Mat's '88 Mighty Boy.

[86BOY]

Well my long awaited build thread is finally here, get ready for Pic's and lots of details! I have been motivated to work on my other MB shell that will in time replace the current '86BOY' body. It'll basically be a re-shell with all my good bits going onto the good body. This particular MB is actually Oct '87 Built and I was scratching my head wondering why the Rego papers had the year 1988. Being close to the end of the year, the AUS compliance is '88 so I'll be going by that year.

This all started last year in June. I got a lead on a Mighty Boy that was sitting in the backyard a few houses down from my work and the bloke living there was moving and needed to get rid of it. I was told it was going cheap so I went round that arvo with no hesitation. I took 1 walk around it, $600 offer later, I had another Mighty Boy and got my mate to tow it home.

I then left it in the back shed. A few months went by and started the EFI conversion on the current MB. The only time the Purple Boy came out was when the Alto Bars were being mocked up for a test fit.

After the EFI swap and during the Turbo Conversion, I was in the mood to strip the Boy , starting from the front. K-Frame, Exhaust, Interior, Axle assembly etc, it all came out.

After being stripped to a bare shell, I put it on wheel dolly's and dropped it on its guts

Turbo swap was completed so then I decided to build a Rotisserie.

[86BOY]

I have removed the factory sound deadener and have since fixed a crack in the floor behind the passenger seat which I'd say was from jacking up in the wrong place or running over something just enough to pierce the floor pan.

I have re-made the rear seat mounts using box section to tie them together. Being that nearly every MB has this problem, I have cut the old mounts out, plated where the usual cracked mounts were and have built off that which should hold up nicely. The new mounts also have crush tubes welded into the box section. The factory jack location will be relocated as it'll be useless with the new mount now directly over the top which I'm not worried about.

[Brayden]

Those seat mounts look mint. 
I relocated the rear mounts on mine pretty much on the floor to get the rake angle I wanted on the seat base. At 6'2" it made a huge difference to comfort!

[danJa]

Yeah, those new mounts look great, are they any lower than originals? Cos after fitting my gti seats and realising that chewed up some head clearance combined with the sunroof I have very little clearance now

[86BOY]

Thanks guys! I have made these seat mounts factory spec but they aren't welded in just yet. I would like to eventually run with GTI seats which is why I haven't finalised the mounts. I'm also aware of the height difference in the seat base which for me (not being tall) is no big deal, it's more the room between the legs and the bottom of the steering wheel. I Might take a GTI seat out of my Sierra and play around with the rear seat height and see if I can make them work. Aftermarket seats have been great but really none of my mates can fit their damn shoulders between them!

[Brayden]

I think you'll struggle to get GTI seats any lower than the factory height, the base is pretty wide. Don't forget to factor carpet/insulation thickness on the tunnel.

[Zuffen]

We're in the process of installing Nissan S15 seats in ours and trial fitting say they will work OK. 

[86BOY]

Yeah no wonder they aren't a common seat to put in, didn't think of the lack of room width wise when dropped lower to the floor. I'll check it out anyway and see how tight they are as I have always liked 'Suzuki' seats in a Suzuki.

[danJa]

my GTI seats are mounted on stock rails, and mounts, (I have a long torso so often struggle with head clearance with a sunroof installed, but i clear it, though just a little clearance). My main issue was that the stalks of the the seatbelt sockets are very bulky, so I fitted new belts with webbing mounted seatbelt sockets.

[86BOY]

The inside floor has now been stripped back to bare metal and primed. I used about 4 different wire wheels to get to all areas and knocked out out the seam sealer while I was at it. I'm leaning towards a Mobile soda blaster for the underside but not too sure for rest of the body just yet. The inside floor will just be a single pack paint job and same with the underside with some form of stone guard to finish it off. The rest of the body including the engine bay, tub and some of the interior will be a 2 Pack job. That's the plan for now anyway....

I thought I'd tackle this before the seat mounts get welded in as it'll be a pain to work around them once they're in.
I think I'll keep the mounts the same as factory too. With the GTI seat being that touch too high for my liking, a trial fit of the seat in the boy made me want to stick with the current Aftermarket seats. I didn't want to stuff around changing the mounts and If I was that desperate to fit the GTI seats, I'd cut a nice slither out of the damn tunnel for clearance .

[Matty]

Interior looks neat mate.

[tonton]

Awesome work mate. Love it.
Tony

[86BOY]

Thanks Matt, It's fairly tidy but no doubt I'll change things up a bit when the shell swap happens haha. Definitely pissing off the heavy-ass sub box that's behind the seats for starters. Thanks for the positive comment Tony . 

[86BOY]

Slow progress over the Xmas break but better than no progress I guess. Dropped the body back to ground level to get in and start working my way up stripping back more of the floor which is looking fresh! 
Got the firewall etched and even removed all the seam sealer at the very top. Its a bit 'overkill' doing an area that you will never see but this body will see a thorough job while it is as bare as it can get.

Seat mounts will be welded in after the inside is basically fully primed. Still set on keeping the stock seat position but I may end up tweaking it so it's on hold for now.

[Brayden]

Its a bit 'overkill' doing an area that you will never see but this body will see a thorough job while it is as bare as it can get.

I understand the need to sort the hidden bits - many regrets in my build about not sorting those areas when I had the chance. I'll get 'em next time!