Little update on the F-Toy-
Have been beating it pretty good since Jan this year, have had it out in the Hammers, Arizona, Calico and Truck Heaven. The thing has been working good. I have had little gremlins every now and then though.
-For the longest time I thought I had a fuel problem, thinking the filter was getting clogged from the fuel tank foam and killing the motor. But it turned out to be the coil going bad. Changed that and everything has been good.
-I had a charging problem, I think I cooked the Alternator, but anyway put a MR2 100 amp one in and fixed the problem.
-I had always been worried about my rear gears cause I set them up, well after 9 months of beating them they gave up the ghost and crapped out on me on Resolution at the Hammers. Good thing is we were past most of hard stuff and was pulled out to the top. Drove back to camp under my own power, but also that same weekend I lost a cap on the front DS t-case u-joint. So changed that before hitting Resolution then breaking.
-Now, I went to Calico and on a trail I was getting out of the car through the windshield bars and stepped on the engine hood bars. Well with all the dust my foot slipped and hit the coil. Didn’t break the coil, at least I think, but anyway after that the car would not start from the starter button. So we jumped the started and it started. Thought that maybe the button crapped out at the same time. Well a ways down the trail the motor died and went to jump the starter and the battery was dead. So somehow now the alternator stopped charging. I don’t know yet if it’s all related or not, maybe I broke something in the igniter that has to do with the charging and start system, I don’t know. Over in the Middle East right now for work so I will have to trouble shoot when I get home. Sucks that I forgot my Toyota manual to look at the wiring diagrams while I am here. I really need to simplify the electrical system; I have pretty much the stock wiring out of the truck still in there. Plan is to go get another harness from the Junkyard and start narrowing it down, or really study the diagram and make my own, we’ll see.
Plans for when I get home, of course fixing the problems now then putting the front 14 inch shocks in the back, some new 15 inch shocks up front. Found out 12’s are just too short for the back. Change out the rear seat for a little bigger one, the kids have grown since I put it in, and lower the seat mounts some to get the boys head from hitting the roll cage. Adding some HID’s up front to get a little more lighting at night. Then get the rear 3rd rebuilt by Yotamasters.
Future upgrades, maybe this summer, build another motor I have with the LC bigger throttle body, ported intake plenum, balanced injectors, cam and have my friend port the head. Maybe that will happen, that or turbo the motor. Would like to save some cash to get all tunable shocks and some air bumps and a LED light bar from VisionX, one day I’ll get that, its on the wish list.
But for the most part it has been a good car and glad I built it. Little probems occur every now and then but get figured out.
