after 35 minutes checking unwrapping harness on the fender checking wiring color codes we FOUND the problem with the oil gauge!

again! with the rust an salt corrosion! the connector on the harness past the pigtail where it plugs into it so it'd be sender--connector--pigtail -- connector/connector main harness

welp the connector to the main harness was so badly corroded kris gave it a tug to replace that end as we were getting continuity to the dash from a spot on the fender but not down by that connector it came right off in his fingers it was green an barely held on new butt connector which fit into the pigtail connector an VROOM OIL PRESSURE!! WHOOHOO

brakes got bled clutch got bled power steering filled an air removed new belt on alt an power steering (ac isnt in yet) valves adjusted

she moved out of the shop under her own power! drove her around the U drive we have a couple times shes got some PEP steering is smooth loads of power on it no leaks no hood on her either yet LOL no tail gate as well but then we took her around the block err well its a mile south mile west mile north an 1/2 mile back to the house

got her up to 55/60 gears were dry an soon as things started tossing oil around it helped kris drove her around liking the low end UMPH shes has but is concerned shes got no high end not wanting to go over 65 i told him likely shes not broke in yet so that might improve

so 7 miles on her all MY miles LOL still a lot to do but WOOT she moves she runs she drives

 

That's great !!! Being able to drive after some major repairs is a good feeling.

 

Great news!

 

well finally everyone agrees with my nose the gas in the tank is sour so kris got his cans an we drained it out gas should not be brown an stink! the mowers an weed whackers can gulp that yuck allthey want not my clean injectors!

so now runners on E have to get some fresh fuel in it

today after we got a 20ft wide 8ft high pile of brush junk bark an ect (yard trash) burning merrily along i went in a started working on the interior found out the shift knob isnt original the patern plate is huge compared to it so after bug bombing (yes i said bug bomb ratzinfratzin wasps an hornits in the air ducts of the 79) my 79 i snagged the much larger shift knob an put it in feels a lot better in the hand i'll say

started reassembling the dash the green LED's i got to color the inside wont be here for a while so meh lubed the horn slide contact as it was squeaking an as the dash was going together that oddball crushed into place speaker has now come to haunt me i cant get the two bottom screws in due to it being too freaking big corner looks funky dang it

sigh... anyhow all thats left to reassemble is the column cover

been working on the rust in the back also lubing the bolts on the tailgate that hold the helper spring in dont want to break one of those! went after the screw holes the PO put in the gate for his cheese ball license plate lights theyre now dimpled a bit into the gate not poking out so kris can apply some weld an i can grind it flat as its supposed to be in there

found more rust out below the gate hinges i descaled an wirewheeled things then hit it with primer for now needs a patch the size of a palm down there

kris is all hey we should think about pulling the top to see what its like i answered hey how did ya think i was gona work on the sides an the rust? LOL gona need all the room can get to cut out the cancer an weld in new metal then like the gate inside the fenders primer paint undercoat eventually! ill get some press'n'seal or the local equivalent easy roof or somethin like that

also need to pull the rear end out clean things up lube things replace the rusted out backing plates get the zuk coils in we've found some pipe that will make very nice locating points on top the spring packs

finally the lube oil broke the passenger side ebrake assembly loose an its moving now

 

Glad to hear you got to drive it, even if it is just a short distance. After bringing one back from the dead, even the square tire bounce is something to smile about and it is doing it under its own power. A big Congrats!!!

 

oh it was such a kick too shes fast an very nimble! i think the steering box outa that 93 will work out excellently!

just feels like i got my flannels on an the rear door is been cut off LOL!

its just the gate is on sawhorses while i work up to grinding a majority of it to bare metal fixing the few dents in it an then all the rest

 

I will never forget driving mine for the first time (after the rebuild) it was just around the yard but it was so cool. Glad to hear she's running good, great work man.

 

Yay! Awesome job Dragon! I too will never forget the first time I drove my motor after the rebuild. so much power haha. I loved it. Still do.

 

thank ya jason an its on a tank of bad gas an she runs good

im hoping things will be even better with fresh fuel! VROOM! lol

 

worked on the tailgate an the steering column cover which had cracks an holes in it from the aftermarket cruise control (removed) melted plastic from the old grill into the holes to patch them its not perfect an lost its pebble texture but its better than duct tape an holes

of course the gate one of the 4 bolts holding the spring bar on broke but HA i was ready for that! bit of heat from the mapp torch around it an vice grips on the inside PthPPTH! :-P broken bolt HA the gate has nearly NO rust just some surface stuff a few dents nothing major if it didnt need repainted red id likely not touched it




put the hood on an got the squirter nozels back in WOOT the washer pump works! color me amazed! also got the grill in where it belonged had to use a couple zip ties the metal is just ...ya know



and just photographic evidence of the rust under the rear gate hinge points on the body 1st is the drivers side 2nd is passenger both shot with some primer after removing the rust

 

Will, SICK! Very exciting, man, and great work, it is looking incredible!

 

thank ya mark one piece at a time

oh in a side note i paid off what i owed Kris for getting the runner an trailering it home i traded him my old 60's craftsman table saw & planer a makita compound sliding miter saw an a craftsman scroll saw i rescued from a dump all it needed was blades someone tossed it in perfect working order go figure

i dont use the woodworking things much anymore Kris does so only made sense

 

Your truck has come along ways and looks better each time. Great job. I have been wanting to post the two different types of squirt nozzles. They look the same on top but the way they attach under the hood is different. One style I never could get to stay and the other style just pops right in. Guessing you have the easier ones or figured out the trick to the pain in the rear ones. Tail gate used to intimidate me but it isnt so bad once you figure out the tricks to it.

 

hey terry! yeah mine popped into the holes with a click i need to aim them a bit better just another confirmation this thing had previous paint jobs the rubber on the squirters had red paint on them

 

well thank you mark an terry i seriously enjoyed talkin to ya ! glad i could help a bit while you were under an in that runner mark

i got out an did some work on my tailgate an have since learned that its very likely that people moving it around have lost one of my stop braces screw gah... ill get it from the dealer but darn it!
thank you terry for sending that handle out i figured out how to get the lock cylinder out of the old messed up handle HA had me fooled toyota thought itd be harder! i tok pictures so everyone can see

a shot i took when i parked the runner outside the shop my 79 is on the far right the center is a ranch truck a diesel datsun 4 cyl

 

ok my rear license plate light toyota bar that all 1st gen 4runners have across the tailgate its being replaced (thank you terry!) i havent seen anything on how to remove the lock cylinder an switch from this plastic piece so i did some looking an examining

i thought is it like some of the old suburbans where the outer stainless shield screwed on? nope, the 2 screws didnt hold the thing together it just held the switch body in Hmm ah wait HOLE in the side whats that their for? pushed a small screwdriver in an for a moment nothing then 'click' AH! HAA!


gave her a tug an POP off came the switch assembly an wire pigtail for the license plate lights (which i dont have on this)



the lock cylinder fell right out of the plastic housing ready for its new home!


i put it back together so parts dont go disapearin

 

worked on the tailgate got several dents out an got the screw holes the PO put in it for his cheeseball lights for the plate GRRR they rusted worse than anything else on the tailgate ground smooth then a swipe of fiberglass havent sanded it yet will let it get good an hard

 

dents dinks an a gouge i hammered the biggest ones out so the filler needed would be a tiny bit last picture is fiberglass filler on not sanded

this was a creasing dent got a good 90% of it out


some small dinks an the quarter sized dent at the top of the gate i hammered out the quarter sized one

angle that shows the quarter dent best

annoying one where it is there's a reinforcement plate behind it so just hit it with some filler

all sanded holes filled dents smoothed out

 

Enjoyed talking to you. That 79 looks like a sweet little truck. I know you said it is rusting from underneath but it looks good right now.

Your body work is looking great as well. I like bodywork better then motor work. It takes patience and a challenge to make it look like it was never touched. But doing motor and bodywork and just in general bringing one back from the dead is quite rewarding. It is coming along and each repair is one step closer. Hang in there, when you do get it completed, the hard work is soon forgotten with the satisfaction of it is the way you would of bought it if you could go back to 88.

 

that 79 can fool ya the body work i did helped to hide its major flaws and its a rattle can paint job too LOL