Hey Everyone, I ended up pulling a trigger on my first Cruiser in January. I have always wanted one, so when a semi-local on popped up, I decided to go for it even though I knew it needed some work. It is kind of a running project at the moment, but more on that later. My main use for the rig will be casual cruising and yearly camping trips and brewfests.
The Body is straight and fairly complete, but there were some obvious things that needed work. The previous owner had good intentions ( I think he may be a user on here), but some of the recent work was not done to my general standard of care. The first (and most apparent) being the orange coating.
Mechanically the cruiser appears to be fairly sound. There are some rough spots underneath that need a little rust treatment to prevent it from becoming a problem, but the motor and transmission run strong. The head was replaced about 15 to 20k ago, and it seems to have been done well. When I first got it, it was having some transmission glitches like it not shifting to drive from Park after you had been moving. I knew this was a glitch, and I decided to take a little gamble on it. First thoughts were solenoids based on some of your threads here, but the culprit was ultimately the NSS, which a mechanic buddy (he specializes in older Toyotas) and I went through some lengths to figure out. Thanks to everyone on here, I was able to provide some pretty solid info that was valuable during our diagnostics. Once we sorted that out, replaced the crank seal, installed a new oil pan, fixed a leaking caliper and twisted brake line, and flushed the transmission, my mechanic is feeling good about how it drives.
With me feeling like I was not absolutely screwed from a potential gamble, I could move into fixing some of the cosmetic grievances I had with it. The orange coating ended up not bonding very well in some places, so before I knew it, the rig looked way different after a day or two of peeling. I also removed the roof rack, the rails, and the connectors. All of which were not in great shape. Basket could probably be reused but the mounted rack is junk.
As I continued down the rabbit hole, I realized I was going to need to get complete removal of the coating and start from scratch to get rid of some surface rust and feel good about the new paint's life. Enter the pressure washer. After a day of pressure washing, most of the original paint was exposed.
The remaining tough spots are being worked with an orbital sander and some patience (of which I am not really known for). I am going to bare metal where I need to and sealing with primer until I can get an even sand and primer over the whole Cruiser. Since sanding sucks, I added some other items to my list, like getting those ugly running boards off, taking off the fender flares for prepping, and even the fenders themselves.
I have gone through a number of bolts that have been in poor condition, and I ended up having to grind a few out to get rid of the running boards (good riddance). The fenders ended up having a couple of rust spots that need some attention under the flares, so I am glad I ended up taking them off. As it sits today, it is looking much different than when I started, but necessary.
Moving forward, I have a few questions for the masses here:
Are there any vendors that sell bolt kits for these cruisers? The more I dismantle the more I see that the old bolts need to be replaced (fenders, flares, etc.), and I want to make sure I do it right. I know there are places I can buy bolts individually, but it would be slick if there was somewhere I did not know about to buy in bulk.
What is the best place to purchase the trim pieces and items like window seals? I have browsed the forum a bit, but it seems like most of the normal sites do not really offer these anymore.
Anyone have any parts cruisers somewhere around Washington for future reference? Once I move into the interior there are some things that could use replacing, and well as normal things like mudflaps, etc.....
I am excited to be into the project, even if it has taken more of a life than I thought it would. Other things I will be moving through: Window regulators and motors, door lock actuator, fixing the speakers (mounted poorly), replacing the exhaust (it is custom and riddled with holes), looking into some new bumpers, and just giving it an overall cleaning.
Appreciate all of the information that everyone has provided this far. It is a great forum with a ton of info. I am hoping to have this Cruiser back together and at least mostly primed in the next month or so so that I can start to enjoy driving it more.
Thanks for reading. Wish me luck, and hopefully I do not need too much of it.........
The Body is straight and fairly complete, but there were some obvious things that needed work. The previous owner had good intentions ( I think he may be a user on here), but some of the recent work was not done to my general standard of care. The first (and most apparent) being the orange coating.
Mechanically the cruiser appears to be fairly sound. There are some rough spots underneath that need a little rust treatment to prevent it from becoming a problem, but the motor and transmission run strong. The head was replaced about 15 to 20k ago, and it seems to have been done well. When I first got it, it was having some transmission glitches like it not shifting to drive from Park after you had been moving. I knew this was a glitch, and I decided to take a little gamble on it. First thoughts were solenoids based on some of your threads here, but the culprit was ultimately the NSS, which a mechanic buddy (he specializes in older Toyotas) and I went through some lengths to figure out. Thanks to everyone on here, I was able to provide some pretty solid info that was valuable during our diagnostics. Once we sorted that out, replaced the crank seal, installed a new oil pan, fixed a leaking caliper and twisted brake line, and flushed the transmission, my mechanic is feeling good about how it drives.
With me feeling like I was not absolutely screwed from a potential gamble, I could move into fixing some of the cosmetic grievances I had with it. The orange coating ended up not bonding very well in some places, so before I knew it, the rig looked way different after a day or two of peeling. I also removed the roof rack, the rails, and the connectors. All of which were not in great shape. Basket could probably be reused but the mounted rack is junk.
As I continued down the rabbit hole, I realized I was going to need to get complete removal of the coating and start from scratch to get rid of some surface rust and feel good about the new paint's life. Enter the pressure washer. After a day of pressure washing, most of the original paint was exposed.
The remaining tough spots are being worked with an orbital sander and some patience (of which I am not really known for). I am going to bare metal where I need to and sealing with primer until I can get an even sand and primer over the whole Cruiser. Since sanding sucks, I added some other items to my list, like getting those ugly running boards off, taking off the fender flares for prepping, and even the fenders themselves.
I have gone through a number of bolts that have been in poor condition, and I ended up having to grind a few out to get rid of the running boards (good riddance). The fenders ended up having a couple of rust spots that need some attention under the flares, so I am glad I ended up taking them off. As it sits today, it is looking much different than when I started, but necessary.
Moving forward, I have a few questions for the masses here:
Are there any vendors that sell bolt kits for these cruisers? The more I dismantle the more I see that the old bolts need to be replaced (fenders, flares, etc.), and I want to make sure I do it right. I know there are places I can buy bolts individually, but it would be slick if there was somewhere I did not know about to buy in bulk.
What is the best place to purchase the trim pieces and items like window seals? I have browsed the forum a bit, but it seems like most of the normal sites do not really offer these anymore.
Anyone have any parts cruisers somewhere around Washington for future reference? Once I move into the interior there are some things that could use replacing, and well as normal things like mudflaps, etc.....
I am excited to be into the project, even if it has taken more of a life than I thought it would. Other things I will be moving through: Window regulators and motors, door lock actuator, fixing the speakers (mounted poorly), replacing the exhaust (it is custom and riddled with holes), looking into some new bumpers, and just giving it an overall cleaning.
Appreciate all of the information that everyone has provided this far. It is a great forum with a ton of info. I am hoping to have this Cruiser back together and at least mostly primed in the next month or so so that I can start to enjoy driving it more.
Thanks for reading. Wish me luck, and hopefully I do not need too much of it.........
