Topic: My 1981 Trekker

[trekkerpaul]

The chrome bumper on the black trekker is pretty bent up.  If you really wanted it, I would sell it to you though.

[trekkerpaul [OP]]

So after not really doing anything to my Trekker except pulling things apart and collecting parts for quite a while now, I figured i had better get back on the stick.  Today is supposed to be our last nice day without rain for a while.  As you know after previous front end journeys I decided to return my Trekker back to stock.  One problem was that I had traded away my headlights, bezels and sockets.  U-pull-it provided the sockets and rings (Shiny); put together from several different sets that were damaged or missing pieces.  Craig's list provided the bezels from a 79 4x4, although a 2x4 would have worked just fine.  The headlights conveniently came from a 1981 2WD truck I bought over the summer.  The guy had purchased brand new halogen bulbs for the truck, even though the truck didn't need them.  Score me.  SO this is how the truck looked for most of the last 6+ months since I pulled the 82-83 grill and headlight set up off and removed the beautiful Smittybilt bumper.
Better:

still better:

Best and stock again:
a little wipey wipey and wala:

I decided to reuse the original non chrome pieces for now since I have a way to go.  Chrome after paint maybe.

Next was the freaking gas tank issue that has made my life hellish.  After 2 rebuilds, 3 mechanics, I finally got it right myself.  You know what they say about doing it yourself.  The tank has been out for close to a year maybe?  It was now bone dry of any fumes, so I could vacuum out the small amount of debris in the tank.

Special parts:

Turns out that the tank was fine and I did not have to get it boiled and sealed, but it was in need of a cleaning and a new filter. Old one new one. Red shoe black shoe.

So the special parts went back in first.

   Then the gas fill tube, which by the way dried out and was a total freakin pain to reinstall.  It looks cute here, but I had to beat it several time in the process of getting the tank mounted back up. 

   The tank was not fun to install either.  Winnebago used standard bolts to hold on the tank adapter plates while of course the rest was metric.  Winnebago could have made the adapter plate holes 1 size bigger and I would not have had to grumble under my truck for the extended time period I did.
   So I then put the battery back into the truck to see if it would still start.  Speaking of battery I forgot that I did do this summer.  Battery tray was rusting a bit, so i cleaned and Navel jellied it, followed by a sealing primer.  Pretty good considering this is where most of the seen rust is. (Fingers crossed)

to this:


Any way i got the truck started, runs great, so I decided I would try to see if the tachometer was still not working...looking down I noticed it wasn't, so I pulled the console out, took it apart and swaped the tachometer from another cluster I got at U-pull-it a few weeks ago.  Wala works just perfect now.  I think the original gauge could be repaired too.  I might run it over to Radio shack one day for giggles.  All for now.
 

[hilux-1983]

What is the "navel jelly"? Where can I get it? What else do you use it for? Is it expensive?

[studentwheeler]

What is the "navel jelly"? Where can I get it? What else do you use it for? Is it expensive?

Its a rust killer you can get at just about any hardware store. Its pink and is jelly like, you put it on let it sit and it neutralizes the rust. Something like that...

[trekkerpaul [OP]]

Navel jelly is available at most hardware and automotive stores.  It works well when working on rusted metal that you aren't able to remove.  It requires wire brushing the area to free and scale, then appying the Navel jelly.  You allow the navel jelly to sit for 10-15 minutes.  It will turn the rust back into metal.  You must rinse with water to remove the Nacel jelly.  If you see any rusty color when rinsing the metal clean you must repeat the process until you no longer see any.  I had to do the battery box 2 times.  The Navel jelly requires that the surface is dry too, so waiting a while between applications is a good idea.  I sealed the treated metal with a Sherwin Williams rust inhibiting sealer primer, so it will be good to the weather for now.

[BUDDERS]

I've seen naval jelly in the garage when I was groing up, but I never knew what it was used for.  Thanks for the lesson. 

[trekkerpaul [OP]]

I used it years ago incorrectly; in the days when i never read directions.  Like I do now, well maybe a little.  You are welcome.  Hope it helps.

[hilux-1983]

Thanks for the info and lesson!!

[trekkerpaul [OP]]

I did a little more on the Trekker this last week.  You can have the condensed version.  I never liked the after market steering dampener that was on my truck when I got it.  It was one of the ones that didn't use the orginal hole on the bars.  So I moved it to the other Trekker.

I found an original steering dampener shock on the black Trekker, so I will keep it for historical purposes.

I then installed the new shock on my tan Trekker.  Fit like a glove.  It was from NAPA for about $35.00.

[trekkerpaul [OP]]

I have also been looking for a way to remake the original fender to frame plastic pieces inside the wheel wells.  After looking abroad for a couple of months, I got smart and found a local place that fixed me up with a like thickness piece of rubber to remake them.  I only had the drivers side complete, if that's what you want to call it.  The passenger side was only half there. 

I started with the drivers side remake.

Since I have looked for a couple of years for a good passenger side to make a template without success I decided that I would try and see if the driver's side piece fit on the passenger side.  It did, with the exception that the driver's side has the cut out for the steering box, which I omitted for the passenger side.

Next was something that had been bugging me forever.  The vent flaps that are attached to the plastic piece that sits behind the vents.  Always breaking off from age.

The fender well rubber is about the same thickness, so after removing the staples and flap, I used a decently damaged flap to template the new pieces.
 
I stapled them into place and WALA!


Next was the most annoying piece to find.  Fender badge plastic gaskets. Of course not available at any dealer anywhere, so I decided to make them too.  I started with this.

Then made them look like this.

Good as new or maybe better because I got to make them myself.  It's amazing what a sense of ownership comes from making a piece for your truck!

I am working on the stock mirror plastic gaskets, but that will be later.

[80YOTA4X4]

Nice trekker. I want one but the wife would kill me if I bought another truck. Here is a guy building a trekker, not to factory specs, but he may be able to point you in the right direction for oem style parts for these things. He is installing a 3.4 v6 out of a 4runner. It will be pretty cool when he is done. Yours will be too. You are doing some good work there.

http://toyotaminis.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2033

[trekkerpaul [OP]]

That's Corey from Canada.  I know him well.  We are both part of the
toyotatrekker.com 
You can find my thread there as well.  Thanks for the advice though.  Corey is a great resource for others as well.  He has forgotten more about Toyota trucks than I will most likely ever know.