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Hi to everyone from downunder. I'm from Melbourne (Australia) & I'm on the tailend of a megga restoration that started about 2 years ago. Originally had no intent on doing a write up but since I got so much good info off Yotatech & you lot in the US, I thought the least I could do was to share my adventure!
I've always had a thing for these first generation 4x4 pickups. In Australia Toyota marketed them as Hilux's and were aimed fair & square at farmers & commercial enterprises. Sold as both 2 & 4WD, they were as solid as grandpa's axe. But sexy they were not! No fancy decals or color schemes here. You guys got SR5's with 22r's & 5speeds. We got 18r's or l4 diesels, 4 speeds & rubber floor mats.... Also very few shortwheelbase units found there way downunder, most are 40 series LWB.
Anyway, I came across this truck while out looking at some real estate out bush. It was parked on the verge with a for sale sign. To the casual observer it didn't have much to offer, but it was absolutely 100% unmolested and complete. Not much rust & the styleside tub was in very good condition. Unfortunately it had done about a million miles and was very tired. But I had vision, (much to my wifey's dismay)
So I negotiated a very fair price & drove it back home. Hmmmm.
It actually looks better than it really is.
So we got the RN46 model body, which means long wheelbase, simple trim, no carpet or kick trims, no slider cab glass, no power steer, no 5 speed, no tacho.
Strangely though we got bucket seats, SR5 steering wheel (go figure!), braced tailgate & thoroughly ugly rear step bar. Also all vehicles had flipper windows in the doors. Airconditioning was an expensive dealer fitted option. Very rare.
The plan was simple. Quick buzz & bondo, repaint & drive. I didn't really expect to do a full on body off resto but it was like squeezing bubble wrap & I sought of got carried away.
I was happy to retain the 18r in the short term. Some one had previously replaced the timing chain & tensioner so it was fairly quiet. It had some pretty serious oil leaks but it ran OK. I figured if I liked the truck, then a 22r or later 3rz would not be too big a deal.
The front axle seals were shot & steering & suspension needed work. The driveshafts needed attention but the transfer still worked. 1st gear was noisy & the oil light flickered at idle. The original Aisin carby had leaky throttle shafts & the secondaries didn't work. Suspect vacuum diaphragm no good. Had some rust under the windscreen rubber. Previous owner attacked it with silicone. Bad idea! This would prove to be a bigger issue than I had thought.
Front shock mounts had at some stage cracked & been welded. Need to fix properly. Standard issue fencing wire was holding the shifter together. Original push button AM radio & unhacked dash with couple small cracks in crash pad.
So how original is this truck? Well there is zero bog (bondo) anywhere. Every panel is factory. The lwr valance is perfect. It even has the little plastic gaskets on the valance where they meet the fenders.
The rear tub has a heap of dents but is largely rust free. At nearly 8 feet long those dents really add up!
Very nice! Looks good, but somebody screwed up and installed the steering wheel on the wrong side...
It's always nice to see some folks from Oz around here. I know it's nowhere near Melbourne, but my father-in-law lives in Mermaid Beach QLD on the Gold Coast. He's always sending me pictures of Toyotas that will never be available in the US.
Because these trucks were designed for off road & because we are such a dry and dusty place, Toyota specced a 'cyclonic' type air cleaner. The idea is that the incoming air creates a vortex and separates a lot of the dust before hitting the generous filter element. I think quite a few landcruisers employ them.
I also noticed that most of your Pickups this model don't have a torque arm.
This is an arm that attaches the top of the front axle to the chassis. It is designed to limit the axle windup due to braking etc. Also none of ours got anti sway bars, and the steering geometry appears different.
Anyway I will try and post some detailed pics of mine.
Yes all models had the torque rod, but a lot of people remove it to improve flex with minor consequence on the driving/braking. My 81 dlx truck canadian model had a front sway bar stock.
These trucks were very popular here they even made special canadian and quebec models like the igloo. What sucks is that after about 15 years they would rot to the ground. Very hard to find here now. Can't wait to see more pics your model looks cool, almost like a racing homologation model with the bare minimums lol.
Last edited by gillesdetrail; 11-06-2014 at 03:23 PM.
OK, that makes sense. This has been a real learning curve for me. It amazes me the modifications that get done to these things. I would love to post the current pics of this truck but it would betray the sheer amount of time and effort it has taken me to get it to this stage. I will say it is orange, die straight with recaro's, parabolic suspension, koni adjustable shocks, and aircon. It is nearly finished! Thanks to people like Griffith Toyota in Oregon, Amayama (Japan) and Ebay, it basically new truck with heaps of NOS parts. The tub alone soaked up 40+ hours...
Last edited by Crumpy's Revenge; 11-06-2014 at 07:32 PM.
OK, tub was sent to be blasted. All paint/rust gone except for the sides. Single panel on these truck bed sides so sandblasting is a no no. Back to work & epoxied and body work begins. For the bigger dents to the floor, header panel & wheel wells, gentle bumping out then out with the bondo. The top rails looked like swiss cheese with all the extra holes. Welded up the holes & smoothed sides. The entire tub was primed proper then lifted from the body.
I would love to post the current pics of this truck but it would betray the sheer amount of time and effort it has taken me to get it to this stage. I will say it is orange, die straight with recaro's, parabolic suspension, koni adjustable shocks, and aircon. It is nearly finished!
PICS, NOW!
We love pics, as many as possible, and yes most of us know the time it takes to do something like that, I spent a bit more than 1000 hours in 8 months rebuilding mine last winter. Now it seemed like it went by so fast!
Style side tub is almost finished. Time to look at tailgate. For the most part the tailgate was in remarkably good nick. Apart from some rust in the L/H bottom corner, there was a couple of awkward dents around the TOYOTA stamping. I feel for anyone trying to block / sand repairs or primer around embossed lettering. It is notoriously difficult to get 100%. Then I turned my attention to the inside backing plate. I un-riveted it and set about straightening it. Because years of loading heavy items on the opened tailgate had bowed the panel, I had to use a set to straighten each individual corrugation. An absolute PITA. It was A LOT OF WORK but you cannot buy these & I'm really glad how it turned out. I then welded a couple of steel tubes to the inside of the gate and ran a bead of Sikaflex down before re-riveting & seamsealing the panel back on. No rattles and the whole tailgate is rock solid. Once it was painted (2K solid) I scotchbrited the outside & detail masked the TOYOTA lettering. Then shot a coat of white basecoat, unmasked and cleared over the whole thing. Finally, I emptied the best part of a can of cavity wax into the gate so it should last another 30 years!
Most of the hard work done on the bed & tailgate. Time to lift cab off chassis.
Couple of fabbed jigs & chain blocks & up she comes! Front shock mounts have cracked at some stage & been welded. Common problem on our rutted country roads. Chassis completely stripped & sent to sand blaster, then shot with epoxy & 2K satin black. Old 18R pulled apart and new gaskets, seals fitted. Engine recently had new chain & tensioner so degrease & coat of paint will do. Port match manifold & overhauled carby. New distributor, fuel pump & alternator.
Managed to pick up an old farm hack off Ebay for $ 500. This truck was a square headlight 1982 dualcab. Originally a diesel, some one had junked the engine and fitted a Mitsubishi 2.6 Astron motor. This was a real find
. I scored a G52 five speed, crossmember, tailshaft, factory aircon (complete with hornets nest!) and lots of little stuff like factory door mirrors, salvageable SR5 steering wheel etc.
Picked up a bellhousing from later 22R and with a bit of grinding out the dowel holes, married the new 5 speed up with the 18R. Rebuilt steering knuckles, brakes & bearings & steering box & everything is coming along swimmingly.
I like seeing what you are doing and re enforcing the tailgate was a great idea. The kind of builds I like to follow. Truck is looking great and cant wait to see it finished. I got to go to Perth a few times and would like to see it again someday. Welcome to Yotatech.
Thanks Terry. Never been to Perth myself although I was reading the owners handbook that came with this truck it it was actually sold by a Toyota dealer in Perth! Go figure
Curiously the R/H spring perch appeared to have been welded on crooked. It was a bit less than 1/8" but quite noticeable. This was causing the leaf spring to twist. While the front axle was out, I saw cut one side of the perch, bent it down & welded it up. Much better now is parallel to bottom. Also the shock mount was flogged out so I welded on a couple of thick steel washers.
The old school 'Selectro' brand locking hubs that were on the truck looked cool but were a bit shagged. I sandblasted the old black powdercoating off
painted them in grey metallic 2K and replaced the crappy looking hexnuts with some shiny stainless acorn nuts. I was very happy with the result & they look good with the Surf rims that I fitted.
The Surf rims were blasted and epoxied & painted with silver 2K metallic. The rear centre caps were painted the same colour as the front hubs.
Never seen a Selecto hub before. Guessing it was a rare option back then? That quad cab would be snatched up quick here and having the diesel in it would be that much better. I rememeber seeing the quad cabs when I was over seas in the 80's and they started getting here in the 2000ish years and was a hit. We are just a little behind the times on those. Really would like to have one myself. Your truck is looking better each time I see it. Great work you are doing!!!
Selectros used to be manufactured by a company called Husky. They were typically found as a dealer install on FJs but more commonly found on Dana applications as well as some Dodges, Scouts and Broncos. Apparently, Milemarker retains some sort of branding and design rights because they currently make reproductions of the selectros. They are known to be a fairly heavy duty design with excellent durability and ease of use. I particularly like how it has a hand grip size dial that make is easier to turn
11-06-2014, 12:56 AM
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the TOYOTA lettering. Then shot a coat of white basecoat, unmasked and cleared over the whole thing. Finally, I emptied the best part of a can of cavity wax into the gate so it should last another 30 years!
