No great progress today but I do have a photo of the pipes in paint..

 

Nice cars....very informative. Toyota is innovation.

 

A few more of the finished system on the truck, though the 750* paint did start bubbling & blistering when the engine fired up...

From front to back.











It has made a massive difference to the noise.
I'm still not sure it will ever be considered stealthy but it doesn't make ears ring any more.

 

Morning everyone,

I didn't realise I'd left this update as long as I have.
The bed is back on though I've not taken photos & I've had to chuck a pair of 2" lowering blocks in at the rear to level the body out a bit.

I convinced a set of Mk2 Escort blocks to fit from GRP4 down the road but they do not look all that substantial.
If it does fail I'll mooch along with the 5-link.

The only pictures I do have are of the inside.
Had to do a spot of patchwork on the passenger side footwell before mounting the ECU.
The bigger wheels/tyres were busy clearancing their way into the cabin before I started the conversion proper but with luck a more sensible sized tyre will fit on full lock.



All of the conversion wiring is tucked up the inside of the A-pillar with the ECU in on a couple of Riv-nuts.



And it goes inside the original kick panel.



I decided to stick with the old plastic carpets instead of the fluffy conventional ones from the Surf because it's easier to mop it out when it gets mucky.
The same happened with the upholstered door cards from the Surf, though I may stack the parts in the shed before I get rid of the donor.



I did take the Surf's seats though. So this, barring a bit of a scrub is my new/old interior.



Where's the sparkle that was there in my minds eye??

 

What is the wiring for that goes from the kick panel and into the door & why didn't you hide it better?

 

That's where I put my exhaust lol

 

That's a quick & dirty fix I did waay back day 1 to get the door locks going.
I feel like I should leave it now, part of the story & all that?

Now that you've mentioned it though, I will go pinch the body to door wire things & Toyota motorised locks from the Surf.
I'll put them in the maybe tomorrow box.

 

Ah cool, does it do much rattling around the frame?

 

Oh ok. Was just curious.

 

Howarye all,

I decided to try & track down where the water went from my radiator last time it was full over the weekend.
I opted for the rad out test.
Cobbled a test together with a bike tube, some rad hose and fairy liquid.





Using a pressure regulator gave the option of testing right up to the rad cap release pressure (20psi).
So with the radiator held at or about 20 psi I squirted the whole thing down with a spray bottle full of water & a squirt of Fairy Liquid.



I only found the hole I could see with the radiator in the truck but it's good for peace of mind.
The leak is a tiny void where I had the filler neck welded in.

 

Haven't had an update in a while.

The big work on the truck is more or less done now...
- I still have to get the brakes feeling half right
- I still haven't tracked down my idle issue, it seems like the motor is drawing air in somewhere.
So I may do a quick tear down of the inlet manifold & scope all of the gaskets etc.

I've been working on a restoration that's been going on too long lately so the truck is sitting unloved in the shed.

 

How are ye chaps?

I got distracted for a spell but I'm back on track here now.

I have the idle issue mended. This is what I did.
- New intake gaskets throughout
- Delete of all non essential vacuum systems
- Scrubbed & lubricated the Idle Air Control Valve (IACV).

Now I'm back to fighting with the brakes.
Up until last night I had LS400 master cylinder, LS400 4-pots on the front & OE Hilux drums out the back.



With this setup the rears would lock every time with little or no effort going to the fronts. A bias valve didn't fix this issue.

So I've removed the LS400 master & replaced it with the OE Hilux item.
I've also stripped & cleaned the front calipers, reassembled with new pads.
I'll be bleeding the system through again tonight & testing.

If that still doesn't sort it I have a complete Hilux Surf (4Runner) with Hilux 4-pot callipers & appropriate master cylinder I can try out.
I know these are A1 as I'm driving it daily at the moment.

If anyone knows anything useful about this problem, I'm all ears.

 

Wonderful news everybody, the brakes seem to be sorted.

That means I can drive it now, right... WRONG.

It has decided to sit down on me. The engine has mysteriously decided to overfuel quite heavily.
She's refusing to hold an idle at all cold.

If I warm it on the throttle it will eventually hold an idle of about 700 to 800rpm but runs quite lumpy like it is misfiring.
The exhaust is a thin black smoke with whole drops of unburnt petrol in it and all 6 plugs are covered in black soot immediately.


So far I've checked compression, good.
Cam timing is good.
Plugs are new.
And the cone filter has been cleaned & lightly oiled.
My timing lamp has died so I've not cheched spark timing but I can't see that being out?

The next parts I'm awaiting are a cap & arm for the dizzy because they look a bit scruffy. I'm not confident this will help any but it looks to need doing anyway.

And a pair of lambdas for in the manifolds. I'm hoping these have given up suddenly & a new pair will re-trim the fueling.

I am still suffering from a limp handbrake but I will start worrying about that again when the motor is back to running well.

 

So for anybody interested, the current brake setup which seems to be working well is as follows:

Hilux 2WD Master cylinder with Wilwood Brake proportioning valve on the rear circuit. (Set to Min.)

1998 Lexus LS400 4-pot calipers on the front.
Home made caliper adaptor.
Stock LS400 rotors on machined (Turned down to 60.1mm) Hilux hubs.

And Hilux 2WD drums on the rear.
LSPV has been deleted & the pipework removed.

Brake effort is excellent with a very firm pedal.

The rears still locked a touch ahead of the fronts on a dry road in full emergency stop conditions from 50mph.
I will allow the brand new pads in the front to bed in before I worry too much about that though.
And if all else fails I can throw some ballast in the back as a temporary fix.

In regular driving the brakes are nothing short of excellent anyway.

 

man, you have been a busy body on this truck! pretty sweet build thread. i just went through from the very beginning and its been a pretty extensive build... very nice work mate!

 

Cheers man.

No developments but I think I've found a garage man who will look at the running issue in his spare time for me.

I can concentrate on finding a handbrake that will work.

 

Update:
Engine is running properly again, in case anyone runs into a similar problem we think it was an intermittent signal from the ECU Water Temperature sensor.

I have also gotten round to stripping the 5-link axle from my parts Hilux Surf (4Runner).




Got it stripped & cleaned, ready for the LSD & 5-Bolt halfshafts.







So now, according to the tape measure the lower links will line up & fit directly into the stock leaf spring hangers.

I will have to fabricate chassis mountings for the upper links.
I will have to fabricate a chassis mount for the panhard rod.
And I will have to move the chassis shock mounts to suit the new axle.


I'm as yet undecided about whether to use airbags & shocks or try some coilovers.

Airbags would make it easier to up the spring rate for a load but I have no experience of how well they will work on twisty roads.

Anyone have any recommendations?
The truck will be in daily use for a mix of load lugging & skidding around back roads.

 

Morning all,

I'm typing this update for the 3rd time because the f***** forum keeps logging me out as I press post.
If it fails again I quit!

So I've managed some time on the truck again this weekend.
Got the headlamps in from the Surf.



I do have the correct side lamps & matching corners for the wings / fenders but didn't want to cut n' shut them right away.
I will be avoiding flared arches all round if I can.

Got a look at the axle as well.
Have chopped off the triangulated upper links & spring seats.
I'm sure the triangulated setup would be advantageous & all but that would require a hell of alot more work on the chassis & moving the fuel tank.



This will be a work truck if it ever makes the road so I won't be cutting out the bed or removing the spare wheel or any of that.

I then chopped about the link brackets I had removed to make up a 3-link arrangement.



I'll be using the original panhard rod for side to side location.
I did have to remove the mount & re-position it though.
On the donor 4-wheeler it is located above & behind the axle.
I have mounted it below & behind to create some space for airbags mounted on the inside of the chassis rails.



The rod now doesn't clear the diff casing perfectly but I think it will be ok to bend it in a gentle 'S'.
If I think it needs it, I'll put strengthening gussets on at the bends.

The bend would also create some extra space for the RHS shock absorber.
The shocks will be mounted as they were on the Surf, on stock mounts.


Now I will be working on getting some parts in from the US.
Here in Ireland we do not have any availability of parts like airbags.

I also want to import a Howe Stealth steering quickener.
At the moment my Hilux suffers from 5 full turns of the steering wheel lock to lock.
So my intention is to add the quickener & an oil cooler from the scrap yard to give the PS pump an easier time.