Team MightyBoy

A while ago I picked up a MightyBoy from a guy called Josh, who helped me start this little community way back in 2001. After many years of faithful service, the engine in his MB packed it in, and so it was parked up until a few years ago, when Josh decided that he didn't have the time or patience to fix it up.

My project for the summer is to restore this ute, and then hopefully sell it to a MightyBoy enthusiast to enjoy. So far I've fixed the engine, and tidied up the engine bay. The next stage is to strip and respray the exterior, which I started today:
The front guards are removed so I can roll the arches to accept 15" wheels.
For paint I'm going factory yellow, with the turret painted black. After that I'll lay down some graphics.
The interior gets an updated stereo, new head liner, a set of race recliner seats and new steering wheel. I also want to cover the roof rails in carbon wrap, which I think will look pretty cool.

More updates to follow.

Good stuff mate she will look the goods

Looking forward to seeing how it turns out!

I made some progress over the Christmas break, getting all of the prep work out of the way.

I have to admit up front that my panel beating skills are pretty average. So even before I started I knew that there were some weird ripples in a couple of panels that I had no hope of fixing - particularly the driver's side door, which I would have replaced if I had a spare one handy.
Anyway, this was never meant to be a show quality finish, my aim was really just to give it a quick spray because the old paintwork was awful. Cracked and faded and at least three different shades of yellow.
After some undercoat I threw down a few coats of slightly modified factory yellow, and painted the turret matt black. This was a real pain to mask off if anyone is thinking of trying the same idea, but the masking is critical to make sure that you don't get overspray on the yellow. Of course I decided to paint the window frames black as well, which also made the job a bit more tricky.
I liked the look of the matt black so much that I've decided to matt clear coat the entire ute. I've painted the tailgate as a test, and the result looks pretty good.
Next up on the list is the exhaust system, replacing the head lining, and tinting the windows.
After that it's just a matter of bolting everything back together, putting on the wheels and the job is done.

Looking good Brayden, can't wait to see the finished product.

Got the clear coat finished today, and started reassembling.
The carbon wrapping on the roof rails turned out better than I expected.
Exhaust is also finished, and ditto for tinting the windows.
Still have the head lining and seats to sort out, but the end is in sight!

Sweet work mate looks the goods.

Are you doing the head lining? I need to do mine as it's just painted steel atm

Yep, not sure if I'll do it out of vinyl or carpet yet. Still have to clean all the old foam and glue off, which is a messy pain the the arse.

Yer I have abit of foam still there

Thought I should update this thread to say that the ute is nearly done. I got a permit a few weekends back and took it for a test run, and with the exception of a few tweaks it runs like a swiss watch.
I really like the matt yellow finish too.

All that's left now is a few cosmetic pieces and a tune up, then he'll be off for a rego check then put up for sale.

took u all of 5 seconds to go from a rust bucket to a show car

what do u do as your job?

Nice job! looking smick.

I think Brayden only goes to work in his spare time.

Ha! I wish I could work part time and spend the rest of the time building MightyBoys.

To answer your question Arklan, I'm a graphic designer by trade.
The photos of this ute make it look better than it actually is. As mentioned earlier in this thread my panel and paint skills are far from good enough to make a show car.

It will make an honest daily driver for the next owner though.