Thanks Sonny345...I appreciate the compliment. I participate in threads that participate in mine. I worked on quite a few of these trucks and try to pass on what I have learned on them. Which truck you have? I always like seeing new ones come up on here. Post a picture of it on my thread. If you have any questions, I usually can find some pictures of work I have done on these in the past that can take some of the confusion out on these trucks. Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words and manuals don't always make it easy.

I appreciate the offer on the inclinometer, there are several people looking for them. They can go for around $100 for the ones I see and know it will go quick. You could sell it on the classifieds here.

 

When I was 20 years old, I really thought I had a future career in motorcycle racing, just wasn't sure how to go about it. I was used to the more powerful motorcycles and got a deal on a puny 125 Yamaha. Every time I ever rode one that was less powerful then what I was used to, I got hurt.

I was able to jump quite a bit of distance on my bigger bikes and a jump I had done 1000s of times I took on the 125 and it just did not have enough power to pull the front end up and I landed front wheel first and some how I was in between the rear tire and exhaust pipe and broke my left collar bone.

I wont wear a seat belt when driving but will when I am on the passenger side as I do not like how it rubs my collar bone. It is like finger nails on a chalk board. Just an unpleasant feeling. Today I was heading home from work and in the rear view mirror I had a State Patrol to pull me over for not wearing a seat belt and he asked why I was not wearing it. I showed him my collar bone and told him I do not wear one when driving and why I did not. I still got a $10 seat belt ticket. I never saw him and knew I was not speeding. Misty calls me Grandpa driver. I really don't get in a hurry anymore.

When I was younger and I was doing the speed limit, that is when they should of been checking me out. I have mellowed out since then but if I was speeding I was not getting into trouble.

I went and got my $10 money order and got the ticket in the mail and then went got me a radar detector just so I know where they are. Been wanting to get one for a while and just kept putting it off. Getting the windows tinted on my rides is going to happen next just to cut down the chances of getting seen without a seatbelt on.

I sold my 64 Chevy truck recently and have just been sitting on the money from it for a new project. I am about to give up on finding a mid 70s Celica as they are just to high priced or just way beyond repair from what I have seen. The ticket has me thinking of something Pre 64 since they were without seat belts. I have always like panel wagons. I am nearing completion on Toms truck and my 85 and always want to be working on something.

Newest gadget to help keep a few dollars in my pocket I hope. I usually get one seat belt ticket a year.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/83-88-Toyota...VWwZyi&vxp=mtr

 

If everything goes right, I will be getting the shell painted tomorrow or the next day and can start putting the bumpers on. I am going to check out some carpet shops on the way home and see if I can find a remnant piece for the back end and get it installed. Should not be to much to do other then reassemble it and check it out mechanically.

 

I think seat belt tickets are rediculous. I wear mine by choice but feel that If someone doesn't want to they shouldn't have to.

The old cars don't have seat belts and it's perfectly legal to drive them.

Stupid

 

Hello 92ehatch.... It is kind of frustrating even after showing him and explaining why I don't on the drivers side. I did go get an estimate for getting the windows tinted on the car and all the glass will be $185 and it will help with looks and cooling. I plan on getting to it soon. I don't mind the lap belt. Since I cant find a Celica that I like, I will start looking into something, just not sure what I want.

 

Went to get the top ready for paint for tonight. I could rub my finger across the top and still get a film on my so gave it another good scrubbing. I then rinsed it off and dried it with an air hose and water still kept coming out of the crevices. I will let it sit in the shop all night to make sure it is good and dry.


This is an hour after cleaning and drying it off and took the air hose to it again and what still came out. In the above picture, you can see it is down to the fiberglass. This top really has no rough texture to it at all. I have seen some that have a really rough texture to it.


Just to avoid getting overspray on the seal and to eliminate some masking, I remove the rear window glass rubber. You can see how dirty they get. Also in one of the previous post above, I show what I use to lubricate the rubber seal. This one too needs a good soaking in silicone spray. It puts a lot of friction on the motor. This one is dry and rough. I will give it a good cleaning and lubricate it up when I install it back. It is easy to remove and install. I do mark which side it goes and direction but it is easy to figure it out.

 

Tomorrow while waiting for the temperature to warm up, I will be going to the Joplin Toyota dealer and get some grill clips. I went to install the grill and most are so brittle they just broke. I will check my local body shop store and see if they sell clips. I need to check ebay and see if they sell them in bundles. I know that they do on some things.

 

Isn't the top supposed to be textured? Mine is almost like bed liner texture

 

It is supposed to be textured. This is the first one I have seen that isn't textured. I am sure it has not been painted in the past. Kind of has me wondering why it is so smooth. There is a spot or two that has very little, and I mean just a tad of texture but nothing to really speak of. I wonder if it just got wore off thru the years or maybe this truck just went thru a lot of automatic carwashes and the brushes just wore the texture off?

 

If you wanted texture I wonder if this Eastwood paint would be good. It's expensive like most of their stuff.
http://www.eastwood.com/ew-textured-...FY8bgQodTCwACQ

 

My 87 parts truck was not textured it was very smooth. I wonder if it depended on color whether it was smooth or not

 

This is interesting. Mine is white and as mentioned textured.

 

My parts truck was red 87 4runner Sr5 model 5 speed power windows locks sunroof. Top was smooth as baby bottom

 

I'm needing to refinish my top. Its down to the fiberglass as well. I put a couple of coats of plastidip to protect it in the mean time. I'll be watching your progress to see how best to do it!

 

Thanks...I have 4 first gen runners here at the house and each one is different from smooth to rough. I used a bed liner on a top for a guy on his runner a few years ago and I liked the fact that the rough texture helps hid flaws in the top but I prefer the smooth top.

I am getting juiced up on coffee and waiting for the weather to warm up before I put on the sealer and depending on how long it takes to set up will effect on how soon I start putting on paint. I need to get the paint on today as the weather is going to start cooling down and was a possibility of snow for us this weekend. Don't think it will be much but I need to get it painted and the runner is setting under the carport and it is not the best for keeping snow out of an uncovered runner.

Yesterday was a bust on just about everything I tried to get done. Top would not dry out, I could not get the garden tiller to run. It is getting fuel to the carburetor and will run if I prime it, the lawn mower I was having problems with it last year so just got a new one and got the extended warranty so hopefully it will last a few years. They just don't make things like they used to.

I went to 12 different carpet stores yesterday and today and I can find 15,000 different shades of gray carpet but not what I want for the back end but will check a few more places out and see what I can find. I was able to make progress on a few other things so was happy with that.

One thing I do like about my local Toyota dealer is I can call them nearly at closing time and they can usually have the parts by 8:00 the next morning. I went and got the clips so should be getting the front end together today and tomorrow if all goes well. I looked at my local auto body supply store and they don't sell any. I did find some on ebay and need to order a few and see how the compare.

Here is part number for grill clips. http://www.ebay.com/itm/83-88-Toyota...VWwZyi&vxp=mtr

 

I mask to the inside so as to get good coverage. I will cover up where my finger is but just showing how I mask.


Just starting to get it masked. I also use cardboard on the back side for support.


On the front I do the same thing. I am going to paint the hidden to the body color as well. You can see in the corners there is black. It looks like Toyota did not spend a whole lot of time of getting things crisp and clear. I am trying to clean it up a little and make it look a little more professional. Cant be worse then what it is.


I use a wet cloth with a ounce or so of thinner to degrease. It finally got some of the dead paint off.


Here it is in sealer. Some do not care to use sealer. I suggest it. It would take several coats of paint to cover the black. I put on a light coat sealer that probably had 50% coverage and then went with a second coat to cover everything.


One thing I like about sealer is that it gives you a chance to fix some issues. The half moon where my finger is needs fixed. Just a scratch. The rest is excess filler that I will clean off. I will touch up that area and then hit it with some primer and get it painted here in a few minutes. By the time I get the scratch fixed, the sealer should be dry enough to paint.

 

Hey Terry, the problem you were having with your tiller sounds like the same problem I was having with my mower. It would run when I primed it but would die. I ended up replacing the diaphram between the carb and the gas tank, it was a $3 part, has ran great ever since. Don't know if yours is the same setup, but seems like alot of the small engines are the same.

The top is looking good, look forward to seeing it all painted and back on the runner, that thing is going to look sharp, still one of my favorite colors! Wish I had a heated shop to work in, I'd be able to get alot more done this time of year!

 

Thanks Ed... I have always had a tough time with small engines when it comes to the carburetor. I will check into the diaphragm. I have tried all the small engines, Tecumsi, Briggs and Stratton, Kohler, and I think there is another one out there. I will give that a try and see what happens. I have tried to remove the bottom of the bowl sometimes that gets water in the bottom but it didn't fix this time.

I really like my wood stove. Great for cleaning up messes when done and you be surprised at all the trash you generate in a shop. I used to dread winter and still do but when in the shop, it can be snowing all it wants and I am a happy little camper. It makes winter so much more nice instead of being stuck in the house.

 

My dumb butt cant figure out all the lines on a mixing cup. You have so many different ratios such as 1:1, 2;1, 3:1... I have been showed several times and still get confused so I use regular mixing cups. A 3:1 is 900/300 to me, I can understand the so much easier. The clear coat is 4:1 so 400/100 on this.


Here it is in color. Not sure if I would sand it down and add a thin coat of filler would smooth things out and look better and how long it would last or just go with a really rough texture.


It did not take long for Mr. Justin to come along and say he liked black tops better. It did not take me long to tell him I thought he was nuts. lol I am sure Misty dropped him on his head when he was an infant, but she wont admit to it. I let him spray some clear coat on the side and he did pretty good. I had him to practice on some card board and to get the idea of when to pull the trigger and to let off.

He has sprayed primer many times but that is easily fixed. I was a little nervous letting him to do the side but he did a great job. He has rattle canned many of his bicycles and other things and when he got done, he admitted that running a paint gun and all the motions involved was tougher then he thought. I was not brave enough to let him do the top as keeping the hose up and the strength in his arms would probably wear out before he got it done. Painting horizontal surfaces can get to your arm quick.

 

Couldn't wait to see it with the top on. I still have a lot of rubbing compound on the truck and need to buff it still.





What it looked like before.


Rear view