Steve's 81 Toyota "angelo" build

[sixstringsteve]

Good to know, I'll do my best to be careful. i don't think all of my hvac controls are working anyway, so I've gotta go in there and fix those.

Rick, i noticed you blocked off those holes that allow outside air 24/7 to the side vents. Did you plumb those up for A/C and heater? I'd love to do an A/C conversion like you did, nice job.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Well, tonight I fought the heater, and I came out the victor! no broken copper pipes either. I could have sworn I destroyed the entire heater, but it was ok. It had some nasty black water/antifreze in it.

The heater core is rusty. Is that a bad sign?

I'm wondering if anyone has a 2nd gen replacement. I assume they're a bit smaller. We'll have to see if I can make this thing fit with the tranny tunnel.

Now I can tunnel away tomorrow. But i have to clean up first.

 

[zukijames]

coming along good keep up the good work!

 

[sixstringsteve]

The rust isn't a bad sign per se is it?

I've flushed the core with the kitchen sink, but I'll use a hose and really flush it out tonight. As long as it isn't leaking, It should be fine, right?

I'll keep on the lookout for a 1st gen with A/C. If anyone finds one, let me know.

Rick, I didn't notice that you lost your center front vents. Interesting. by the time I'm done, my front center will be the floor, so it'll be one in the same. I really only have about an inch to work with on that tunnel, so we'll see if I can get the stock heater assembly to work.

 

[sixstringsteve]

boy I remember when i was staring at a mess like that, yes i pluged the holes and plumed my dash vents to the side, but if you still have the room to put your center front dash vents back in dont worry about it, if you notice on mine i dont have the front center vents, the 2nd gen assembly didnt allow it so i had to plumb it up to the side vents.

I think i'm going to try and plumb the side vents to the center vent, just so I have something coming out of the side vents. We'll see how it goes. I'm scared to do the A/C conversion, I have no clue what it involves, and I'm completely ignorant when it comes to A/C.

 

[Goose]

thats going to be a sweet rig!
your doin awesome! keep it up, youl be wheelin it before long.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Thanks for the encouragement Goose, I need and appreciate it.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Cut some more of the tunnel out, now I can raise it as high as I want.

in the process, I killed my grinder. It just stopped. It served a good life, but I had a hard time deciding on a new one. Home depot has 2 9 amp dewalts for $100, but I don't need two, and I've hear dewalt's quality has gone downhill lately. Any suggestions for under $100? I snagged this for $40, I think she'll do:

 

[sixstringsteve]

I won't get any work done tomorrow due to it being my anniversary and I teach guitar most of the day, but I should make some progress on thursday. Next step is to remove the rust on the floor, tub the firewall where the tires are going to touch it, and start building the frame for my tunnel. Lots of work ahead. It's discouraging at times, but I believe in doing it right the first time.

 

[Taco4life]

Have you tried the Harbor Freight grinder?

 

[sixstringsteve]

I haven't. I like how cheap harbor freight is, but for jobs that are going to see heavy use I typically like to go a little higher quality. But if their grinders are good, I may consider one of them.

 

[sixstringsteve]

I'll be working on this Thursday and Friday night if anyone wants to come hang out.

 

[sixstringsteve]

I have 4 of the HF grinders for under $100 and i have only rebult one of them, still going!

hm... good to know. Here are my options:

porter cable 7.5 amps - $40
(2) dewalt 9-amp grinders - $100 for both
Harbor freight - under $100

recommendations? Has anyone compared/contrasted any of these?

 

[sixstringsteve]

after reading some reviews, I have decided to return the porter cable. I'm most likely going to get the 2 dewalts for $100, that way I can keep a cutoff on one and a grinding wheel/flap disc for the other.

 

[chans]

after reading some reviews, I have decided to return the porter cable. I'm most likely going to get the 2 dewalts for $100, that way I can keep a cutoff on one and a grinding wheel/flap disc for the other.

Dewalt is the way to go. I got a diamond blade on mine since I was going through too many of the others cutting brick. The diamond one will cut through metal like butter and last a really long time which offsets the price.

 

[sixstringsteve]

I bit the bullet and got a metabo. I'm sure it'll be just fine for what I need. I will have to look into getting a diamond blade, that sounds interesting.

 

[sixstringsteve]

Anyone have any tips on how to safely remove the bushings from these:

I'm going to be welding up my crossmember, and I've gotta pull the bushings first. I have pryed them out with a screwdriver. is there a better way?

 

[sixstringsteve]

I found a rear IFS axle with cromo shafts and a new rebuild (bearings and seals), so that's one less thing on the need list.

 

[sixstringsteve]

I decided that I'd get all the sheetmetal taken care of on the front end before I started building my tunnel. Since I'm in there anyway, I decided to tub (aka hack) as much of the front firewall as I felt comfortable with. I went a little too far, but if I ever decide to go with 40's, at least my body will clear them.

I always liked my old black and decker grinder, it served me very well, but this Metabo is night and day. It seriously just cuts right through this stuff like butter. It's at least twice as fast. I love it.

Keep in mind the axle will be pushed forward another 2", so i will have ZERO problem clearing 37s.

If this were my first time tubbing, this would freak me out, but after doing my tacoma (I actually tubbed more on the tacoma), this was a piece of cake. It only took an hour to get this side done.

I'll get the other side cut out tomorrow, and I should have time to plate that up.

 

[Panos]

frame it out, and put a window in there