Let's get to work

Ok, so let's get started on this thing.  Based on my overall evaluation here's what we have - really bad paint, Runs well, brakes have problems, transmission and drive train quiet, no real funky "owner enhancements", Bulkhead remarkably good, a rust hole on the bottom driver footwell, and the chassis solid other than the rear x-member.  Not bad, but, uh... there's a little bondo here and there, nothing too bad.

Step 1, remove the lights, etc. in prep for stripping paint.  I figured that the paint prep was going to take me the longest, so might as well start there. Ordered a 5 gallon pail of EFS-2500 stripper, approved for aircraft, so I figured good for the Birmabright, plus the stuff is enviromentally friendly.  Isn't "Enviromentally friendly" paint stripper an oxymoron?

Step 2, start applying stripper.  Biggest mistake - not putting it on heavy enough the first time around, it gives you this result:

Down to the primer - I wanted metal.  And, you can start to see something that will cause me to create a rant here in a minute.  Body Filler.  Take a look at this:

That ain't no Brimabright folks.  I'm going Whaaa?  Then WTF.  Take a further look here:

Yeah, that's right boatloads of bondo.

BEGIN RANT #1:
WTF!! This is the craziest thing I have ever seen, there are only TWO PANELS on this entire truck that are completly devoid of BODY FILLER - the breakfast and the bulkhead.  The sad shame here is that there was BF in places where there was PREFECTLY GOOD METAL underneath. There was filler on the cappings, there was filler on the door tops.  AND DOES EVERYONE USE THEIR CAB TOP TO PICK APPLES FROM?  FOLKS!!! Hear me!  it is WORTH the time to learn a little about PANEL BEATING, so many of the dents on this truck could have literally been removed with ten seconds of hammer and dolly work each vs. APPLYING 1/4 INCH of bondo - on THE WHOLE TRUCK!

Why was there a 1/4 inch of filler on this cab-top side? Beats me.

Denty, denty cab top.  Does every one think it's a good idea to take the cab top off, hook it behind the truck in the winter and take their friends for a sled ride in the cornfields?  Has every cab top had a tree fall on it? Are Land Rovers with cab tops meterorite magnets?

I'll save rant #2 for the next post.