Colorado CJ
Advanced Member
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2015
- Messages
- 60
Hello everyone.
Last week, I bought an '86 FWC Keystone for $675.00. It has some issues, but for the money, I thought it was a decent deal. In this thread I'll document my full rebuild to include narrowing the floor pack for modern trucks, rebuilding the interior, replacing the over cab wood, building new lift panels and repainting the exterior.
Here's what I'm starting with.
I started in on the build today. First, I though I'd start with narrowing the floor pack so that it can fit in newer model trucks. This camper had a floor pack that was 64" wide. Most modern trucks have a tailgate opening of 60", so the camper won't fit newer trucks.
I'll be narrowing down the camper floor pack to 58"
First, I needed to unscrew the trim pieces, then pull all the staples out of the wood.
I'm narrowing it down 3" on each side. So I had to cut out the aluminum frame, and shorten the bottom section 3", then weld back the vertical aluminum frame piece in the new location. I also cut down the outer skin 3"
Before pic.
After pic.
Next, I scribed a line 3" in on the floor and bottom of the floor pack. I then used a circular saw and sawzall to cut it out.
I measured up the parts I cut out and added 3" to the horizotal piece and made a new side. I am using gorilla glue and countersink screws to construct the new sides.
A little grunting and wiggling and hammering and it fit right in. I used gorrila glue on all wood to wood joints (the original only relied on long staples). Here's how it looks now, just need to clean up and reinstall the trim work.
On the inside
I'll finish up rebuilding the drivers side tomorrow. It should go a little faster now that I have a plan on how to do it.
The whole interior will then be gutted, new flooring installed and the paneling painted. I then need to build new lifting panels and replace the over cab bed area. I'll probably redo the interior totally and will be repainting the outside.
Lots of work left! I am having fun though. I really like rebuilding/building things so this is right up my alley. I'll post again once I'm further along.
Last week, I bought an '86 FWC Keystone for $675.00. It has some issues, but for the money, I thought it was a decent deal. In this thread I'll document my full rebuild to include narrowing the floor pack for modern trucks, rebuilding the interior, replacing the over cab wood, building new lift panels and repainting the exterior.
Here's what I'm starting with.
I started in on the build today. First, I though I'd start with narrowing the floor pack so that it can fit in newer model trucks. This camper had a floor pack that was 64" wide. Most modern trucks have a tailgate opening of 60", so the camper won't fit newer trucks.
I'll be narrowing down the camper floor pack to 58"
First, I needed to unscrew the trim pieces, then pull all the staples out of the wood.
I'm narrowing it down 3" on each side. So I had to cut out the aluminum frame, and shorten the bottom section 3", then weld back the vertical aluminum frame piece in the new location. I also cut down the outer skin 3"
Before pic.
After pic.
Next, I scribed a line 3" in on the floor and bottom of the floor pack. I then used a circular saw and sawzall to cut it out.
I measured up the parts I cut out and added 3" to the horizotal piece and made a new side. I am using gorilla glue and countersink screws to construct the new sides.
A little grunting and wiggling and hammering and it fit right in. I used gorrila glue on all wood to wood joints (the original only relied on long staples). Here's how it looks now, just need to clean up and reinstall the trim work.
On the inside
I'll finish up rebuilding the drivers side tomorrow. It should go a little faster now that I have a plan on how to do it.
The whole interior will then be gutted, new flooring installed and the paneling painted. I then need to build new lifting panels and replace the over cab bed area. I'll probably redo the interior totally and will be repainting the outside.
Lots of work left! I am having fun though. I really like rebuilding/building things so this is right up my alley. I'll post again once I'm further along.