Builds Let's build a 79 Series from parts... (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter c2dfj45
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c2dfj45
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- #102
There were a few under hood parts that we bolted up just to get out of the way...air cleaner lid will get changed for a 90* drop down one for the 1HDT....
Learned from the #1 truck and bought a correct booster and master vs. trying to make the 80 series one work....beats spending a day modding things to work. This took all of about 10 minutes to bolt up and maybe an hour to mod the pedal.
One day there will be a turbo diesel in that hole.
Learned from the #1 truck and bought a correct booster and master vs. trying to make the 80 series one work....beats spending a day modding things to work. This took all of about 10 minutes to bolt up and maybe an hour to mod the pedal.
One day there will be a turbo diesel in that hole.
c2dfj45
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- #104
And probably the most important part of this whole project in my opinion.....the harness. This could save us months from having to build from scratch and probably speed up the entire build by at least 6 months. Wiring something like this is a painfully slow process but being able to utilize what we need out of the factory harness will make this a joy to do(not for the guy doing it but for me...the guy paying the guy doing it).
I put the dog on guard duty to watch over it....
I put the dog on guard duty to watch over it....
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c2dfj45
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- #105
Deep inside this tangled mess was another critical component we would need to fit in the car before we could get the dash in for a test fit. Even the dog was highly interested in this part of the build.
After about 100 pics of where everything attached to the dash bar, we got it out. Not much to it but it's oh so important to how things line up.
After about 100 pics of where everything attached to the dash bar, we got it out. Not much to it but it's oh so important to how things line up.
FJBen
SILVER Star
Man, that is a lot of puzzle pieces! Here I am complaining about half of the engine I have to put together that I personally didn't take apart. I can't imagine piecing it all together just from manuals and doing upgrades/swaps during it.
Nice job!
Nice job!
c2dfj45
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- #107
It's not too terrible....certainly if you're very particular about where hardware goes, it can mess with the brain though. We're going to have the new guy spend a day laying out all the hardware to see quantities and that sort of thing to try and figure out what goes where. Right now we're in the phase of getting familiar with everything.....it's pretty cool when you've stared at one piece and wondered where it goes..then all of a sudden, you find it's spot.
FJBen
SILVER Star
That’s exactly where I’m at. Puzzling a few pieces together and getting that ah-ha moment. I don’t have near a daunting task like yours.
mmcinnis
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Just now seeing this. New shop is looking good. Gonna follow this build. Mike
c2dfj45
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- #111
Hey Mike. New shop is a work in progress.....pretty much like everything in my life. Ha. I was sorting thru stuff going into the container....we've got all your LV stuff set aside in there. Still have a weatherstrip kit, injectors for the 3FE and that harness you dropped off. We'll be doing a 3FE here shortly....would be a great time to do yours.
mmcinnis
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Sounds good, you need the truck to make the bulk of the harness? Mike
c2dfj45
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- #114
Dash support bar went in pretty well......we had to do a little hole enlarging as well as make a few new holes in the cab. Nothing too crazy. Width was close. This is really different from a non-airbag dash. Kind of cool to see the guts of both dashes.
The non-airbag truck supports just the drivers side. I would suspect the old school metal dash has enough rigidity to span between the cab walls that it didn't need a lot of support on the passenger side. Plus it's not housing explosive charges like the airbag dash. Totally different....and the steering column is a really big component in this whole thing as we found out.
Needed a new hole on this side. Typically I prefer making new brackets but I'm not sure I will for this setup. Things seem to fit really well. You can see the outboard hole is off about 3/4". We were able to get a nutsert in this location to secure the 3 mounting points.
I don't care for this bracket but it works. So maybe it stays and I try not to let OCD win. The inner holes are what we had to add. Looks a tad messy but the whole dash support is kind of a mess. Not a pretty piece.
The non-airbag truck supports just the drivers side. I would suspect the old school metal dash has enough rigidity to span between the cab walls that it didn't need a lot of support on the passenger side. Plus it's not housing explosive charges like the airbag dash. Totally different....and the steering column is a really big component in this whole thing as we found out.
Needed a new hole on this side. Typically I prefer making new brackets but I'm not sure I will for this setup. Things seem to fit really well. You can see the outboard hole is off about 3/4". We were able to get a nutsert in this location to secure the 3 mounting points.
I don't care for this bracket but it works. So maybe it stays and I try not to let OCD win. The inner holes are what we had to add. Looks a tad messy but the whole dash support is kind of a mess. Not a pretty piece.
It’s a crappy photo but you can somewhat see the difference of the support beam on yours compared to my 75.
I’m glad you posted that photo as I found where a piece went that I couldn’t remember. It’s the brace that you have the red line drawn on that connects to the trans tunnel. I tore the interior out back in June and took zero photos or notes. I should have known better. Now I a life size model in a bunch of bins with no directions except a few RHD drawings in the FSM that don’t help much.
You are right that the old dash does kinda hold itself together. I was able to plop this thing in place after I had been piecing it together inside the house.
I’m glad you posted that photo as I found where a piece went that I couldn’t remember. It’s the brace that you have the red line drawn on that connects to the trans tunnel. I tore the interior out back in June and took zero photos or notes. I should have known better. Now I a life size model in a bunch of bins with no directions except a few RHD drawings in the FSM that don’t help much.
You are right that the old dash does kinda hold itself together. I was able to plop this thing in place after I had been piecing it together inside the house.
c2dfj45
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- Thread starter
- #116
When I was trying to do the first dash like yours I was so confused as to all the pieces and what I was missing(turns out....all of it). Why I assumed it was just a metal dash without a support brace I will never know. I found ONE pic on MUD where a guy was doing a RHD to LHD swap and I could see the bracing as he had no dash installed. That's when I understood what was going on.
I assembled all of my dash on the bench too....made it easier. Not possible with the new style dash. There are so many pieces that snap in and out. I will say one thing, it makes it really easy to test it in and out of the truck.
Roofless makes things easy to work on!
c2dfj45
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- #117
Once we got the brace in the truck securely, we started to play around with the dash....kind of a rough fit. Some of the changes that Toyota made to the airbag firewall were immediately clear but nothing was going to be too big of a deal to overcome.
One of my main concerns, mainly because of the cost and how I remember it fitting on #1, was the HVAC. I had studied the firewalls and it looked like that area was the same. Turns out it was pretty close. I think we'll open up a couple of holes on the AC mounts to make it easier to get things in and out.
All the clearances with the bar seemed good. New mounting holes were made.
One of my main concerns, mainly because of the cost and how I remember it fitting on #1, was the HVAC. I had studied the firewalls and it looked like that area was the same. Turns out it was pretty close. I think we'll open up a couple of holes on the AC mounts to make it easier to get things in and out.
All the clearances with the bar seemed good. New mounting holes were made.
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c2dfj45
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- Thread starter
- #118
And the part I was really most interested to see......my very own Rav4 style dash!
Once we got the dash, in it became very apparent what the other brackets on the firewall of the airbag truck were for. There are a lot of brackets to hold this dash in. Fortunately none of them were very challenging to make.
Once we got the dash, in it became very apparent what the other brackets on the firewall of the airbag truck were for. There are a lot of brackets to hold this dash in. Fortunately none of them were very challenging to make.
c2dfj45
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- #119
And if I was going to snap in part of the dash....might as well snap in more.
It's a shame this dash is so beat up. My interior reconditioner wizard said she can make it like new. A few pieces I will buy new....like the black surrounds for the heater/radio...they're cheap and new will be best. The rest of it we'll dye. My heart says to buy all new plastics. I'm trying not to listen to my heart.
It's a shame this dash is so beat up. My interior reconditioner wizard said she can make it like new. A few pieces I will buy new....like the black surrounds for the heater/radio...they're cheap and new will be best. The rest of it we'll dye. My heart says to buy all new plastics. I'm trying not to listen to my heart.
c2dfj45
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- #120
We learned something on #1 and Christo's build.........the windshields changed with the airbag dashes. The dash sits up way further than the old school metal ones. Toyota used a windshield with a black border to hide the taller dash. I think there were some thicker a-pillars too...airbags were in the roof on the 76 I believe(key word).
Border around the windshield to hide all the stuff.
No borders on #1
These guys might not care about the difference in windshield borders on 79 series trucks....if only they did.
Border around the windshield to hide all the stuff.
No borders on #1
These guys might not care about the difference in windshield borders on 79 series trucks....if only they did.
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