[Drunkle Scuzzy]

Looks like little by little the M1009 is coming along nicely! Keep up the good work.

 

[tim292stro]

Thanks, it's down to a single quarter sized leak to ground after 8 hours, so I'm winning that battle - truck starts and runs reliably now without manual intervention, truck is basically completely straight now...

I'm hoping I can start to work on some of the "improvements" this weekend, and laying the ground work for more of the major restoration work:

• Bring back 24V starting and glow, and move back to 6TLs
• Clean up the interior
• Lube and Rust prevention treatment(s)
• Paint
• Trim
• Aftermarket "increase my pleasure" decorations

 

[tim292stro]

Just finished calculating my long term (6-month) fuel economy average after the fill-up this morning, and it's up to 16.124MPG with nothing but city driving (fastest I ever get is MAYBE 47MPH...). I'm pleased for a mid '80's full sized SUV, my Toyota pickup saw 19MPG city at its peak, and was down to 16 before it was taken out to pasture. Everything above 16MPG is a "win" to me

4537.3 Miles travelled since purchase
281.4 Gallons #2 diesel burned (does not include the last fill-up which I'm currently burning for those keeping watch...).

I'm hoping for nearly another 1MPG or more from a tire upgrade, and maybe some new/clean injectors (also a reman IP perhaps?) - it appears the go-to tires I had selected have been discontinued in order to allow for a better tire to be produced. I'm gonna have to start looking for a spare set of rims now, so that I can keep a separate snow tire set pre-mounted. Off to the classifieds!

 

[Drunkle Scuzzy]

I just took my first mileage reading on the last fill up. Looking forward to seeing what my ambulance gets now that my fuel gauge works and the speedo is corrected.

 

[Another Ahab]

I just took my first mileage reading on the last fill up. Looking forward to seeing what my ambulance gets now that my fuel gauge works and the speedo is corrected.

Yes, that baseline reading would be interesting to know.

I mean, as long as you're not doing all your driving up and down Filbert Street:

 

[Drunkle Scuzzy]

Yes, that baseline reading would be interesting to know.

I mean, as long as you're not doing all your driving up and down Filbert Street:


View attachment 609365

My truck sees some big hills, but so far this tank has been relatively flat and mostly city. I used to drive to the top of Nob Hill to drop my fiance off for work and pick her up all the time, one of the steepst grades in the city.



here's my truck out of fuel right after backing down Taylor with no power. My fuel gauge has since been repaired. It is one of the steepest hills in the city on the way to Nob Hill

 

[tim292stro]

Bummer, one of my rear tires (one of the three remaining which came with the truck - and REALLY OLD) has developed a slow leak. Aired up Friday, down to 15PSI today about 6-2/3 PSI/day (not good). Haven't seen a rock or nail in the tire, so I'm guessing whatever it was has moved on... Ordering tires this week, have an appointment to have them mounted scheduled for next week.

 

[Another Ahab]

Bummer, one of my rear tires (one of the three remaining which came with the truck - and REALLY OLD) has developed a slow leak. Aired up Friday, down to 15PSI today about 6-2/3 PSI/day (not good). Haven't seen a rock or nail in the tire, so I'm guessing whatever it was has moved on... Ordering tires this week, have an appointment to have them mounted scheduled for next week.

I wonder if this kind of product would do you any good.

Have you ever heard of this stuff?

http://www.gemplers.com/product/G64511/GEMPLERS-Ultraseal-Tire-Sealant-Commercial-grade-1-gallon​

 

[tim292stro]

Yeah, that stuff is similar to Green Slime.

I have learned that tire sealant is not good for the rims, and really ticks off tire shops that have to change a tire filled with that stuff (rear as: big mess), but I do use it in tube tires (bikes). Given how dry, cracked, and sun-bleached the sidewalls look on the rear tires I'm not trying to put any money or effort into anything but replacing these tires. Right now adding compressed air takes minimal time and effort, so that's what I'm going to do.

 

[o1951]

Be careful.
I am friends with people at a tire store.
See cracked sidewalls that suddenly let go at one of the cracks.

 

[tim292stro]

I know, that's why I don't want to bother with patching it - makes me very nervous already when I air it up. I use the remote type air fill (clamp it on, adjust a regulator to set the pressure, and open a valve from several feet away). At least it's not a truck tire at 120psi, those letting go can only be described as detonation...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mC7qRC8AYK8


I'll say it bluntly, I treat a potentially damaged tire like a live grenade with the pin out and the handle held in with thread.

 

[tim292stro]

Tires and rims are ordered - I'm up to twice a day keeping the air at 35PSI, drops to 20PSI when parked at work and overnight at home.

I'm hoping the rims get here by Wednesday, I have a Thursday tire appointment already scheduled.

 

[o1951]

Yeah, that's the right way. No patch jobs.
I had a right front let go on a race car in a left turn. Hard time sorta getting thru turn. Almost totally lost it & wrecked.

What rims you getting?

 

[tim292stro]

"NOS" Seco SE14063307-1, NSN: 2530-01-154-8146 Got them for $82.50 each shipped outta PA for qty 6x. Eplace user "deuceseller". A quick Google should find them with this info.

I'm doing all four plus a spare tire to make sure the tire size is the same all the way around. The Laufenn tires I put on the front two to replace a blow-out in the fall are only 27.8" OD. The Michelin I bought this morning are 30.7" OD (much closer to 31" of 31x10.5x15), and I figured a 77-rev/mile difference between the front and rear would probably break something...