Post by chrisinvermont on Nov 25, 2017 23:30:05 GMT -5
Hi everyone.
I bought a '93 Toyota pickup last week and a Wildernest was part of the deal. After cruising the this forum and the rest of the internet, I'm pretty excited to restore it.
I'm handy and have basic tools, but I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by this project.
I received my Wildernest completely disassembled. The windows, frames for rear window, top, all hardware, seals, tent -- everything -- is in piles. The cap itself is in rough shape. There are chunks of fiberglass missing from the supports towards the rear of the cap, and the supports themselves are rusty and starting to crumble. The whole bottom edge of the cap (where I assume some kind of seal should be) is crumbly. The outside of the cap is worn and dirty in a way that makes me think it needs to be seriously polished or painted over. The tent is dirty and has tears.
Because I've never seen the Wildernest in one piece and because I've never worked with fiberglass and some of these other materials, I don't know where to start. It's difficult to glean information from this forum without having a basic understanding of the Wildernest's construction.
The following would be extremely helpful:
I'll be working on the Wildernest in my small, shared indoor studio space throughout the winter, and I'll likely move it into a friend's backyard when it warms up. I hope I can get this thing working for next summer!
I know this is a pretty big ask. Thank you in advance to all those who take the time to advise me in whatever ways you can!
I bought a '93 Toyota pickup last week and a Wildernest was part of the deal. After cruising the this forum and the rest of the internet, I'm pretty excited to restore it.
I'm handy and have basic tools, but I'm feeling a little overwhelmed by this project.
I received my Wildernest completely disassembled. The windows, frames for rear window, top, all hardware, seals, tent -- everything -- is in piles. The cap itself is in rough shape. There are chunks of fiberglass missing from the supports towards the rear of the cap, and the supports themselves are rusty and starting to crumble. The whole bottom edge of the cap (where I assume some kind of seal should be) is crumbly. The outside of the cap is worn and dirty in a way that makes me think it needs to be seriously polished or painted over. The tent is dirty and has tears.
Because I've never seen the Wildernest in one piece and because I've never worked with fiberglass and some of these other materials, I don't know where to start. It's difficult to glean information from this forum without having a basic understanding of the Wildernest's construction.
The following would be extremely helpful:
- Posting images of your Wildernests so I can see how they are assembled. Detail images of hinges, trim, seals, interiors, fiberglassing, window attachment, etc would be great!
- Suggesting an order of operations. I'm guessing that fiberglassing the shell is the place to start, but it's winter in Vermont and so perhaps I should start with the tent...
- Naming must-have specialty tools. I'm guessing that an angle grinder and wire brush wheel is going to be worth the money for this project, for example.
- Sharing links that were helpful to you during your restoration (fiberglassing tutorials, waterproofing tutorials, whatever.) I have seen the threads with links to parts and I'll definitely reference those if I find I'm missing Wildernest-specific parts, but I'm looking for more general directions and tutorials.
I'll be working on the Wildernest in my small, shared indoor studio space throughout the winter, and I'll likely move it into a friend's backyard when it warms up. I hope I can get this thing working for next summer!
I know this is a pretty big ask. Thank you in advance to all those who take the time to advise me in whatever ways you can!
