Hilux 4x4 Forum

Hi Guys
As you might know, I sold Riffie (1996 22R Hilux D/C 4x4) in January.
I still mis that bakkie today.. But what made it all easier was the other Hilux I bought. I was trying for more than 7 years to buy this vehicle from original owners..
So in January I finally got Great White!
This unbreakable vehicle is a 18R (2l petrol, carb) S/C 4x4 bakkie in the LWB version, with original wheels and motor etc etc is awesome.
Unfortunately it has been standing mostly in the last 10 years of which the last 5 or 6 was on the farm under a "afdak" and the RUST was starting to win.

It will be a long way to final condition that I want it in. But I have started this thread to post some pics and mention what I have done and will do.
KEEP IN MIND that I am currently based in KZN and the vehicle is in Gauteng. So work took place when I was there a couple of times this year and at present its with Pieter, an autobody restoration pro from Delmas.
Also; I am not a technological Fourie du Preez or Bakkies Botha.. I'm more like a primary school B-team full back or Ruan Pienaar..

As time goes on and I have time I will post some things and pictures.

Cheers

Johann

At the beginning..

picture 2

Picture 3

Pic 4; nice rust..

Now, the first thing that needed to be done was to get the vehicle from the farm into town, where a mechanic could get the battery replaced and the motor started.
The bakkie was fetched from the farm by said mechanic and brought to Potchefstroom to his workshop.

He replaced the battery, changed the oil, removed the fuel tank and cleaned and replaced it. It started first time.

The second thing was to convince my "swaerrie" to go and fetch the bakkie in potch and DRIVE it to Pretoria. (where I come from and my parents still live)
He agreed easily (to go and fetch a hilux from potch..)

Obviously things were slightly different after he arrived and saw what he had to drive 200+ kilometers..

According to Mr. Kotze, (my swarrie) the bakkie was in a terrible state and it would not make it to Pretoria..
Windscreen cracked all over, roof dented, dirty sundamaged dash and cab, rough uneven idling, loud terrible noise from engine and shot/cracked/damaged tires all round. Two of them flat to add to his joy..

Now I know that Hilux's are tough and I was sure that it will make it to Pretoria..
I therfore convinced Andre to take on the trip and phoned the mechanic to try and sort the "damaged and dangerous" wheels out before he left
I also phoned my insurance and insured the vehicle, just for incase..

So off he went..
sending me pictures along the way of every sign that said: Pretoria and the km.
He was so scared and thought he was going to break down next to the road.

On the N1 near the R21 off ramp i got another picture and a phone call..
Andre wanted to buy this bakkie and could not believe that he has made it so far!
Thus Great White was (Re)born and delivered to my parents house in Pretoria.

In March I had to go to Pretoria for something and I managed to put aside 3 days to work on Great White.
I gave him a good service; plugs, filters and oil change.
i thoroughly cleaned him inside and outside including the engine.

As you could see on the pictures, the vehicle has been taken over by rust and was in serious need of some autobody attention and paint, not to mention the rust removal. Because i was planning on doing this, it was important to me to firtst fix all the mechanical issues and wheels, to get this vehicle mobile.

There was an enormous hole/gap between the manifold and engine, which badly influenced timing and pressure. So this was priority number one..

picture 5

Picture 6

picture 6

I replaced the manifold gasket and welded the problem area closed.
The entire pipe from manifold to the back was replaced and the 2 old silencer boxes was replaced with one good condition second hand one.

Johann - what an amazing thread - please don't stop with it. Awesome bakkie!!

Because the wheels and tires was shot and all different sizes of split rims and different types of split rims, I decided to start looking for a nice second hand set.
i want to keep the vehicle standard and as close as possible to factory standard of 1979 and that is why I stuck with the split rims.

I tried desperately to get tires for the four 15' rims I got with the bakkie. I also got two 16' rims and another 16' from my other Hilux. But I wanted tyres in 15'.
Turns out that is almost impossible and VERY expensive.
So since the 15' cross ply tyres are as scarce as puppet sh*t, i decided to look for a nice set of 16' splits with tyres. - (they are more common as the cruiser pick ups come out with them standard; ONLY problem is I need 6 hole splits and all newer cruisers are 5 hole)

I eventually found a nice set of 16' split rims with tyres right here on the forum and my dad drove all the way to Vereeniging and back to fetch them (With Great White of course..)

picture 8

picture 9

While I was in Pretoria in March I also shopped around for a new tailgate.
The old one could definitely not be saved and was rusted through badly..

After searching and phoning around I eventually had 2 alternatives.
Barrie from Ultimate 4x4 had a close to original one for me at an Okay price.
OR
I saw 2 excellent condition ones (later models, 85 - 98 shape) lying near the gate of Burnie's joint with some other old car parts...

I decided to pay them a visit and bargain. His wife was there and it turned out that it belonged to her and that its not for sale but decoration..
So I called the owner (Christo) himself and made an offer.
I sommer bought both for R500!!
So if anyone needs a tailgate for a SFA hilux, I got a spare..

So obviously the next step was to fit this new tailgate..

Daai wiele lyk bekend

Pictures tailgate..

Picture 12 & 13

Picture 14 & 15

picture 16 & 17

picture 18 & 19

Keep it going.....

THis is going to be a very interesting thread to keep an eye on....

Hi Agteros en Nathan

Agteros; Dankie man! Ek sal die thread so goed as moontlik hou met die limted fotos wat ek het ens. Ek wens ek was daar bo in Gauteng om die bodywork vordering te sien met my eie oe.. Sal nou fotos laai..
Ek sien jou baie op die comm forum en like jou rice bowls.

Nathan; Baie dankie vir daai mooi wiele! As dit nie vir jou was nie sou Great White nog ongelyk geloop het!

Cheers

J

Ja. So now Great White is in running condition, has 4 of the same size wheels and tyres, has a beautifull new tailgate and can finally idle nicely and quietly with the fixed manifold and pipes..

The next thing that needed to be done was the paintjob, rust removal and little autobody work.
When I was up in PTA in March i took Great White for a quote or two in the area. i was looking for someone/someplace that did not charge me an arm, leg and a stool sample.. But also not a backyard panelbeater that will do it cheaply but crappy.
This is difficult criteria.. Obviously you want to go to the best possible place but the budget.. eish

in the meantime I also checked on the Cruiser forum threads where cruiser restoration threads are very detailed (member there cause of my other baby FZ-F 4500 80 Series). Here I saw some nice restorations and contacted a few of the owners and autobody guys..

Some time went by since March, but by July I made up my mind and in August my father drove Great White to Delmas, where a guy called Pieter is restoring my hilux beautifully.
Pieter also did 2 other cruiser forum members cruisers and I decided his work quality and price seemed fair.

Because of all the rust the cab and bin had to be removed and sandblasted. Also, the left and right front panels (wheel arches) had to be replaced and also the bonnet.

Pieter has done a good job so far!
Here goes..

Pieter, Delmas. 1 & 2

Pieter 3 & 4

Pieter 5 & 6

Pieter 7 & 8
After Sand blasting and primer

Pieter 9 en 10
Cab and new panels and bonnet

Pieter 11 & 12
Cab final primer and first coat

Pieter 13 & 14
Now, this week assembly has started!

Please keep in mind that I can only post pictures as long as Pieter has time to take some and send to me.
I truly hope I can get more and keep this post going. I have a list of things that still needs to be done and I will try and keep it short and sweet.

So here the final few picks.

Pieter 15 & 16

That is it for now!
Will keep you posted.

Cheers

Johann

What a beaut-You are going to love this truck of you.I like the shape of these old SFA bakkies with a passion

I take my hat off to you Johann, and as I read along, enjoy your sense of humour too. They say the SFA never dies, this is a good example. All the best.

mooi bakkie

Ek is sommer jaloers!! Die gan n great fred wees!! My alie begint jeuk om my ou FJ te laat oor spray... En so stadig an te restoreer...

Looking very good so far. This is going to be an awesome truck when it is finnished.

Kan nie wag om hom klaar te sien nie.
Toyota kanidood

Coming along very nicely! Well done!!

Mooi, man! Onthou net om so bietjie geld in jou budget te los vir 'n kidney belt - ek vermoed daai ou se suspensie stamp nogals lekker. Als deel van die pret!

Please could you post Pieter's details
I would like to get a quote from him to respray and repair MOFASA

Hi Mofasa

Pieter Fourie 082 925 2424

Cheers

Johann

Johann, sulke stories bring trane in my oë!!
Well done my maat!



Ek hou hierdie storie aandagtig dop!!

Lyk baie goed Johan

Het jou gesê Pieter sal 'n goeie job doen!

Sodra Toyota my Hilux aan die gang kry, stuur ek hom ook vir Pieter!

Dankie Frederick.

Ja, as dit nie vir jou en daai mooi "Cruiser Build" van jou was nie, sou ek nooit van Pieter geweet het nie.
Hy het nou al jou en Chris se spoggerige 70 en 45 series cruisers gedoen.
Nou moet Great White klaar kom en dan kan daai indestructable Hilux van jou ook n beurt kry..

Ek wag nou net eers vir bietjie fotos van Pieter af..! Ek wens ek was daar bo sodat ek elke dag fotos kon neem en hierdie thread nog beter "update".
Maar ek is maar oorgelaat aan die lot van die werktuigkundige en sy skrapse fototjies..

Groete

Johann

Just one photo to add today...

But Pieter is still busy with the tailgate and couple of electrics and promised to send me some more pictures..

When Great White is finished at Pieter, and before I can go up to Pretoria to fetch him, there are some more things that will have to be done.

1. Front leave springs and bushes all round
2. New clutch
3. Rubberize loadbin

I will also post these pics and progress when it happens.
But for now, just cant wait to see the finished product from Pieter in Delmas!

Cheers
J

Latest Picture

Johann - lyk fantasties mooi.

Kan jy dalk vir Pieter vra wat sal 'n kompleet "respray" van 'n dubbelkajuit uitwerk - net ongeveer vir interessantheid.

Looking really gr8....

Hi Agteros

Hoop jy het n lekker naweek en dat jy klaar jou t-bone gekoop het vir môre se braai dag..

Ek kan ongelukkig nie namens Pieter praat nie, maar ek is seker sy werk sal die beste wees en dat hy ook die beste kwotasie vir jou sal gee.
Gaan kyk gerus op die land cruiser forum (LCCSA) na oom Chris en Frederick Lange se cruisers wat hy gedoen het..

Sy nommer is 082 925 2424. Sê vir hom dat jy my hilux thread gesien het op die forum en sy fototjies..

Groete

Johann

Hi Johann,

Job well done !

On one of the earlier posts you referred to "new" panels fitted. Were they old panels that were panel beated or were you able to source new panels?

Johann Prinsloo wrote:Hi Agteros

Hoop jy het n lekker naweek en dat jy klaar jou t-bone gekoop het vir môre se braai dag..

Ek kan ongelukkig nie namens Pieter praat nie, maar ek is seker sy werk sal die beste wees en dat hy ook die beste kwotasie vir jou sal gee.
Gaan kyk gerus op die land cruiser forum (LCCSA) na oom Chris en Frederick Lange se cruisers wat hy gedoen het..

Sy nommer is 082 925 2424. Sê vir hom dat jy my hilux thread gesien het op die forum en sy fototjies..

Groete

Johann

Dankie Johann. Ek sal maar later afsuiker Boma slaghuis of Kings Deli toe om die vleisie vir more uit te sort.

Ek sal Pieter definitief 'n lui gee. Daar is eintlik nie fout met my bakkie se verf nie maar die Land Cruiser bruin is vrek mooi vir my so maar net gewonder.

My bakkie is vrek oud (amper so oud soos joune ). My bakkie het nog die agterklap met die oopmaker in die middel. Op die binnekant van die klap onder by die "water vents" kan ek sien daar is bietjie aandag nodig wat ek wil uitsorteer. Ek sien op van jou fotos dat daar nogal roes was - hoe kry hy dit so mooi uit?

pragtig man.

Johann nou is ek omtrent

pragtig, dis altyd goed om te sien ou voertuie kry weer lewe.

Hi Baasvark

Die panels het ek gekry (eintlik Pieter) by Frederick Lange en sover ek verstaan is hulle nuut. So hulle kom dus nie van n scrapyard af nie en is heel moontlik ook nie van Japan af nie. Maar dis goeie kwaliteit en lyk baie goed.
Ek sal maar self inspeksie hou as ek die bakkie daar bo gaan haal.

Groete

Johann