Small Project

[ToyotaDon]

So I replaced this water pump the other day, and it was just sitting there on my bench.

I've used the aluminum from water pumps before for little projects, one of them was replacement swing arms for my sons' toy quads. Anyways, I was looking at this nice straight section of the pump which also had something intriguing on the other side.

I know, it's just a Toyota casting mark, but you can see I was starting to draw some lines, because I had an idea.

There wasn't much wrenching going on in the shop today, so I pulled out a few tools and went to work with this piece of metal.

First, the rest of the lines that were drawn...

Aah, now you're seeing what I'm seeing.

What do you do when you don't have a band saw, you start with a reciprocating saw. When that doesn't seem very efficient, break out the cutoff wheel, so that's exactly what I used to rough this thing out.

Spent some time with the orbital sander.

No Dremel, so I used the next best things, die grinder with this bit (sorry for the out-of-focus).

A little work with a "square" file.

Drilled some holes and kept sanding with increasing grit sizes.

I think the finest I used was 400 grit, then followed with some aluminum polish and a rag. I could probably make it shine more if I used a buffer, but I think it looks pretty good for being made "by hand."

Now the question that everyone asks is, "What are you going to do with it?"

So, any suggestions???

 

[Hangtowncruzr]

Pretty clevver, turned out cool.

I'd go Key Ring or dash plaque

 

[fj40charles]

very nice.

 

[tgreening]

I'm sure that with just a little bit more work you could turn that into the front grill of a most awesome hand built FJ model.

It could happen...

 

[ToyotaDon]

Pretty clevver, turned out cool.

I'd go Key Ring or dash plaque

I was thinking key ring, but figure the aluminum would wear out quickly. Dash plaque would be nice...if I drove a 40. I could mount it to the front or back of my 80. Kind of a "wannabe" gesture, or just a salute to the original.

very nice.

Thanks!

I'm sure that with just a little bit more work you could turn that into the front grill of a most awesome hand built FJ model.

It could happen...

One of the guys at work said it'd be a hit with the R/C crowd, maybe I should have posted it in that forum.

 

[bigredmachine]

very nice, i just scrap the water pumps but now i have something to do with the 4 cylinder taco water pumps

 

[ToyotaDon]

Exactly

 

[OregonLC]

Now the question that everyone asks is, "What are you going to do with it?"

So, any suggestions???

Might be too late, but bottle opener?

 

[ToyotaDon]

I need to post some pics of it next to a ruler so you guys have some idea of its size. The openings are too small for bottle caps...and I don't drink anyway. The overall dimensions are too large for a keychain that you'd put in your pocket.

I'm wanting to put it somewhere on my FZJ80, but still considering where and how to mount it. The front would be a logical choice, my grill is currently off due to previous collision damage, so there's not much flat space up there for this.

I could use double-sided tape, or it'd be really cool to weld a couple studs to the backside for solid mounting.

 

[bigredmachine]

if you get the factory grill there will be three holes in it for where the desiel trucks have the turbo badge is mounted. one set of holes is abotu 2 inches and teh other set is about 1 inch. you should have plenty of room for that.

 

[spressomon]

Might be too late, but bottle opener?

That's what I was going to offer up

 

[lenross1]

that came out great!

If you go the RC route you will be making them the rest of your life!

 

[nat]

That's pretty cool!

 

[TLCDino]

That's pretty neat. I would never have seen that.....

 

[tag3]

Drawer pull.

 

[bogus one]

Drawer pull.

best idea yet

very cool

 

[ToyotaDon]

That is a good idea. Our Mac tool dealer has a 1/2" stubby wrench with threaded pieces welded to the backside used as a cabinet knob.

 

[ToyotaDon]

Another/different one

So I did a water pump on a Yaris the other day, which is quite a bit smaller.

For this one, I drilled the holes first to try and line everything else up with them, but they ended up a little off as you will see.

This one I will give to one of my sons, so it mainly needs to be sturdy, and doesn't have to be quite so accurate looking.

Again, used different sandpaper grits to get the desired finish, got the backside looking real shiny.

This one I decided to paint with some touch up paint the body shop gave me for my 80.

Final product.

 

[bigredmachine]

now if only i had something to do with the camry water pumps.

 

[OregonLC]

Found this and it made me thing of this thread!

www.cruisercrap.com!