When last we spoke, I had run the engine and completed all the major assembly of the body panels. During the past few weeks, I've had some ups and downs getting the truck road-ready, and even with a few warts, she's very drive-able though not quite ready for prime time. Here is where we are:
Brakes
I had replaced the brake master cylinder a few years ago and during the installation, had a dickens of a time bleeding the brakes. With some help, I finally got rid of the spongy pedal and all was good. There were many long silent moments of doubt, I recall, because I KNOW how to bleed brakes and have done this many times on several vehicles. Now here I am again, struggling to purge all those bubbles. And I am still not satisfied. I've had lots of help, and I am still confounded. I'm letting the shop where I am taking it for some final services figure this one out.
Floor mats
After weeks of agony and despair, I found my floor mats. They are extremely rare and, if available, very pricey. They were in a box we had saved for a mini-trampoline and stuffed between some sleds and a toboggan in the last place on earth I thought to look (and only after Nancy insisted). Whew! That was a close one. The photos show the mats before I had a chance to clean them.
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| Carpeted mats cut to fit and to protect the rare vinyl mats |
Spare Tire Carrier
The tubular carrier is a unique style to the later model trucks and they are quite robust. The posts are pressed into the brackets and mine were so tight I could not get them apart. I had bought new plastic bushings and wanted the hinges snugged up, but the perfect paint was making slamming the pins out impossible (I tried). So before I ruined the finish, I came up with a solution. My light tapping had moved the pins about 1/8" so I bought 5/8" ID nylon washers, sliced part of the washer away to make it look like a "C" clip and popped them above and below the pivot. Tightened it up nicely. Then I fashioned some gray rubber gaskets for the mounts and bolted it up.
Then I used stainless hardware to install the latch, placed the new rubber bumper on the latch handle, installed the newly painted spring and completed the carrier.
I had lost the plastic adjuster for the hand brake (how is a mystery) and broken the knob for the transfer, so both were purchased from SOR in Chatsworth CA. Looking good new!
COMPLETE!!
NEXT STEPS
Power Steering Pump - I'm not getting enough pressure in the system and I've decided to replace the pump. I can't quite understand why the pump died, as it was okay before storage. I've gone through and verified that the fluid is unrestricted and moves through the system unimpaired. I did run the pump for several minutes with insufficient fluid so it's my fault. Costly mistake.
Rear Differential (Third member) - The rear dif was always sloppy but it appears that my amateur attempt at a repair was a bust. The vibration and noise is too much to bear so I sent off for a remanufactured differential and that should be here this week.
Tires and wheels - I found a shop that speaks my language and is the very same ownership that helped my pimp my first Land Cruisers way back in the dark ages. I was a bit shocked to find the brothers still both actively involved in the shop, and they know these vehicles. So, they are going to recommend and install a set of tires on my stock wagon wheels, install new tie rod ends, perform an alignment, purge those pesky brakes, and install that new differential. We hope to get that all done this week or next and be ready for a Japanese only car show in July. I'll report back as I make these final repairs and later when I finish the roof.
EBAY
Lastly, I am selling a bunch of my old and leftover parts on eBay and it is mind-boggling just how valuable my old parts are. Parts I figured were ready for the trash can are fetching crazy money. Go figure. Good thing, because that power steering pump was an unplanned expense and it wasn't cheap.
See you all nest time!
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