Emergence of the barn find

[crandalucks]

My Dad has recently had to take up residence in an aged care facility, which for reasons as worked out by our everloving government, requires me to sell the family home - which also requires me to empty it prepatory to sale. That also means that the asbestos-ridden garage where our one-time family sedan (RS40) has been in dry storage since 1978, due to stripping the dizzy drive on the camshaft, has to be demolished.

Said 1963 Crown Deluxe was disturbed from suspended animation yesterday, the next items on the agenda being a damn good bath, and unseizing of a recalcitrant FR wheel. She will be tilt trayed to a temporary home until I can make some room for her at home, where she will keep my 1970 Valiant Safari company. Yes, the eventual intention is to have her back in road-conquering form some time in the near future.

Any advice on unseizing the wheel would be welcome (it's only been dragged a carlength thus far, enough to get it out of the garage). So far it's been suggested to me to spray some "penetrine" (WD40?) between the brake drum & the backing plate. If no other advice is forthcoming, I'll go with that.

I'd dearly love to share some pics with you all of the emergence; these are on my Samsung Galaxy S4 phone at present. If someone could tell me how I can post those pics to this thread, I'd be most grateful.

 

Edited September 27, 2017 by crandalucks

[crandalucks]

Have tried spraying mother's ointment (WD40) between the backing plate & the brake drum, with zero results. Hub (ie wheel bearing) has been checked for grease; what was found was old but plentiful. To be on the safe side, I grabbed the grease gun & pumped a bit more in there.

Please, any suggestions??

 

 

[TIDYWAZZA]

Have you attempted to back off the brake shoes via the adjusting slot on the backing plate ?

[crandalucks]

Hi Warren, thanks for responding.

I did try that, but I was unable to get any purchase on anything inside. Presumably you mean the two grommet-covered rectangular "windows" located at 10 & 4 (as you face the brake drum).

I also tried a hub pulling device, which was bringing the drum away, interspersed with some hammering on the drum at various angles.

What eventually worked was getting a lever on studs 1 & 3 (plus lots more mother's ointment ) and applying 110kg of me. This was the straw. Did a bit more of that, then popped the wheel back on to make it turn more.

It does now, albeit reluctantly - but at least enough that it can be gotten onto the tilt tray, off again and manoeuvered into its storage garage.

 

 

Edited October 4, 2017 by crandalucks

[crandalucks]

[crandalucks]

1st pic shows how it had been "living" (more like dozing) for the last nearly 40yrs.

2nd pic is a little bit of a sneak peak, showing how good it still is.

3rd, 4th & 5th pic after it had been hauled (with 25% protest - see above) out of the garage. Prior to bath, but that was coming.........

6th pic - that classic cockpit

7th & 8th pic - getting aboard the tilt tray for its new temporary home down south.

 

[KAA]

Wow great find Alec..so original..and still has a gleam too it..wonderful find..can't wait for the updates as work commences to get it running again..be great to see it alive again as it should be,

Keep Well and Good Luck

KAA

[Tony Prodigy]

On 10/31/2017 at 3:07 PM, KAA said:

Wow great find Alec..so original..

It was in the family. Belonged to his dad.

[Tony Prodigy]

On 9/27/2017 at 11:40 PM, crandalucks said:

My Dad has recently had to take up residence in an aged care facility, which for reasons as worked out by our everloving government, requires me to sell the family home - which also requires me to empty it prepatory to sale. That also means that the asbestos-ridden garage where our one-time family sedan (RS40) has been in dry storage since 1978, due to stripping the dizzy drive on the camshaft, has to be demolished.

Said 1963 Crown Deluxe was disturbed from suspended animation yesterday, the next items on the agenda being a damn good bath, and unseizing of a recalcitrant FR wheel. She will be tilt trayed to a temporary home until I can make some room for her at home, where she will keep my 1970 Valiant Safari company. Yes, the eventual intention is to have her back in road-conquering form some time in the near future.

Any advice on unseizing the wheel would be welcome (it's only been dragged a carlength thus far, enough to get it out of the garage). So far it's been suggested to me to spray some "penetrine" (WD40?) between the brake drum & the backing plate. If no other advice is forthcoming, I'll go with that.

I'd dearly love to share some pics with you all of the emergence; these are on my Samsung Galaxy S4 phone at present. If someone could tell me how I can post those pics to this thread, I'd be most grateful.

 

What a time capsule. That is extraordinary !

Get it sorted and keep it.

[crandalucks]

As I continue to sort through all of the - everythingunderthegoddamnsun - that is in my Dad's house, much to my relief, I recently came across many, many Toyota workshop manuals. Including the ones I need for this car, namely RS Series Engine Group and RS Series Chassis Group. I was fearful that I'd find no such thing, as my OM was fiercely old school in so many ways ("don't need a bloody workshop manual, I can figure it out!").

FWIW there are other workshop manuals for other toy motors; this will be a subject for another post.

[crandalucks]

So now for an update........

In the intervening years since I first posted, Dad has gone upstairs, we're now in our own house (paying off our mortgage not the landlady's), and I've recently had built a nice big shed in which to home this Crown, its Valiant and Sunbeam sisters, and lots of other stuff. The shed took about a year from go to whoa, at least nine months of that due to COVID, disrupted supply chains, COVID, lots of encores from La Nina, COVID....and of course COVID.

All that aside, now that the Crown is here, I can start to get down to tin tacks, and commence some restoration at last!

Dad had begun the process of getting the car going again, by removing some of the engine's ancillaries, such as radiator, water pump, carb, dizzy - but not much more. He did buy a brand new cam (still in its Toyota wrapping!). So not far from the point where the old 3R can be removed.

Among other things that need renewing, the rubbers/seals for the doors/windows, boot & bonnet are all a bit crumbly as you might expect. I've already contacted 3 different old auto rubber suppliers, but have yet to hear back.

Any other tips for who I should contact?

I'll pop in some more recent photos soon.

 

 

[Tony Prodigy]

On 9/27/2017 at 11:40 PM, crandalucks said:

Any advice on unseizing the wheel would be welcome (it's only been dragged a carlength thus far, enough to get it out of the garage). So far it's been suggested to me to spray some "penetrine" (WD40?) between the brake drum & the backing plate. If no other advice is forthcoming, I'll go with that.

Brake fluid mate. Works everytime !!

If you have a syringe, fill it up and inject it where needed.

Love a good barn story.

Edited August 4, 2022 by Tony Prodigy

[crandalucks]

Thanks for your response Tony 🙂 One resource I don't have is the RS40 series BODY manual - while I do have the ENGINE & CHASSIS ones. Would be interested in obtaining the BODY one.

[crandalucks]

Well I put a wanted ad on Gumtree. First another Gumtree user gave me a link to someone on eBay that had one, bought that. Then a guy on Gumtree says, "I got one of those!" So I bought that too.

I've got the first one, and the second one is on its way.