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Thanks airlindsay92. I meant to say don't spend $90 on a plastic cap that doesn't do much. Besides, a lot of people get rid of their EGR system totally, so I can't imagine you needing a switching valve for a system you've blocked off.
I was getting pretty frustrated from not being able to identify that dang black box... makes sense not being a factory part... Many thanks for the assist!
Spent Monday through Thursday at work.....literally....I slept on the floor in front of my desk with a pillow and a moving blanket and only left to refuel on tobacco and caffeine. We had a huge project due in an extremely short time frame and somehow it got done and out Thursday afternoon. The boss' let me off Friday (we'll just call it a mental health day), but I didn't get much done on "MY" rig.
Why did I say "MY" rig? Because I spent all day Friday helping a good friend of mine with body work and prep on the '86. He's been tinkering with it this past two weeks and we finally hit it full on Friday. All of the dents, dings, creases, rust holes, hail damage, and broken parts are fixed and in primer. Door jambs, bed rails, hood, cowl, and any other parts that may be visible (besides the engine bay and interior that will be covered up) have been cleaned and painted matte black with intentional overspray to the outside as it will be covered up by the bedliner (UPOL Raptor - Black). I realize this is going under my '89 build thread, but I'm considering this my "learning curve" freshen up for when I finally go to paint it. Overall, I'm really happy with the progress so far and included below are a couple of pics. The door hinges (mainly the brass bushing/bearings) were totally shot on the '86 and both doors were sagging so I decided just to do some quick release pins and modify some gear I got for under $20 from my local Ace Hardware and will do a separate write up / post about that as it looks like it will work out really well (probably won't do quick release doors on the '89 due to the 2 speaker wires and blinker mirror wire going to it).
Sat outside for almost 2 years without a top and had about 4" of leaves and crap in it when I bought it. Pictures from the original C-list ad.
Other pic from the ad. Clutch was totally shot, but managed to drive it home anyway.
totally stripped (except dash and headliner) and scuffing up the old paint
snagged that gorgeous army green fender from the junk yard for $20 - had been hit on the right front and the old fender was garbage
heck of a lot of work in between the last shot and this one, but forgot to take pictures of the bondo and kitty hair (multiple layers and skim coats) - That's not Willie Nelson....but my good buddy Duey helping with the body work
The old top was pretty badly caved in as the PO had stored heavy stuff on it for the 2 years it was sitting outside without a top. Luckily I got another one off C-list for $75 (for extra window parts mainly, but ended up using it instead.) - lightly sanded with 150 grit. A lot of the original black was already worn off - interior of this top is burgundy / maroon but will get painted grey (to match interior) or flat black along with a new headliner and a few other potential upgrades
Top sanded and primed. Only a few minor chips and cracks to the fiberglass needed to be repaired.
this fender was a pain in the butt. Rusted through with a softball sized dent. Popped most of the dent out and even did some old school heat gun / ice work to tighten the metal back up, then painted with a rust stop, and glassed with what my buddy Duey calls Kitty or Tiger hair but is just Bondo hair - short strand fiberglass that mixes just like bondo and hardens up QUICKLY - same stuff I've been using to fix the dash and do the speaker C / A pillars. - You can also see how badly the door is sagging from the worn out hinge bearings. probably going to just shoot the bedliner as is and come back later to swap out the hinges.
already filling back up with leaves....
and the backside. Yup...all of that happening in the same gravel drive as the rest of the work
A Little back history and where my Saturday went....
Our family grew up going to Art Museums, Historical sites, and Car shows....If there was one of those nearby, we were guaranteed to be there. I think a little of that early experience has trickled down Reganomics style to my brother and I. My dad sold his '68 RS/SS Camaro Convertible to buy my mom's wedding ring in '73. He then had a string of other interesting vehicles including an old '65 Chevy truck we used to ride through the windy mountain roads while riding in the back (at the age of 3 /5....something that would probably have CPS called on you for today) and we loved it. He had a '72 442 convertible that he swore you could tape cardboard wings on and it would have flown. Ended up selling his '56 Belaire convertible in Colonial Cream the day my sister was born to pay the hospital bills. So it kind of goes without saying that we're a little steeped in vintage and classic cars, and like to fix things up. My brother's first truck was a total POS '72 chevy he got for $700, but it got our lawn mowers to where they needed to go to raise more money for a better vehicle. By the time I was 17, I got a '66 GT350H I still have to this day (needs a paint job, but that's what I'm fixing up the '86 for).
So My brother lives about 5 min away and has seen the progress on my '89, and now on the '86 as he comes over to smoke cigars a lot when I'm working. He's not as mechanical as I am, but I think that's just because he hasn't tried to do much work on his own vehicles (and always has me around when he needs a starter or something swapped out). So after years of seeing him watch all of the hot rod TV shows and going to the GoodGuys show with him twice a year, he finally found a smoking deal on the truck he's always wanted....on stinking E-bay of all places....about an hour or so south of where we live. So.....although I had planned to spend all Saturday shooting the '86 with bedliner and re-installing the grey interior, I was commandeered to go help him pick up his barn find. He's got a '13 4Cly Toyota Tacoma, and I didn't have enough confidence that my rig could tow the darn thing, so we rented a GMC 1500 and the auto hauler trailer from UHAUL and my Saturday was spent adjusting, then re-adjusting the trailer, and with a 4' come-a-long (we actually bought at Uhaul for $18), hand winched this bad boy up on the trailer inch by sweaty inch in the 105 heat. Yea.....those tires have definitely been flat for a good 30+ years, and had I known....I could have brought the '86 toyota tires as it's 6 on 5.5" lug pattern (found that out later when we unloaded it).
Luckily, he's got a 2 car garage, and full outbuilding workshop that's cigar friendly and sports a wood burning stove for the winter and you could fit another 2 cars in, so I'm sure that's where we'll be working on it (and his wife makes what seems like a never ending supply of Sweat tea - a Texas must).
......maybe it's a good thing the '86 is almost ready to sell and out the door
1959 GMC Apache 150 with very little rust - guessing it's been in that barn since the '70s. I'm not even going to tell you how cheap he got it for, because you'd be sick to your stomach.
I thought it was cool that these older trucks often had the rear bumpers removed and replaced by the dealership to a heavier plate steel one with the dealership's name stamped into it, this one was from Storie Motors in Post, Tx.
I did get the stuff to flush the radiator on the '89 daily driver and some better spacers / washers as it sounds like my starter is lightly brushing the flywheel again, but haven't had a chance to do either. I'm planning on getting off work a little early tomorrow and trying to shoot the '86 with the UPOL raptor before it gets too dark. We'll see how it goes....
Last edited by joelsmithdesigns; 07-24-2016 at 09:50 PM.
I also wanted to say a quick thanks to everyone who has stopped by and read a page or two and a huge shout out to those who have gone through the entire 21 page journey so far. This little build blog hit 40,000 views today. I didn't know much when I started out, and kept coming to Yotatech for advice, write-ups, and help before I started the blog....although it's been quite a struggle that has required the patience of a buddist monk and I've still got a long way to go until the ride is where I want it to be, I'm much more confident about what I'm doing and have a better understanding of the aspects of the vehicle I've worked on so far. I've also enjoyed helping and meeting others who are equally as passionate about their little Toyotas powered by the 4 angry Japanese squirrels. Hopefully I've got a lot more write-ups and learning as I go in store coming up.....I'll keep posting the progress for whoever's out there.
Got the '86 sprayed on Saturday. I threw away the crappy aluminum gun that came with the kit and ordered the gun from Monstaliner with an attached air control knob. Pushed it out from under the tree that seems to have leaves continually falling from it and didn't even have a ladder, so I ended up shooting the roof and other parts just standing on a 5 gallon bucket. I was extremely impressed at how nice it all turned out although I know a lot of that was in the prep work...I may actually be thinking about trying to do my '89 in the UPOL Raptor Ivan Stewart paint job once I get everything modified that I need to. Here's a few shots for anyone interested. if you go slow, and get the air adjusted right (helps to have a controller on the gun), the texture turns out super even
Tough to get photos of the texture with the camera in full sun
close-up of the texture
yeah....I went ahead and shot the door handles and the rear tailgate hatch. I'll go back in and hand-paint the TOYOTA letters later
That trouble fender with the softball sized dent is no more!
even shot the side panels (after removing the badges)
Also drained and flushed the radiator on the '89.....not nearly as much oil in the tank as I was expecting which leads me to believe it was left over in the heater core or spilled in when the engine was on the stand being flipped over. I've got some Blue Devil Radiator flush and water in the radiator now and will drive it the whole week running the heater (and that sneaky console heater) back and forth to work to do a full on deep clean of the system before draining it and refilling it up with the pink antifreeze. Now I've got to get my Interior finished so I can move over the parts to the recently sprayed rig and get it ready to sell.
So I stayed up at the office last night and finally had a night I could work on the '89's interior. The interior side panel was already made, I was just mulling over what I needed to do about the subwoofer boxes, how all of that was going to fit and work (and what I may or may not have to modify), and how the rear removable panel would install. Started with some cardboard to get the right shape and dimensions and started fabbing up the subwoofer boxes. I didn't want to delete the rear passenger cup holder / cubby hole area or encroach on too much of the rear side cargo panel area, so that basically determined the size of the box. I was trying to get a .75 cu ft. enclosure as recommended by the mfg, and double checked the volume on the computer (not quite there, but really close). I had to cut out the rear and side supports to get the box in, but replaced t hem with some 11 gauge plate stock we had in the scrap pile so the overall integrity of the rear wouldn't be compromised. Slid the box into place and overlayed the side panel to trace the cutout for the sub so it would be exactly where it needed to be. Pretty darn tight fit on everything, but it ended up working out. I had already planned on spacing the subs I have forward with a simple 3/4" ring covered in fabric on the front (Seen it done plenty) as there wasn't enough mounting depth unless I went with a super low profile sub (and that's not the type of subs I had picked up on the super cheap). Got everything in place, installed all of the Rivet nuts into the factory mounting positions, installed the 6 1/2" Boom mat and ring and did a test fit. I'm not 100% done as I'll have to add in another piece of plate to right side of the rear panel (to keep it from falling in), but it's definitely getting close....or at least that side is. Here's a few shots of the progress.
That's about as tight of a fit as you'll get
Box in place resting on the fender well....had to cut out the two supports to even get it in there
Mounted with one of the supports replaced and the hole cut in the box to match the side panel. Removed the tail light wire and ran it through the side area under the box in the back
front 6 1/2" boom mat with MDF ring installed...required some cutting and bending of the support to get a flat surface
Front side of the box
2nd brace installed with 1/4" to catch the side cargo panel door
Side panel test fit for front 6 1/2" speaker with the vinyl tucking into the door pinch trim
Sub mock up
a little dusty, but it'll clean up
rear cargo panel door with fancy boat hatch (doesn't have the lock installed yet, and I didn't get the locking boat latch as I wanted all of the locks to work with the Toyota ignition key, so I picked up several lock kits and will have the pins changed to my key)
you can see the 1/4" of the steel support that will catch the cargo panel and keep it from falling inward
Wow that turned out sweet! Bet it helps add some rigidity to the panels so less easily damaged too.
Any idea how much weight it added? Was thinking bout doing that on mine or atleast rockers down but wanna keep it light.
Hi 4RunnerFreak12, The panels are actually the same material that the original interior panels were made from, Hardboard or Masonite (like $8 a sheet at home depot), but instead of being covered in fabric they're just covered in a vinyl diamond tread garage floor material that looks like diamond plate. I had thought about using real diamond plate, but wanted to keep the budget down (metal diamond is expensive even if you go for higer gauges like 14-16). Doubt it will add much weight at all over the original interior, but when i do the custom bumpers, the rig will definitely get heavier.
Had to take a break on the '89 work this week. Still fiddlin' with the rear interior panels I'm fabricating, but I need to shift focus to getting the '86 interior in and up and running and a few other minor things to get it ready to sell like getting the front and rear bumper sorted out. Like most Smitty Built bumpers I've seen, both bumpers on the '86 have some pretty significant rust. I actually have one front and two rear bumpers and am toying with the idea of cutting sections of pipe out of the donor to fix the rotted areas on the others. I also may go ahead and connect the upper and lower pipe with some scrap sheet steel we've got laying around at the shop (as well as fully weld shut the open ends of the pipes) and install some trailer blinkers / reverse lights before shooting the bumpers with the UPOL Raptor as well. I know these little rigs sell better with the beefy looking bumpers and a functional trailer hitch, so very little $$$ and just time and some scrap steel could have the original Smitty Builts back to their former glory if not better. Not sure what will happen, but I'll take plenty of pictures and keep you all posted.
On the '89, I need to get the rest of the dual battery system hooked up as well as run the controller / readout inside the cab (temporarily until I build a custom center console to permanently mount it), install the LED blinker in the driver's side mirror and get both of them wired up to the front blinkers, and figure out why my headlight is dim on the driver's side. It's currently out of inspection and registration, so I've got to get these few minor electrical things worked out before I can even think about taking it in for an inspection.
what's the outer material you are using to cover the edges of the rubber diamond plate? Interior panels are looking great.
It's quarter inch flexible pinch trim. The vinyl is roughly 1/16"-1/8" thick with 3/16" Masonite and this stuff fits right over the edge nicely to give it a clean look.
Link to the trim-lok I bought:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00NL3ZDO6/ref=ya_aw_od_pi?ie=UTF8&psc=1
After looking at the condition of the Smitty Bilt bumpers, they may be beyond saving - there are more sections than I remember being rusted through, and the sections that aren't must only be 14-13 gauge at most....not a lot of meat there. Luckily I'm in Texas, and 2 7/8" OD .1875 Wall Oil pipe sucker rod is laying around everywhere. I Think I've decided to just find a stick or two of that and "Recreate" the Smitty Bilt look with much stronger pipe (Getting the bends with some simple pie shaped kerf cuts and welding back up) and some added blinkers and stuff. I'll be on the hunt this week for some pipe to gear up for a weekend of welding.
In other news, I got the quick release hinges for the '86 finished, but will have to take the front fenders off to install them properly and get the doors aligned right. I'll take some photos of what they look like and do a quick write up this week on those as they were pretty easy to do and fairly cheap.
I also FINALLY got the new SS Shaft for the Warn 8274 turned up on the lathe as well as drilled and tapped the ends. Got it all bolted back up and sealed and installed the Solenoid cover, Warn Contactor, and got everything wired up with the 2 AWG Wire. I'm flip flopping on whether to delete the front remote control hookup as I plan on running it from switches in the cab, but have had several friends say that it's overly handy to be out of the vehicle with the remote when winching. I've even thought about the new fancy wireless remotes, but that's more $$$ and haven't heard reviews one way or another on them.
When aligning the doors it's not necessary to remove the front fenders. In my opinion, it's better if you don't. If the front fenders are factory mounted they are a good aid in aligning the door. To get to the hinge bolts, remove the fender liner and you can access the bolts through the wheel well. Keep in mind if you remove the front fenders they need to be aligned too. They need to match up with the hood and with the doors so the less you move the better.
When aligning the doors it's not necessary to remove the front fenders. In my opinion, it's better if you don't. If the front fenders are factory mounted they are a good aid in aligning the door. To get to the hinge bolts, remove the fender liner and you can access the bolts through the wheel well. Keep in mind if you remove the front fenders they need to be aligned too. They need to match up with the hood and with the doors so the less you move the better.
I can actually get at them with a ratcheting box end wrench from the door well. I may try to remove the fender liner, but the problem is that the rig was hit on the front driver's side at some point in the past and the right fender was replaced (by me), the hood straightened out a bit, and the driver's door is a bit off. It will take some back and forth on the driver's side for sure to get everything lined up correctly, maybe even pulling the fender on that side, but the passenger's side should be fine just bolting it up.
Have you considered that the truck may actually be haunted?
Well, the more issues I have with the truck, the more I realize that instead of being some ethereal phantasm, Gremlins, Goblins, or some type of voodoo curse that might be causing them, it's more likely that most* of the problems have been caused by the bone-head non-mechanic that is carefully putting things together and just learning (through mistakes) as he goes along. (***doesn't include the machine shop or previous owner screwing lots of things up).
Have things been frustrating? Absolutely. Have there been times I just wanted to drive this thing into the lake? (or push it if it wasn't running at the time.....which has been most of the time) Sure. Could I have easily bought a crate motor - even a fancy DOA Racing, 22REPerformance, or LCE, and just paid a shop to put it in for me? Of course, and it would have probably been cheaper and much less stressful. But it would have also been much less rewarding and I wouldn't have (painfully and expensively) learned all of the ins and outs of these motors and the systems and processes involved. When I bought the rig I chose a mid 80's Toyota for the reliability and ease of maintenance and wanted a vehicle I could fix up and drive for the next 10-15 years. So far, it's been an extremely rocky journey, the PO claimed to have rebuilt the motor and transmission but had mixed and matched parts from early and late 22R blocks. The machine shop I took it to did all of the port work on the wrong head so I ended up having to order a brand new Pro head from LCE. They installed the gapless ring set upside down and in the wrong groove as well as didn't install the larger PRO guides, but used the larger ProGuide seals (that didn't seal a darn thing), causing massive oil in the combustion chambers. All of these things have led to me pulling the motor out of it around 6-7 times now - usually by myself on a Saturday or Sunday in a gravel driveway. Many of the other issues I've had have been self inflicted brain-fart style mistakes or shear incompetence or ignorance that was usually clear after a few more dollars fell out of my bank account and a few more busted knuckles. But reading and researching the crap out of something and finally working up the courage to grab a wrench is generally when you actually learn by doing (even if though mistakes) especially if there isn't anyone showing you how to do everything. Luckily I read "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" right before starting this project and it confirmed my belief in always trying to learn new things and gain skills to become more independent and enlightened instead of just paying someone else to do something for me and going on not knowing anything about the things I use everyday. I really think we as a society are losing "common sense" skills throughout the generations and I suppose I'm struggling to always be open to take on tasks I wouldn't normally or learn new things because of it.
Having said all of that, I have been driving the 4Runner for a week and a half with the Radiator flush in it hoping to rid the system of what little oil there may be left in it. When it's cooler in the mornings, I've been driving the 30-40 minutes in with the windows down and both heaters on full blast to really cycle the fluid with the flushing / cleaning additive through the system. I checked it today at the gas station and it has even more oil in it than before. Not sure if the "Flush" and running the heaters most days finally cleaned out the rest of the leftover sludge or if there is in point of fact oil leaking into the cooling system. Instead of being gung-ho and yanking the motor again, I'm going to go through the flushing process once more (perhaps even running a water hose though it) put more Radiator flush in it and drive it around some more before I make the determination that it needs the Timing cover resealed (that's my guess as to where the leak is coming from....if it is a leak, but I'll buy a full gasket kit when I re-do it and just replace them all). I think at this point I'll try to use my time wisely and get the original red topped fancy machined motor (.40 over hyper pistons) re-honed, re-ringed, and reassembled so I can put that one back in and take my time rebuilding the .60 over forged motor that's in it now.
Also, I've found some oil well pipe locally for pretty cheap (<$50 for all the material to do the front, rear, and some nerf bars) and will try to "recreate" the Smittybilt bumpers for the '86 this weekend in much stronger and thicker tube / pipe than the originals with the ends actually welded and capped so they don't instantly rust out. I don't own a fancy hydraulic CNC mandrel pipe bender or the dies for that specific pipe (and it's probably too thick to try and bend that way anyway), so a "poor-man's" writeup on how to get the same effect (kerf cutting and welding back) would be nice.
Haha, I enjoyed the response but more importantly I have enjoyed the thread. This is the best thread I have ever read. When it came up on an unrelated search I saw when it started and thought "dang" that was some time back. As I went through it i realized all the issues were current. Kinda sux someone hit you .
Anyway very awesome thread becuase most threads stop when someone screws ˟˟˟˟ up. I was wondering if either house is for sale next to you I wanna move next door
hahah....Well I totally put some A**Hole into a concrete wall yesterday who was trying to skate around stand still traffic and cut in line (obviously more important than all the other motorists being cordial to one another and waiting their turn). I popped the clutch and angled my rig so he couldn't get by, he slammed the breaks and ended up in the wall - trashing his passenger side fender, lights, and grill. I drove on and everyone cheered. However, it will be much nicer to get some heavy duty bumpers fabbed up and some rock sliders / nerf bars so I don't have to worry about getting hit or hitting someone else (I was a bit nervous that the guy was just going to T-bone me and then remembered my insurance is paid up and the rig is insured for way more than I got it for).
I'm jealous of those with garages and keep looking into actually buying a house soon, but the market here in Texas is crazy right now and I have stupid low rent at the moment, so I don't foresee me moving anytime soon. I hope to have some good progress coming up as I've actually got a couple of free weekends in the near future.
I've screwed up plenty, but I think at this point, I'm so hell-bent on making this thing happen that I'm just going to will it into existence while continuing to beat my head against the engine block.
I really love the U-POL Raptor liner on the body and I think that is what I will be doing for my rig. Thanks for the inspiration in your wonderfully detailed thread! How long did the spraying take? Also, how many bottles of U-POL Raptor did you use?
I really love the U-POL Raptor liner on the body and I think that is what I will be doing for my rig. Thanks for the inspiration in your wonderfully detailed thread! How long did the spraying take? Also, how many bottles of U-POL Raptor did you use?
I used about 2-3 of the 8 liters spraying plastic parts for my rig, so I guess I used around 6 liters to spray the whole vehicle although it never hurts to go thicker. I'll need some more for the bumpers, plastic rear bumper sides, and some interior parts I'll be shooting for my '89 (already ordered another 4 liter kit).
They often try to throw in an aluminum shutz gun that's just a giant piece of crap. If you really want to get a nice even controllable texture, I'd suggest getting the Walcom gun from Monstaliner as well as their air regulator gauge. I had a small 2' x 4' board to practice on getting the texture even before I started and just adjusted their gauge until i got it the way I wanted it. (http://shop.monstaliner.com/Walcom-S...e-WALSHUTZ.htm)
I haven't tried the tintable version yet, but saw a guys rig that was done up in desert tan and it looked pretty good. Make sure you do decent prep work. They sell special acid etch primers and stuff to help out, but I just scuffed the entire rig with a random orbital palm sander and / or a red scotchbrite pad where the sander couldn't reach and primed it all with a regular HPLV gun. I'm sure my neighbors love me.
07-20-2016, 05:16 AM
