The Tailgate opens!

After 8 hours, yes HOURS of drilling, soaking, prying and gutting the tailgate, I pried it open. Worked good once I over came the rust resistance.








Couldn't get to the tailgate from inside very well due to the metal panel that was screwed on below the edge of the tailgate, had to bend it over to get inside.








Had to disassemble the widow regulator (with power motor) to drop the window into the tailgate to get the glass out of the way. That took 3 hours.








Stripped the inside of all the parts, came apart very nicely thank goodness. And no broken parts either. Still have to see if the motor works for the power window.








Lights came out, all the trim came off and can be straightened nicely and polished back to its original beauty.

I got new (used) tail lights from Moon of Japan!







Parts that I took out, all documented so I can box them up and save them for the final assembly

The cost of obscurity

So I wanted to have the rear bumper redone on the wagon. Mine shot, beaten, rusted, bent and will never come back to life. (See the previous posts) Through my friend in Japan, he got in contact with Moon Eyes http://www.mooneyes.co.jp/crown-classics/ to hunt down one for me.

Looked ok...





...except for the rust in the corners, on both ends and a few dents.

But then again, these are almost non-existent in the world so to find one, any one, was good.














And so I bought it. For 70,000 YEN. Yes, that roughly translates to the yearly income of several small villages in Africa put together. In U.S. dollars that is $700.00.

Ouch.

I wanted a car no one else has so parts are going to be obscure. But that is part of the fun. I know the parts are out there... Can't wait to find more parts!

Progress being made

I have remiss in getting pictures up and working on the car as well.

Got the front end bits of and to the chromer. Everything is coming apart with little hassle.







Tail lights are going to be a bit harder to come by. I did find some nice used lenses on Yahoo Japan and they were only $40! Now I am trying to find the trim and the housings as well.








Found this great NOS piece from Japan, complete with gasket, trim and backing plate. This was $30!









Great to find these are still around sitting is box in someones warehouse or garage, just waiting to be found.









Removed the fenders and doors. Some rust along the top of the fender liners but most of the bolts came out without a hitch.









Looks good except for all the rust. Seats come out next and then the rusty dash. I'll used the dash and all the workings from the 67 Sedan parts car as these are rusted beyond saving.








Small pile pine needles and a nice rats nest came out of both side of the fenders when I pulled the fender and the liner.
Luckily the piles didn't rust out the front fenders, the bottom two bolts on both sides came out super easy.With this much rust on the car it is odd that the bolts come out so nicely.

The 67 Crown Sedan arrived...

The 67 Crown Sedan from South Dakota arrived at 9:30 am Saturday March 19th. It came via an enclosed car carrier and in transit, it had a few issues.

The lower control arm had rusted through thanks to years of ground moisture and broke off at the ball joint.






And the rear shock and trailing arms rusted away causing the rear end to break free.

What a headache to get the car out!










So here is what it looked like as it arrive in Seattle and onto the flatbed to its final resting point... my driveway.











After dragging the car out, it pulled the rear end back far enough to pull the driveshaft out of the transmission. It bled to death in the driveway.

And by pushing it back into place, cause the driveline to move forward into the radiator.

More to come...

A new addition

I was told by Joe to update my blog, so here it is Joe!

An new addition to the crown family, another 67 Crown but this time a Sedan, rescued from the jaws of death in a South Dakota wrecking yard.

I wanted this for parts but do to incredible good fortune I have been able to locate all the parts I need from Japan, Australia and Finland. So this car may just be ANOTHER one to add to my list of rolling stock.



Comes with the 2300 cc inline 6 with the 2 speed Toyoglide automatic











All the trim is said to be intact and from the looks of it, seems to be true. Solid all around with just some surface rust.











So this makes 3 Crowns, 2 Coronas and a Corolla... and that is just the Toyota part of the garage!

Engine came out without a hitch. Had to remove the drive shaft and transmission which proved to be very tight. the 6 cylinder leaves no space for moving things around.








Engine bay looks better, transmission is hanging in a pool of it own fluid.

Both go to the shop March 3rd (tomorrow) to get renewed. Now the task at hand is to dismantle the entire car and get the body off the frame to get the frame painted, suspension done and the driveline back in place.

Engine time

I know a lot about engines and this is one of those engines that is nothing but bad, wrong and no good. 2 pistons have holes, head gasket had failed in the #2 cylinder. Piston is rusted in there like metal in the salt belt.

No saving this one, off to the wrecking yard for another 2M or 4M.





So the fan clutch still turns and so does the alternator. Engine sure won't turn no matter what but the head seems to be in great shape, no noticeable wear on the cams.

We'll see what the machine shop says.