Brake and Clutch lines plus the Booster

Hydraulics

So, this vehicle is not so old as not to have the most modern of brake and clutch systems:  Hydraulics.  I can only imagine what it must have been like to drive an early brass-era car with cables everywhere, stretching and breaking.

But, I digress.  My paint guy paid no particular attention to my brake lines, assuming I would (naturally) replace them.  But he was assuming that my truck would suffer the typical rusting of the American Muscle he deals with more regularly.  But this is Toyota.  And Toyota saved all the "bad" steel for the sheet metal.  The bolts and other miscellaneous steel parts must have been invented by Einstein because all of it is perfect.  This includes the brake and clutch lines.

As an aside (and a well deserved plug for Toyota), I've owned a few Toys and each and every one of them excels in this area.  It's hard to imagine a bolt coming out as shiny and clean as it went in, but it happens all the time.  I replaced many bolts because the plating was gone from the heads and I did not want to paint them.  Here is an example of bolts that threaded into the frame and were exposed at both ends.  The threads themselves were amazing!  This is the rule and not the exception, and of the hundreds and hundreds of bolts removed, I found two needing heat and penetrating oil.  One on the running board and one on the spare tire bracket.

So, the lines from the master brake and clutch cylinders have been hanging from my ceiling and I really wasn't too thrilled with the task.  I had already cleaned them and the steel looked pretty good.  But this is not just any restoration.  Do I paint?  No, yes, no... shit.  Then the light came on.  I had bought a series of "Duplicolor" automotive paints for another project a while back and they were varying hues of silver. maybe I had one that was a match to the lines!  Lo and behold, this was the case, so, a-painting I went.  To start, I applied tape over the threads, then I coated (twice) with my favorite self etching (gray) primer.  Then, using every last drop of the color I liked best, painted the three lines.  I did this at dusk and it was cold, so I was working fast, but to my surprise, I got it right!  Here are a few:

Brake booster

I had restored the brake booster several years ago and as you might expect there were a few spots of concern, so I went ahead and cleaned, sanded and repainted it.  here it is in process, and I'll record the installation next time.

Tape over the bellows and mounting threads

Chip Guard paint by SEM (great product)

Making a gasket 

Goes between firewall and booster

Thanks for reading the blog.  I still have no idea how or why someone in Brazil is reading this!!!  See you next time, when I hope to make progress toward firing up the engine by completing the wiring harness, installing the new electronic ignition.

That blasted foam padding!!!

Short Post...

That freaking padding that I used to protect my chassis while raising the gas tank in position did not play nice.  recall the frame looked something like this:

Well, for any of you thinking this was a great idea, be forewarned!  I used two different lots of material, one being new and another being old.  The old stuff came right off, nut the new stuff stuck like glue to some of my parts.  it did not adhere to the painted chassis (Thank God) but stuck to any of the parts I painted myself.  So I had to spend hours carefully cleaning, rubbing and scraping little dots of material from the springs and the e-brake drum.  Luckily what's left is barely detectable.  Any hope of winning a beauty contest is but a lonely memory... boohoo.

Pro Comps, a new Zerk and the tank rises!

Gas Tank!

While the rest of my life screams along at break-neck speed, this project plods along resolutely. I keep seeing light at the end of the tunnel, then night sets in and I have to pull over.  Night being anxiety.  Getting on the road before the snow flies is no longer realistic, so I can relax and focus.  "It's a good thing", as Martha is fond of saying!

My next milestone:  Install the gas tank.  There are a mess of fuel separator lines and hoses along with the fuel-fill and vent line, all dependent on the tank being in place.  So, it was time to scoot the tank under the truck and lift it into place.  Or so I thought.

One, the weight of the tank exceeds my ability to lift at such a strange angle, and two, I started dinging up the paint on the chassis when I tried.  So, after thirty minutes staring up at the undercarriage (in admiration I might add), I decided I needed a plan!

First and foremost, protect the chassis.  Me thinks wrapping the exposed parts of the frame, axle and transmission in a protective cover of some kind is in order.  I went o my local box store and wandered the isles scratching my head when the light came on.  Use that rubbery foam used as carpet pads!  (Later you'll learn was this was a not-so-perfect solution)

Here is the result:

Next, we need more brawn.  This was provided by my good friend, Orlando, who also brings his keen automotive savvy to the party.  It took a good two-plus hours to complete, but up the tank went.  The fit is a complicated bit of twists and turns and requires that the skid plate be installed over the tank and the straps in place for it to work.  I had restored the tanks original felt pads and glued them carefully into place with a truly fantastic product called Permatex Ultra Black.  It's a silcone RTV gasket maker, but works great as a glue.  Here are some pictures of the entire life cycle of the tank.  Enjoy.

The desert clay was everywhere!

Truly disgusting amount of clay, rust and dust.

The original pads looking good after power washing.

A skid plate under all that crap!  No rust!  Pads Great.

Undercoater on bottom of tank

Looking smart on the side nobody will ever see!

Tank straps (rubbers were amazingly supple, no damage)

Pads restored and replaced with Permatex RTV

Tank vapor recovery manifold.

Skid plate ready with SEM Chip Guard paint

Ready to raise, skid plate held by strap (blue)

Finally in place!

Now, remove that foam...

Note the rubber

Install the four Pro Comp ES3000 shocks

Somewhere between the time I disassembled the truck and received the chassis back from painting, I was missing two of the shock spacers/washers.  They keep the bushing from squishing out too far and are specifically cut to fit the spindle.  There are two sizes for each spindle and they are no longer available.  I have no problem making them, but they are cupped which makes this particularly challenging.  So I opted to buy used ones, and rusty ones at that.  So, I decided to restore all of the washers and coat them with a POR-15 product with a nickel color. You may detect this in the photos.

You little Zerk!

So, this truck is (of course) metric throughout.  The US of A has been teaching us the metric system for decades and the manufacturers have pretty much bought in (while dragging their heels).  So, cars have forever been a mix of standard and metric hardware, driving the mechanic NUTS!  Wouldn't you think that auto parts stores would be interested in carrying...(cough)...metric hardware?  

I needed one measily little Zerk fitting for my rear drive shaft.  If you aren't familiar with a Zerk fitting, a man named (of all things) Zerk designed this little wonder back in the thirties (can you believe it?) that allowed grease to flow one direction through a spring loaded detente ball.  It's a tiny little "valve" that threads into the part you want lubricated and they usually last forever (always lubed!).  However, one on my universal joint had dropped a ball and was spitting grease back at me at roughly the same volume as I was pumping it in.  Now, I just wanted one fitting, but nobody had them.  Most places had no metric fittings at all.  My buddy Orlando had a jar full of fittings but not one was metric!  And get this:  I was even willing to pay for it (really!).  Finally (and I should have tried there first) my NAPA store had it... in a box of 20 in every imaginable size and configuration. Now I have something to leave to my kids!

Anyway the shaft before and after: