J.yota

Yeah I was happy to put Paul's bed to use. He did a great job converting it to a trailer, I felt kinda bad tearing it apart.

J.yota

Thanks, I've never heard of Yoda Jims. I'll look it up and give him a try.

J.yota

Been a while since my last update, but I've managed to get a few things done. I started working on the bed.

The tractor has come in handy very often with this project.



Got a new bumper as well (Ebay). I was pleased to find it mounted on the factory brackets really well.



And I finally found my coveted grill emblem at a junk yard, I was really surprised it was still on the truck! Great condition and only $5.



I'm really lucky to have a friend that lets me rent his paint booth, otherwise I couldn't afford to get my project done. I got a quote from several local shops to pull this truck apart and paint it because I'm tight on time. I wanted it panel painted inside and out, reassemble the body with all new weather-stripping (like every single piece replaced), new windshield, use stainless fasteners for reassembly, and install complete SR5 decal kit (also needed them to paint my canopy). I found most shops didn't even want to take on the project, and the lowest quote I got was 13K. No thanks, I'll happily do it myself at that price....

Bed freshly painted, and installed. Still need to "Cut & Buff" it, but I think it came out ok (some orange peal, no drips) so I cant complain.







Sill have a lot of work to do like finishing the canopy, I ordered the factory SR5 Decal kit for it (I'll probably have a profession install those as they cost over $400 alone), and tidy up the engine bay. I'll keep you guys posted as I go.

old87yota

Man that looks great! You do excellent work!

The paint looks a lot better than "ok". A little cut and buff and the truck will look better than new.

A little Deja vu here! (looks similar to kawazx636's truck that he sold)

jakey poo

So clean!

J.yota

Thank you, your correct in that it looks almost identical to kawazx636's truck. Once I get the decals on I think the only thing that will separate the two is his truck being a short box, and mine being a long box.

J.yota

Been a while since my last update but I've made some progress. Finished the body assembly, and got the SR5 decal package installed. I was pretty happy how it turned out, but my feelings of accomplishment quickly faded the next day on its first long test drive.




The motor decided to crack a ring and start smoking like crazy, and was bad enough to burn a quart every 30 miles. So I bought a supposedly "good" motor off a guy on craigslist, that "might" need new rings according to him. $300 later she's in my shop, it was out of an 86.



I tore it down only to find it had been ran with no thrust washers and destroyed the crank. Must have been knocking pretty good when he removed it, love the honest craigslist people out there lol.



At this point I removed my motor to attempt an overhaul on it.



Tore it apart and dropped it off at the machine shop. They looked it over and recommended .020 over to clean it up. Two weeks later I got it back, and started reassembly.



The lower end went together great, everything had prefect specs according to my FSM. Turns over really well.
.


I ended up having the machine shop overhaul the head while I was at it with new valves, guides, seats, etc...To be on the safe side I got a new OEM head gasket, and OEM head bolts for the reassembly. Also picked up a new Offenhauser intake, and engbldr crawler cam (261).




That about it for now, I'll update soon once the motor is finished.

84 yota dude

Damn at least it'll be running better than ever now!

jakey poo

That sucks about the CL motor! At least after the build you'll know the motor will last quite a long time.

J.yota

Thanks guys, yeah the craigslist motor from hell set me back 2 hours of driving, and $300. Guess I'm the stupid one for not asking to remove the oil pan for inspection. I did sell the head for $60 which made me feel a little better. Anyways, here's how the motor sits. Almost ready to drop in!

84 yota dude

Boom!

bruner

Looks awesome! Is she in yet?

J.yota

Motor went in easy enough with a little help from the wife.



Back in and running better than ever, noticeably more power to.



Also found a nice used header on craigslist while I was at it, couldn't pass it up for only $80. Even had the EGR block off plates I needed.



I picked up an OEM Aisin clutch and bearing kit to freshen things up a bit. Detailed the tranny a bit too, and new master + Slave cylinder, just because.



Took the time to reseal the front bearing cap and input shaft inside the bell housing. I think this is an important step often overlooked be people when doing the clutch, something to keep in mind anyways next time your in there.



Also got my Canopy Painted up and mounted.




This whole engine rebuild, associated upgrades, and clutch has set me back over $2500. If one more thing breaks on this truck I think I'm gonna lose it...I know my wife will for sure. I did manage to convince her last weekend that I needed a full size spare with matching wheel tho.



That's about it for now, have a few more goodies on they're way through the mail, and some more detailing/sorting to do under the hood. Just need to start driving it now.

bruner

The canopy looks great on there. What type of canopy is that?

J.yota

Thanks, I looked for some manufacturing marks on the canopy. I couldn't find any, so not sure what type/make this canopy is. Whatever it is, it sure does fit nicely.

Reluctanse

Sounds familiar.....!! Wife and costs both! No honey its cool this truck I just bought, no problem, it's good to go! 22R is a cheap engine to work on but you can't get out of a rebuild without cutting corners for less than $2k.

Sorry to hear Craigslist didn't treat you so well... too bad our timing was off I sold a "core" quality 20R about 6 months ago for $75 on CL to some guys from Eugene.

Where you at in Oregon?

Truck looks AWESOME by the way.

J.yota

Sorry for late reply, yeah the wife is hard to please sometimes. They just don't understand the importance of a good yota! I'm about 40 miles North of Portland, near Longview Wa.