2000 TRD OFFROAD MT (Black Betty aka Black Hole aka Tamiya Bruiser II) Rebuild Thread

I do not have the capability (read, equipment) to TIG AL.

 

Opinion: take the money you're going to spend on a bottle of argon and buy an aluminum battery box. Or better yet, a nonconductive composite box since you're relocating it in a spot that could see some hits.

 

What in gods name did I just read.. can’t wait to see how this turns out

 

I see 3 options:
1.) It's going to turn out AMAZING!!!!!

...

2.) It's going to be a big pile of shit and haunt me for the rest of my days.

...

3.) It will be ho-hum. I will finally recognize that drop brackets are made by the devil and no matter what you do to them they will always suck. There is nothing I can do to make this truck a capable off road vehicle as long as that infernal drop bracket is attached to the truck... Refer to option 2.

 

Finally sold the 2016. Now I am able to fund the rest of the project.

Made myself a booth for sandblasting and painting the frame. Still need to add a cardboard skirt to the bottom. There is a suction blower on the other side (you can see the orange duct).

Odreder a bunch of new parts; Tundra brakes; Energy Sus bushings and grease zerks for everything; 5.29 regear at ECGS with E-locker up front.... Sure there was other stuff.

Current plan is to get it back together ASAP... (This is going to be a slow process lol). I'm staying with the drop bracket in it's stock form for now. I am looking at the possibility of using the bracket for a couple of inches in combination with doing a custom long arm setup. I need to see how the truck sits on the 37" tires before I start in with suspension modifications. I also desperately need a truck.

Stay tuned. I will update as progress is made.

 

Great job on taking care of the frame.

 

So... Got the rear part of the frame white blasted, epoxy primed and painted.

Not real happy. Had a very difficult time with the sandblasting. I ended up having to go to a 5/16" nozzle to prevent clogging of the media I had available. My compressor setup does not really like the 5/16 noz.


I bought some fine grit that I could shoot with an 1/8" nozzle but it was all wet. 3 x 50lb bags. I'll take it back today or tomorrow.

I'm feeling like I need to quit the sandblasting. Getting to the rest of the frame will be difficult. I was able to remove the body mounts and support it on some 2x3s. There is very little space to work. With the media feed issues it just seems like a huge headache.

The back of the truck had more rust than the front. I am thinking about swapping over to coroseal to do the rest.

What does Taco Wrld think? Keep on with the blast or Coroseal FTW?

 

@CS_AR

You were recently dealing with rusted parts, maybe you could chime in.

 

When the media feeds properly the blasting is fast and effective. But it seems I spend 90% of my time unclogging the setup.

I have gone through the blaster and ported and replaced many parts already to prevent blockage.

The nozzle clogs with the big media unless I'm on that 5/16 noz. A 1/4" clogs quickly. I am getting clogging at the 1/2" feed valve with the medium (big) media.

The fine seems to run great. Getting my hands on it is the issue.

 

Sorry at work. I started with a tank type sandblaster but could not get enough continuous CFM + PSI pressure to adequately run it. I eventually gave it away and went with an old portable suitcase type that I bought from HF on the Tacoma project back in 2019. Since then, because of the heat and dust, I decided to go with a wet sand blaster. I've been testing it on different types of media from Black Diamond medium to walnut shells.

It works great and like the video. At this point, I'm looking to go with a grade that is somewhere between walnut shells and medium grade. I'll be trying Black Diamond fine next. I do have a 4.4 GPM 3,300 PSI pressure washer to drive it. As long as I can continue to use this wet method, no plans to go back to dry blasting.

https://youtu.be/ckAaoYJCjoA

 

I have heard of the wet blasting. My concern would be flash rusting immediately after. With sand I can blow it off wipe it down with acetone and spray.

I'm using Black Diamond Coal Slag. Nothing else seems to come close in price. I ran 2 bags of "medium grit" through an 1/8" nozzle and it worked great. I bought 6 more bags of medium and couldn't spray anything with 1/8". Went to 1/4 and up until I got a steady flow at 5/16". My compressor setup can't keep up. I am going to try Black Diamond's fine grit and see if that will fit the bill. You can't beat $12 for 50lb.

I am running 4 compressors into a 1/2" header with 1/2" line continuing out to the blaster. I have about 23scfm @ 90 psi. I can easily push the 1/8" nozzle with fine media indefinitely. I think I will end up continuing in this manner. Just make sure I have good media before starting.

It has definitely been a learning experience.

 

Flash rust is a real concern. I've learned how to use this product. I applied it and let the part sit for two weeks (as a test) before wiping it with acetone to prime it. I'm not saying somebody needs to do what I do. Sometimes people come back to one of my posts and ask questions later.

 

Edit- I take back my question. Just read up on hold tight 102.

I might have gone with wet blasting had I not been so deep into the sandblasting before learning about it.

 

Mixes with water. I'm still learning this part. Seems counterintuitive.

 

Ha ha ha! Agreed.

 

A small update. Progress is slow. Frame fully blasted and painted.

 

Wire wheel then coated with Ospho. Let that sit a couple of days and just did a second coat and put them in the garage to dry. Planning on painting them up this weekend.