I bought Willie late last year, 2014. So I put aside the restoration or as I may call it, reconditioning. Why Willie, because that is the name of the previous owner. I live in the Philippines in the island of Negros, which is around 850 kilometers from the capital, Manila. This was where Willie came from. I flew to Manila and drove the beast to Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental. I had to load Willie on a barge to get to one island to the other. It took me 4 days and three nights to get to my place. Picture attached was taken the time I got home from the long trip.
It was a long and winding trip and had the time to asses the condition of the engine and suspension as well. Brakes were not really in top shape. I knew there was a busted oil seal on the rear left axle as it was oozing black oil from the hub. The play on the axle was severe that a loud clunking noise could be heard when I would release the clutch. Steering was bad. (Found out later when we arrived home that only one bolt was holding the steering gearbox.) The engine temperature was way below the operating temp. I knew that a busted thermostat was possible. The airconditioning was not functioning well. Lots of rattles in the under chassis and body. Blah, blah, and blah. I would rate the overall condition to about 60 of 100. This presentation is about to start and I could really go into details. I took up Automotive / Diesel Technology in (UTI) Universal Technical Institute (http://www.uti.edu/campus-locations/phoenix-az) at the Phoenix Campus way back in 1991. Since then, I have been staying in the Philippines and have not realy gone full time on my passion for cars. Now that I am 56 years young, I want to get greasy all over.
There are not so many of the 60 series here in the Philippines because the 40 series was very popular then. By the time the 60 series was introduced to the Philippines, the 70 series came out and became so popular and very much in demand. Since the proximity from Japan, a lot of surplus unit were being imported to the country and so the 60 series was left behind. And also becasue the 60 series was too big for Filipino standard. I bought willie because I saw the rarity in it.
Quite an experience travelling a long way from Manila to Dumaguete City. Loading on a barge from one island to the other. Different dialects and culure. A way to travel in the Philippines. Beautiful islands, charming and friendly people, lousy and crooked politicians. But that is the way of life in this country. Like they say, "Only in the Philippines".
Before I started work on Willie, I took images of the engine bay so I may compare these when I start the re-assembly process. I consider the engine 60% of the restoration. You are lucky if the engine is in good running condition. If not, a lot of the budget will go to the rehabilitation and/or complete overhaul. In Willie's case, the alternator is of a modified Nissan Patrol and was attached to a broken bracket. The oil pump intake tube was tightly placed in a spot where the rubber hose kinked that restricted the flow of engine oil. I had to painfully bleed $ 351.95 to be exact, including shipping just to get a replacement from (http://shop.cruiserparts.net/). So far, this is the single biggest cash that came out from my shallow pocket.
Clearly in this pic, the oil is leaking from the side cover of the engine.
The A/C compressor is no longer an original and has been replaced by a smaller unit. This is the cause of poor aircondition performance.
The hydrovac brake has been disconnected from the vacuum tank. It is directly connected to the vacuum pump which looses vacuum when you step on the pedal once. I believe a plugged vacuum tank needs to be checked.
We needed to remove the engine, a Toyota 12HT (6 cylinder with a turbo power house), in order to check on the leaks and do a 360 degree inspection. There is no other way but to get the engine off and be sure rather than cut expenses and realize later on that the leak is a hard to reach area.
It looks like my file on engine installation got corrupted or somehow deleted. I will go ahead and jump to the body repair. I have a body repair man named Pedro. He is called in the local dialect, "Latero". Meaning, a tinsmith or a person who works with metal fabrication. Pedro is deaf but a hard worker. He is my all around type of guy. He will do anything and he will do it well. I just get high blood pressure because you have to explain in details and you have to do it with a raised voice.
Willie's body is not so much eaten by rust as he spent most of his time in the interior of Luzon in the northern part of the Philippines. Since it is in the iterior, far away from the sea breeze. And also, Toyota metallurgy is really one of the best in the world.
After the body repair, good job by Pedro, off for a body wash. A high pressure washer did what I did not expect. It literally stripped of the old paint. Another extra cash dole from my tight budget.
My other assistant is Glen, he is a very patient man. Scraping out old paint, washing mechanical parts, sanding, prepping a body part to be painted, all sorts of stuff.
