Hello,

As suggested by a fellow Forum Member, I'm creating a new thread to share the restoration that I am doing to my 1986 Toyota Turbo Manual Transmission Standard Cab.

I live in South Florida but am from Northern California. I picked up last week a pretty rough 1986 Yota Pickup from a guy who got it from a tow yard. The engine is in pieces and it has rust, but I pulled the trigger on it as I am looking for a looooong term project.

The seller claimed not to know much about the trick but I did some digging and found out who the previous owner was to find out what the heck happened to the truck. Turns out the previous owner is a woman who loved the truck but who's son blew up the engine by driving it without oil. I got some other interesting information about the truck and she asked my to share pictures of the restoration.

I just had the truck dropped off at Yota 1 in Riverbank California where I hope to get the engine built and put back in the truck so I can get it running. After that, I'll have it shipped to me where I plan on cleaning up the frame, get body work, work on the interior, etc. I have worked on other older cars like a 1971 C10 and 1967 Mustang but nothing this extensive. I'll take my time and do as much as possible myself.

Interested in getting any tips on how to manage the restoration as I am just starting. Below are some pics.

Thanks all,

Chris

 

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Hey Everyone,

I am writing to get some help. I have 2 issues at the moment 1) what to do about the cracked block that's in a place that is not significant and 2) Should I do a turbo rebuild and put top mount or bottom mount or go with an aftermarket turbo, like that found in a turbo kit that's sold by LC Engineering or Yota1. I just talked to the shop building my engine and got the news about my block. They said the block has a thin web crack in a place that doesn't matter. The shop mentioned they could spray weld but that the crack can be lived with without affecting performance or reliability.

Any help with things to consider would be much appreciated. Here are pics of the crack.

 

Odds of someone being able to see you linked images are pretty low, you should attach them so they are stored on the yotatech servers.


Can't see it how did it crack, what happens when this crack expands.

From.what I recall of spray welding this is for resurfacing not structure.

 

Thanks for the comment. Let me try again. Here are the pics of the crack.

 

CO 94 PU,

The previous owner's son ran the truck without oil so I was surprised that the shop said the crack wouldn't affect the build and that I could keep the original block. The shop said that if anything were to hit the crack, the pieces of the block that would fall off wouldn't affect the engine. They said they could do the old school spray weld ( spray of electrified iron powder) but they prefer not to.

I uploaded the pics in the right way, I hope, let me know your thoughts.

Regarding the turbocharger rebuild, I am thinking of going original Ct20 rebuil with a top mount so any maintenance would be easy in the future.

Chris

 

First image is hard to decipher, looks like probably/maybe the exhaust manifold and explains why you're looking for feedback on a toploaded vs bottom loaded turbo exhaust manifold.

The second image is the arm/ear the transmission bellhousing attaches to. I see two major cracks and an offset already showing in the mating surface. Do you know if the stiffening bracket was in place, this is the triangular piece that mounts to the rear lower area of the block and provides two additional attachment points for the bellhousing? To me this looks like it's going to fail sooner rather than later, while this shouldn't expose an oil galley or any moving parts, it is under a lot of torque load. There are T shaped hardware they could machine slots for and install, which I forget the name of offhand, which will pull these cracks closed.


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Sourcing an OEM CT20 that is rebuildable is getting more difficult everyday. There are aftermarket options but you need to be aware there are atleast two (I think three actually) exhaust housings with different mounting angles on the exhaust manifold side.

What state is yours in? I expect the chra is trashed if it was ran without oil, and the turbine housing is probably cracked atleast if not blown out. I think it is LCE that sells the modern GT ball-bearing kit with a similar A/R, this is a top mounted manifold which means reworking your exhaust and supply lines in addition to the upfront cost of purchase.

 

Thanks CO 94 PU!

You are right, the first pick is of the exhaust manifold. The shop mentioned needing to rebuild the turbo and walked me through doing a toploaded or bottom loaded as I am going to need a new exhaust manifold. I am leaning towards keeping the stock CT20 and keeping it bottom loaded. I was surprised at the cost of rebuilding it (1,000 bucks) but that seems about market rate. The truck is in California but I currently live in Florida. I believe once you make it toploaded, you modified the engine to the point where it's not smog legal which is another drawback if I want to register it in California which is where I am from and may return to.

Regarding the crack, the shop mentioned doing a spray weld but didn't mention attaching any hardware but will ask them. I will research how to pull the cracks closed using hardware.

Thanks,

Chris