Ryan's TE31

Skellington · **Posted:** Mon Jul 30, 2012 5:04 pm

I purchased this TE31 a few months ago. It is a 1976 deluxe edition which has a 2tc with a 3 speed auto in it. It has 38k original (non rolled over) miles.

Skellington · **Posted:** Mon Jul 30, 2012 5:09 pm

Interior shots:

Skellington · **Posted:** Mon Jul 30, 2012 5:29 pm

I gave the car a good wash and started waxing some parts. I used a pressure washer since it needed some major cleaning / oxidation removal. Windows turned out nice, and the paint... not so much.

http://i707.photobucket.com/albums/ww80 ... 092821.jpg
http://i707.photobucket.com/albums/ww80 ... 092853.jpg

I also rebuilt my carb. I knew nothing about these down draft 2 barrel carbs. Didn't seem to be too tough. I soaked all my metal parts in the Barrymans cleaner so it looks brand new now.

Spare tire area had some rust. Looks like someone took the car to the beach a long time ago and had sandy/salty towels sitting in there. I vacuumed, wire wheeled and painted.

My grill was looking a bit dingy, so I gave it a little TLC.
Before:

Durring:

After:

And a for fun pic:

Skellington · **Posted:** Mon Jul 30, 2012 5:48 pm

Still on the quest to get the car to run / idle correctly, I adjusted the valves. I am a bit phobic of dirty internal engine parts. Does this look normal? I want to clean out the sludge in here, but not sure if it even matters.

carb rebuilt, Valves adjusted, old points set, and engine timed, vacuum lines all checked, and still not running right at idle. I used the carb spray trick around the base of the carb and around the intake gasket and found my vacuum issues. I ordered the parts to fix that and a bit more.

I put a new exhaust on the car since the original is pretty tore up. I went with a 2" pipe, original cat, and an Aero stainless muffler. The car sounds a bit smoother with out the pitter-patter of 100 tiny rust leaks.

I picked up a few parts that I will eventually use:

I think that brings me up to speed on my TE31. I really enjoy working on this car.

lam454 · **Joined:** Fri Jun 01, 2012 2:55 pm **Posts:** 48

car was in great condition and it seems to be getting better and better! looking forward to more updates :tu:

Camshaft · **Posted:** Tue Jul 31, 2012 9:27 am

I love TE31s, and the progress on yours is inspiring! The grille turned out great. Can't wait to see it with the new seats and those Supra wheels.

RChives85 · **Posted:** Tue Jul 31, 2012 2:17 pm

Looks great!

May I ask what mind of cleaner you used on the grill? I'm searching for a good metal polish.

Skellington · **Posted:** Tue Jul 31, 2012 5:33 pm

Thanks for all the kind words.

RChives85 wrote:

Looks great!

May I ask what mind of cleaner you used on the grill? I'm searching for a good metal polish.

My metal parts are still raw, so if anyone has a good recommendation, I'm all ears.

Camshaft wrote:

I love TE31s, and the progress on yours is inspiring! The grille turned out great. Can't wait to see it with the new seats and those Supra wheels.

I must be doing something right then

Skellington · **Posted:** Sun Aug 26, 2012 8:57 pm

Update: I have taken apart the front of the 2tc to replace timing chain and components, water pump, and thermostat. My idle has been off due to it being off on its distributor gear. It was advanced so much that I couldn't see the mark with the timing light. No wonder it didn't like to run under 1600 RPM. I have also cleaned the manifold and re-gasketed it.
Stuff to instal:

Before Pic:

Skellington · **Posted:** Sun Aug 26, 2012 8:58 pm

Crash1976 · **Posted:** Fri Aug 31, 2012 7:58 am

Your on the right track. My old TE31 was in need of some engine TLC when I got it and I did like you, just go through it, reseal it, new gaskets etc, nothing big( did do a head gasket though) and it ran like a top and very reliable... and cheap to boot! enjoy it. nice interior you have.. hard to come by!

Skellington · **Posted:** Sat Sep 01, 2012 7:51 pm

I have finished the front of my engine. Everything went well except for the bolt that adjusts the alternator; It decided to shear off for me. :evil:

I am digging the new paint and I hope to eventually get to the entire engine. I started the car but my main belt is screaming, so i only ran it for a few seconds.
Pics:

Skellington · **Posted:** Sun Sep 02, 2012 9:43 pm

I have some plans for my car, and I would like some advice / input. After visiting 2 parts yards today I have found some items that I want to put on my car. First Is a t50 gearbox out of a 78 te51 liftback. This would give me the manual conversion and the overdrive that I am looking for. At the other parts yard I found a corolla that has a S374 coded rear end. I looked up the code and found out it is a 3.583 ratio (OMG super high ratio). I was thinking of running my 2tc currently in my car, which would later get 3tc internals with turbo, a t50 gearbox, and the S374 rear end. This setup would give me... well just look at the graph:

3300RPM at 75MPH would be nice. Will my poor stock 2tc be able to pull these gears until i get the 3tc internals? I am quite curious. But if I just change the rear ratio my A40 automatic will be pulling 3800RPM in its final gear where as it's doing 4500RPM now (S292 4.10). I could look into getting a S314 ratio and having a 3.909 ratio, but I kinda like the freeway flyer route. Let me know what you guys think. Has anybody ran this setup?

Skellington · **Posted:** Mon Sep 03, 2012 7:21 pm

Oh-Yea, 1/2 off day at the parts yard:

They charged for hoist rental. $5 for 30 mins, so I snagged the thing in about 20 mins flat!

got the 3.583 gearing

Skellington · **Posted:** Sun Sep 09, 2012 9:23 pm

YES! I have finally undone all the crap the PO messed up on my car. I got the timing in order, distributor set, carb set, and I did a lot of general maintenance so it now idles correctly. I have learned a lot about these 2tc engines from this car. Now if I can pass CA emissions I can start modding / upgrading the car to my liking.
Hear this baby purr:

jkwade · **Posted:** Mon Sep 10, 2012 10:44 am

It looks like you are moving along nicely! I wish we had salvage yards around here which were as accommodating. Old Toyotas are rare as hens' teeth here!

Hachigo87 · **Posted:** Mon Sep 17, 2012 8:46 pm

Just picked up a 79 Just like this myself, 2TC auto. Definitely going to be following your build. Looks like a good starter shell, can't wait to see how this turns out!

Skellington · **Posted:** Thu Sep 20, 2012 5:09 pm

Hachigo87 wrote:

Just picked up a 79 Just like this myself, 2TC auto. Definitely going to be following your build. Looks like a good starter shell, can't wait to see how this turns out!

Sweet. you have a build thread yet?

liftbackte51 · **Posted:** Sat Sep 22, 2012 7:12 pm

Nice build.
Do you know if they had more te51 parts at the junkyard?
I am looking for a dash with gauges and a pedal box from a manual

palatine · **Posted:** Sat Sep 22, 2012 11:45 pm

Skellington wrote:

Oh-Yea, 1/2 off day at the parts yard:

Damn, that's a score..

Ryan's TE31

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