Started tackling steering next. The truck came with a couple of new rod ends and I rebuilt the rest with new boots from fjparts. They fit like a glove. Plated every external component that didn't get painted. I especially didn't like how rusty the threaded ends got which caused them to freeze in the tube so those got plated too.
In the drag link, I used the nickel trick to tighten up the play.
Started column and center arm disassembly to get an idea of what I was working with it was all in good shape and went back together after some TLC. I made my own felt seal out of a drum cymbal stand felt that was the perfect diameter.
Sterring box gaskets are long discontinued for this style so ordered a roll of karropak gasket paper and used the old gaskets as a template to cut my own. Had to cut 3 or 4 of the bearing end cap gasket since it is used as a shim to tighten up the steering gear play. I was able to get the steering back into spec with this method. New pitman arm seal from rockauto was way too big. Ordered correct one from cruiserparts along with the special sealing gasket washers for the through bolts on the side cover.
Started rebuilding the column shifter. Ordered new rod ends from Toyota and salvaged some still-soft boots from the old ends to cap the fixed arm that doesn't have replaceable ends. There was some play in the L arm with the greasable bushing that I tightened up by filing down a copper spacer that fit over the bearing surface. New plastic bushings were still available from Toyota so those were replaced as well. Used some Plast-X polish on the shifter end cap to shine it up and plated the rusted threads underneath it.
Tackled clutch master and slave. Getting the big (30mm?) end cap off the master took some work but a soak in Kroil, some heat from a blow torch and a heavy duty impact got it loose.
Bores were cleaned and honed. New rebuild kits from Fjparts were used. I swapped the fluid reservoir from my old brake master cylinder because I couldn't find a replacement cap for the smaller-opening bottle on the clutch. I'll need a new soft line but this weird 11mm thread sucks. Looks like city racer is the only direct replacement. Probably should have just replaced the whole system with a newer, more available parts version. Oh well.
After dragging my feet for months, finally got started on brake lines. The original brake system is in good shape, but I don't like the single point of failure the single-circuit master created. This will be a bit of a hybrid setup since I'm keeping the routing for the front axle and adding a new route across the firewall for the rear. Instead of a single hard line feeding the front wheels like original tandem trucks, it will retain the hardline split that feeds each wheel separately with two soft hoses coming directly from the frame.
I found an early 70's tandem master and booster that should do nicely. I'm not sure the condition of the booster but I won't be using it at this time anyway. Sourced some 10mm FJ40 fittings and tees to replace the 9mm stuff. For the front axle three-way that splits the main line to the two front wheels, I modified a 90's Toyota MR2 fitting by grinding down and bending the mounting bracket. Ordered new nicop brake tubing and metric flare nuts. Blasted and plated all OEM Toyota fittings.
I'd never bent tubing before and there is a bit of a science to it apparently. I wanted to put my learning to the test and started with replacing the rubber hose between fuel pump and carb. After a little trial and error, I successfully bent a fancy new fuel hard line. Picked up some 5/16 brass ferrules from local hardware store and cinched those down with the nuts. I still need to fabricate a mounting bracket to secure it to the engine but it fits like a glove.
Flaring brake lines with soft metal is for the birds. After multiple flaring tools from the cheapest loaner to the most expensive hydraulic, I could not get a consistent flare. 4 out of 5 flares would collapse on itself. I finally realized my cheapo reamer was the cause. After upgrading to this titan two-way reamer, I'm finally getting consistent flares. I'm also now the owner of this badass (gently used) Mastercool hydraulic flare tool. This should come in handy to create beads when running new fuel hard line along the frame between pump and tank.
Flared and bent my front brake line and installed.
I realized bending new custom lines would be a lot easier with the tub off, but I wasn't ready for that yet. I pivoted to the carb and spent hours reading and learning how it all goes together and works. When I started disassembly, I realized it had been rebuilt not many miles ago. Everything was pretty clean, both inside and out, but the throttle bracket is missing and will need replacement, along with the wrong style cable it came with. Also missing the little fuel filter screen that sits inside the inlet line opening.
I took a ton of pictures and notes and started the tear down. I used an egg carton for storage to keep parts separated and plated pieces as I went.
I used a soft brass cup brush on a drill and polished the body exterior. It turned out really nice; the brush got into all the nooks and crannies. I thought about dipping but everything was so clean already, I just used some carb and brake cleaner and a medium bristle brush and cleaned up the internals. One of the venturi pieces had come loose and was rattling around so I realigned and punched it back in place. What little bit of varnish had collected in the fuel bowl was removed.
The insulator spacer thingy had been glued to the lower body when it was last rebuilt. That took some careful and tedious work to get loose with a pair of razor blades. I scraped the old gasket and glue off and was able to salvage it without marring or destroying it. Since I don't know how it runs, I didn't mess with the fuel jets but took pictures to document the size/locations if I need it later.
Once everything was cleaned up, I started reassembly. The base was painted with KBS Motor Coat enamel. New gaskets installed all around. You can see my missing throttle cable bracket in this last picture, along with the choke cable bracket that was straightened out to undo the last rebuilder's shoddy work.
It took a little trial and error to get all the torsion springs oriented correctly and linkages in the right spots but my copious pictures and measurements made it pretty painless. New OEM air horn gasket puts a nice bow on top.
Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the end result. Next up will be learning how to dial it in and that has me more nervous than anything. Still a ways away from that stage though.
Apparently I dropped my alternator at some point and cracked the housing. Confirmed with disassembly pictures that it wasn't cracked when I removed it. Took apart and cleaned up. Tested good per FSM instructions. Looks like it had been rebuilt at some point. The brushes looked low mileage and the bearing was changed to a fully closed style with no felt dust seal under the cap. Fresh coat of paint a replated fasteners and it's ready to go.
It took a little trial and error to get all the torsion springs oriented correctly and linkages in the right spots but my copious pictures and measurements made it pretty painless. New OEM air horn gasket puts a nice bow on top.
Overall, I'm pretty pleased with the end result. Next up will be learning how to dial it in and that has me more nervous than anything. Still a ways away from that stage though.
I used what I had on the shelf since this one wasn't too dirty. The carb cleaner was just the spray can Auto-Zone stuff. I used a stiff toothbrush to scrub into the crevices and agitate the buildup. It left a residue on everything after rinsing so I followed it up with brake cleaner and a rag.
Berryman's B12 spray and their Chemdip is pretty awesome stuff though. If this one were dirtier and needed more love, I'd have gone that route. The Chem dip can is like $40 though so a bit of an investment. Works great for cleaning passages where your brush can't reach.
Cleaned up the windshield frame of the cheap spray paint. Drilled out a couple of frozen screws and ginally got the hinges off.
The hinge pins had frozen and PO forced the windshield open until the pins sheered, leaving partial pins totally rusted in the eyes. Took a couple of tedious hours drilling (thanks to a hardened drill bit breaking off deep in the hinge) to get them out.
Rigged up with some 5/16 bolts and nylon locking washers for now and that's working OK. Is there any added benefit to using actual hinge pins?
Loosely attached hood and windshield with new stainless city racer hinge screws. First time I've seen this truck with a windshield on. It's only temporary since it's all about to come back off but I couldn't resist.
New tires arrived! Couldn't decide between the BFG 10.5x33 or the Kenda 9.5x33. Decided I wanted the skinnier profile and went with the Kenda. Should make a very nice upgrade over the highliner 28's that were sitting flat for a decade.
One of my wheels has a gnarly dent in the edge where the bead seals. Anyone ever straightened out a factory steely? I have a 5th wheel that will get me by for now, but I'd like to get this running as a spare.
I've pounded out bent rims with a bfh. Previous performance does not guarantee future results. Now a days you might find shops the do that type of repairs. If you ever want to adapt disc brakes in the future, you'll want to swap out those wheels to the welded versions.
I've pounded out bent rims with a bfh. Previous performance does not guarantee future results. Now a days you might find shops the do that type of repairs. If you ever want to adapt disc brakes in the future, you'll want to swap out those wheels to the welded versions.
I saw a video of a guy using a bfh to pound a machinist hammer to straighten out bends. Looks pretty straightforward, but I think I definitely need something solid to brace the wheel against. I tried hitting with a punch a couple of times but it didn't budge the dent.
Took apart and cleaned up. Tested good per FSM instructions. Looks like it had been rebuilt at some point. The brushes looked low mileage and the bearing was changed to a fully closed style with no felt dust seal under the cap. Fresh coat of paint a replated fasteners and it's ready to go.
