Hilux service van

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Every garage needs a service van, so here's ours. It's a Toyota Hilux diesel 2 wheel drive, it's got no turbo, no air-con, a cassette player and wind up windows.

The Hilux has been a faithful servant, never complaining, but the body was getting rustier by the week. So for a change of pace, this is how we fixed the rust problem

We've had this Hilux for a while now, it was one of a pair working in the North East, at the UK Rio Tinto factory site. The truck didn't leave the site much, and only has 60 thousand miles on it. It has twin batteries and of course never fails to start, it's the exact opposite of a Lancia Delta, slow and reliable. The rear body had some serious rust problems, so after many weeks looking a new body was won on Ebay.

Replacement new body in field, the truck had been stripped for it's chassis which was used to make 50's style US hotrods!

Some of the old body's serious rust holes

The old body was removed with our engine crane, 8 bolts hold them on, these were very rusty, most had to be cut off.

The body went on Ebay and was taken away in a big white van, eventually going in a container to Sierra Leone

A rust hole

I took the chassis and the new body to the sandblaster for treatment, they did a good job, and gave the chassis a good coat of red primer. I was surprised to see several large metal African animals lining up for blasting also. These had been hand made from odd pieces of metal in Africa, where our old truck body had just gone!

Those African boys, and girls too maybe, can weld!

With the chassis blasted

and body off, it was all

Hammerited underneath.

New box painted underneath, located on

chassis, new bolts fitted

Masked up and repainted, single pack cellulose used, painted outside as you can see.

Flattening and filling started

Well, it's red! Lights fitted, old plastic liner refitted, hoops and cover also. Some work was required wet 600ing a few runs out, but it's not too bad. I won't be doing Pete the painter out of a job though!

I just need to paint in Toyota on the back and it's done. The job was fun to do, just as good as it needs to be, no more! Plenty of Waxoyle underneath, and our little works motor will keep going. .

Job now completed, a nice pensioner came down and painted in the Toyota letters, he said he used to be a signwriter, whatever that is!!