Feleena from Far West Texas (1 Viewer)

[MrBaconjr]

I’ve owned a LOT of cars and trucks over the years (somewhere around 40), starting with a Triumph Spitfire in college, and then through a series of trucks, SUVs, and European sports cars and wagons. Been a while since I have owned a vintage machine- buddy of mine got a built up 80, which inspired me to look for a 60. I bought Feleena (named after the old Marty Robbins tune) out of Austin and had her brought to far West Texas about a month ago.

PO redid the interior, with new seat and door covers, carpet, and sound deadening. Added 4 Plus bumpers, Smittybilt winch, ARB rack and snorkel, HFS lift and 33 BFG. Paint is a 6’ good respray, very little rust anywhere, other than surface. She spent 14 years sitting in a garage in Austin, then another 2 years in POs garage being worked on.

Desmogged with a Weber 38. 180k miles, and very little had been done on her mechanically. Engine is strong, but the list of to dos is pretty long. Thus far I have:

• Changed all the fluids (except radiator- more on that plan below). Gear and engine oil super dark; I’ll change it all again in about 750 miles.
• Got fuel gauge working. At some point in her life, someone dropped the tank and forgot to rerun the fuel send wire back up to middle of tank. And the sender arm and float fell off.
• Replaced leaking valve cover gasket- split in 2 places.
• Replaced starter with reman Toyota.
• Replaced main battery cables with a kit from @Fourrunner
• Get all the lights, both interior and exterior, working
• Replaced ratty front door seals.
• Ordered a crap ton of parts.

My goal is to get her to the point she is reliable for driving around the Big Bend region and beyond for overlanding and exploring. No serious crawling planned, but plenty of time off the pavement. To that end, in the immediate repair queue:

• Replacing or refreshing pretty much every accessory on the front of the motor: alternator (55 amp NOS), swap smog pump for idler puller, rebuild PS pump, water pump (OEM), thermostat and radiator. Replace all of the belts (OEM) and hoses (OEM as available) and replace side cover gasket.
• Rebuild rear 3rd member. Has a bit of slop at pinion and the seal leaks.
• Install dual battery setup using Hellroaring’s gear. Will be doing the backup configuration, with everything running off main battery and secondary reserved for backup.
• Rebuild clutch master and slave cylinders, replacing flexible line and fork boot at same time.
• New seatbelts.
• Re-jet Weber for high altitude (I’m at 5,500’).
• Replace tie rod and drag link ends and align.
• Rebuild steering box

Longer term, I’ll do a knuckle rebuild, rebuild transfer case and swap transmission for an H55. Possibly swap the dizzy. Thinking about swapping ARB rack for one from Bowfin. Planning on pictures and documentation in this thread in hopes it helps others. And to get the inevitably needed advice on something when I get stuck. Stuck like my distributor…

 

[MrBaconjr]

Pictures of the interior- not stock, but I like the way it looks. Replacing 10" subwoofer box in cargo area (and amp under back seat) with a small, powered sub under driver's seat.

 

[ff347]

Super sweet 60, lots of very nice upgrades.

 

[Skniper]

I like original upholstery, but really like when someone ditches it for something different and cool and compliments the vintage of the vehicle. I like that.

 

[MrBaconjr]

I like original upholstery, but really like when someone ditches it for something different and cool and compliments the vintage of the vehicle. I like that.

It feels super 80s for sure. Not over the top, just kinda awesome.

 

[MrBaconjr]

Oh yeah. Goodness from @ToyotaMatt arrived today. NOS Denso 55 amp alternator, alternator tension hardware, and NOS OEM washer pump.

Out with non-standard, flaky alternator.

In with newness. I'll tackle washer pump, rebuild of clutch actuation system, and a couple body items this weekend.

 

[Saucerman]

Cool truck man! Has those neat sliding rear windows too.

 

[88Retired62]

Super job, MrBaconjr....job well done, indeed!

 

[ToyotaMatt]

Oh yeah. Goodness from @ToyotaMatt arrived today. NOS Denso 55 amp alternator, alternator tension hardware, and NOS OEM washer pump.



View attachment 2547051


Out with non-standard, flaky alternator.


View attachment 2547053

In with newness. I'll tackle washer pump, rebuild of clutch actuation system, and a couple body items this weekend.

View attachment 2547056

those images i rarely get to see , thanks for taking the time truly , im humbled by your remarks

but ...........

this is why i do what i do , the end factory focus points details make me march on even harder .............

 

[ToyotaMatt]

Oh yeah. Goodness from @ToyotaMatt arrived today. NOS Denso 55 amp alternator, alternator tension hardware, and NOS OEM washer pump.



View attachment 2547051


Out with non-standard, flaky alternator.


View attachment 2547053

In with newness. I'll tackle washer pump, rebuild of clutch actuation system, and a couple body items this weekend.

View attachment 2547056

i need feedback on the redesigned and tweaked Tension KIT # 2

did it cover 110% of all the bases like i dream it did the and would the moment i jumped in my head to well ...................tweeked it ?

 

[ToyotaMatt]

excellent indeed

thanks for asking me to take part in your preservation in such a special way the photos blow me away ............

 

[MrBaconjr]

i need feedback on the redesigned and tweaked Tension KIT # 2

did it cover 110% of all the bases like i dream it did the and would the moment i jumped in my head to well ...................tweeked it ?

The Tension Kit #2 works really well. I especially like that it has the outside nut to secure the adjuster block to the lock bolt. No losing the damn block!

Super pleased with everything else; great to have reliable charging and a clean windshield.

Have a water pump and LED lights inbound as well. Really excited about the lights- I'll post up before and after pics.

FWIW, you guy's branding rocks- really great!

 

[MrBaconjr]

Got a few more things done over last few days: rebuilt/resealed power steering pump (damn there are a lot of springs in there), replaced taillight gaskets with reproductions from City Racer, replaced smog pump with TLC idler arm, and adjusted clutch.

Rejetted Weber 38 for altitude- probably the best thing I have done thus far. Have a bit more tweaking to do, but runs a ton better. Really hoping it helps with the whopping 6.25 mph I am getting. Now I just gotta beat the dizzy out of it's mount so I can adjust the timing.

Immediately on deck is tie rod replacement and cutting the hook off the Smittybilt winch lead and replacing with a Factor 55 link.

Scored a 3.70 3rd member off an '86 that is headed to Land Cruiser Specialists for a rebuild. I'll swap it in, have that third member rebuilt, and swap that for the front when I redo the drooling knuckles.

 

[MrBaconjr]

Tools of the day:

Had to beat the dizzy out of the block from below. A piece of 1x2 and the center mallet got it unstuck without damage. Galvanic corrosion had welded the aluminum shaft of the distributor to the block. I cleaned everything up, lightly sanded upper part of dizzy shaft, and lightly applied anti sieze above the o-ring. I can finally adjust the timing.



Small mod- cut the hook off the Smittybilt winch lead and replaced it with a Factor 55 link.

 

[Tex68w]

Finally checking out your rig, mentioned it in your 890 ADV R posts over on the ADVRIDER boards. Love it!!!