Builds 1984 Lost American Twin

[dr_dobro]

Thats awesome. I need to do something. That may be the ticket

For sure plenty of choices….. I always had luck with the diesel. For instance, my 10 year old ram 2500 is free of rust here in the rust belt

All undercoatings attract dirt, every time you apply a layer, it will get thicker

 

[dr_dobro]

Long of a wait (4 months) for some new Toyo’s that still had no projected delivery date while finding a new set of 5 Goodyear wrangler duratrac my son found and installed for a great deal, order was canceled

Compound feels soft but they are rated E (285/70R17), which I am not of a fan for such a light truck. Let’s see how they do.

A before and after poser shots

 

[franklin40]

i’ve run duratracs for years at about 34 psi and have found them to be great tires especially in the winter. too much air and they are harsh but lower pressure doesn’t seem to ruin fuel economy or sound too loud. i hope you like them! they look great

 

[CruiserTrash]

i’ve run duratracs for years at about 34 psi and have found them to be great tires especially in the winter. too much air and they are harsh but lower pressure doesn’t seem to ruin fuel economy or sound too loud. i hope you like them! they look great

I had some on a 60 and had the same experience too. Fantastic on snow and ice.

 

[dr_dobro]

i’ve run duratracs for years at about 34 psi and have found them to be great tires especially in the winter. too much air and they are harsh but lower pressure doesn’t seem to ruin fuel economy or sound too loud. i hope you like them! they look great

I had some on a 60 and had the same experience too. Fantastic on snow and ice.

Thank you both, good to know. They are currently filled at 35 psi.

 

[dr_dobro]

The 60 decided to piss oil trough the oil pan cork gasket. As a daily driver, we needed to fix this fast, luckily had a new oil pan, gasket and pump to replace it with.

Wish I had this done with the front axle out last year. What a pain was to remove this pan that looked to be stock !
- Hung the truck by the Frame, removed the shocks to let the axle hang low (for better clearance).
- Used scrapped aluminum to hold the gasket in place while applying FIPG at the corners of the gasket.
- Kid took the truck back to work !

 

[dr_dobro]

Oil pan gasket worked really well after 250 miles and now to have an Fing leak between the timing metal plate and block!!!!
Off course this is a real PITA to fix when it’s your DD that I want to sell this 60 of such frustration ….. threw some RTV (all clean surfaces off course) on the outside hoping it minimises the leak!

I sold a few great 2F’s and kept this 1985 that I had for sometime with low miles, not going to do a full rebuild but just re fresh it with bearings rings (found one broken) and all new seals. This gives me the opportunity to install a new h55f I have with a 4.1 split case that just needs assembly.
The idea is to swap when ready and sell the old drivetrain as is.

Sending the block to the machine shop (luckily they have been working on two late model 2F heads I dropped a few weeks ago)

 

[dr_dobro]

Another 250 miles and timing cover exterior fix worked for now.

Dropped the long block to be cleaned, checked and honed.

Measured, cleaned and polished all internals. So far so good.
order a few more parts, just can’t find a good source of main bearings (std) and any recommendations for bearings cams ?

 

[CruiserTrash]

Another 250 miles and timing cover exterior fix worked for now.

Dropped the long block to be cleaned, checked and honed.

Measured, cleaned and polished all internals. So far so good.
order a few more parts, just can’t find a good source of main bearings (std) and any recommendations for bearings cams ?

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You can get cam bearings from Toyota for fairly cheap. Taiho is the OEM for the Toyota main & rod bearing and you can still find those - Taiho packaging, not Toyota. There are aftermarket choices, but I don’t know about those.

 

[dr_dobro]

You can get cam bearings from Toyota for fairly cheap. Taiho is the OEM for the Toyota main & rod bearing and you can still find those - Taiho packaging, not Toyota. There are aftermarket choices, but I don’t know about those.

Thank you ! Saw the Taino brand out there but wasn’t sure…

Always learning something new

 

[dr_dobro]

Pulled the H55F along with the 38mm split out of storage….. Sorting out parts to get this thing assembled soon

Kind of nice to have this all ready as it has been sometime since I sent the case to georg to be machined for the 4:1 gears to fit (before and after photos). This setup was originally going to my 40 but have changed directions with drivetrains.

Wish I had more room in the garage

 

[dr_dobro]

Started tackling the 5 speed job last night by tearing the 5 speed spacer out as noticed some lubricant sipping out of the gasket, glad I caught this….

Next, needed to prepare a rear companion flange to be retrofitted into a front since this item is NLA.
Since the rear is available and almost identical to the front, the two differences in between them are longer studs and dust deflector.
Studs, who cares…. Deflector, easy swap !
Parts numbers for this job are
- 33309-60041 Flange
- 33325-60021 Deflector

Lastly, since Toyota never does a good job spraying their new parts, a simple pass of brake cleaning, took all the paint away (smooth surfaces mostly).
Obviously sanded, cleaned and masked for a better quality paint job

This thing will go slow for sure

 

[dr_dobro]

Haven’t done one of these in a long time, taking me more time than anticipated.

So far so good, the machining work on the half case seems to clear the larger gear (did a test before installing the gasket).

 

[dr_dobro]

Has anyone streched the wheel base on a 60/62 series ?, specifically on the rear (wider wheel aches).
Recently picked up a west coast 80 series (rust free), with a bad valve guides, planning do a frame swap (eventually)…..

Also, @franklin40 & @CruiserTrash, thanks for the recommendations on the duratracs, 6k miles on them loving them…. So much I bought a set for my 2500

 

[cruisermatt]

One of the original 60/80 mashups back in like 2006, he left the frame the stock length and cut the rear wheelwells. Looked kinda funky.

Honestly with how easy the @torfab axle kits are to install I don’t see why you would swap the chassis.
Fuel tank, body mounts, engine mounts, everything can stay stock

 

[dr_dobro]

One of the original 60/80 mashups back in like 2006, he left the frame the stock length and cut the rear wheelwells. Looked kinda funky.

Honestly with how easy the @torfab axle kits are to install I don’t see why you would swap the chassis.
Fuel tank, body mounts, engine mounts, everything can stay stock

Thanks for the info Matt, my intentions are to shortened the frame along for 110” of WB, might not be worth the amount of work to gain 3 extra inches, hence wanted to know or see what a modded rear well look like …

 

[cruisermatt]

I would still ask why not just graft to the 60 frame?

 

[dr_dobro]

I would still ask why not just graft to the 60 frame?

Hi Matt,

Multiple reasons,
- Chassis is fully boxed
- Chassis is taller, giving me a better link geometry, aiming 3.5” of lift
- Front rails are narrower than the 60, giving me better packaging for ORI struts
- Steering box is higher, giving me clearance for high steer and panhard bar. It also sits further forward giving me extra 2” inches of wheelbase. Oh, it also gives the desirable late box bolt pattern.
- tank sit forward of rear axle, giving me the chance to make a sub storage under the cargo area.
- Tank has a sump, I know this is minor
- Trying to run 40’s aiming 110” of WB while somehow keeping the body lines.


I guess it depends on what we all are building ? This will be my retirement truck if life doesn’t get on my path ….

 

[cruisermatt]

I didn’t realize you were planning on going big with this one

 

[dr_dobro]

I didn’t realize you were planning on going big with this one

Sorry if I wasn’t clear ! None of my cruisers were ever stock, it will be really funny if one of these day I won’t be able to step in ,

This is an old 80 I built about 9 years ago. Really liked the 80 platform much more than the old 60 series. Suspension worked really well, both on on and off the road, while learning from the past, is where I got the motivation doing a frame swap

This photo compares my (diseased) 80 with 42’s and about 3.5” of lift and the white one with 35’s and 2.5” of aftermarket bolt on lift