Work actually begins

Well it's been a year since the last post and the Corona has languished in the shed with zero work being done. It's not that I've been idle or lazy either, the past year has had a massive number of projects from the normal furniture restorations (which I've now put a stop to, as I was becoming the my workplace's 'fix my piece of crap particleboard table which I actually think is an antique' guy), my phone box build, plus any one of my other money-sucking hobbies.

So a couple weeks back, the weather improved, I decided enough was enough time to get started on the Corona. So I did.

As mentioned in an earlier post, I tend to start at the back with any restoration and work forwards. First with the mechanicals, and later on with the body restoration. The back wheels came off and I proceeded to dismantle the brakes. The whole lot came apart a little easier than I expected, with usual amount of brake dust and such, and the drums came straight off. Well... after I remembered that old Toyotas have a screw to secure them.

The brake linings were pretty meaty, they must have been replaced at some stage relatively recently. Alas the vehicle has been off the road for 4 years and the wheel cylinders were leaking a little. Hopefully the drums still have a enough meat on them so I can have them ground. I don't really want to be purchasing new drums, nor oversize brake shoes. I haven't worked in the brake industry for over 12 years, so I'm not sure if oversize shoes are even still available.

Anyway I tooks a reference photo of the brakes:

It appears that this model either didn't come with, or has since lost, the self-adjuster. I guess, like my HZ (faulty adjusters) I'll have to make a habit of regularly adjusting them. 

I removed the brake lines from the diff, gave them a clean and repaint and will reuse those. The flexible hose from the underbody line to the diff has perished pretty badly so a new one will have to be sourced.