Aussie RN25 + RK40 Lite Stout = Frankenstout

Discussion in '1976-1983 Build-Up/Project Threads' started by OZRN25, Aug 9, 2011.

  1. OZRN25

    OZRN25 Newbie

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    Location:
    Adelaide, Australia
    Truck:
    1978 RN25 & 1964 RK40 Lite Stout
    More progress over the last few days, will slow now as holidays are nearly over!

    Have started on the rust holes with a quick 2 hour session yesterday using fibreglass to bridge holes which were too big for bog!

    Today I went to do more work on the tub at the wrecker, and with the help of a mate we got it off with no real dramas. Took a few bits home and pondered the next step...

    Decided to start on these three areas and the tops of the front guards where the fender mirrors used to be.
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    Step one complete...fibreglass fixes...
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    And the tub, removed and almost ready to take to sandblasters...
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    Also there has been a change in colour plans, now going with matt willow green, toyota logo on tailgate in white and possibly some white rat styling here and there... The options are many at this stage!!!
     
    Last edited: Sep 3, 2011
  2. OZRN25

    OZRN25 Newbie

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    Location:
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    1978 RN25 & 1964 RK40 Lite Stout
    Progress...

    Picked the tub up finally, and to make matters easier we dropped it straight off at the sandblasters, which ended up being a damn good idea!!

    They took great care blasting it, got in all the nooks & crannies and gave me a ridicolously cheap price, so it saved me heaps of time and money!

    We then got it home and blasted it the next night with a hardcore 2-pak epoxy primer...this **** is what they use to paint the San-Francisco bridge...it's hard as hell, can be left for 6 months before top-coat and can be glassed and filled straight over. So we layed a full 4 litres on there :meemee:

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    Few hours here...
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    Swiss cheese anyone? Solution is in the works but will remain a surprise until the end...
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  3. OZRN25

    OZRN25 Newbie

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    Location:
    Adelaide, Australia
    Truck:
    1978 RN25 & 1964 RK40 Lite Stout
    Well here we are - 7 years later and how things have changed! I'll try to be brief, but the story is worth telling.
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    Soon after the last post, I abandoned this project due to the rust. A friend and I had found this '64 Lite Stout out at a wrecker at around the same time - it had been driven there in 1986, but at some stage someone had cut the rear of the chassis off for the diff and it had been left there ever since.
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    [​IMG] We decided it was too good to leave there, so over a couple weekends we took a bunch of tools and unbolted it from the chassis...which is probably still there with the original engine.

    At this point it seemed only logical to give him the Hilux so he could build what I have dubbed the Frankenstout.

    I can't take credit for any of the work up until this point - my friend did a brilliant job of grafting the cab onto the RN25 running gear and getting it to where it is today.

    Originally he put the alloy tray back on, with a set of Australian made Tasman wheels. He couldn't find a grille for sale, so made one out of wood. I loved it like this.
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    He drove it like this for a while and then, for reasons I still don't fully understand, made it into the retro farm ute that you see below with a tray off an old Landcruiser - complete with barely-readable sign writing on the sides. He again drove it like that for a while but then moved on to other things, and the poor thing sat outside for 4 years. Initially I didn't like it, but now I've grown quite fond of it.

    He recently gave the car back to me so I can get it back on the road and finish off the stuff he always wanted to.

    So, it's running all the original RN25 gear including steering column, brake & clutch master, but with the RK40 pedal box. We found the original RK40 fuel tank sitting quite a distance from where the cab was, pulled it from the grass and miraculously it still holds fuel. He had even resurrected the original radiator from the RK40, but some bastard stole it and it currently sits without one. He had also freshened up the interior and used the RN25 bench seat, but I've since found some original seats that came in a spare cab I bought which came with some handy spares.

    To top it all off, he also gave me a box of bits to rebuild all the brakes, new front shocks, pitman and idler arms, bearings and a few other things!

    I've got quite a bit of work to do before it's back on the road, but it should be relatively straightforward as I'm leaving it largely as is cosmetically - preserve the patina and try not to wash too much more green off those front guards!
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    Last edited: Nov 5, 2018
  4. TRUCK ACTION

    TRUCK ACTION Grand Toyotaholic

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    Welcome aboard mate.:cool:
     
  5. Justin Danger

    Justin Danger Toyotaholic

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    very cool little truck, and very cool story too!
     
  6. KS.ID

    KS.ID Enthusiast

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    RN22 1972 Hilux
    Sucks you were unable to save the white cab.
    Cool story about the Stout evolution. You should build another Frankenstout!
     

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