After several months of headaches, sweat, tears (over money spent!), and even some blood, the time has finally come to send the old girl for a nice and well deserved make over. I bought my rig this past April from a gentleman in the SGV. Story is that the guy a purchased it from (a landscaper) worked for an old man in the Altadena, California area for several years. For years, he saw the 40 dumped in the old man's yard. One day, the old man asked him if he knew anything about the truck. He told the old man that he did and would like to purchase one for his son. The old man gave him the rig since he was too old work on it. He towed it home and had it for a few months. After realizing how much money he would need to get it on the road again, he decided he would list it for sale instead. Here's where I come in (Sucker). My dad was a fleet mechanic in his younger days and has always been a Toyota lover. Having riden in a Toyota for most of my life, I became a Toyota lover as well (Hondas too!... I hope I dont get kicked out of the forum now). I drove out and checked out the 40 one day and immediately fell in love with it. I also learned that it had been abandoned since 1997. The I was excited about the test drive and disappointed since I never drove her past 20 mph. I left, telling the seller I'd think about it and I'd call him back once I made a decision. I drove back home and continued my drooling over some of the amazing things you guys have done with some of your rigs (this forum creates an interesting form of peer pressure! lol. ADDICTION...) I did some research on parts and gave myself an idea of how much I could possibly be spending to get her mechanically sound (boy was I wrong!) after about two weeks of seeing her for the first time, I made the drive out to where she was, and after some negotiation, I brought her home.
I sped home at a whooping 15-20 miles an hour, like my hair was on fire (because of the gas fumes). The rear axle shook so bad above 20 mph that I swear some of my teeth almost came loose, but we made it, fumigated, but we made it! Since then, My dad and I have rebuilt the rear third member, replaced all the fluids and made some adjustments to the carburetor because it was spewing out raw fuel. I drove it around for a couple weeks slowly increasing speed and finally driving at 55 - 60 mph consistently. And then... the head gasket blew... she couldn't handle it... So we took her apart, sent the head to the shop and put her back together. Ive been driving her around to put some miles on her. I have to say, I'm getting mixed messages! The olfer crowds look at me and give me the fist pump. the younger crowds look at me and wonder... "what is up with this guy's ride!" lol.
So after 8 months of tinkering around on the old girl with the old man, The time came to freshen her up. I'm far from done, but its been a fun learning experience. My uncle works at a body shop and offered to slap some paint on her once I was ready. I jumped on the offer and dropped her off last weekend. I have to admit, leaving her behind felt a bit wrong... like I was forgeting my kid at the supermarket or something. (Kidding) I'll post up pictures of the progress and the final build.
I sped home at a whooping 15-20 miles an hour, like my hair was on fire (because of the gas fumes). The rear axle shook so bad above 20 mph that I swear some of my teeth almost came loose, but we made it, fumigated, but we made it! Since then, My dad and I have rebuilt the rear third member, replaced all the fluids and made some adjustments to the carburetor because it was spewing out raw fuel. I drove it around for a couple weeks slowly increasing speed and finally driving at 55 - 60 mph consistently. And then... the head gasket blew... she couldn't handle it... So we took her apart, sent the head to the shop and put her back together. Ive been driving her around to put some miles on her. I have to say, I'm getting mixed messages! The olfer crowds look at me and give me the fist pump. the younger crowds look at me and wonder... "what is up with this guy's ride!" lol.
So after 8 months of tinkering around on the old girl with the old man, The time came to freshen her up. I'm far from done, but its been a fun learning experience. My uncle works at a body shop and offered to slap some paint on her once I was ready. I jumped on the offer and dropped her off last weekend. I have to admit, leaving her behind felt a bit wrong... like I was forgeting my kid at the supermarket or something. (Kidding) I'll post up pictures of the progress and the final build.
