Builds The Story of Blue (1 Viewer)

[AlpineAccess]

That's what I thought. For some reason I though I had read mention of camber though as well and was curious how and why. But clearly I dreamt it.

I still think static camber being at zero always catches my eye as well - almost every vehicle I've ever owned has had a small amount of negative static camber - some way more than others depending on the suspension setup. But that's what the Toyota engineers put in there and you can see the IFS has camber when turning, so it makes sense I suppose.

 

[LndXrsr]

I still think static camber being at zero always catches my eye as well - almost every vehicle I've ever owned has had a small amount of negative static camber - some way more than others depending on the suspension setup. But that's what the Toyota engineers put in there and you can see the IFS has camber when turning, so it makes sense I suppose.

Yeah, most vehicles will have some small amount of negative camber at rest to make the tire contact more neutral when cornering loads are applied. I suppose handling doesn’t really make the top of the priority list when designing a cruiser.

 

[ClassyJalopy]

Don't have any big updates. Been busy just generally cleaning up the interior and figuring out wiring and stuff.
Cosmetically there are quite a few improvements needed. The Gamiviti rack needs a good strip down and repaint. Also the wind noise is unbearable. First thing I did was to order a wind fairing from Tim @nakman . Turns out mine is an early design rack, a new design wind fairing may not work too well!
Tim is very helpful in figuring out what needs to be done. Hopefully we will have a solution soon.
Next step was to take the rack off and get it ready for sand blasting and fresh paint. The take off procedure is pretty straightforward and took abt an hour.
I must say I like the slick top look!

 

[ClassyJalopy]

The @white-knuckleoffroad sliders that came with the truck have their powder coating all dried up and there quite a few battle scars on them. Time to pull them off and drop off at the sand Blaster.

EDIT: Kirk clarified that these were never powder coated, They were painted with rubberized coating.

These beasts are heavy duty!

 

[ClassyJalopy]

Sand blasting place is about 70 miles away, so how do you transport a 7' x 5' rack and two heavy rock sliders? In a minivan of course! How do other LC owners get by without one, is a mystery to me!

 

[Kabanstva]

Is it possible the sliders were just spray painted? I'd imagine powdercoat would hold up much better especially in a southern environment. I get the scuffs will rust right away from hitting rocks, but it looks like they're rusty all over, not just from trail damage.

 

[ClassyJalopy]

Is it possible the sliders were just spray painted? I'd imagine powdercoat would hold up much better especially in a southern environment. I get the scuffs will rust right away from hitting rocks, but it looks like they're rusty all over, not just from trail damage.

Oh that is just a poor picture. They are mostly covered in red-ish clay type mud that's just caked on there. Underneath that there is cracked up black powder coat

 

[Kabanstva]

Oh that is just a poor picture. They are mostly covered in red-ish clay type mud that's just caked on there. Underneath that there is cracked up black powder coat

Yeah that clay is nasty. I got a bunch of it in WY a few years back and gave up on cleaning it 100%. I got what I could off with hours of powerwashing and just said F it at that point.

 

[OwnerCS]

The @white-knuckleoffroad sliders that came with the truck have their powder coating all dried up and there quite a few battle scars on them. Time to pull them off and drop off at the sand Blaster.
These beasts are heavy duty!
View attachment 2634404

i wonder if someone took the bare finish option and used regular paint?

 

[CappyKD]

i wonder if someone took the bare finish option and used regular paint?

Nope, none of the above guesses are right, but you are the closest. Lol.

I took the bare finish option and painted them with rubberized undercoating.

@ClassyJalopy

If you are actually going to wheel it then don't powder coat them IMO, save your money and rubberized undercoat them, this way you can touch them up by hand when installed. Powder coat will get trashed the first rock you drag them over.

 

[AlpineAccess]

Farm implement paint has been the overall best finish that I've found. Easily touched up and lays down well with a roller etc.

 

[ClassyJalopy]

There are certain advantages to buying a truck from an enthusiast! @CappyKD included so many spare parts with the truck that I am still finding gems! Here's what I have found so far:

• Starter motor brushes
• Ignition cylinder rod
• Manual throttle cable and pedal
• Rear hatch struts
• Front hub flanges (and a ton of other related parts)
• Diff pinion flanges
• Full TJM air locker wiring harness

This is on top of big ticket items like DT headers and LRA 40G tank. There is a lot more parts that I haven't either closely looked at or just plain didn't recognize them!

 

[ClassyJalopy]

Sand blasting shop called - my sliders and rack are refinished! They media blasted them and then put a self-etching primer and then painted the rack and put bed liner on the sliders.
They look great in the one pic they send. Now I just need to find time to drive 70 miles to go pick them up!

 

[MongooseGA]

How do other LC owners get by without one, is a mystery to me!

With dignity and a utility trailer

If you are actually going to wheel it then don't powder coat them IMO, save your money and rubberized undercoat them, this way you can touch them up by hand when installed. Powder coat will get trashed the first rock you drag them over.

This. I pull my sliders 2x per year to refinish. I'd have been a few grand into blasting and fresh powder by now. I use the rubberized coating too and it's pretty tough stuff. Not much compared to 7k+lbs and a rock, but nothing short of trail rash will ever scratch them.


Coming along nicely, Abe. I like your slick-top look too

 

[ClassyJalopy]

I finally gathered enough courage to start the exhaust header job. I decided to tackle the easy side (passenger side) first. The job is as pain-in-the-azz as everyone says. Luckily all nuts came off cleanly and nothing broke
Access is really tight and requires a ton of unnatural yoga poses. I ordered these wrenches in advance and they definitely made the job a little easier.
Amazon product ASIN B083FBR576
Parts:
DT Headers
Exhaust gasket
Exhaust Pipe Lock Nut - Toyota (90080-17187) x8

Almost 4 hours later - one side of the engine is now shiny!

 

[CappyKD]

Nuts came off easy because I had all new studs installed and new nuts when the headers were installed the first time. Good for you!l nicely done getting one installed already!

 

[MongooseGA]

You're a better man than I for tackling that yourself. My indy gave me the stink eye when I walked in to pick my LC up after install. Then told me after the accident that there was no fcking way in hell he was going to take them back off again for the new truck.

 

[ClassyJalopy]

Replaced the upstream O2 sensors (to match the shiny headers). Denso 234-4169 works great!
Amazon product ASIN B000C5SG54
So far, I have done only the passenger side but the truck has quietened up a lot. So it might be a while before I find courage/time to do the driver side.

Meanwhile, I found the passenger side CV boot looking disfigured! Looks like it's time to reboot the axle.
And yes, I do see the sway bar links are all dried up - but I got a fresh set with the truck so just need to put them on!

 

[AlpineAccess]

Replaced the upstream O2 sensors (to match the shiny headers). Denso 234-4169 works great!
Amazon product ASIN B000C5SG54
So far, I have done only the passenger side but the truck has quietened up a lot. So it might be a while before I find courage/time to do the driver side.

Meanwhile, I found the passenger side CV boot looking disfigured! Looks like it's time to reboot the axle.
And yes, I do see the sway bar links are all dried up - but I got a fresh set with the truck so just need to put them on!

View attachment 2645564

That looks like the boot spun - you might try cutting the small size CV clamp and twist it until the boot rests naturally and throw on a new clamp.

 

[ClassyJalopy]

So as things are quieting down on the mechanical front, I am beginning to look at cosmetic issues. All body panels are straight and there is no rust. The hood is severely faded and the paint has a lot of contaminants in it. When I pass my hand over the paint, the surface doesn't feel smooth at all.
Paint has mild scratches and is really faded
The clear bra on the nose and the side mirrors is dried and cracked. The beltline trim are dried up with their coating coming off.
Finally, there are a couple of spots where the paint is rubbed off will need to be touched up.

So I need to get a game plan together to get her ship shape without having to sell my left kidney. Any and all suggestions are welcome.

Clear bra: Use 3M type eraser wheel to get it off the best I can? I am afraid that might burn up the clear coat?
Paint - clay bar it, touch up the missing paint and wax?
Belt line trim - replace with new OEM

I will have to start a new post for the interior issues.