TorqueOfTheDevil’s Build Thread ..::1UZ-FE VVTi Hilux Surf::..

[mark21742]

After seeing your beast in the "what did you do today" thread i had to look in this one, and must say i am VERY impressed with your build! I've been working on cars and bikes for over 20 years doing custom body work, suspension and engine swaps, but it looks like the biggest difference is parts availiblity here in the states vs the UK.

Do you guys get taxed on engine size, and beed to report to the authorities when you do an engine swap like this? Here in most states it isn't a big deal as long as you can pass emissions in your area (I'm luck and we don't have emissions testing where i live).


Love the build and your attention to detail!

 

[GangsterOfLove]

Now that there's a beautiful truck. :first:

 

[TorqueOfTheDevil]

After seeing your beast in the "what did you do today" thread i had to look in this one, and must say i am VERY impressed with your build! I've been working on cars and bikes for over 20 years doing custom body work, suspension and engine swaps, but it looks like the biggest difference is parts availiblity here in the states vs the UK.

Do you guys get taxed on engine size, and beed to report to the authorities when you do an engine swap like this? Here in most states it isn't a big deal as long as you can pass emissions in your area (I'm luck and we don't have emissions testing where i live).


Love the build and your attention to detail!

Thanks!

Yes we have to notify the registration authority with the new engine number, size and fuel type. We also need to notify out insurance company, as all modifications have to be declared, and the premium is adjusted accordingly.

Regarding emissions, we have a yearly roadworthiness test where lights, brakes suspension, emissions etc are all tested, along with anything else that might deem a vehicle to be "unsafe".. in terms of tax, for vehicles this age engine size isn't really a thing (unless its under something tiny) for newer vehicles the road tax is adjusted depending on CO2 emissions. We also pay a fair bit of tax on fuel too, so they get us that way too.

As for parts, they are a pain.

All my parts I have to import personally from the USA or Japan, unless I get them from my main dealer, as these trucks were never sold in the UK market. It's not too bad, but shipping and import tax sucks, for example on my regearing parts and Trutracs I had to pay the equivalent of about $550. The plus point is you don't see many, so it makes it even more special.

I'd like a black V8 FJ cruiser.. but they are very rare at the moment in the UK, and a nice imported right hand drive one can go for UD$50k!!! I just don't think they are worth that.


Also 390 miles into breaking in the new gears! I took it to a customer site today... lovely sunny day, clear roads. always good to make you smile!

 

[GangsterOfLove]

You have a remarkable number of skills and you appear to be very good at them.

How did you learn all of these things? Are you formally trained?

 

[TorqueOfTheDevil]

Thanks,

Nope I'm totally self taught, and have an attitude that if you are interested in something you can achieve it with enough time or effort. I can't take credit for the welding though, a friend helped me as mine isn't great and I didn't want to practice on the job on this one as it would take ages and make a mess.

When I get the time I'm going to buy a nice welder and get practicing, as its a handy skill that I'm missing!

Nothing to do with work, I'm a (software) consultant :tape2:

 

[amalik]

[MENTION=124967]GangsterOfLove[/MENTION], the most epic builds on t4r are not guys that are mechanics really. It's called passion, time, and effort as Torque said.

You can't teach passion or effort in any school. People have the passions they have.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TorqueOfTheDevil]

ChildrenOfBodom's other thread reminded me I had some more random "old" pics about...

I had the factory 2 spoke plastic steering wheel in my truck and it was really really horrible...

I thought it would be cool to steer the Lexus V8 using the Lexus's original steering wheel.. the LS400 wheel is exactly the same size, and if you also replace the wire connection coil setup is a direct plug and play swap for ours.

The replacement connection coil also brings all the steering wheel controls to behind the dash, although I've not done anything with them yet (they are based on a single wire for 3-4 buttons, with the buttons varying the resistance load) I have also wired in the cruise control, (The diesels surfs didn't appear to have it as an option), it's not functional yet, but I believe I know why... it's so low on my list of things to do it'll probably not stay finished for a while!

I also added a Redline gas strut hood lift kit... the kit is pretty complete with brackets for the top and bottom of the struts, however I didn't like the idea of drilling into the body panels and inner wing and using self tapping screws for fitting that kit, so I removed the front wings all together and drilled holes at the top, sealing them with anti rust paint, and used alternative ball joints with a separate nut on the other side, and covered the lot with underseal.

Any excuse to paint and rust proof more really!

Pre re-spray I still had the diesel fuel marker... good thing only I ever drive my truck.. I liked it as a reminder! (as if I'd forget how it used to be!)

I love this thing :tape2: Just at the weekend I was taking the girlfriend and the boy (who is 6) down to the beach and he commented on how cool it was..

Oldschool JDM odd things rock!

Another pic I missed earlier (and can't add in the right place due to the 21 image limit!) was the gearbox output shaft speed sensor. Even though I'm not using the Lexus ECU as gearbox management (no can do, it wants a 5 speed) the ECU needs to see a speed pulse sensor feeding back when driving, or it will think there is something wrong, and hit limp home mode. (This can be demonstrated by revving it in neutral)

The factory trans output sensor had 4 teeth, but the Lexus one had 12, but the fittings were different. Luckily we have a lathe and a workshop downstairs at work (for the non software part of the company!) so the factory one was trimmed down, the Lexus one was bored out and three threads tapped to hold them together. I'm not sure if the 4 pulse signal would have been deemed to be too low a pulse for the VVTi 1UZ management, but I didn't want to have to remove the transfer box again if I didn't have to, so it seemed like a safe bet.

 

[TorqueOfTheDevil]

I mentioned it was re-sprayed... this was a couple of years back now, it didn't look that bad before, but it was looking a bit tired in places, also the underneath was so beautifully clean after the V8 build, the bodywork let the whole thing down! There were a few scratches and dents from off road use (yes, it has ben off road...) and general age related marks..


So I booked in the respray, stripped off the side steps and the spare wheel carrier, fitted the then white intercooler hood and sent the thing in. I put my Landcruiser Colorado wheels on as my split rims were being refurbished.. it looks... odd.

For all those that have asked this is what a Surf looks like without the factory wheel carrier. You can see there is a recess under the right hand tail light, as well as the obvious tailgate changes. the inside of that rear wing is also heavily reinforced.

The Left hand side rear window had a damaged seal (a friend driving it off road... grr) so I decided to replace both rear windows, so you would not see a "paint step" I also got new window rubbers and ordered some black ones for the wheel arch extensions, as the old ones were grey (this truck originally had silver mouldings) I was going to do the Satoshi mod on the grille, but my old one was quite cracked, and there weren't any good condition used ones about.. so I ordered a new facelift one.. I wasn't sure at first but now I really like it. I was in two minds to do it body colour or matt black but thought I'd leave if factory chrome for first and change it later if needed.

Shown here on the old factory lights.

Much better!

 

[rleney]

After many years of wanting to do it, and the girlfriend saying no... I decided to browse Ebay one night after a few beers... There was a complete '99 LS400.. ready to drive, road legal with 98,000 miles.

 

[4Runner4TW]

I so wish I could do an engine swap!

 

[TorqueOfTheDevil]

I did a couple of jobs after work last night... I replaced the Lower ball joints I can't remember the milage but I have done these since I have owned the truck.. I used OEM Toyota and they were utterly destroyed!

I actually used locally sourced parts, as I plan on replacing the whole lot up front with new factory lower arms, new ball joints in my upper arms, etc, so I'll use "proper" once then. Slightly annoyed in that I have lent someone my proper ball joint separators, so I had to hammer them out with a pickle form and a BFH... but they came out ok.

I then tackled a coolant leak I have been having. It started off intermittently, but got worse. It's to do with the way silicone hoses seal compared to rubber. I used silicone for all the hoses on my truck as its meant to be more robust, however I have previously had issues with it leaking at the joins.

I'll say now I don't like the radiator hose layout on my truck.. Its fiddly, fussy and potentially introduces more failure points. It's also REALLY hard to re assemble the intake and radiator return hose, as its all very tight and they are both in the way of each other. I have tried to get quotes for a custom "one piece" shaped silicone hose but my emails have been ignored.. shame as it would be a nicer solution. I may also look at running a V6 radiator, to put the radiator intake on the opposite side so I can run it under the air intake, but this means that the radiator output will be on the wrong side. I'm definitely into the "refining" stage!

Anyway this is the old radiator return hose removed, as you can see its made of 6 bits of hose joined with hose connectors (yes there are only 5 here :bluejump you can see where the hose has expanded and slid along the connectors. I had used a hose sealant to try and fix the leaks before (it worked for a year then needed redoing) but it acts slightly as a lubricant and caused the hoses to slide on the connectors.

The connectors sucked. Smooth alloy swaged at each end. they were supplied by the same supplier as the hose (quality not great I'd say) so I replaced them with some machined, ridged ones. these will hopefully deform the inner part of the hose for a better seal without needing any extra sealant, and stop things sliding under pressure. I also replaced the non branded Ebay hose clamps with proper Mikalor stainless ones. These seem to provide a more even clamping pressure (even though the design looks almost identical) and are sturdier so I can seriously tighten them up!

All hose parts were cleaned, one part was replaced as it had expanded against the radiator and worn slightly (due to connector slide)

I finally got everything back together (about 1 30 am) filled up and saw this

I was delighted as you can imagine! Luckily it was just a clamp at the top that wasn't fully tightened (as I planned to do them last... lol) tightened it up and it appears to be leak free. I ran the engine for a bit to try and bleed out as much air as possible.. heater works, no drips... I'll check it after work today.

I still need to reinstall the split pins in the track rod ends and lower ball joints and tidy up.. I'll try and do it this afternoon as I have to travel tonight for work and lose an evening!

 

[TorqueOfTheDevil]

This also arrived!

I mentioned I'm in the refining stage....

I want to replace the factory water/oil coolers for both the engine oil and transmission with Air/Oil coolers. My plan is to fit two fair seized oil coolers in front of the A/C condenser. the oil cooler will run direct, but the engine oil one will run through an oilstat. I'm junking the factory oil take-off (where I have a screw on filter relocation kit) for one in this style:

The take-off is on its way, I have some fittings and now the oilstat.

I also think I'll add a power steering cooler into the mix somewhere.. but space is a bit of a premium.. I'll have to move my huge air horns for sure.

I also want to replace the single 16" fan with more smaller fans that are hopefully thinner, and I can control independently for A/C reasons. I'm still trying to rack my mind as to how I can fit a fan shroud... I've never been a fan of fans attached directly to the radiator core.. (no its not a deliberate pun... I'd never stoop that low...) but when you need to position the fan so that the motor doesn't hit the water pump.. you know you are going to have to make compromises! The radiator used was non OEM and the bracket it came with spaced it towards the engine a little. I think I'll transplant my OEM bracket over, gain about 2mm (nearly 50%!) and take it from there.

 

[TorqueOfTheDevil]

I hit the local dragstrip today for a mini meet of Hilux surfs...

It was an epic day, I got to see my all time favorite Surf build in the flesh (it's a V8 2nd gen, pickup converstion, with an external cage... built by Overfab UK.. pic attatched!)

It was my first outing on a drag strip since the axle rebuild. I'd mapped my gearbox shift pints two nights earler (on a private road, officer) and it was time to have a play.

My last 1/4 time was 16.8.. but I was hitting the rev limiter in 2nd.. My goal was to breach into the 15s since adding the 4.88s and LSD (the truetrac was amazing, not even a tyre chirp) however my best run was 16.11. I guess the full sound deadening didn't help!

Still I don't think it's a shaby time for a jacked up 20 year old truck on 33s!

I noticed that my runs got worse during the day.. so heat is not helping.. good thing I'm planning all those oil coolers!

 

[ZionXIX]

What did you clean that engine with? It looks clean enough to eat off of. Great thread!

 

[TorqueOfTheDevil]

What did you clean that engine with? It looks clean enough to eat off of. Great thread!

General degreaser for the messy stuff, usually finished off with brake cleaner.. I use that stuff for everything.

Most of it has been painted though.. so it just needs a wipe to look fresh.

Bad news, I think I mentioned it elsewhere but my A/C stopped working...

I assumed it was a leak somewhere so bought a UV light and went over everything and it looked ok. I then tried testing the pressure and it also looks good. When the clutch tried to engage I hear strange noises so I am guessing the compressor has failed... (although it seems to turn ok by hand).

I'm no A/C expert, I did some reading and learnt a bit when I had to work out what to connect to what to get the LS400 compressor to play with the surf system.. buts it's probably going to need to be torn down, examined, I might as well replace all the seals while I'm there.

Unfortunately, I don't trust a shop to look at it, (only for gassing, and that's fun as I need to remove Battery no. 2)

I guess the timing is as good as any (apart from the summer bit) as I'll be messing about with oil coolers and radiator fans anyway.

It looks like a load more work and expense is headed my way! :fish:

 

[ZionXIX]

Bad news, I think I mentioned it elsewhere but my A/C stopped working...

I have the opposite problem. My A/C never turns off. Ever. Fan controls dont turn it off, A/C button turns on and off but the system keeps going. Defroster on or off doesn't matter. The only thing I can think of is that my clutch is some how stuck in place. Im afraid if I try to fix it, i will lose A/C altogether.

 

[MillerPKA]

Everything is looking GREAT! Top notch build and attention to detail.

Gotta say though, that chrome grill just looks totally out of place. I'd maybe look into a color matched or gunmetal of a different style like this

 

[TorqueOfTheDevil]

Everything is looking GREAT! Top notch build and attention to detail.

Gotta say though, that chrome grill just looks totally out of place. I'd maybe look into a color matched or gunmetal of a different style like this

I can't see the pic, but I wasn't that sure about the chrome, as there is no other chrome on the truck, even my wheels are satin finished.

The reason I went for it was that my OEM was badly cracked (I was going to Satoshi) and there were no good used ones about so I got a new OEM one. I figured I'd try it "as factory" for a while and redo if I didn't like it.

It's grown on me, but if I decide to do retrofit headlights, I'll do the headlights and the grille in mid grey/gunmetal metallic.. the ting is then the side lights (corners) will look too bright, as will the indicators in the bumper.. I don't really want to put tinted lenses on as it'll look "non factory" (I know, on a lifted truck with a red engine lol...)

In other news.. My girlfriends brother was doing the rear bushes on her Beetle... he had some issues refitting them so I can over to help (yay fitting another axle.... my favourite....) meanwhile his neighbour borrowed his compressor to blow out the fuel tank on his kit car.. promptly covering half my truck in a water/fuel/god knows what else mix. which has made a mess of my paint and window seals....

Pretty annoyed... I might have rage booked it into getting a full machine mop and ceramic sealant. Apparently it's serious stuff... no need to polish for 5 years, and substantially increases the surface hardness.

Shiny AND minimal effort :lol:

The guy was pretty sound about it. he said he'd pay, but I'm not sure how much is a "fair" amount to ask... obviously the ceramic coating is extra... but most of the cost is labour...

 

[shedhead]

Sweet!

 

[TorqueOfTheDevil]

I've been quiet for while.. that whole life/work things gets in the way!

I picked the truck up for the shop doing the Full detail/Sealant.

As mentioned before it had a full machine polish and was sealed with the Williams ceramic sealant, it also had a full inside valet with protection applied to that too.

The dealership is a top notch performance and luxury place that is local, When I picked it up, they had left it inside as it looked like it was about to rain.. they had to move the McLaren that was having the same treatment that was blocking my truck in.. Not many Surf's/4Runners can say they have shared a roof with such great stable mates!

All in all it looks like a top job, I can confidently say it has never looked so great!

Like a mirror!

The interior also came up well too, saying as its largely all original factory fitted stuff, apart from the replacement factory floor mats and LS400 steering wheel.

I love the factory fitted carbon trim.. much better than the "wood"

Naturally it's pretty much rained since I collected it.. :violin: