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Well, they fought us every bit of the way but we got both axles out. The boys persevered. Some times the boys were trying for righty-loosely, sometimes they were looking for a 19mm socket for the 1/4” ratchet but were learning! They’ve all grown found of the PB Blaster, breaker bar and dead blow hammer. We had to beat on a few bolts, torch a few and only a few broke, most bolts gave up under 16 year old rage/persuasion!

Got the axles up on to the workbenches. Now we’ll teach as we tear down. Hopefully get them totally stripped, cleaned and ready for paint by semesters end.

We’re adding a parts washer to the shop, any recommendations for a safe parts washer solution was thinking of Oil Eater as it is the best stuff I’ve used around the shop. I dont want something volatile like kerosene or anything flammable. Thoughts?

Anyhow, we’ve pulled and bagged a ton of stuff, time to see what we need to order up.

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Gonna pull these things apart and clean things up. We’ll rebuild the axles, see what the brakes need and see about re-arching the springs. Gotta get a Christmas list of parts together for Kurt.
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Getting parts organized for our powder coat field trip.
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Hover Cruiser…
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thetoyotaman said:
Drew, just an observation, longer shackles on stock springs can add stresses to the spring making it more likely to crack. I've seen this happen before. An economy lift might be best achieved by a long add-a-leaf. Just my .02c to try to help.
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I didn’t know that, I’m not opposed to a full lift kit but if there’s a cheaper way to go without totally sacrificing the ride quality I’m all ears.

J Mack said:
No... But that's a geometry question.
Re-arched springs and 2" longer shackles are going to be a hot mess.
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I have always avoided both. I always thought re arched springs would equal a rougher ride since you aren’t adding any length?

Also taller shackles make me think of wandering. And they look like buck teeth on a nice cruiser.
thetoyotaman said:
By the way, have you thought about selling those like new KO's and rims you have? This time of year with winter hitting this week might be a great time. Then, you could get some 33x.9.50R15 Kendas on the stock wheels which would probably fit with no re-arching. Steering would be easier, the narrow tire would work better in winter. Just a thought.
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Yeah I’ve thought about that. These measure out about 32.5 x 11… they’re like new so I hate to give them up.

A tall skinny would be nice, and I do really like the stock wheel look WAY better. This is a good idea Darren, I gotta play with the $ numbers to see what it would take to pull off.
 
Man...looking at those axles and springs how good they look for the age, I'd just clean em, put new bushings and a decent shock with it/call it a day.
 
Really great teaching those kids how to wrench on an old Toyota!
 
REZARF said:
I have always avoided both. I always thought re arched springs would equal a rougher ride since you aren’t adding any length?

Also taller shackles make me think of wandering. And they look like buck teeth on a nice cruiser.
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Good, Yes, Also Yes, I believe you are correct!

You can get tricky and try to add more lift on a budget a road well traveled and then you'll have an opportunity teach the kids how to do it right the second time because it drives like a box of weenies...

@Pighead gave you great advice if you want to stay SUA.. If you want more lift on a budget then just go SOA... Clapped out stock springs -.750"ish + 3" housing is still something around a 2.5" give or take lift and you don't have to think about Math's°...
 
You're trying to teach these kids skills they can use in life.
In reality most folks will never have the chance to re engineer a suspension and of those that do get a chance most will screw it up and end up worse off than it was from the factory.

Teach them to restore what's there and to understand the concepts involved, caster, camber, Ackerman angle, all of it and get them to realize that improving a suspension in one way will make it worse in some other, and to make it better in all areas you're better off starting with something else...
For every one person employed building custom suspension there's 50 guys hammering ball joints out of minivans...
Teach them something they're likely to use and which will allow them to be of service to those around them. Not just the morons who think they're going to hire a shop to put trophy truck suspension in their modern techno ox.
Teach em something they're liable to use...
 
Point is TEACH 🧐🤔. You get the feedback from your students and let them learn on there own with guidance from there Teacher in case they are heading in the wrong direction 🤔🧐😉. Life story! You learn from your mistakes 😘. With guidance from the Adults in your life. .Parents first and Teachers next. 😉😘
 
^^^ I'd wheel it. :steer:
 
We’re adding a parts washer to the shop, any recommendations for a safe parts washer solution was thinking of Oil Eater as it is the best stuff I’ve used around the shop. I dont want something volatile like kerosene or anything flammable. Thoughts?
 
I used to have a parts washer, but got rid of it due to the chemicals and the mess. I now use a pressure washer with simple green or purple power outside and move towards an ultrasonic cleaner inside. Simple green in the ultrasonic cleaner or evapo rust in it is knocking it out for me.
 
thetoyotaman said:
I used to have a parts washer, but got rid of it due to the chemicals and the mess. I now use a pressure washer with simple green or purple power outside and move towards an ultrasonic cleaner inside. Simple green in the ultrasonic cleaner or evapo rust in it is knocking it out for me.
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I have a sonic cleaner at the house and love it but it’s small. Most of the parts we’re working on are bigger than most sonic cleaners. Backing plates, heat shields, engine parts, I think a parts washer puts the boys to work va standing around. I used the hotsie on the cruiser twice already but it’s still grimey in spots. All the oil leaks are probably why the frame and undercarriage is so rust free 😆

I do love my sonic cleaner for hardware, makes fast work of a bunch at once. We might look for one down the road. We’re still in tear down mode… maybe we’ll add a sonic cleaner as we get closer reassembly. It’s a great idea Darren.
 
I've kept it old school with my parts washer and gone with Crown PSC1000 solvent. It's a petroleum distillate, works great on grease and grime. Available in 5-gallon buckets from Tractor Supply.
 
REZARF said:
I think a parts washer puts the boys to work va standing around.
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Agreed, idle hands are the devil's tools. Elbow grease is a fine parts cleaner, plenty of DIY non-toxic, cheap degreaser recipes on the youtube ( for one). Couple plastic bins and stiff bristle brushes, running water to rinse. Have your groups research and concoct their own recipes, compare & contrast effectiveness. Keep them busy and wear them out. I H8 to sound like an old nanny-state fart but I will anyway, I personally would not want to expose young adults to real degreasers, plenty of time for them to do that themselves later on. A big plastic 12 volt electrolysis bin might be a good lesson too.
 
I agree. Learning to clean parts like we all did back in the day, priceless.
 
REZARF said:
Thoughts?
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I use (Zep Heavy-Duty Floor Stripper Ammonia Free Concentrate) For all my heavy duty cleaning around here (wife now uses it to clean stove top) it is readily available at all the big box stores and cheap to buy.
I've had parts washers big and small and they suck to keep clean or clean out when they get completely funky so I now have the full strength floor stripper in a spray bottle or I'll use a bus-bin if I'm going to soak parts.. I also dilute it 50/50 and use it in a spray bottle for a 409 type cleaning.

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45 minute classes... 2 times a week. I gotta keep the boys moving.
 
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