Driving Restoration

[flowman]

betty did great on the trails....i'll be stoked to see it next year...

My cruiser will hopefully packed with a ton more goodies...my goal is to make it thru lower 2 with out winching but it prob wont happen......ya never know though ......mmm ram asist.....front locker...

Thanks, she did better than I did.....dents were my fault.

Al, from where I was videoing....front locker. How low is your gearing? Everybody was blown away w/ Alej and his exo'd 80, but I had more fun watching the creamy goodness of velveeta!

 

[swank60]

flowman - yup, I've already done one round of the smog pump lock-up. Don't want to do it again. Mine isn't really leaking so much as it's sweating...but the leaks are coming.

I'm going over my priorities, and it's coming together. Mechanical stuff first. I've got a new motor mount to go on the DS (did I mention my old PS pump failing/leaking a while back?) and the kit for the t-cas tranny...just need half a Saturday to do it all. Then the oil thing goes back to the top of the list. I need to replace the gaskets on the inspection plate and fuel pump, I don't have any leaks at the oil cooler, but I may look at that, too. Need to test the valve seals and probably replace. It's about the only thing I can really point to that could be the culprit at this point. Rings are good, and I get a lot of build up on the plugs - not oily build up, but it's like layered gobs of black and grey/tan poweder. From what I've heard, that points at valve seals or bad gas...I get smoke sometimes at startup too...another indicator.

Good point on the paint, too. I was just out looking at my old TR6 and it was shot almost 18 years ago with a good single stage paint and it's still shiney and looks great...and the thing spent 5+ years under a pecan tree...I'd like to see the 60 all shiney and nice again...I mean, the paint held up for almost a full month after I bought it...ah, the sweet memories...

 

[Cruisin'Carolina]

How are you coming, chat whore?????

Looks like my hands are fixing to get a little dirty. And I have only 1/2 of a banana...

 

[lowtideride]

I think he lifted it with some chat springs and put some of those sick chat wheels on too.

 

[Cruisin'Carolina]

LOL.....

I think while everything is working good on my rust free-60, you ought to just come up and buy the damn thing and switch the goods on Velveeta on over....

You know you like the tan.....

 

[lowtideride]

I would love too but I just bought an 80 series... That and Velveeta wag is getting a front locker and hand throttle this weekend it took two years but she is getting close to where I want her now...

just need some 38.5 SX's and a swing out tire carrier with a butt load of spare axles and birfs sitting the back...(have some but need more)

well along the normal up keep. (water pump,rad, alt. bushings....someday Velveeta will get a new body but for now she is DD and wheeling rig....

Man O Man I cant wait to get back to GSMTR...hope to see a lot of you guys there this year.

 

[swank60]

I think he lifted it with some chat springs and put some of those sick chat wheels on too.

Everything is pretty much on hold right now, trying to decide what I want to do with it long term. $3 a gallon gas kind of puts a kabosh on me getting really excited about upgrades.

I'm thinking about the 4BT conversion, but the time/money factor makes that seem unlikely. Even considering a GM diesel conversion (since it'll be easier and I don't have to lift the damn thing 4" to make it work). Since I put maybe 25 miles a week on the thing, the oil consumption and bad gas mileage doesn't really matter all that much, and I'm not worrying about travelling, so...

I've got all of my hydralic stuff sitting out in the garage. I need to redo the rear brakes soon - something's gone wrong back there...but other than that :shrug: I'm just not too worried about it. I've got a rattle that's developed in the front end too, so I need to check that out as well. Before all of that gets done, I need to replace the steering rack in the Avalon.

I'm a little apathetic about the whole thing.

 

[Cruisin'Carolina]

Sounds like you got a plan, just no time to get greasy.....

Knock on wood, mine is humming right along, just developed a rad leak, spent about 2 hours looking over things and WOW I dread tearing into much, I think I need to have a vacuum hose burning party!....

A whole lot of rubber and old brittle looking plastic going on......broke the headlight washer fliud container just be touching it...

Don't worry about the gas, just do it.....

 

[roscoFJ73]

Should I redo the brake cyls and calipers? Should I consider the 4Runner calipers up front, or even rear disks? Seems like a lot of work on a system that really isn't that bad in the first place...

You have answered your own question

• What sort of method/trouble can I expect from stripping the paint to the bare metal? I figure I'd do it in sections, not all at once - and I probably won't remove the glass or the inside junk (door jams, etc) - also, what wheeling I do is usually expedition stuff, and I wind up scratching the hell out of my paint (trees) - should that have any bearing on my decission to paint/LineX? - I only wheel it maybe once a month...


That kind of effort is for custom rodders who want a perfect candy apple red paintjob to win trophies
Not for occasional expedition rigs.
It takes a lot of work for not much gain stripping them back to bare metal.

• I'm thinking about the CS144 GM alt upgrade. Would that do it, or should I consider dual batts, also? I'm not expecting to run a winch or a thumping sound system - I just want to run what I've got reliably.

Why not find out whats wrong with the one you got 1st. It maybe resistance from corrosion in the wiring. Pretty common at your cruisers age

• Should I mess with the rear axle at all, even though it seems to be fine? (bearings, seals, etc?

You have answered your own question again
Why torture yourself over a highway come occasional expedition rig.

• I don't know what shape my rear springs are in - they're partially held up by those crappy coil/shock combo things...are OEM rear springs available? I may put a bull bar upfront, too - if I do, can I keep my factory springs? I don't want to do an OME susp. lift or anything. can I get away with an addd-a-leaf?

Get some new springs. Even a highway rig benefits from good springs.
Dont waste anymore $$$ on patch up crap like add a leaf.

"Any other suggestions on what else to mess with? Do I seem like I'm on the right track?"

Prioritise!! Get all the things that make it a pita to drive fixed 1st.
The time and effort spent stripping paint back to bare metal is better spent on the suspension and other mechanicals.

 

[lowtideride]

I know how much time i spend on my Mud , I could have re-built two cruisers, and well you spend way more time then i do ya big chat whore. I am not being mean or anything, I think ya just need a big kick in the nuts to get things moving.

First off...

you seem to want to paint it...so do so. stop off and talk to a few old body shops and see how much they will charge you to paint the thing...if you prep it I am sure some old dude will do it for chhheaaappp...

Second put the lift on. After seeing your truck with new paint and a new lift you will fall in love with it all over agian. which will jump start your lazy ass, to start fixing the little s*** that is wrong.

third if you drive that thing 25 miles a week and are complaining about gas I am so gonna kick ya in the nuts agian

I put about 300 on my locked, SOA, beat rig....


As for if the brakes went kaput in the rear..a disc conversion will run you about the same as replacing the pads and wheel cylinders for the rear...

then think about tires, and bumpers and all that other crap.


and last but not least come to GSMTR and wheel or just hang out with me and the crew of hippie, surfer, cruiserheads for a week by the campfire and water falls of GSMTR in May.

later brotha,
-Al

 

[patride71]

CC must be bored to dredge up this one.....swank is ALMOST as bad as me.
all talk and no show.

at least i have an excuse...no $.

my wife keeps talking me out of getting rid of mine. gotta love her. i'm about to cancel the insurance on it and park it in my garage until i have the funds to fix it.

 

[swank60]

I'm short on funds right now, too. Haven't worked much at all over the last month...also, all of my spare time goes to hangin' out with my son - he's way cooler than the 60 any day. When he gets a little older, I'm sure he'll want to hang out in the garage and help out - he's only 2 now, so it just doesn't work.

It's still runnin' and burning oil like crazy. Don't need to lift it, put a winch on it or a bull bar for what I'm doing these days anyway. I pretty much have to drive 150 miles in any direction to find a decent dirt road, much less rough enough terrain to lock the hubs...

 

[Mike S]

Check your gorunds, and rewind the alternator with a rebuild included. Good for up to 90 Amps. Rebuild the head - valve job, deck, and new seals, springs, gaskets, etc.

Forget the trick brakes, just fix what you have - they work well when maintained.

Repack the bearings and check the seals while you're at it.

Paint it if you want to look good.

Drive. Then fix stuff as it needs it.

Just MHO.

M

 

[DocB]

My set up so far:

82
wore out TBI 350 with 160k; still runs gud tho
Ranger Overdrive
Aussie H41 4 speed
Safarigard front , winch ready; lighter than ARB but still very stout
Slee sliders; have already paid for themselves at least twice
Cheap but gud enuf Smittybilt rear (used)
Custom rear sliders with Q panel protection by a local Amarillo guy "Fabwright"
Re arch/add a leaf for like a 2 inch lift by a local Amarillo guy "Texas spring"
1 inch shackle front; 2 inch rear
Cheap Hechethorn shocks
SOR seat covers
32X11.50 MTRs on 8 inch Enkei rims
Tucked up exhaust
Thule roof rack with spare and high lift

Uses: daily driver for last 6 months; hauled furniture; hauled my brother's office stuff; hauls trash; drove it to Red River, wheeled it, slept in it, carried everyone else's junk; drove it home. Drove it 8 hrs to Katemcy; camped in it. Drove it to Texas from NorCal after Ebay purchase. Drove it to Dallas once. Drive to the hunting lease, scout, go places my buddies can't in their new Dodge 4x4s; drive home.

Issues: broke a motor mount/radiator/headers at Katemcy while abusing it. Drove it home anyway after The White Trash and a cool Venezuelan helped me with extreme trail repairs. Check engine light came on once; throttle Position Sensor replaced; light off since. Changed oil once.

PS, not you can't come hunt on my lease (6000 acres in Palo Duro Canyon; Don't be jealous.)

 

[roscoFJ73]

• I don't know what shape my rear springs are in - they're partially held up by those crappy coil/shock combo things...are OEM rear springs available? I may put a bull bar upfront, too - if I do, can I keep my factory springs? I don't want to do an OME susp. lift or anything. can I get away with an addd-a-leaf?

QUOTE]
The springs sound fawked,but you can get away with add a leaf if your tight for money ,we have all been there at some time or another.

Keep in mind they wont last forever.

I would get new springs before a bullbar, it makes such a difference riding on new spring steel