di0n

Just got the motor back from having the bearings done. Gave it a clean and paint ready to go back in tomorrow hopefully

On Friday night my brother and his mate helped me get the engine removed and onto an engine stand. We pulled the sump off and 3 of the four big end bearings were damaged. So this week it's off to the engine reconditioners... In the mean time I'm getting stuck into the interior. During the couple of short drives before it finally died I noticed the truck had a lot of rattles and road noise. The carpets needed a shampoo so I started stripping the interior so I could line all the sheet metal with a sound deadening material and get the carpets cleaned. I've just finished the cargo area and it has made a huge difference already, it's noticeable just working on it. Previously when you tapped on the rear quarters they would ring like a steel drum, now there is just a solid thud. I can't wait to drive it again!

Last week I finally managed to get my hands on a very tidy 1st Generation Toyota Surf. According to the records from the PO the 2.4 2L-T had quite a major rebuild a couple of years ago then ran a bearing not long after. It was then replaced with a 2.8 non turbo 3L engine. Unfortunately the PO was not very mechanically minded and so when he attempted to change the oil himself he overfilled the engine resulting in a diesel runaway. So I bought the truck as a non runner and trailered it home. Once I had it home I drained the oil to the correct level and tried to start it but it wouldn't fire, so I sprayed some brake cleaner into the air intake and it started right up. It poured out smoke for a few minutes but as it warmed up it cleared and actually started to run quite smoothly. I took it for a run around the block and it all seemed ok so I booked it in with a mechanic for a general checkup. Sadly on the way to the mechanic the engine started to get a bit noisey which they diagnosed as a big end bearing noise and advised me to take it home and stop driving it. On the 10 minute trip home the engine got worse and as I pulled into my road it lost oil pressure so I crawled it back in the drive and parked it up. Plans are to do a sort of mini restoration on it. Basically tidy it up some more and keep it as stock as possible, but rebuild the 2.8 then turbo it. It will get a very mild lift and bigger tyres and eventually a factory respray when I can afford.

While We were working on the mounts and other things we had the front wheels off and noticed the front rotors were knackered, with lots of rust pitting and scoring from worn out pads. So I ordered a new pair and started to pull the brakes off. As I started to undo the left caliper it came free from the vehicle, both the bolt holes on the caliper had cracked at some stage so as the pressure of the bolts came off them the caliper fell to bits and dropped off. I think I'm pretty lucky it hadn't decided to fall off while I was driving. A mate of mine came to the rescue with a pair of Toyota Surf calipers that were the same, so we cleaned them up and put it all back together nice and new.

Here are some shots of the mounts bolted up, chassis mounts were just tacked at this stage.

So a bit of a team meeting was held with my brother, some mates and myself. A decision had to be made between cutting my losses, repairing what I had and hoping it didn't still go "POP", or spending some more money and upgrading the motor. We all agreed a 1UZFE was the only logical option when it came to value for money and reliablility. So a few calls were made to check on the legalities of the swap and track down a motor and trans combo. We were told it would be very easy to certify but that the office that prints the Cert. Plates would be shutting for the summer in 6 weeks so if we wanted it legal for Christmas (the reason for purchasing it in the first place) we would need to pull finger. A couple of days later my new motor and box showed up from Osaka Auto Parts, it's a 2nd Gen setup from an LS400. We tore the old diesel out the first weekend and mated the V8 up to the Prado trans and started mocking up the engine mounts. This is what we came up with. So it begins... Front of truck mostly stripped New chassis mount welded in place New engine mount ready to bolt up The two together Engine in the hole More to come...

Towards the end of last year I decided I wanted a 4WD for the summer for surf missions and camping trips. My heart was set on a 1st Gen Toyota Surf, but finding one that was still somewhat tidy and reliable turned out to be nearly impossible. That's when I spotted this 1991 Prado for sale: It was a 2.4 auto that had just clicked over 300,000kms but there was just something about it. I knew it was a risky purchase but the price was good and the owner assured me it had been well maintained and they had never had an issue with it. As it turned out the guy was a compulsive liar (confirmed by many other buyers) and the moment I hit the motorway the temp gauge started rising. Then as it started to get dark I realized the headlights basically didn't work and caused the volt gauge to drop to nearly nothing. I made a stop at my mates place in Silverdale where we swapped the radiator cap for a higher pressure newer item and topped up the water. Then we noticed the engine earth strap wasn't connected so we bolted that up which got the lights going. The rest of the trip was pretty stressful but thankfully no more issues. The next day at home I took dad for a ride and we drove through a little mud and got stuck, only to find the 4WD wouldn't engage. I spent a few hours diagnosing and found the A/C had been removed (years ago) and the vacuum lines never reconnected, so again a relatively easy fix. We managed to use it for about 3 weeks before it got even les reliable and I got fed up with the gutless diesel...

This project has been on hold for the last year due to too many projects and too much work. I built a 1UZFE 91' Prado over the summer which took a lot of my funds and time but I've now decided to sell that and finish the Skyline. Barry from MRP has been given the task of building me some suspension, fully adjustable Fortune Auto 500 Series. So they should be arriving in the next few weeks. Then I'll be off for a cert...

Are you keeping it left hand drive?

Loving this truck, also quite jealous that it's progressing quicker than mine. I read a thread on another forum about a guy installing bags on a Jag IFS clip. He set his at ride height then designed his bag mounts so they would be parallel at ride height (this = not this < if that makes sense) He was doing it to reduce wear on the bag rubber. Not sure if it's necessary or not, but might be worth thinking about? Or not haha.

Yeah looked at those, not bad value really, but still more than I can afford haha

We had it out in about 45 minutes. Heaps of spot welds, but nothing a spot weld drill and cold chisel couldn't handle. Had to remove the interior weather strip trim thing too.

Bringing this thread back so people can find it.

Today a mate and I spent the afternoon welding up all the little holes in the firewall. I've just done a rough count and we filled over 60 holes and still haven't done the lower kick panel. I've done a little bit of welding before and my mate had never tried so I showed him how and he ended up doing most of the welding, not bad for a couple of amateurs. Before, resembling Swiss cheese: And after looking much more clean shaven:

Just checked back through my thread and realized I've done a bit more than what my updates show. Will have to get some more pics to show some of the work I did on it last year. I scored a complete, rust free, bare chassis off a friend and grafted in a Jaguar XJS front crossmember. I'm nowhere near finished, at the moment it's just tacked in place. Planning to run bags all round so I've set it up so when they're fully deflated the running boards are about an inch off the ground.