Slow Restoration of a diesel 45 (1 Viewer)

[Asator]

@PG45er Good job looking that up. Thanks for the info. I really like the look of those tires.

@73fj I do belive it did. And that is precisely why it blew. Can't have things go too smoothly, otherwise someone might think something is up.

Bought a new slave cylinder at the Toyota dealership. During the bleeding process the two internal seals on the new slave cylinder blew. Same as the old one. That would explain why the boot filled with fluid then blew. So same failure on a new and old part. Something is up... have a second new one that was warrantied by Toyota. After sone back and forth talk. Now the trouble shooting as to why the floating piston can move so far out begins. Maybe a seized clutch is causing issues or the clutch master cylinder is not letting fluid to flow back when the pedal is released? Just guesses.

Also finished working up the Pyro and boost gauge lights and power. I have to say again that we are happy with how they look on the dash. About as stock looking as we could hope for. The 12v cigarette lighter was replaced with one thy actually had contacts inside. Made some 1/2" spacers to make the drivers seat sit a tiny amount higher. May get some sort of pad or cushion to raise the height a tiny bit more.

That was allooking last week. We won't be able get more work done on the truck until mid to late March. Maybe it will hit the road then?? Who knows. Stay tuned and we will find out.

Cheers,

Matt

 

[loctite]

Matt hello again,

I was looking at your posted project and it occured to me that yes perhaps the clutch rod stroke was adjusted too far out. When I changed my clutch, I removed the slave rod and cleaned and freed up the adjusting and lock nut.Once put in again I made sure there was just a little wiggle between the rod and arm pocket, so it would not have to travel too far. the rod will naturally extend because of the inner spring. install the rod in the pocket , then collapse enough to get the bolts into the bellhousing, then adjust free play. It was surprising how little arm movement was needed to disengage the clutch. If extended too far from the start you just pop it out of the cylinder. One other possibility is the throwout bearing for the 2F H55 is larger than the 3B. the bearing retainer on the 3b H55 has a shorter length for bearing travel.I do have some bad pictures of when I went from a H42 2F 4 to a 5spd from a 3B. the input shaft and bearing retainer had to be changed out to the H42 4spd coarse,longer shaft and retainer.I used the 2F clutch fork.

I recomend you could save that 45 and use the dodge on that Tahsis road.

Good luck

Andre

 

[jbzee]

I spent quite some time looking up the POR15 stuff. Seems like people either love it or hate it, not much in between. I don't have much to lose painting the floor of the tub with it. If things really go bad, I can just wire wheel it off, and properly paint it. Had a buddy who painted his truck floor and has not had any issues. I wont be putting it on any spots I will be painting later on. The "diamond plate" is rubber, like I said, so no dissimilar metal corrosion there. It is kind of like thin stall mats.

The 60's frame is shot and the body is pretty much gone in the fenders, rear hatch, rocker pannels etc. As much as I would like to keep it around, since it is a strong runner, its days are number. It is amazing how much cheaper the antique or collector plates here in BC are for insurance!

Thanks for the pointers though. Much appreciated. If anyone else reading this has any thoughts or do/don't, feel free to chime in. I am all ears.

I had a quick question to the people out there. In the front of the bed, in both corners, there are what appear to be removable plannels. They have long been welded in place now. I was just curious if other 45s had these, or they were something from the European market. Would they have something to do with the hydraulic lines and fittings running along the frame? A quick search here on my model # shows it might be for battery access. I am in the process of replacing the one on the right hand side, and was just curious of any other thoughts.

Thanks,

Matt

EDIT/PS: The pannels are not just patches. The original holes are both the exact same size, and have threaded holes around them to originally bolt in the old covers.

Hi Matt,

Cool old rig and wow, 5spd is a blessing.
I live in the tropics and the por family of anti-corrosive sealers are great products if used right. There is no magic bullet for oxidation, surface prep, then anti-corrosive seal is my methodology for surface rust prone areas. Real rot needs to be cut out and new metal put in, some like to use cold galvanizing products, others etch and prime then shoot, then there is the rhinoliner crowd. If done right, a patch will outlive the owner, take your time and you'll end up with a good solid rig.

Happy cruising,

Johnny

 

[Asator]

We will see how this goes. I have tried a few different formats of uploading a video, but they have all failed. If this doesn't work for some folks, let me know.

This is a late update. All of the following was accomplished a few weeks ago.

We managed to finish a few jobs. Joss once again tackled the bodywork and put another patch on the bed floor, as well as working on welding in the new front bed metal (cut from the parts bed). We also installed the weatherstripping for the doors. There has been a large amount of rain in this part of the world as of late. So we figured if we were to leave the shop we might want to be dry inside the truck. On an aside, we did do a quick wash of the truck and discovered how much water comes inside the truck if one does not have everything on the body bolted down tight. Live and learn.

A fire extinguisher was installed on the floor below the drivers seat. I am a firm believer on all vehicles having one. If it is not to save your vehicle, maybe it will be for someone else. The clutch slave cylinder was replaced. Turns out what caused the old one to blow was the flexible hose between the slave and master cylinder. The hose ballooned out on the inside while sitting and effectively became a one way check valve. That was replaced, and things are all good in that department now. I had to mess around with the wiring on the pyrometer a bit to get it to work consistently, but the unit seems to be wokring now.

I spent some time getting the heat and fresh air pull knobs to work. Had to pull one off the parts truck, but that now makes all the pull knob/switches on the dash to be in working order (except the hazard one, that is next). For whatever reason I am quite happy with that, as none worked when I bought the truck. A small victory, but a mile stone for sure.

We managed to get the truck outside and driving. We did quite a few laps of the parking lot before we went onto the road. Have to say that the whole time we couldn't stop smiling. Not sure if that was due to our euphoric happiness, or poorly hidden concern about something blowing up... The 45 has a nice throaty roar due to the lack of an exhaust system aft of the downpipe.





Still a far way to go before the truck is even 75% done, BUT we drove it on a road, and we lived to tell about it. Slow as we may be, things are moving in the right direction.

Cheers,

Matt

 

[Michael B]

Congratulations Matt and Joss!

 

[loctite]

Ahh the one way rubber hose thing. happened to me on a chevy front brake once.So rare as to deny any possibility, good find.As for the water,hell Matt it dosn't rain here enough to worry about it and what, washing? Glad you're finally getting some rewards for your efforts,they are fun to drive and inspiration is always good. I'll be waiting for the Green Machine to pull in next to the Big Red this year.No pictures of Jos driving, good that you're making sure it is safe for her. fine camera work,Jos?
See you

 

[Asator]

Some pictures of it outside. Ignore the mismatched paint. Still a ways to go in that department.

 

[crawlin cruiser]

Beauty

 

[kunzma]

Looks great!

 

[PG45er]

Lookin & soundin good Matt & Joss. The clutch line thing would have been a head scratcher for sure.
Too bad we both weren't driving our 45's when we met at Timmy's last week, the dude with that Troopy soft top that drove by, might of stopped in!

 

[jbzee]

Hey Matt,

You two are moving right along on her, looks great! Clutch line was a tough break on the maiden voyage, ah the joy of old cruisers =)
If you haven't already, you may want to change out the soft brake lines too, cheap insurance.

Happy trails,

Johnny

 

[Asator]

I will start with a disclaimer. I have no idea why I originally called this thread a "restoration". It is most definitely not. A slow fix-up and modification process more like it. Either way, we are on track for summer.

This past week was full of more of the good stuff. Joss spent a great deal of time pulling off the old bed rails, and welding on the new ones. Now they are nice and straight, and much more pleasing on the eye. That was a ton of work though. We also bled the brake lines for the 3rd time (44 years of crud sure builds up). The brakes work way better now that we have flushed the majority of the junk out. We will be taking jbzee's advice and will change out the flex lines for the brakes. When bleeding the brakes I only broke off one of the bleed screws off, so that was a success. The clutch slave was readjusted as well. Now I think that I finally have it dialed in.

Once again minor electrical work was done. Now both the license plate lights work. I only have 2 of the lights in the gauge cluster working, which is better than the zero I had previously. The fuel gauge, temperature gauge and ammeter all work now.

When I put the lifter cover back on last time after welding the oil return into it, I failed to make a good seal. This resulted in oil leaking out and making a mess everywhere. So that then made me have to pull the turbo and air filter all out to redo the gasket (this time properly). Now things are nice and clean and leak free.

I also did a piss poor job of welding the exhaust on, so that will have to be cleaned up in the future. For now it works, but damn, I am not proud of those welds haha. That sure quieted down the noise though. The truck also has noticeably less power than when I had just the down pipe. One day I will put a 2.5" or 3" exhaust system on. For now we are just working with what we have on hand.

Those bias ply tires roll pretty rough at low speeds. Need to get them balanced. We were able to get out onto a highway and buzz up to 80 kilometers an hour. Could go faster but I didn't want to push our luck so early in the game. We also did the longest drive yet. Roughly 25 minutes long with important stops such as Tim Hortons and the liquor store. Sure was cool to drive around and get a few thumbs up from other drivers. I can say the turbo (even at only 10 psi) really makes a difference compared to my old N/A 3B in the 60 series. Still not quite as much power as my 12 valve though, but the Cruiser is far more cool than the Dodge.

Pictures are of our destination after our first longer drive, and a washed truck. Last picture is of Joss in the "viewing chair" when we sat in the sun and had a beer in a water bottle.

Cheers for now,

Matt

 

[jbzee]

She's coming together nicely, great project. 6 weeks or so I'll be starting my 45 build... 13BT and a 5 spd, hopefully it will go smoothly.
I agree that a large bore downpipe and exhaust really help in the power department, intercooler is a bonus as well.
Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing...

 

[Michael B]

Great job you two!! Enjoy the fruit of your labor. It looks like it will be a terrific summer Cruisen' around town in your 45!!!

 

[Asator]

Well, it has been a while (again) for some updates. Lots has happened to the cruiser since the last posting. I ran out of time and sent the truck to Steve at EBI Cruisers to do some work. New rear axle, brakes, wiring harness and brake booster were stuck on as well as some other smaller stuff. We are now 100% sure this truck spent some time underwater (just like its current owner) and has felt the wrath of that (just like its current owner). Every connection in the harness was green, and the brake booster was full of water. Not sure how it didn't all drain out in the shop... I will plead ignorance on the poor electrical and say it seemed fine compared to some of the boats I have worked on. Two pipes welded into the bed had a ton of what looked like river sand and gravel when I stuffed a garden hose into them. A few cigarette butts came out as well.

Now we have working brakes which is nice. Turns out some electrical behind the dash had previously caught fire and the previous owner had just taped over it again. I had pulled back the tape wrap, but not far enough. That extra half wrap hid quite a bit of carnage. Steve and his guys did great work on the truck, and I am happy with the fact I now have a driving and safe truck.

On that note, we really did not do all that much work on the Cruiser for the rest of the summer. We have just been enjoying driving around in it and here are some pictures of that. One shot is of the cruiser on the ferry coming back to the island. Another is at 10 Mile point in Victoria during our first drive around town. One is of a Thunderbird, a 60 and the 45 at Trotac Marine. The other is of my brothers Tundra and our cruiser near the Skookumchuck rapids. Last one is of Joss and I cleaned up for a cousins wedding. We have a stash of earplugs in the ashtray for highway driving. The truck happily moves along at about 105 kph in 5th. Lots of power in 1st and 2nd from the turbo. The 3B is quite a different animal when it has air being crammed into it. All in all it has been a great summer, but it is almost time to put the Cruiser away for the winter and finish up some more of the projects which need doing.

Still need to install the stereo, and tighten all the bolts on the cab as they are starting to vibrate. All the electrical on the right hand side has gone out recently, so that is on the to do list now. Going to install the e-brake somewhere. There is a pinhole leak on the radiator that will need patching. The tranny hump needs to be sealed down. We also need to hook up a wiper fluid reservoir. And the list still goes on. We never had the time to take the top and doors off and drive around. Just something to look forward to next year.

Cheers,

Matt and Joss

 

[loctite]

Is this Matt , the new James Bond with his latest beautiful assistant,Joss. A nice look for a 45 owner. Should have a spear gun in the other hand.I can't pull it off like you two do. Good to see you .
Andre

 

[PG45er]

Hey Matt & Joss, Glad you got to enjoy the truck after all the work you both put into it. We'll have to hook up in the spring when we're down to the Island so I can check it out in person.
One thing about living in a part of the world where you need to put these trucks into hibernation for the winter is that it really gives one ,another thing to look forward to when spring rolls around!

Darren

 

[Dog River]

Hello Guy's,

Nice rigs for sure. I just joined the forum and am in Cherry Creek, BC. I'm in the market for a TLC pick up so if you hear of any for sale holler at me.

Thanks, Dog_River

 

[loctite]

One thing about living in a part of the world where you need to put these trucks into hibernation for the winter is that it really gives one ,another thing to look forward to when spring rolls around.
Darren

Darren ,you embarrass us B.C.'ers with this kind of illusion that a 1 ton 4x4 cannot survive outside during our winters. They're not just mud trucks or trailer queens. Snow wheeling is one big reason to put them to use here, necessary sometimes, I've pulled out my share of fords and chevs.

 

[PG45er]

Hey Andre, I don't want to hijack Matts thread here but I will clarify for all . I am referring to the fact that restored vehicles aren't usually left out doors or driven on salted roads during the winter in this part of the world . I know full well what these trucks are capable of. The first vehicle I ever drove was my Dad's LV which my buddy and I abused the hell out of as 16/17 year olds. I have to admit there is a part of me that would love to go wheeling with my kid with my 45 but way to much time and money into it to bang it all up. I love driving it for all my town errands etc. but she'll be a pavement queen, for the most part, as long as I own it.