Hello, gents. New here w/a black/burgundy 1987 22RE auto.

flagbasher · Sep 2, 2014

Just some minor boring stuff.

More gray parts in the mail. I'll probably hold off on any major work here until I get the 5 speed swap ready to go. I wouldn't want to paint parts to perfection and then screw them up when I have to tear the dash apart for the 5 speed work.

I did do some test painting with the SEM gray on a few small parts. I haven't really tested the adhesion after drying, but the color looks pretty close. Maybe a tiny bit lighter than the original plastic. No one would ever notice.

I removed the beast of a roof rack. Not sure I would ever put anything up there since I don't plan on wheeling the truck. Holes are temporarily filled with stainless hex cap screws with neoprene washers. It will be this way until I do the gray interior swap. Then I will patch these holes up, fix a few of the chips and scratches, and re-paint the top inside and out.

Another minor easy update. I swapped out the tail lens surrounds with chrome ones.

Many of the guys seem to want to ditch the chrome, but I think it needs a little. The front grille and corner lights will eventually be chrome too. I've got chrome door handles ready to install. I just picked up some stainless rocker trim on eBay (never thought I'd find those). I've got the holes for it, but the trim is long gone. Need to dig up trim clips for those and other misc. clips and doodads that are broken or have disappeared.

I also plan to swap the rear bumper for the original chrome style... if I can find one. Not sure if the repro type are quality or not. The other sad part is the rear bumper brackets are no longer made, so I have to scavenge for used ones.

flagbasher · Sep 2, 2014

Another bumper related note.

I bought front bumper brackets and they sent me one wrong one, so I'm swapping that out.

I bought a repro bumper filler panel, and the fit is pretty crap. I think I can grind the outside tabs to make it fit, but what a pain.

Once I get the correct driver side bracket for the front, I can massage those front bumper parts together with grinding and finding the correct size hardware. Then I can take off the Smitty.

I'll still be missing the front valance. I've got a 84-85 style repro valance on order. I hear there will be some modification necessary to make that fit. I guess we'll see.

papawhellie · Sep 4, 2014

I have access to some gray panels in a local junkyard but the guy wants 200 dollars for everything in there. I like them a little better than mine. If you are interested at that price I can send pictures of mine and be sure he still has the others. Just an option. Junkyard bases prices on ebay prices so not much negotiation room. About the only thing left on that runner is the panels. I am unsure of the year and if they differ. I have my original non sr5 88 panels and some non sr5 seats. The fronts are the low back and have no covers.

flagbasher · Sep 4, 2014

Yeah, the eBay prices tend to be a little silly.

I've been watching some pairs of door panels and rear panels that never actually move. They just end over and over. I guess they're waiting for just the right person desperate enough to drop $300 on some door panels.

flagbasher · Sep 20, 2014

I'm about to install a 200lb 12ft Harken Hoister.

Hold my beer...

Holes in ceiling studs. Directions call for 2"x6"x6' going into 3 studs. Two 2"x6"x8' going into 6 studs. I doubled up on the lumber to clear the tube lights that the ropes have to clear.

My wife and I tried walking these up a ladder, but it was brutal. Instead I put eye hooks off to the side and ratcheted them up with loading straps. I was able to put them up myself this way.

Sweating my ass off and cursing like a sailor, I got those f**kers up.

Crossbar to gather all the lines and feed them to the pulley system that does the hard work for me. Usually these lifts are set up with the tackle/pulleys going to the left of this pic, but I have a box with plumbing in the way, so it has to go to the side instead. It means I have to use the alternate directions for ceiling beams going the wrong direction.

Rope fed through. Pulleys and tackle installed on the far wall.

Another view.

My first lift. The ladder that got the job done.

Let's just squeeze this b***h in here.

Looks like my measurements were correct. I went so far as to lay out my garage in Google Sketchup to make sure everything would fit. It was a lot easier playing with it there than in my head, or with actual materials...

Up, up, and away!

And we're off!

According to the previous owner (2nd owner), the top has NEVER been off the truck before.

The kid loves it. I like it. So I guess now the correct answer is to get a Softopper so we can convert it the way we want all year until winter when the hard top goes back on.

flagbasher · Sep 28, 2014

Smitty came off.

Chrome grille and corner lights went in. Pic makes the grille look nicer than it is. I plan to re-black the inner parts. The inside of the 4 black areas have a lot of peeling where the chrome is lifting a bit. Not sure if it went chrome/silver/black, but that's how I'm going to refinish it. Carefully sand up to the remaining non-peeling chrome, do SEM bumper silver inside of the 4 grille areas, then black where you see the black now.

Or I'll just cave and buy a much nicer original grille to swap it with.

88 bumper in with new Toyota bumper bolts. I backed them up with stainless hardware. Top filler panel is reproduction, as are the bumper brackets. The brackets fit, the top filler panel is going to take some grinding to get the plastic bumper extension bolts through.

It's also at this point when I realize I need some kind of hanger to bolt the side of the bumper extension to, so I bought some chunky aluminum stock to fabricate it from.

I tried twice to buy an 84-85 style valance, but both places on eBay strung me along before finally saying they couldn't get one that was made to fit correctly.

Even if I did get it, I would have to do some modifications to the bumper brackets. I think I'd have to fabricate more to get it hanging on the sides, too.

So, work in progress...

flagbasher · Sep 28, 2014

I also got the Softopper.

Love it!

Pain to get those snaps on the first time.

flagbasher · Oct 4, 2014

Today's projects were fairly straightforward.

First I replaced the passenger side turn signal in the bumper with an actual passenger side signal. They were both driver side. Almost no one would notice, but I noticed, so I had to get the right one. A $25 endeavor.

Next up, FINALLY getting my bumper extension caps on.

Here you can see how far off the aftermarket top filler plate is. I had to do quite a but of drilling and Dremel work to get the extension caps to slide through easily. Both sides required this. Stainless hardware backing them up.

Of course I was missing the bracket that goes from the fender down to the bumper extension and down to the valance, so I just cut, filed, drilled and bent my own from aluminum stock to hold up the bumper extension for the time being. When I get a valance, I'll either make a new one, or find an original by then. Held in with stainless hardware too.

The day I got her.

How she looks now.

A little less tough looking, but I like the original style. I might add one of those original style bullbar/light bar setups if I can find a nice one. I'm assuming that's what the extra bolt holes in the bumper are for. I need to get 2 extra bolts for that. Surprised I didn't notice them until today.

flagbasher · Oct 11, 2014

So, this week started off in an interesting way.

I found some white doors from a turbo 4Runner on Craigslist that had power mirrors and power window motors in them. Great condition, for $100. It was almost worth that to me for the mirrors alone. They need a bit of repair, but it should allow me to take my time and do a good job while I still have the shoddy power mirror set on my truck as I drive it.

Turns out the guy had a LOT more stuff.

I got 3 2nd Gen gray seats for $100. Two passenger and one driver. The driver fabric is shot, but I'll probably pull the covers off and do some swapping around to get my front seats in order and in the new color I want.

And then there's this. $200 for the trans and he threw in a driveshaft that might fit. Pedal setup is here. NOS pedal pads. Sachs flywheel is already here. Braided teflon clutch cable is here. In the mail are the AISIN master/slave stuff, AISIN clutch kit, Dorman flywheel bolts, Anchor transmission mount as well.

I'm sure there are some odds and ends I will need to track down. I'll also have to figure out how I want to mount the braided clutch cable. It seemed like there were fewer points of failure with a single flexible line, but the downside is I'll need to poke around to find hardpoints to mount some clips. I'd rather not drill new holes if I can get away with it.

I just realized I need to find the shift boot and some correct shifter knobs too.

I also need to get in touch with the previous owner's mechanic about looking into this trans to make sure it's all in spec. I only want to have to do this once.

flagbasher · Oct 11, 2014

Well, look what showed up.

This box was left in the rain. Thanks...

Hard to tell, but the box is soaked.

The three 2nd Gen seats are here. Behind them are the two white turbo doors. Nothing special, but there they are.

NEW PARTS!

Now the question is... what am I missing? :wacko:

Looks like the master/slave setup and clutch line hardware are obviously missing.

Pretty sure I need to double check the wiring harness on the trans and the clutch fork to make sure it's all there.

I hear the auto pedal setup and manual pedal setup just swap, so I can probably reuse any of that hardware.

Time to study some diagrams... :keyboard:

onemanarmy · Oct 13, 2014

looks great. these trucks sure are fun to work on.

I really want a Softtopper now. Can you post a pic with the sides rolled down?

Thanks

flagbasher · Oct 13, 2014

onemanarmy said:
looks great. these trucks sure are fun to work on.

I really want a Softtopper now. Can you post a pic with the sides rolled down?

Thanks

Here you go.

Putting it on the first time was a B**CH! Now it's a lot easier. It might actually be too loose.

The rails that hold up the frame can slide back and forth about an inch. I had to slide them forward to get the back few snaps on the first time, but now it's easy. I might creep those frame bars backward a bit so I can tighten the gap in the corner of the cab where it says 4Runner. There's a bit of a wrinkle there now.

If you get one, I can tell you more about my installation issues and how I would approach it if I had to do it again. Nothing major.

I do love it.

flagbasher · Oct 17, 2014

flagbasher said:
Chrome grille and corner lights went in. Pic makes the grille look nicer than it is. I plan to re-black the inner parts. The inside of the 4 black areas have a lot of peeling where the chrome is lifting a bit. Not sure if it went chrome/silver/black, but that's how I'm going to refinish it. Carefully sand up to the remaining non-peeling chrome, do SEM bumper silver inside of the 4 grille areas, then black where you see the black now.

Or I'll just cave and buy a much nicer original grille to swap it with.

Which is exactly what I did. A much nicer grille.

I still might try to clean up the crappy parts of the unused grille so I can resell it in better condition to someone else.

I might also touch up the black on the "new" grille in the future. I definitely need to hit my front wiper arms at some point because they look awful.

Before I touch it up, I've got two full grilles that could use a refinish to practice on. The "old" chrome that needs the inside areas sanded and refinished silver. And the original grille that was gray.

Seems I've confirmed my suspicion that the inner bits were silver and not chrome. "New" on the left, "old" and peeling on the right.

Hard to tell from this far, but it does really look better in person. Now the wiper arms and windshield trim stand out. I wonder if the black peels off of those windshield trims easily.

RAD4Runner · Oct 17, 2014

She's PURRTY!

flagbasher · Oct 19, 2014

Pedal set when I bought them.

Clutch pedal after being molested by my angle grinder with a wire wheel attachment.

Clutch pedal after Rustoleum primer and two coats of Rustoleum semi-gloss.

The brake got the same treatment, of course.

Also bought the pin that goes through the clutch and holds the spring (was missing), as well as all new bushings. I've also got new pedal pads to go on these too. They should look really nice when they go in.

Not sure I'll bother with the main bracket itself since you won't really see it and it would be a b*tch to prep.

flagbasher · Oct 19, 2014

Also, my trans was missing a drain plug for the transfer case. In looking for a replacement, I figured out people were using these newer Toyota replacements. I bought 4 to replace all of them with the 10mm hex key style. They also have the magnet.

I had to buy a 24mm socket just to remove the nasty transfer case fill plug.

And then I had to buy a set of socket hexes in standard and metric because I didn't have a 10mm key anywhere.

So like $80 in and I replaced 4 plugs on my trans.

I've also got the new trans mount in this shot.

I plan to power wash the trans and possibly crack it open soon if I have the time. Interested to see what the gears look like in there.

The factory service manual has the entire disassembly, specs, and reassembly for the top shift W56. I figure it will be close enough to apply for my forward shift.

I'd just need to get the gasket kit for when I put it back together... and anything that might need replacing once I open Pandora's box here.

New shifter boots and seats and such are still on their way from Marlin Crawler. The shifters will also get the angle grinder and refinish treatment.

flagbasher · Oct 22, 2014

Got stainless rocker panel trims on. I got brand new clips to mount them and stainless screws for the fronts (the originals were rusty beyond recognition).

Found them on eBay a month or so ago for cheap. They're not in incredible condition, but they look more than good enough for my tastes. I could probably polish them up a bit so they pop more.

The only things that I think are missing to complete the look are the chrome door handles, which I have but haven't installed yet, and the drip rail trim, which will probably be impossible to find. I might try some of the cheap plastic door edge trim stuff in chrome to see how it looks. Cheap and removable. I'm definitely sold on doing the door handles though.

RiFF RaFF · Oct 22, 2014

ARGH!! Just say no to chrome!

:bash:

flagbasher · Oct 23, 2014

Wait until I get silver alloys again.

flagbasher · Oct 24, 2014

Re-assembly last night. 5 fresh Toyota bushings, got the missing clutch spring pin/clip setup, and fresh pedal pads.

A keen eye may notice that the brake switch got bashed in shipping. I didn't notice at first. Hopefully the auto pedal setup uses a compatible switch. I assume they do.

Hello, gents. New here w/a black/burgundy 1987 22RE auto.

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