Popular Post Bluebear01 Posted April 2, 2018 Popular Post Share Posted April 2, 2018 Finally getting round to putting this project up on here. It's a 1983 Toyota Crown MS112 I got from the second owner back in 2008, and it's been a sweet daily since then. Previous owner drove Oxford to Chch every day for a decade or 2, so now it's pushing 375000k. I say sweet daily, but it does go through headgaskets at the standard M series rate. No other probs at all though. The last time it went I found the head is starting to crack up, so decided it was time to swap up to something a bit nicer for trouble free cruising. I've always wanted the burble of a V8 with jap reliability. The wife must actually listen to my ramblings because she organized with a bunch of family and friends a sweet 30th birthday present... She even managed to grab the early 1uz with mid sump, log headders & slip yoke trans! No excuses left now, so the young lad & I got stuck in this weekend. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Bluebear01 Posted April 2, 2018 Author Popular Post Share Posted April 2, 2018 He’s super keen to wrench, good way to spend the long weekend! Had to drop the 1uz in for motivation! I'm surprised how well it fits! Clearance is tight, but tidy. 19 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluebear01 Posted April 4, 2018 Author Share Posted April 4, 2018 So I've been trying to make up my mind over the last year whether to stick with the auto, or go manual. The auto TCU was missing, so that was going to be a pain, but the W series boxes are just so pricey! I was looking at the Spitronics trans controllers till I spotted this old girl at the local wreckers. Looked in and sure enough, 5 speed! So I thought, stuff it. Manual is cooler. Haven't counted if it's a W55 or 57, but I'll be happy with ether. Also grabbed pedal box & driveshaft. The guys were happy for a swap with my old 5M & trans, everyone wins! 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluebear01 Posted April 9, 2018 Author Share Posted April 9, 2018 Good ol' Toyota gave me provision under the dash for the clutch pedal box, just a slight difference in the upper hole spacing between it & the Cressida setup. Which didn't take too much to rectify... But there is quite a difference between the MS112 & RX60 brake pedals, so I'll stick with the original for now. I'd like to cut down the auto pedal pad area, but I'm aware this will require cert. Since it's the original brake pedal, just cut down, do you think I would have issues getting that mod certed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluebear01 Posted April 10, 2018 Author Share Posted April 10, 2018 Had a good crack at the wiring last night. It's a good feeling pulling all the auto trans loom out! Also deleted the traction control. I think this engine has been sitting for a long time. All the injectors are stuck, the fuel rail stinks of rotten fuel and there was a small rats nest in the valley... 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Bluebear01 Posted April 15, 2018 Author Popular Post Share Posted April 15, 2018 So I went through & cleaned out each injector, every one was stuck and the fuel rail was full of sludge. The starter had been sitting in water for a while, so it got some new bearings, contacts & plunger. I had to get the vacuum out to clean up the valley, and gave the whole thing a careful wash while I'm waiting on cambelt bits. I'm quite keen to get the A/C working so I can experience the Crown parcel tray fridge! A/C pump got a new pulley bearing & I had a look at the wiring. Looks like magnetic clutch feed, 2 wire speed sensor & a 12v feed to a solenoid at the rear of the pump. Anyone have experience getting these 1uz pumps working in a conversion? I also finally found a body plug for the ECU! Mine is the early 3 plug type with a 22 pin body plug that is usually missing. Turns out they have the same plug as found on a 4age ecu, but completely different to a 4afe ecu. With the plug I could fire it up on the bench to make sure it wasn't a dud. No issues there, it quite happily popped out fault codes for the unconnected sensors. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Bluebear01 Posted April 30, 2018 Author Popular Post Share Posted April 30, 2018 I've been throwing a little bit of time at this each night after my kids are down, slowly making progress. Had a local engineer do a nice job of fixing the broken accelerator cable bracket on the throttle body, then I deleted the traction control & threw on some wrinkle engine enamel. Quite happy with how it came up. All the cambelt bits, caps/rotors arrived so that went together. I couldn't clean up the aluminum tensioner & coolant castings very nicely so gave the 'aluminum' coloured engine enamel a shot. I was pleasantly surprised it matched the new water pump pretty closely. Next up was valve covers, I'm very happy with the engine internal condition, very clean. After I wired a new starter cable into the lower loom the whole thing could go back together. Pretty happy with the way it came up, I'll just need to figure out what kind of badge to put on the intake. Hooked it up & had it running for a few seconds on ether, so good to finally hear it run! I'm now saving up for the bellhousing & clutch/flywheel so this will be on the ground for a bit. I might rig up a fuel pump & radiator to get it to temp & make sure everything is happy. I've also got to prep the engine bay, the more I look at it, the more I realize I need to paint it. 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Bluebear01 Posted May 28, 2018 Author Popular Post Share Posted May 28, 2018 It's been a slow month, but I've started prepping the engine bay. I've started to find all the hidden rust I was nervously anticipating, but so far much better than my old Vauxhall was! The R/F inner guard had a nice mudflap shaped hole which was good practice since ill never see my armature repair once it's back together. \ I tried to take a bit more care with the repair to the rotten double skin on the top of the guard. I found it pretty tricky to match the curve of the original, but after a bit of filler I'm pretty happy with the result. The closest grade of steel to the original I could find was an old 'WOF Open' sign laying around. Next is to tackle the other side & paint. I guess I should look into getting a gun and compressor setup if I want to do a nice job of it... 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluebear01 Posted June 6, 2018 Author Share Posted June 6, 2018 Ticking a few more boxes in the engine bay. I'm taking it further than I was planning on, but it is fun making everything like new. Seal kits are still cheap for the master and the booster just needed a lick of paint. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluebear01 Posted June 6, 2018 Author Share Posted June 6, 2018 I have to confess I gave Super Cheap's colour match rattle cans a go on the fender. Its the Lyndar stuff and I think it looks pretty good after a few coats of clear. It matches fairly well considering the rest of the paint is 30+ years old. Also got the firewall sanded down ready for a coat, no more rust found yet... The clutch line & bracket off the Cressida fits nicely with a few minor tweaks. I'll drill it & hopefully get some paint on this weekend. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Bluebear01 Posted June 14, 2018 Author Popular Post Share Posted June 14, 2018 I got some paint down, now I can start putting it together before I forget where all the bolts go... 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Bluebear01 Posted June 25, 2018 Author Popular Post Share Posted June 25, 2018 Cleaned down the chassis for paint, and looked over the front brakes. Rotors, pads & bearings are stuffed along with sticky callipers. I scored a set of old stock genuine Toyota pads from TradeMe for $26 and a pair of new rotors out of Super Spares in aus for $160. Could be a month before I see those though. I did get the prop valve back from rebuild, so after painting the chassis I could start putting the firewall back together. It took me ages to make up my mind as to what to paint the chassis with. Ended up keeping with the rattle can theme and going for VHT Roll Bar & Chassis Black as it was $12 a can, more money saved for bell housing bits! Anyway, it turned out fine. A nice satin. The littlest man is starting to get interested, who am I to stop him? I'll leave the guards off while I sit the engine in there & work out what I'm going to do with the mounts. The 1uz still has its UZS131 mounts, Im hoping I can use them somehow. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluebear01 Posted August 25, 2018 Author Share Posted August 25, 2018 The front brake rotors arrived outa Aus and they look good! Ended up being a real pain to get wheel bearings. All the remaining stock had been on the shelf so long it took me 3 goes to get some that weren't damaged or had bits missing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluebear01 Posted August 25, 2018 Author Share Posted August 25, 2018 The callipers were in a bad way. Both pistons were frozen in and pitted, but Safe-R-Brakes managed to cross them over to a Mazda piston of the same size. Having the genuine pads was a life saver. It has all 12 separate anti-rattle clips, I think I was missing most of them. Should stop nicely now too! I see Repco has the Ferodo GP2 pads on clearance for $10 a set, anyone have experience with them being noisy/dusty etc? Thinking of getting some for the future. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Bluebear01 Posted August 25, 2018 Author Popular Post Share Posted August 25, 2018 I was getting sick of tripping over the engine, so it's sitting in there till I get clutch/flywheel bits. It fits real nice, but I think I may need to take a tiny bit off the sump to give more room for the steering centre link. . 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Bluebear01 Posted September 6, 2018 Author Popular Post Share Posted September 6, 2018 I cleaned up my W55 in preparation for bits coming from NZAD. The aluminum that was covered in oil from the old 21R came up like new! I can't believe something designed for a 4cyl can happily take an 8. Then I tracked the courier like a hawk for this! The casting looks really nice, super happy with it. The kit from NZAD came with bellhousing, flywheel & clutch kit. I just needed to cut the ring gear off my flexi plate, heat it up & drop it on. Happy days. Measurements show the shifter lining up nicely with the factory floor hole. The bell allows for the fork to exit either side which will he helpful. Hopefully I'll sit this on the engine & drop it in this weekend. Then I'll know how close everything is going to be! 16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluebear01 Posted September 20, 2018 Author Share Posted September 20, 2018 Mount time! I didn't have much choice with engine positioning. I've got maybe 10mm ether side. I'll take a threaded casting off the steering box to give it more room. The steering center link means I can't go back any further without cutting the sump but the crank pulley already sits a little further back than the 5m did. The remote filter housing just clears the factory mount position, it'll be easy to change from underneath. The gearbox mount for a RNZ147 Hilux has a greater offset than the factory mount, bringing the auto cross-member close to its original position. With all that lined up the chassis mount position is about 90mm offset to the 1uz mount position. The engine mounts from an FJ40 fit really nice in the limited space, have limits to catch the engine if the rubber fails & also have a female thread on the bottom which will make installation a breeze. The Mount Shop were super helpful with tracking those down. My father-in law came by, took some measurements & drew up some sweet brackets to bring it all together. Looks much nicer than I would have cobbled together, should make for a tidy job! 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Bluebear01 Posted February 10, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted February 10, 2019 Haven’t done much over summer, but I have just about finished the mounts. I’ve had to give the engine a small tilt away from the steering box, I’m hoping any torque twist will be under 10mm, that’s about all the gap I’ve got. I’m getting the driveshaft lengthened by 110mm next week, it looks like the A series auto has the same yoke as the W55. 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Bluebear01 Posted April 8, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted April 8, 2019 I've had to tweak the L/H manifold to get past the clutch slave, just rotated the flange by 90 degrees. I also made up the new clutch hard line. Engine mounts are done and bolted on for the last time. The new flywheel/clutch/bell housing combo had a weird issue where the thrust bearing would just about fall off the nose of the gearbox before the clutch was disengaged. I guess I could have spaced out the flywheel but I didn't like the reduced starter teeth engagement, so I ended up having the nose lengthened by 10mm by my local engineer. He made a nice job where the extension is pressed in another 10mm inside from the join, I feel much better about it now. I've just got to finish adjusting the pivot ball length & slave cylinder angle, then the whole lump should be ready to bolt in! 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Bluebear01 Posted May 16, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted May 16, 2019 Coming up to 2 years since I got this engine, I'm hoping I can get it moving under it's own power this month. The engine is bolted in for the last time now and the gearbox crossmember is all sorted. The lengthened driveshaft fits beautifully, the clutch is bleed up and the pedal feels great! Next up is finishing paint on the front fenders & radiator support so I can put the dog box back together & rewire the engine bay. Getting painfully close to making some noise! 11 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.