What did you do to your truck today?

Got my old school Hella halogens installed. Wiring needs to wait until next week as I changed my gang switch plans. Replacement will be here tomorrow. Lights were only $37 on Amazon and came with mounting hardware, wiring switch kit and covers.





Nilight 6 Gang Rocker Switch Panel Laser Etched Aluminum Panel Waterproof Light Bar Switch Cigarette Lighter Dual USB Voltmeter for 12V 24V Cars,2 Year Warranty
https://a.co/d/31XDLuK

 

Started making some vinyl decals when I realized I could print some badges with the same graphics.
Will not be able to mount them until I finish painting the tailgate but they look promising

 

Got my gang switch installed and lights wired.

 

I fabricated a bumper for my Suzuki dump truck so I could tow a trailer or a small boat a short distance. Four bolts on each side clamp it to the chassis with no permanent alteration of the truck. When the dump bed is fully raised, the dangling tailgate just barely misses the bumper. Since this is going to be an offroad vehicle, I won't bother to install a hookup for the trailer lights.
Kevin in NC

 

Hard Tuned swag.

 

Change my manual transmission oil in the van the other day. It was nasty. I've never seen oil that bad in a long long time. Looked like something out of one of my old lawnmowers. The plug magnet had at least 1/4" of sludge collected on it too.

 

Whoa, I'd say that was overdue. I'm sure mine looks similar.

 

Finally got the remote locks installed on the van, all 4 doors. Really digging it. Now if I can just do this for the gas door. May look in the junk yard for a small door popper of some sort for the gas door. On cars this old I don't like to use the keys too much because the key cylinders start getting wonky.

 

I got my tool boxes mounted. On the left is a 16" box, mounted to the rear of the battery. It will hold wrenches, sockets, etc. that I hope I never have to use to repair the truck. It is accessible when the dump bed is down. It just barely fit between the supports for the dump bed. On the right is a 28" box that was too wide to mount horizontally so I stood it on edge. The lid opens downward. It will hold a jack, chainsaw oil, machete, rope, chain, folding shovel, etc. Both boxes came from The Larin Store and both are bolted to the uprights for the dump bed frame. Just a few more things to do and I'll haul the truck out to Chadwick Acres where it will be my work truck in the woods.
Kevin in NC

 

Went to the Toyota Dealer and struck gold. Meet a service tech with 42 years of working on Toyotas. He looks at my truck and says:

Tech - That an import?
Me - Yup, RHD 1997 Toyoace with a gutless 4 cyl. 2Y motor.
Tech - More likely it’s a 3Y like the old Previa and Toyota motor homes.

Of course he’s right. We lift the seat and he proceeds to ID everything in there. And I do mean everything. He teaches me what a full floating axle is and how best to attack my rear hub issue. Dropping it off Wednesday and I never thought I’d find an expert on my truck and to think I almost didn’t stop there. He’s also restoring some old racing Celicas. Talk about lucking into something.

Also had about 10 people take pictures of it while I was there.

 

I'm getting closer to putting this truck to work in the woods. I installed a backup camera, AM/FM stereo (which sounds like crap but better than nothing) and 2 gun racks. One gun rack in the rear window for the shorter guns and a standing rack for the longer stuff. I don't hunt but if a rabid bobcat or fox comes my way, I'll be ready. I had to crop the photo a bit to get it to fit but to the left is an ancient 12 gauge double with 30" barrels. It will just barely fit in the truck. The radio is a cheap Boss Audio off Amazon. It fits in the dash and will give me something to listen to, mainly classic rock on WSFL. The backup camera is an unknown brand from Falcon. Hardwired, controlled by the red switch to the right of the radio. The picture is not as crisp as in my Nissan but it is pretty good for a cheap internet backup camera. The object in the picture is an old Marvel No. 2 Drawcut Saw which I intend to start restoring soon. In fact, I hoisted it up and loaded it into the truck, drove 50 feet forward and then 30 feet backward to get it into the shop for restoration. So many projects...

Kevin in NC

 

When I was repairing the rust in the bed prior to coating with the as-yet untested Herculiner, I put in some angle iron reinforcement below for the purpose of bolting in a wheel chock or whatever. The wheel chock was one I had made several years ago for hauling a Harley-Davidson in my enclosed trailer. By dumb luck, the bolt holes in the flanges were just about right for the corrugations of the bed of the Suzuki. Here is my 1972 Suzuki TS-90. Since they'll both be rolling on the same trails at Chadwick Acres, I'll probably never haul the bike in the truck but figured I'd go ahead and give it a try, just to see if it would work. BTW, I'm not a Chadwick but I bought some acreage from the family so I'm keeping the name the land had already been given. After I took these photos, I removed the wheel chock and put it back in the other trailer. At least now I know it works.
Kevin in NC

 

I was looking forward to this one. After waiting a month it arrived broken. Oh well……

 

Using my phone's GPS and the stock speedo on my slightly oversized tires, I made a speed conversion table and taped it up in my windshield. Yes I usually have my phone up with Waze, Maps, etc.

 

I use DigiHUD on my phone with a windshield holder as my speedometer. Works great.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.mrchops.android.digihud&hl=en_US&gl=US

 

Before i installed the heads up GPS speedo, I made a sticker with the critical speeds, (15, 25, 35, 45, 65), and the corresponding speedo reading. Applied one to the visor, and one on the speedo lens.

 

After many months of slowly doing repairs, additions, upgrades, etc. today I finally took the Suzuki out to my rural property 40 miles from home. This is where it will be my work truck in the woods and also just a fun butt buggy to ride the trails. I rode the trails today and found a tree down across the road, probably from the passing of Hurricane Iain, of which we caught only the edge. Saturday I will load up the bush axe and chainsaw and put the truck to work clearing the downed tree. And unlike before when I'd cut up a downed tree and chuck the pieces back into the woods, this time I'll load them in the truck and haul them to the burn pile. I already miss not having the truck in the back yard. Maybe I should buy another to keep at home to play with. Nah, too many projects already. BTW, it just barely fit the Uhaul without falling through the middle of the trailer. I checked the trailer specs and measured between my tires before renting and there was very little room for error.
Kevin in NC

 

I didn't mention that I had reserved a car hauler online with U-Haul and had a reservation confirmation for a 9 AM pickup. I got there at 8:58 and guess what... no trailer available. I drove several miles down the road and got one from another location. U-Haul's website says they give a $50 refund if reserved equipment is not available. I contacted their customer service this morning and Martha quickly filed a complaint on my behalf. I checked my bank account late this afternoon and there was a $50 refund pending on my credit card. Thanks to U-Haul for honoring their guarantee. This rental only cost me $19 and change.
Kevin in NC

 

Added LED backup and bed lights


This just screwed in place with M4 bolts. I Added some a rubber spacer between the OEM bolt flange and the light to bring it out closer to flush with the engine cover.


Probably will go back and redo this mount a little bit, but I kind of just wanted to check the box off and made it happen. had to nibble the opening to the cab out a little bit, but it looks good inside



They are bright as crap. This is just the bed light on



I used these.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01HJ4G9QI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

kinda spendy but the light they put out is awesome.

 

Changed the oil after one year and 4K km on the odometer. Man that was some black oil, no water and not too thin but it needed changing. BTW the oil capacity for the van is 2.9 liters which is ~3 quarts. I got 4 quarts just in case. Ended up putting 3.5 quarts in. I suspect the manual is not accounting for the oil in the filter (changed the filter too).

I put in new 9003/h4 headlights as well. See if it helps at night driving.

Tighten up the accessory ribbed belt which finally got rid of the cold startup squeal I have had.

The van has progressive lowering Downus blue springs on it and while doing the oil I was looking at the springs and noticed the bump stops have zero clearance, so the rear is riding on bump stops. Someone installed these springs and didn't trim down the bumpstops, DOH! I'll deal with that next I guess.

 

Just finished up some metal work…

 

And for when you need a tree stand, but don’t have any trees ‍

 

Looks good, I assume thats bolted to the bed somehow?

 

Took a while to get this done, but I stitched on a leather steering wheel cover. I've never really done any sewing before, but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

 

Yup. It’s a pretty standard bed rack bolted to the bed. The riser and upper platform,’etc are bolted into the rack. It’s actually for one very specific purpose and disassembles for everyday driving.

 

Today: First, I got him running again, so +900xp! Seafoam hot soaked the engine +75xp, New rotor arm and cap +30xp. Went to do plugs but didn't have the right size plug socket -12xp. Ill be grabbing one tomorrow.

Last couple weeks: He got new wheels +300xp, tires +300xp, headliner +100XP, tachometer +75XP, led lights in the dash +200XP, led headlights +125XP, led stop and turn lights +50XP, oil change with a new air filter +200XP, front and rear diff oil changed +200XP, coolant system flushed 5 times +200XP and I fabricated a front bumper +200XP.

Near future: spark plugs, dome light, rear view mirror, figure out the mounting of the bumper then sand, paint and mount.

SO CLOSE TO LEVELING UP!!!

 

Installed a new washer fluid pump today. Part commonality with the Subaru Justy strikes again, $18 from O'Reilly! On my Audi this would have probably been $1000.

 

Bought a DD51T in September and am having a blast with it. I made this cup holder so I can enjoy my coffee.

 

Kevin,

Do you have a drawing/sketch with measurements? I would like to make one also.