Project Procrastination

[Kev.O]

Hi Kev,

 

I put the aluminium parts through my media blaster. It very quickly brings back a very nice finish on aluminium. I then spray the part with Halfords satin lacquer.

 

Yes, I did sand the spoiler before painting. Just make sure you work your way up to a 1000 - 1500 grit before spraying it.

Thanks for the advise. I don’t have a media blaster so starting with 240 grit, I worked my way up to 2500 grit wet and dry, then autosol’d the metal to leave an excellent finish, and after your advice sprayed two coats of clear lacquer. The results aren’t as impressive as yours (wish they were) but I’m really happy with the results and the blade came out really well too. I even managed to spray the bottom section of the bumper too as well as use extreme chassis paint (Eastwood) to paint the bolts as I don’t have anything to plate them (wish I had this too )

[mwilkinson]

I've been working on the differential for a few weeks. I've managed to break the whole assembly down.

 

Barry will be happy to hear that my press came in handy in removing the pinion and the pinion bearings. Ended up using 15t of pressure!

 

I've started to clean up the various parts for painting.

 

Paul at TCB is sourcing new seals and bearings and I'll likely get new diff ear mounts from Vibra Technics. Seem silly not to replace them.

 

Looks like I'll have to get a set of peel away shims from PHR.

 

Here are a few pictures. I'll get some better ones up tomorrow.

 

My diff is 3.358:1 with a TRD differential.

 

I've been looking for a good dial torque gauge for setting the pinion preload. I think I've found a good deal on a CDI dial torque wrench. CDI is the same as Snap-On.

 

 

 

I had to cut the race to get to the inner part of the bearing to remove it. Good old Dremel did the job.

 

 

 

Edited May 24, 2020 by mwilkinson (see edit history)

[rider]

I am genuinely pleased to see you are finding jobs for the press. I have an old Ford diff in need of rebuilding but with a few specialist tools required to set the pre-load and lash I got scared. Its delving too deep into black arts for me to want to venture there, just now anyway.

[mwilkinson]

I am genuinely pleased to see you are finding jobs for the press. I have an old Ford diff in need of rebuilding but with a few specialist tools required to set the pre-load and lash I got scared. Its delving too deep into black arts for me to want to venture there, just now anyway.

 

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about doing this. But I want to learn and this is a good way to do it. I think I have a good understanding of what is required, I'm just scared of messing it up and literally having to pay the price for it.

 

It's also not a cheap thing to have to do. Especially when having to get specific tools.

 

Fingers crossed.

[blythmrk]

I mentioned rebuilding my own to a friend who builds rally car engines and during the discussion I mentioned the cost and parts availability to him, he immediately said do not touch it have it done by somebody who knows what they are doing, but I think it’s doable tbh they do not look difficult as long as the tolerances are correct when putting it back together

I had the case shot blasted and I painted it myself and all the bits plus using my as new jdm big case as a doner for parts but with new oem bearings, seals, crush tube etc.

It’s not a cheap project!

I am happy with the finished article.

[mwilkinson]

I mentioned rebuilding my own to a friend who builds rally car engines and during the discussion I mentioned the cost and parts availability to him, he immediately said do not touch it have it done by somebody who knows what they are doing, but I think it’s doable tbh they do not look difficult as long as the tolerances are correct when putting it back together

I had the case shot blasted and I painted it myself and all the bits plus using my as new jdm big case as a doner for parts but with new oem bearings, seals, crush tube etc.

It’s not a cheap project!

I am happy with the finished article.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]235840[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]235841[/ATTACH]

 

Looks good Mark.

 

What paint did you use?

 

Should get the main case in my blast cabinet tomorrow. Exciting!

[mwilkinson]

A bit of an update. I've completely stripped the diff and have blasted all the parts ready for repaint and reassembly.

 

I've ordered a load of new parts, which I ended up ordering from Suprasport. I'm currently waiting on two of the bearings to arrive.

 

I've had to mod the blast cabinet with an uprated extraction system and a rather ropey light setup. Seems to work OK, but my 90 litre compressor isn't quite up to large scale blasting. I have to pump the air as I don't have the sufficient capacity and pressure to work constantly.

 

 

Here are some of the cleaned up parts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Before I can paint the main housing I need to clean the interior of the diff casing to ensure it's clear of debris from the blast cabinet. I've ordered a Clarke parts washer and hopefully this should do the trick.

 

Having thought some more about assembling the diff myself I've chickened out and have decided to farm this out to a professional.

 

I'm going to zinc plate the dust shields and side shims. I'll use this opportunity to document the zinc plating process that I use. I know I've previously promised to do this.

Edited July 6, 2020 by mwilkinson (see edit history)

[Kev.O]

That looks fantastic. Out of interest how many hours did it take you to get these finishes?

[rider]

All looking way too clean.

 

I've looked into blast cabinets but figured I'd really need a three phase or diesel powered 20cfm+ compressor for that. I have a 200l industial single phase by my ramp but that still only manages around 15cfm which seems to be near to the top end for single phase and that struggles to get the air tools turning as though they really mean it. So I tend to stick mostly with the mains or battery powered tools or my three foot breaker also gets a fair amount of use. I recon you'd need a 5hp motor pushing around the upper teens cfm into a 200l tank to blast with ease. That or a lot more patience with a lower cfm compressor. Some say you can blast as low as 10cfm if you drop the nozzle size but I'd imagine then you'd probably run into blockages or too fine a powder to cut effectively. Could be worthwhile looking into though for your compressor setup?

[mwilkinson]

That looks fantastic. Out of interest how many hours did it take you to get these finishes?

 

In total that took two weekends of work.

 

I used a paint stripper first to remove the numerous layers of hammerite and other paints that had been applied to the parts over the years.

 

Even after this the crust built up under the paint was a total nightmare and I had to use a few carbide burrs and dremel sanding heads to get into the tight spots.

[mwilkinson]

All looking way too clean.

 

I've looked into blast cabinets but figured I'd really need a three phase or diesel powered 20cfm+ compressor for that. I have a 200l industial single phase by my ramp but that still only manages around 15cfm which seems to be near to the top end for single phase and that struggles to get the air tools turning as though they really mean it. So I tend to stick mostly with the mains or battery powered tools or my three foot breaker also gets a fair amount of use. I recon you'd need a 5hp motor pushing around the upper teens cfm into a 200l tank to blast with ease. That or a lot more patience with a lower cfm compressor. Some say you can blast as low as 10cfm if you drop the nozzle size but I'd imagine then you'd probably run into blockages or too fine a powder to cut effectively. Could be worthwhile looking into though for your compressor setup?

 

My compressor is allegedly 3hp and capable of 14 cfm. I'm not convinced by this. I try to run the blast cabinet at 100 psi with a 75 micron glass bead.

 

I tried to reduce the nozzle size to 4mm, but it just wouldn't run the media. I had to step up to a 6mm to get it to work properly. I think part of the problem is the fact that my setup is a bastardisation of a few kits which all operate at different levels of efficiency.

 

The ideal solution would be, as you say, to increase to a 5 hp three phase compressor with a larger capacity air tank, which I may well do. I don't think it would be perfect but it would definitely reduce the work time on projects.

 

However, I like doing the work. It's very satisfying and I know the work is done to the standard I want it to be.

[mwilkinson]

A few updates.

 

I've not done anything more on the diff. The new parts have arrived. I still need to paint it all and send it to Mr Wilson for the rebuild.

 

 

I was going to buy a car body rotisserie but I simply don't have the room in the garage. Instead I bought an CJ Auto Heywoods 2t chassis dolly.

 

 

I'll put the car on this once I get the engine out.

 

I've been using the Eastwood plastic resurfacing product again. This time I refurbished the front number plate bracket and front bumper lower lip. This stuff is very impressive.

 

 

 

 

I've also been refurbishing my front ABS sensors. I managed to get these out of the hubs without breaking. I'll post some pictures of this shortly.

 

I've also taken loads of pictures for the long promised zinc electroplating guide. I just need to type out the text and post it all. I'll do that as a separate thread.

[mwilkinson]

So this was the general condition of the ABS sensors when removed. Quite crusty!

 

 

 

I was able to remove all the brackets of each of the sensor except for the two at the head of the sensor. These were compression fitted with a rivet. I had to drill these out to release the bracket.

 

 

 

I subsequently put all the brackets in the parts washer, then the media blaster and then into some EvapoRust.

 

This was the end result.

 

 

I've since give them a coat of etch primer. I'll post some more updates once I've finished painting them.

Edited November 18, 2020 by mwilkinson (see edit history)

[Delboy52]

Stunning work Matt. All those little brackets get forgotten about usually, and quietly rot away.

 

I found a spare front number plate holder I'd forgotten about whilst tidying up at the weekend. So plan to use the same Eastwood product you've used to restore it since yours came out so well!

[mwilkinson]

Thanks Mike. Remember to get their cleaner too. I've managed to do my active aero spoiler, front lip and front number plate bracket with one can. However, I think the front lip could do with another coat, so I'll need to get another can too.

Edited September 10, 2020 by mwilkinson (see edit history)

[Tyson]

With the amount of work I see some cars getting done and the attention to detail, I am confident those cars will be here long after I'm gone if only in a museum when we are living on Mars

 

Great work

[mwilkinson]

Well the front ABS sensors brackets await powder coating.

I have finally got round to removing the gearbox, engine, placing the body on a dolly and removing the front suspension / drive train.

This gearbox was a pain to remove on my own.  I can't say I much enjoyed it.  It now needs a good clean and probably a lick of paint.

The engine was easier.  I bought a Sealey load level for my engine jack.  This was super helpful as I don't have engine hooks.  Luckily the load level had hoist points that could be directly bolted to the head.

I had an engine stand from my last Supra ownership so I bolted the engine to this to await a clean up at some point in the future.

 

Getting the body up on the dolly was a milestone for me.  Its been a long time coming.

I've now stripped the front suspension out. Nearly all of this will be replaced with new parts.

Of the front hubs the only parts I want to keep are the dust shields, if viable, and the ABS rings.

Today I took the hubs apart.

First I removed the rear dust cap with a flat blade screwdriver. Nice and crusty.

I then had to remove the captive nut.  I knocked the notch out with a drift and then removed the nut with an impact gun using a 36mm socket.

Next I needed to remove the ABS ring.

This could be removed by sticking a flat bladed screwdriver into the ABS sensor slot and levering the ABS ring up.

In order to push the hub out I needed to undo the four dust shield nuts.  This was required to create enough space for the arms of the puller.  The four bolts are 10mm.

I then pushed the flange out of the hub.

I've since started cleaning the parts to see what condition they are in.  I will also subject the dust shields to some media blasting to see how badly pitted they are to see if they are salvageable.

I also hope to be able to drop the front subframe this week.

More updates to follow.

Edited November 26, 2020 by mwilkinson (see edit history)

[mattdavies]

This is a great thread and the how you did it guides are really useful 

[mwilkinson]

59 minutes ago, mattdavies said:

This is a great thread and the how you did it guides are really useful 

Thanks Matt.

Whilst I'm sure this stuff has all been covered before the old threads get lost and forgotten and it's therefore nice to have the refresher.

From a personal point of view I find translating the Toyota workshop manuals into real world work often isn't as straight forward as I'd like.  A lack of specialist tools, replacement parts availability and crusty parts often requires a different approach.

[TuneR]

Wow, i haven't visited this thread in quiet a while since you were hoarding parts like some sort of Supra squirrel. Thats a lot of nice work you've been doing and it seems sort of therapeutic for you in some way. It'll be a fine Supra when done, whenever that may be

[mwilkinson]

14 minutes ago, TuneR said:

Wow, i haven't visited this thread in quiet a while since you were hoarding parts like some sort of Supra squirrel. Thats a lot of nice work you've been doing and it seems sort of therapeutic for you in some way. It'll be a fine Supra when done, whenever that may be

I'm still hoarding parts

I've set myself a goal of 5 years to complete the work. Hopefully it will be sooner, but given the level of restoration and finish I want, I don't think this will be too far off the mark.

I most definately find the whole process enjoyable and thus therapeutic. The only exception to this was removing the gearbox - I didn't enjoy that at all.

[SPG]

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed catching up with this thread Matt, really appreciate your attention to detail on this build. 

Nothing wrong with hoarding a few parts if you know your going to use them at some point .

The diff looked super satisfying to do! 

 

[mwilkinson]

1 hour ago, SPG said:

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed catching up with this thread Matt, really appreciate your attention to detail on this build. 

Nothing wrong with hoarding a few parts if you know your going to use them at some point .

The diff looked super satisfying to do! 

 

Thanks for the kind words

[bradleyh_15]

On 11/25/2020 at 9:03 PM, mwilkinson said:

Well the front ABS sensors brackets await powder coating.

I have finally got round to removing the gearbox, engine, placing the body on a dolly and removing the front suspension / drive train.

This gearbox was a pain to remove on my own.  I can't say I much enjoyed it.  It now needs a good clean and probably a lick of paint.

The engine was easier.  I bought a Sealey load level for my engine jack.  This was super helpful as I don't have engine hooks.  Luckily the load level had hoist points that could be directly bolted to the head.

I had an engine stand from my last Supra ownership so I bolted the engine to this to await a clean up at some point in the future.

 

Getting the body up on the dolly was a milestone for me.  Its been a long time coming.

I've now stripped the front suspension out. Nearly all of this will be replaced with new parts.

Of the front hubs the only parts I want to keep are the dust shields, if viable, and the ABS rings.

Today I took the hubs apart.

First I removed the rear dust cap with a flat blade screwdriver. Nice and crusty.

I then had to remove the captive nut.  I knocked the notch out with a drift and then removed the nut with an impact gun using a 36mm socket.

Next I needed to remove the ABS ring.

This could be removed by sticking a flat bladed screwdriver into the ABS sensor slot and levering the ABS ring up.

In order to push the hub out I needed to undo the four dust shield nuts.  This was required to create enough space for the arms of the puller.  The four bolts are 10mm.

I then pushed the flange out of the hub.

I've since started cleaning the parts to see what condition they are in.  I will also subject the dust shields to some media blasting to see how badly pitted they are to see if they are salvageable.

I also hope to be able to drop the front subframe this week.

More updates to follow.

Looking good mate, thankfully I had a press to press my bearings and flange out. Loving that someone else is going full on with a build like my self

[Andrew K]

Love what your doing and documenting it all as well, Just had a catch up on your progress so far since I last had a read and your doing a great job