I just bought my first Toyota truck last week. It's a 1976 Hilux with 5-speed transmission and 20R engine. I just joined the site and at first I just wanted to throw you all some pictures to show you what I'm working with, but I figured making a build thread is just as well and that way it will be easy to see the progress as I work. I’ll go ahead and throw it out there that I have no experience with Toyotas and can be considered a novice when it comes to working on autos in general. I also don't intend to spend a fortune on this project. Having said that, I’m not an idiot and I'm pretty stubborn - so I have that going for me.

Some backstory...

I have been itching to score a sweet little truck for fishing, hauling dirt, and whatever messy job I can think of. My wife and I have a Subaru for going interstate, so the truck didn't need to be too fancy. What I ended up with is definitely on the less fancy end of the spectrum.

I rescued the truck from some guys that were running some sort of garage business through a somewhat questionable title exchange, but it all worked out in the end. The truck has clearly been neglected for several years judging by the body and engine bay. Dirt and rust everywhere, a half dozen holes drilled in each door, broken plastic bits, and some decidedly dank carpeting covering the floor and seats inside. However, as a bonus the previous owner included an oil spill and a half-sack of kitty litter spread about the bed!

I drove the rescued truck home to our abode in the heart of the Willamette Valley 70 or so miles without many problems. Fuel gauge only shows any fuel when there's a freshly topped off tank and it's unclear whether or not the temp gauge works (more on that later), but it was actually a pretty easy going drive. I listened to glorious AM radio as I sped along in the grandma' lane of I-5 and enjoyed the sunshine.

I got home and snapped a few images for use as "before" shots, but not before I spend an hour or so with some elbow grease cleaning in the engine bay - it was abhorrent. The pictures are below.

My plans are to keep the patina of the truck, while making modest upgrades to increase it's civility. The first items to address are reliability and general utility. I clearly have my work cut out for me...

 

I thought I'd throw in a picture of the engine bay. The image was snapped after about an hour of scrubbing with a citrus cleaner and half a roll of shop towels, mind you, but it still looks pretty bad by my standards. Thick, caked-on oil everywhere, several orphaned vacuum hoses and plenty of components looking pretty questionable. Several have blatantly open ports and no evidence as to what hose goes to them. I can tell the fun is just beginning.

 

Its a start! Congrats on the new truck

Take it to a diy carwash and spray the engine bay down with superclean, let it soak for a bit and blow it off....that will uncake the oil buildup.

Just be prepared to start replacing gaskets, so it stays clean.

 

Gotta start somewhere, At least it looks complete!

When I cleaned my motor I ran it until it was nice and warm, then sprayed it with oven cleaner from the dollar store then rinsed it off with a hose. It cleaned it all off, better then anything else I've tried, and it only took one 13oz aerosol can.

 

welcome to the site. what part of oregon u live in?

 

Thanks, man. I'm in Corvallis.

Not a bad idea, first80toyota. I'm a little apprehensive to do the high-pressure spray YOguyDA mentioned, primarily because of the risk of compromising gaskets and taking on water. This engine actually has no real gasket leaks (just a wee bit of fuel stain on the carb), and I'd like to keep it that way. I'll probably try the oven cleaner trick this weekend. Dollar store techniques are right down my alley.


In other news, I went ahead and started to address the coolant/engine temperature issues. The issues being:

1) Since I bought the truck the temp gauge stays very low, possibly indicating the temp sensor is bad, thermostat is bad, or the truck just rarely reaches running temp.

2) The day I purchased the truck there was a thick film of rusty oil floating in the top of the coolant reservoir. The coolant in the radiator seemed reasonably clean and the reservoir was at the "full" line, but that oil mat had to go.

So, I went about doing your standard coolant flush. First, I drained the radiator and coolant reservoir. I flushed the coolant system and the reservoir several times, getting out a fair bit of scaly sediment and the oil slick from the reservoir.

Yum:


Then I filled it up with water and drove it around for a while when... Surprise! The temp gauge is alive! The gauge would fluctuate pretty wildly depending on whether the truck was still/idling (hot), or cruising at 45 in 4th/5th gear (just warm to cool).

I took it back home, drained out the water, gave it another flush and drain, and then filled it up with proper coolant. And Voilà! Revitalized coolant system.

Cabin heat is working great now, and the temperature gauge is back down on the cool end of the spectrum. I'm guessing there must have been some scaly stuff stuck on the temp sensor, perhaps? Who knows. At least now I know that if the truck actually starts getting hot it will tell me.


My wife also reminded me to add the reason I actually purchased the truck in the first place - it was a birthday present for our dog. Yes, our dog, Pico. Here's a picture of her sitting proudly in front of her new ride:

 

sweet i go threw Corvallis a lot going up to Sheridan and going to Newport.

 

A little update.

I suppose the last set of pictures shows it, but I went ahead and ripped off the ridiculous RV rear mirrors. Nice of the previous owners to add another 4 holes to each door.

I also did a little bit of fabrication to get the airbox to work again. The previous owners had just chopped a large hole in the bottom, effectively rendering the part useless. I basically just fixed some sheet metal over it for now, but I'm still looking for a better solution for this part of the truck. It's not pretty, but it is functional. Full story here: http://www.toyotaminis.com/forum/engine-drivetrain-53/air-cleaner-help-someone-butchered-mine-76-hilux-16267/

I also did some more fluids yesterday; drained engine oil and replaced, and drained rear differential oil and replaced.

Getting there one step at a time...

 

love it man I got a 78 was same color but po primered it long bed 75-78 lookso much better than short good luck with it if you ever get to Oklahoma I got a aircleaner housing you can have

 

Haha nice. Ya, I really like the look of the long bed. I'm originally from Arkansas, so I might take you up on that aircleaner housing next time I head home to visit! No telling when that will be though...

 

pm me when you do ill give you my phone# im outside tulsa

 

looks like im in the same boat as you. My truck doesnt warm up either, its always on the colder side and my heater blows cold air. i should probably drain and flsuh the coolant before i switch out the thermostat.

 

Nice. Will do.

Ya, I'm not totally sure what is going on. My heater actually does produce heat quite nicely and the engine is in fact plenty warm after driving around. It just seems that I'm either under the range of the gauge, or have some sort of fault in link between the thermostat/temp sensor and my gauge.

I'll be interested to hear what you find with yours. Let me know what happens if you don't mind. I'll certainly post up here with any developments as I change things out.

 

I thought I'd throw up a little update. I haven't done anything major for the last few weeks - I've just been taking care of little things and generally enjoying the truck. The picture below is from a recent mulch haul to the back yard and looked like a genuine 1976 scene.

The keen eye may notice that I spent an hour or two with a clutch of tools trying to iron out some of the major body flaws in the truck. Specifically the passenger rear quarter panel in front of the tire, the passenger front corner and the front clip on the driver's side have all seen some attention. While the damages are certainly still apparent up close, I think the effect from a few feet away is pretty satisfying. I also scored a set of the original hubcaps thanks to another TM member, Kenstyles, so the vintage look is really starting to come through. Thanks again, Ken. Now if I can only figure out a way to re-jack the jaw of this guy by bending the front bumper back on the driver's side...

What you probably can't see are a couple of little things on the interior. I scored some cheap Thai parts on eBay to round out the interior as well as some cheap camp seat covers to make the rig more livable. The door handle surround and rearview mirror received a refresh with the new parts. The before and after seat images are at the bottom. I'm hoping to follow in Kenstyles' footsteps with the Volvo seats, but for now that will have to wait.



Before:


After:

 

looks good! its coming together real micely. if you need dash parts, i have them. youre gauge cluster itself could have corrosion on the back terminals. could be why the gauge is slow. best advise for that is add a 2nd gauge on the dash. the little square next to the radio can fit a 2" gauge if you smack that square out.

 

before you ask, i dont have any cab vents lol. but ill keep an eye out for a set

 

Ya, I've been thinking about adding some sort of newer temp gauge, but I hadn't thought of just checking the terminals on the present unit. I have some plans to upgrade the audio in the truck sometime soon, and since I'll have a bunch of dash pieces out I'll check them then. Other than a non-cracked black dash cover, I don't think I'm in need of any dash parts at the moment. For now... I'll keep your offer in mind.

Ha. Read my mind. Apparently those puppies are super hard to come by. I'm trying to think of a good way to fab up some metal replacements... I am interested in a set if you see a pair though!!!

 

ive thought up a few ideas for cab vents. they dont really do anything, the concept was dumb lol. plus, i used Great Stuff! expanding foam to fill my b pillar and rockers. sound deadening. my thoughts were 1/8" thick aluminum with some design engraved or maybe just slits for it to be a vent. for mine, i plan to add a keyless entry number pad from a ford car to unlock the power locks ill eventually put in. anyways, if you have any design ideas to toss around, ill probably be making something soon for 77/78 and might as well cover 75/76 style and probably 1st gen hiluxs too.

if anybody needs though, i have a few 77/78 vent sets and 79-83 vent sets. still on the hunt for some local early vents for the site.

 

How did the Great Stuff! work out? i've never heard of anybody using it in automotive, but it came to me one day and i just never have followed through with it....

Was actually thinking about trying to fill the space above the headliner too, so it doesn't sound like a tin can in the rain, and if my headliner gets jacked up someday, it would be nice to have a foundation and not have to deal with the rods, etc... Just didn't know if it would expand TOO much and end up with a bulging headliner....

 

Well I used a whole can on each pillar. Initial expansion was about half way up. The rockers filling was unexpected. I noticed because it seeped out the front rocker seam three months later. Definitely do it in steps next time haha. Not all at once. Added half a can each side later. It's to about 8" below the outer vent hole. It cuts easy with a steak knife once dry so excess is easy to clean up. I thought about the top edges of the cab too but wanted to start with the biggest "drums" of open space. Thought about drilling a small hole and doing the kick panels too. I would advise running a piece of drain hose before you do it in case water gets on top of the foam. I just don't care lol.