Nice looking engine build! Curious, why not use an OEM head gasket?

 

Ask and you shall receive. It's 3x3 16ga square tubing. Fully welded. The winch plate is drilled for a Warn 8000 which was previously there. This was all made by the previous owner. It's not my favorite aesthetic, but the factory mounts were cut off at some point, so this is what I have for now....

Someday I'd like to cut off the tubes and build a faceted plate bumper with more angles and shapes. Very low priority right now though.

 

I went back and forth, round and round. Toyota OEM are hands down the best parts out there.

That said, I liked the quality on the cometic, the fit was perfect and it came recommended by a number of people I talked with.

 

Good deal!

 

Lots of progress today. Got the engine and transmission installed today. Went pretty smooth, transmission is always a chore for me to get back in place.

 

Public service announcement: Do not put the clutch fork boot in the parts washer! It will swell to a comically large size!

 

That is amazing. Lol

 

I got the new aluminum radiator installed and the new drive line arrived. Tom Woods custom with double cardan and extra thick wall tubing. Arrived in less than a week and looks awesome!

 

I filled all the fluids, double checked everything and hooked up the battery....

I first removed the coil wire and turned it over for about 30 seconds to build oil pressure. Reconnected the coil and it fired right up! I set the timing and idle, then proceeded to hold it at about 2000 rpm for 20 minutes to seat the rings. Oil pressure and temp were normal. No pinging or weird sounds. No smoke. I took it for a short drive and it drove better than ever!

I did end up with an oil leak from the top of timing cover (hidden bolt under distributor) and a coolant leak on the manifold from a plug by the thermostat. I reinstalled the bolt with fipg and seems ok. I'm waiting on a plug from Mcmaster for the intake.

Fluids Used:
Oil - Joe Gibbs BR-30 break in oil
Coolant - Toyota Red 50/50 with distilled water
Transmission - Redline MT90
T Case - Redline MT90

 

Nice. It'll really break in when you put the engine under load, like a lot of load. Floor it!

 

So, I don't know if you resolved the t-case e-brake thing or not, but I have the exact setup.
Have been running a Sky's for a lot of years to great success. Doing a 4 Wheel; Underground 3 link front so I needed to do the FROR X member.
I ended up lining up the two by the bolt holes and traced the X member to the brake bracket. Cut bracket and welded to x member.
Seems to all line up fine but hasn't been fully put to the test because my truck is still in pieces.
Hope this helps a little.

 

I considered doing something like that, but wanted to have the option to remove the brake if I ever needed. So I ended up cutting the bracket along the welds, removed 3/8" of material, then welded it back together. I got it installed and everything lines up right. However, I cannot for the life of me get the parking brake cable/lever correct. I've tried every combination and none will put enough force on the brake disc to hold the truck. Do you have any pictures of your setup? I had to remove the stock parking brake cable mount when I installed the cross member-I think that is part of my problem. I sent an email to Sky but haven't heard back.

 

xmember/rear liknk mounts went in the same place for me so I cut off the "end of cable" bracket that was on the frame, then welded it back on in a location that "works".
I did have to take up some of the line slack in a somewhat hillbilly method (split bolt with nut to pinch a loop in the line). I'll try to get a pic or two tonight and post them up.

I should really start a build thread too so there's some photographic evidence of my success and failures.

 

current setup

 

Gotcha, thanks for the picture. Nice to see how someone else made it work. My cable has a different end-it's an eye bolt swaged on that fits the sky lever bolt exactly. Anyhow that shouldn't matter, I'll keep playing with where to locate the cable end bracket. Thanks.

 

Been a little while and just wanted to give an update.

I've got about 650 miles on the rebuild and it's running good. I changed the oil and filter at 500 miles. Oil looked good and clean. I adjusted the valves a couple of times and finally got them right. Nice and quiet, for a 22R......... Tinkered with the timing a bit and have currently settled on 8* BTDC. May try 12* again. Overall I am happy with the results. Fires up on the first or second crank. Clips along on the highway at 65. Haven't had a chance to get it off the pavement yet.

 

It's always nice when the hard work pays off!

 

any new pics?

 

Hey man any updates for us? I reference this thread often for my own projects, thank you for all the details. I'm currently restoring the cab and your dry ice trick worked great.

 

Well, it's been a spell since I've been around here. Happy to report that the truck is still running great as my daily driver. Not much time for projects since it is currently my only running vehicle! I am now the owner of a low mileage vintage truck......