Popular Post Shakotom Posted September 17, 2013 Popular Post Share Posted September 17, 2013 Discussion thread: //oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/40381-shakotoms-1985-toyota-hilux/Once upon a time i went off roading with a mate and decided it was fun playing in the mud. a period of time went by and I was driving my dads safari to work and was like yeah... I could put up with this. So i did some research and semi decided i wanted something with a solid front and rear end, that would be easy to maintain and relatively reliable. I thought about a Safari as I really like my dads but decided they were a bit out of my price range. So i though Toyotas are pretty bulletproof... so HiLux? Did a bit more hunting and found heaps of IFS ones. Eventually some solid axle ones turned up and i narrowed it down to two i was interested in. One being a real tidy 1990 single cab with brand new tyres, Rego, Wof and harldy any issues. The other being well the complete opposite. yet again the heart ruled over the head... So i towed home this ratty and rusty hilux because i liked the earlier front end rather than the newer one. Looking back it wouldve been easier to buy the later model one and source a earlier set of guards ect from a wreckers I knew it had a bit of rust in places in the body, but everything else appeared to be sweet and it drove fine. The more poking around I actually did after i got it home revealed actually how crappy it was. As i was told my one of my mates 'Ive seen better in a junkyard' and as i researched more about it there was way more missing, cut out or just not there in general than I realised. The surface rust in the fire wall and floor turned into a hole, after stripping the interior to see the extent of the rust i found it had got into the wiper channel aswell. the bit of rust in the sills turned in to big holes. The aftermarket bucket seats were barely held in by dodgy looking brackets. someone had cut a gaping hole in and the lower part of the radiator support was missing also. rear brakes were seized and pedal disappeared to the floor. and the chassis/components had copped a can of black over the top of dirt/grease/muck which was peeling off.But on a better note. The set of pretty much brand new 33x12.5 mud tyres my dad had on his pajero fit this, Its got a 2in lift on EFS springs, and the same on the body. The LSD in the rear appears flamin tight, and it fitted 99% of my wants from a fourby. Plus its a HiLux... There pretty much bullet proof. (well I dont think TopGear tested that, but it withstood pretty much everything they could drop on it, it off, drive it in to, going for a swim and their genral crazyness)Now ive had this a couple of months actually and in the doing so proceeded to start removing things to inspect/clean/repair/or replace as applicable, But that went way further than intended.Once the interior was removed, and the gearbox was out to replace the clutch, the engine came out too because it was too dodgy leaving it there without a rear mount, Dad and i decided that it was 6 bolts and we could lift the body off real easy to get rid of the gunk on the chassis. So we did. Next thing the chassis had been completely stripped and bare metalled, leaf springs split to individual leaves and both diffs dissassembled and everything has been given the once over. The chassis was covered in about a centimeter of gunk on the outside and we probably got about 10L of sand out if the inside of the chassis. Im pretty sure theres still more in there but weve shaken it, flipped it, banged it, and blown it out as best as we possibly can. So im quite happy with it Both diffs were dissassembled, baremetalled, and inspected. The front axle seals were leaking so the steering knuckle was full of an oil/grease mixture which smelt fantastic. apart from that both diffs checked out, So Ive etch primed and painted both diffs black reassembled them and ordered a swivel kit for the front. The chassis been etchprimed and blacked also. Hopefully itll stick a bit better and also make future cleaning of it alot easier. During all that, The leaf springs have been cleaned up and painted as well as the associated componentry. Every single Ubolt fought with me when being undone. My rattle gun wouldnt crack them and ended up having to use a meter long pipe over a power bar to undo them and then they all proceded to break or bend. So new EFS ones were ordered off 4WDBits with a EFS shackle bush kit. which were installed along with the reassembled leaf springs onto the chassis Excuse the tiny little tyres, but its alot easier to work on with them on The front leaf springs have been put back in and the diffs almost ready to go in aswell, but i managed to drop the hub on my foot and now have a cast on it for a week to immobilse it while whatevers wrong with it fixes itself. So hopefully thats off by the end of the week and itll just have to be strapped up. So lesson learnt. HiLux hubs plus feet = Less than ideal 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakotom Posted September 29, 2013 Author Share Posted September 29, 2013 Progress over the last week was hampered by the fact my foot had a disagreement with the front hub assembly on sunday resulting to a trip to the local emergency center and being put in a cast as i couldnt walk on it, it was badly swollen, and the doc wasnt 100% sure that i hadnt done damage to the bones. Thankfully it wasnt broken so that came off on the Friday. The front differential has been put back under the leaf springs with new EFS ubolts, and the steering knuckle rebuild kit I ordered turned up aswell.When I was checking parts over I found that the steering knuckles were leaking so I dismantled them to find Diff oil had been leaking past the inner seals into the knuckle, And that combined with the already contaminated water/grease mix that was in there creating this fantastic mixture. That led to the diff being stripped and having everything else checked over before being etch primed and painted black. Everything appeared okay so it was stuck back together, The bearing races, bearings and seals in the knuckles were replaced. The CVs were cleaned and regreased and the knuckles were filled with Fuchs grease, and preloads were checked and set to factory specifications. Which came up looking quite good in my opinion. The more I look at this, The more i start to feel uncomfortable with the thought of actually taking it and getting it dirty. Then it was time to put the hub assemblys on. I made sure I kept my feet well away from them this time as thats a lesson I do not need to learn again.Ive replaced the disc rotors and also the wheel bearings and filled it all with Fuchs grease aswell. All I need now is a 54mm socket to set the preload and adjust the wheelbearings, new tie rod ends, drag link boots and leaf spring shackles for the front and itl be rollable. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakotom Posted October 7, 2013 Author Share Posted October 7, 2013 Not much of an update but im to stoked not to share this. Got some more new stuff, This time drag link repair kits, Rod ends and spring shackles. Unfortunately the original front spring shackles on reassembly decided just to rotate instead of tightening due to the splines stripping. Needless to say I was not impressed and ordered new EFS shackles off 4WDbits. At the time I was tossing up just getting a full set of extended shackles to replace the standard length ones but my father drummed some sense into me and told me to put the money into elsewhere that needed it and wait till Ive actually driven it before changing anything else. Also may i recommenced george stocks for all you suspension needs, after ringing around a bunch of places and getting told that the drag link boots didnt exist i had resigned to the fact id have to get some from aussie, but ended up getting two drag link repair kits for less than the price if shipping from aussie. Also got rod ends. ugh sourcing parts for a 28 year old vechile. Installed all those onto the chassis, put on the little wheels and rolled it out in to the sun. Then decided to put on mud tyres for the full effect. They are 33x12.5R15 on a 15x8 I didn't really accomplish anything else as I spent most of the rest of the afternoon staring at it. Discuss 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakotom Posted March 16, 2014 Author Share Posted March 16, 2014 Well its been a while since Ive done anything on this thing. With my Commodore being nearly done, i decided it was time to get this back out from the back of the shed as motovation levels to get this thing done are at a maximum. (mate at works just picked up a 80s series? landcruiser and keeps giving me shit about this thing not being done) Before I pulled the commodore apart, I had trailed this thing around to my panelbeater friends place to have the rust cut out and replaced with new metal. There was rust in both corners of the wiper channel, both floor pans, sills which was removed and fixed and being repaired.... so the rust in the cab was done, and id made arrangements to go back at a later date to get the lower rail of the radiator support replaced (at some point in its life its been hacked out completely. and while stripping the radiator support I found what looked like a 2 year old had been given a knife and cut a hole by the right head light to put some plasic air intake through it? So was like ugh and was just gonna get a flat patch welded in place untill i happened to stumble upon this Hilux at Zebra parts and went back better prepared the next day and did this I hacked the front off because the radiator support was pretty much immaculate. I also got a complete hand brake assembly from the lever to the drums which mine was missing and the glove box as mine was broken and some other bits and pieces That was all stored in the garage with the cab untill today. Today I unstitched the radiator support off the cab in preparation for fitting of the new one new one is blue one and other one is old one (note missing lower bar and yuck hole) Im thinking about making it so that the radiator support can be fully removed to make it easier in the future if i ever have to pull motor and box out also more motivation... tell me how I havent made much progress here : //oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/40381-shakotoms-1985-toyota-hilux/ thanks 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakotom Posted March 18, 2014 Author Share Posted March 18, 2014 Current position in the shed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakotom Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 Progress has been slow lately, and my computers mucked up so Ive lost alot of photos. (teaches me for not having backups) With the forces of winter approaching lately it was decided to make some room in the garage and stop this heap from taking up two bays. Underneath the body has been stripped back and primed so It was lifted back onto the chassis for temporary while I start prepping the rest of the body for paint. The motor had been sitting on a stand in the corner and the gearbox was too. The motors been stripped of all bolt on bits and given a quick paint (Shiny = Rebuilt right?) and the gear box has been too. I bought a Exedy 'sport tuff' clutch kit and had the fly wheel machined. man that photo is crap. That about sums up how well this went down. Picked up cluch on friday (ordered on thursday overnight) to do it on saturday. Eyeballed parts on pickup was like yup thats sweet. fast forward to saturday morning.fought with old spigot bearing while replacing it because puller was too big. Loctited and torqued flyweel down. went to put pressure plate on and it turns out its too small. Clutch and release bearing were correct. Gave up for the weekend. On monday went back to shop. was a packaging error from exedy. Got correct pressure plate. Went home Monday after work and put clutch on! Whos got keen eyes that can spot the issue here? After mating the gearbox to the motor and starting to put bellhousing bolts in 'hmmm I can see abit much of the flywheel. whys that?' I forgot to clean and fit this sheild. Gave it a quick clean and painted it at work the next day. Tuesday night: removed clutch and flywheel. fitted cover. refitted flywheel and clutch. Gearbox to motor. motor and box back in. I forgot how little this motor was. I hope itll be sweet to turn my 33x12.5 mud tyres. Needs turbo deez!! What a drawn out procedure for what should've been a simple job. But at least now I have alot more space in the garage 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakotom Posted August 10, 2014 Author Share Posted August 10, 2014 I spent this entire weekend between panelbeaters on Van, car parts shops, and the garage on this thing. Today was ment to be spent going on a facebook cruise meet in my mates MX-5 with him, but that was cancelled due to lack of people. I was sort of keen to start prep for paint on this as a learning curve for my Van. So went to bunnings and bought a cheap orbital sander, some sanding paper, and some flap discs for the grinder. Smoothed out and finished most of the welds from the rust repairs. gave most of the cab a rub down with the sander. tried to mask of windscreen. got fed up with it. pulled it out in one piece (victory). Lifted cab off chassis and pushed that out side Man the chassis filthy right now. Its so thick with dust and sanded off paint. Cab was flipped onto its back, and the underside was prepped to get it ready to prime it - I had cleaned it off back in march to paint it then but never got around to it. Primed the underside, under guards and most of the engine bay. Then left that to dry and came back later and gave it a couple of coats of the black paint I had left over from the chassis. all the grey you see is this seam sealer. I purchased this off the Wurth rep that comes through work because he said it was good stuff and cut me a mean deal on it.I resealed where all the factory sealer was that I removed and over the welds/patches. It is really good stuff, and has good coverage. but it is brush on and is horrible to spread and smooth out so unfortunately doesnt really look the tidyest. So next time I think im going to get the stuff that goes in a caulking gun as from previous experiences, it comes up a lot nicer. Once that was dry, I gave it another couple of coats of black which made it look alot better. And this. I sprayed this all over it too, Its rubberized stone guard. Hopefully should help protect underneath and minimise chances of stonechips ect. Unfortunetly I ran out of stuff halfway through so off on Monday to buy more. Close up of the stone guard and sealer on the underside. Looks really good. Once I get more of that ill finish underneath/wheelwells/enginebay then spray it all black again. All this work for something thats going to get covered in mud and dirt Ive decided on a colour for the exterior so need to get to a paint shop to price that up. Im pretty sure the underside will stay black, But should I do a black or body colour engine bay? Also, I think I need a new spray gun. The old one my Grandfather gave me is a great gun and mint for spraying primer, but seems to spray other paints a bit patchy and uneven so I think its a bit worn out. Any recommendations from you panel guys out there? Gravity fed or nah? I dont want to spend heaps, but dont want something Id get a crappy finish out of either. help me here ://oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/40381-shakotoms-1985-toyota-hilux/ Thanks Disclamer *Im only slightly awkward, and I do have a social life. Im not a complete hermit/freak. :) 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakotom Posted August 13, 2014 Author Share Posted August 13, 2014 Am currently working on attaching the radiator support. Ive sort of decided that it is a million times easier to pull motor and box out as one and split on the floor than fight with a 4wd gearbox on a jack on my back underneath it. As you can imagine, the hilux engine bay is quite short so that wont work. As I have removed the radiator support for replacement, I thought why not make it removable? So Im working on aligning it and am going to replace all the spot welds with nuts and bolts. Should be just as strong as the factory spot welds. Only thing i can see is that it may be a moisture trap/rattle (excuse potato Iphone camera and mismatched nuts/bolts. am going to get shiny matching ones but am just dummying up for now.) I cant see it being a WOF/Cert issue because if I crash into someone, they should go under it (chassis is above bonnet of my commodore) plus it shouldnt be seen under guards. opinions/criticism? ---> //oldschool.co.nz/index.php?/topic/40381-shakotoms-1985-toyota-hilux/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakotom Posted August 17, 2014 Author Share Posted August 17, 2014 Spent pretty much every night last week sanding the body down, straightening dents and getting it to a point I was happy with it so I could prime it. Then spent today priming it inside and out. unfortunately now its got primer on it, its shown some areas that will need further attention, but hey its good from a far! (but far from good) Still for the first car Ive laid primer on I dont think its too bad. Off to the paint shop next week to buy a new spray gun and look at colour charts. Am thinking about painting it similar to the hotwheels Hilux a few posts up at present.... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shakotom Posted February 19, 2015 Author Share Posted February 19, 2015 I have a problem... Its okay, My cat approves So I havent done much at all on this recently, all its done is sit gathering dust. These popped up and I had to have them. There Enkei 15x10! so fully JDM and have massive amounts of dish. They should look a bit better than the 8.5in wide steels. Plan is to give them a polish and mount them onto the 33x12.5 mud tyres. YAY! Also opinions on fender mirrors on this VS the factory mirrors on doors? need to decide before paint 4 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.