Elliott's buildup: semi-resto 60

smkymntn · 06-02-09, 11:23 PM

Great thread. Looks like your build is coming along nicely. I need to do my heater core and am not looking forward to it after seeing your pics. Keep us updated on progress.

mainlander · 06-06-09, 10:10 PM

Elliott, this is most excellent. Great work.

Really like the new seat covers and the console. Tell me, when you ordered the seat covers did you do it online or over the phone? I ask because I see FJ cruiser,40,55, & 80 seat covers but not 60's. But than there is a 'Toyota Land Cruiser' seat cover. My guess is that these are the ones you ordered but would like to make sure.

Also, how much modding did you have to do on the console? That really looks like a nice match for everything.

Great job.

ElliottB · 06-08-09, 12:04 AM

Thanks for the kind words. The seat covers were ordered over the phone because their website didn't list them. If neccessary, I could find the pattern code for them on the receipt.

The center console was fairly easy to mount. I had to make a simple bracket for the front and I used the bracket that came with it for the rear. It is designed for a TJ but is easily adaptable to a 60. And for how cheap they are, you can't go wrong.

Salem Cruiser · 06-09-09, 10:04 PM

Nice looking setup!

haryv · 06-09-09, 11:30 PM

yes. alot of work. Kind of reminds me of tearing apart a car in a eight hour period or changing two engines out side by side.

Was this this only choice of carpet? Its just me but I would have selected a solid color. Perhaps gold?

My next wagon is going to be painted emerald forest green. IT has always been my favorite color.

Good work never less. I just wish my cruiser did not have so much cancer or I would renovate her.

kling-on · 06-10-09, 06:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElliottB

Thanks for the kind words. The seat covers were ordered over the phone because their website didn't list them. If neccessary, I could find the pattern code for them on the receipt.

The center console was fairly easy to mount. I had to make a simple bracket for the front and I used the bracket that came with it for the rear. It is designed for a TJ but is easily adaptable to a 60. And for how cheap they are, you can't go wrong.

yup easy fit got the same on in mine .... great build BTW keep it comin

ElliottB · 06-15-09, 10:10 AM

So I haven't touched this thing since I've been back from Moab but I did pick up the head from the machine shop. It got a complete valve job, new valve guides and seals, got the oil galley plug drilled and tapped (I don't have a good enough tap and die set to do it myself), mounting surface decked, and magnafluxed. Now it's all purty.

And then I started cleaning up the motor itself. Basically for 10+ years it had grime from a leaking PS pump, oil pan, pushrod inspection cover, valve cover, and pretty much everything else you can imagine. It will probably take another week to get it completely cleaned up before I put the head back on and start the reassembly process.

After a can of degreaser and some love from a wire brush the garage floor could use some cleaning now.

But it's starting to look alot better.

ElliottB · 06-23-09, 10:24 PM

So everything is done, rebuilt, cleaned up, etc. All that's left is to put it all together.

I had a couple hours tonight to pop off the oil pan, clean it up, and prep it for a new gasket. The bolts on the oil pan were not even finger tight, no wonder it was leaking. This is how it looked when I pulled it off.

And spent a little time with the plastic razor attachment on the gasket scraper to get off most of the junk.

Then cleaned it up with some degreaser. At least I didn't have to worry about it rusting.

And here's where I currently sit. I will be buckling down over the next few weeks to get it all assembled and hopefully running. I am going back home on July 15th so my ultimate goal is to have it running by then. Wish me luck!

ProwlerDriver · 06-23-09, 10:36 PM

Looks good man! I was in the same boat with mine, ive taken 4 months to clean it up! My garage floor was insane. Its amazing what the leaking ATF from the ps pump will do.

carpediem84 · 06-26-09, 06:42 AM

Thanks for this thread. Looks like everything is turning out well. I really like the seat covers.

What is your plan as far as modifications? Or just keeping it mostly stock?

Thanks,
Scott

ElliottB · 06-26-09, 07:20 AM

I really want to make it OEM+. It's going to appear to be mostly stock. As you can tell the interior is already modified in terms of seat covers, center console, Pioneer head unit, carpet, and rear panels. The exterior will have a custom color along with some homemade bumpers, roof rack, etc. And the suspension will be a 2.5" OME lift to match the 33x10.50 on FJ Cruiser wheels. Nothing outrageous because I will not be wheeling this truck very hard.

Front Range 4x4 · 06-26-09, 10:38 AM

Looks like you're making good progress, do you have a 'completion' date in mind? I'll be watching for you on the roads around D town.

ElliottB · 06-26-09, 04:08 PM

Are we EVER really done with our trucks?

I want it to be at least streetable by October or November so that it can pull snowboarding duty. If the projected schedule of the motor completion being done in July, that will only leave the suspension/drivetrain 4 months to get complete. Obviously body work is the last phase as that is the least important in terms of driveability.

klinetime574 · 06-26-09, 08:08 PM

Man the oil pan really cleaned up well. The grime saved you! Mine didn't look that good.

And how much did the work on the head run you? If you don't mind me asking cause I paid $234 for Block cleaning, honing, valve job, decked, and resurfaced my flywheel but they did shoddy work. The holes in the head for the pushrods were not even circular like yours.

And make sure you paint that thing cause mine is surface rust central.

Great work!

IrollwithTojo · 06-27-09, 01:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElliottB

Are we EVER really done with our trucks?

Nope

and thats what makes them our trucks.

-Carl

ElliottB · 06-27-09, 08:37 PM

So I don't get to work on this thing everyday but when I do, I feel like I get A LOT done.

Today I started out by painting a few things. I was told the head would get surface rust after being hot tanked (I don't really know about that) but for good measure I put a couple coats of high temp paint on it.... along with my water pump, exhaust/intake manifold, and valve cover.

Here you can see the drilled and tapped oil gallery NPT plug.

Here's a good picture of the finish (corner of the intake manifold)

After I got all of that cooking I started to tear in on my steering pump rebuild. Fairly straight forward but I have a few left over parts that came with the rebuild kit and I could find no place for them to go. I am doing a writeup on the rebuild process and posting it on IH8MUD.com.

Put it all back together and BLING-ified it.

I got my oil pan all RTV'ed and gasketed up and mounted that back on the block. Hopefully that doesn't leak again because there are 24 bolts on the pan and 5 on the bellhousing dust cover... not fun to mess with all of those bolts.

After that I got the inspection cover also RTV'ed and gasketed and reinstalled it. No pics of that as it's not very exciting.

I also made a couple of plates for my EGR cooler blockoff and the PCV blockoff. I know blocking off the PCV isn't the best idea as it will cause acidity in the crankcase but it will still be vented. I still need to find gaskets for both of these; I thought they would've been included with the head gasket kit as you have to take BOTH of those things off to remove the head but I guess not.

Here is probably the BEST mod of the day... maybe even the century. Every so often an automotive invention comes along that changes the way we look at modification, driveability, babies, Luxembourg and other things that are also somewhat important. I present to you.... THE 7 DOLLAR SUPER TECHNICAL GYMKHANA APPROVED, AUTOBAHN TESTED, HARBOR FREIGHT PEDAL SET!!! I don't know how many more horses this gave me (thinking somewhere in the 70-80 range) but it cannot be fooled with.

IrollwithTojo · 06-27-09, 11:22 PM

70-80?! You kidding me?! With those little chrome bits thrown on there, your looking at at LEAST 100-120 hp gains.

-Carl

P.S. All fun aside, your going through your truck in ways I could only dream of doing.

ElliottB · 06-28-09, 06:12 PM

Guess I won't have to worry about the 5.3L swap! haha.

I just got back from a 100 mile ride (loop around Denver, Golden, and Aurora) so I am not messing with the rig tonight. Time to drink beer and sleep!

ginsudan · 06-28-09, 08:02 PM

I've seen that carpet before along with that console. Is the insulation actually window flashing? It looks like that special sound dampening stuff for those loud thump stereos that alway seem to pull up next to me at a slow changing traffic light. I don't really want to take my sixty to pieces like you did but I like what you are doing. Great to watch keep it up and please keep the updates coming.

ElliottB · 07-04-09, 07:42 PM

Starting to put everything back together but still waiting on a couple of parts to arrive. Mostly gaskets, intake fittings, and other miscellaneous pieces. I've never done this vast of an engine overhaul so I am excited to see how it turns out. At the same time, I'm scared that there will be numerous leaks, maladjusted belts, electrical gremlins (having fought with the PO's previous wiring rat's nest), or catastrophic failure. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Got my smog pump devaned and the air rail holes plugged up. It's essentially going to act as a pulley.

Grounded my EGR wire. It is connected to the PCV/EGR assembly that comes off the side of the intake manifold. It's also plugged up now. I know this isn't ideal as moisture and acidity can build up in the crankcase without proper ventilation, but we'll see how it works out.

I don't ave electricity in my garage right now (wiring in this house is SKETCHY!) so I had to run a LONG extension cord to finally get cutting on my blockoff plates. One is for the EGR/PCV hole and the other is for the EGR cooler hole. This is the best I could do with an angle grinder.

And both of the plates installed.

And here's where I am now. A lot further along but still a long way to go. Plumbing the carb for all of the newly desmogged items is not something I'm looking forward to. I'm still shooting for July 15th startup day... we'll see how that goes!

ElliottB · 07-05-09, 05:17 PM

Does anyone have advice on how to get the intake/exhaust manifold back on? I messed with it for over 2 hours today and couldn't get the bolt holes lined up on the head. The two head studs were fairly easy as were the three on the exhaust pipe, but I'm having serious issues with the rest of them.

Thanks!

Spike Strip · 07-05-09, 05:46 PM

You may have to move the air horn out a little bit to line up the holes... Tap 'em with a wood block and mallet.

ElliottB · 07-13-09, 01:16 AM

Sadly, I will not have this thing running before I go home for a week. I am still waiting on my rebuilt carb and distributor (was only supposed to be 4-5 weeks!), a water pump gasket, and silicone tubing from McMaster's. Regardless, when it arrives I should be ready to plumb all the new vacuum hoses and bolt up the shiny parts.

After almost stripping the rear most hole on the rear of the head (near the firewall), I got it back in usable condition and was able to bolt my intake/exhaust manifold back up. This is a real PITA on this truck, I literally have to stand on it and bounce it around to get the holes to line up right. Hopefully, I won't have to pull it off anytime soon.

Just a couple pics to show current progress.

smkymntn · 07-17-09, 08:57 AM

so clean. Good job.

ElliottB · 07-29-09, 01:43 PM

Just talked to JimC, said he shipped my carb and distributor today. Hopefully I can get everything installed this weekend!

pint · 07-29-09, 06:30 PM

Great work man! I can't wait to see the final results. I may need to sell my 100 after all and buy a 60 to play with???

ElliottB · 07-30-09, 12:19 AM

Got a little more done. Water pump, tstat housing, new spark plugs, and still trying to clean things up. It pales in comparison to Prowler's rig, but it's looking A LOT better than it did.

And I found this steering wheel cover at the auto parts store. Matches my interior pretty well!

And yes, door panels are in the works!