97 Tacoma Partial Restoration Engine/Paint

FINISH PICTURE!!!!

 

He's not finished yet.

 

Here she is after the parts were reinstalled, and the new carpet put in, but before the balance shafts gave out.

 

Looks great!

 

That looks amazing!! Ive always wanted a 1st gen that was that color.

 

Good enough for me! Lol

 

Damn! Great build. Love the color. Cant wait to see it after the lift

 

Looking GREAT BILL!!!

 

Looks amazing and what a fantastic thread!

Threads like this is what makes the internet.. and shall I say Tacomaworld so incredible.

I've learned a lot from your little rants explaining what you are doing along the way. Will be checking up on this page daily!

wow.

 

Your truck really looks good, I understand just how hard, and sweaty it is painting.... esp in the south. heat and humidity and sweat rolling in your eyes and that is before you start spraying! hope the engine work goes well

 

I didn't know about the blue at first, but I must say it's growing on me

I am anxious to see how the final product will turn out. Keep up the good work!

 

That blue looks really cool. Great job!

 

OK, well for those who have followed my run on this truck, About 60 miles or so out in the truck, my balance shaft on the passenger's side broke loose and caused a lot of problems. I was lucky in that when it came loose I was just taking off from a stop so the RPMs were low, and as soon as I heard a noise I shut her down. Towed the truck to the shop and removed timing cover, which is no small feat on the 2.7 litre! I found that the bolt was broken that held the drive gear to the balance shaft, and the balance shaft had shifted in, damaging the bearing. Sad news was that I had to pull the engine out to fix the problem.

I ordered a new shaft, bearing, and bolt. Installation was simple and I got her back in the engine bay and running on Sunday around noon. Well I was not happy with the new clutch as far as it's grab. I like a firm hook-up and the OEM clutch was just too "OEM" for me. So since I had the engine out anyway, I installed a new Banhauf Stage-3 kit with a new clutch, pressure plate, and release bearing.

So the truck started up fine, and warmed up great. I drove her home, and back to the shop today, which is only about 7 or 8 miles total. So far she is good. We will put more break-in miles on her over the next week and hopefully she will be ready for July!!

 

Well everything has been good so far this week .... Once I get some decent break in miles we will push her a little to see how things go. This new clutch is TIGHT. It grabs quick and holds good so far. I am impressed so far.

 

did you get the paint job straightened out yet?

 

No, not yet. It will take me a bit of time and money I don't have any more. It still looks good, but you can see the problems as you get closer. It will probably be after the July event before I will be able to get the clear coat fixed.

 

where would the money part come in?? i would think just time......

 

The money part would come from the fact that I have none. If you mean what money would I need to SPEND, then I would say it comes from the 2 quarts of clear, and the hardener I need for fixing it.

What I need to do to get rid of the orange peel finish is to CAREFULLY wet-sand the clear coat that is on there now, starting off with 400 grit, then final cleaning with 1000 grit. Once I have the surface smooth I will clean her up and get her back in the booth to lay on a final clear coat, being careful to make sure it is smooth and properly laid on. Once I let her dry, then I will hopefully have the mirror finish that I wanted.

 

Thanks for the detailed build. Its unfortunate that you had to pull the motor back out. Glad it wasn't worse than it was though. I just went through the top end of my 3.4 and so far, have had to go back in twice. I feel your pain! You wouldn't happen to have taken any pics of the valve/lifter shims being changed? I know I need to change some of mine. I thought I could improvise with an altered screw driver and a chain saw blade adjusting tool. Didn't work out! So I'll be ordering one of those special tools for depressing and holding down the spring ( w/ lifter cup ) . Any suggestions or advice you have is appreciated.
Love the color, the detail of the build and of course the sig!

 

Wet sand and buff it. I know it takes time to do that but it isn't too hard. Just have to watch your work. Measure how deep your clear is before and after. This is probably the best video on youtube to use as a guideline.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6h2_jZkhNjc