Ivan Stewart's 1984 PPI Toyota SR5 restoration

Wardy

Active Member
Phase 3 is now underway.

I call it phase 3 because it's work that can't be done by me and the other 2 phases were the rear suspension and mounting of the cab. Collins motorsports will be working on the front suspension over the next couple weeks and buttoning up a few odds and ends while it's there. The front suspension is pretty much complete but there is a little binding when the suspension goes through the travel. Not really unheard of if you've ever had a VW beam car, sometimes the beam gets tweaked and it will bind a little, just enough that there is a little resistance. This can still be raced on and for the most part won't cause you any problems.....as long as the binding isn't too bad. The binding isn't too bad and it might just be that the front isn't shimmed yet and a few of the delrin bushings need some love. The lower arms are using the Delrin bushings...

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photo credit Lance Barron (1984-ish).

The upper arm is a little more sophisticated as it uses brass bushings inside aluminum blocks that the a-arm rotates on...

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There are also brass shims that push the upper arm forward or backwards to fins it's happy place. If thats not enough there are also shims that are located BEHIND the aluminum blocks to push the upper arm in or out for camber adjustments.....there is a lot going on there. This is the reason I have Collins motorsports handling this portion of the restoration. We will find the happy spot for the front suspension and then note all of the shims in the book so we know where everything goes.

I have to mount the trans back in the truck but it turns out that the rear output shaft is the wrong one for this truck. Jeff Field had to change out the rear shaft in the trans (upgrade) to a 30 spline and now I have to find the correct output shaft...

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The trans needs to be mounted back in the truck to set the limit straps and remeasure the driveline. After thats all set and done it will come back home.

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So here she sits, waiting for the completion of phase 3, very exciting as phase 4 consists of a new top for the cab and then separating the cage from the chassis for bodywork and paint prep.

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Wardy

Active Member
Work is being done but just not a lot to report.....so how about an old race report?

History lesson- Race #17, The 1986 Great Mohave 250

Ivan Stewart would finally have luck on his side at this race with a pretty good starting position in the 7th spot (#107). After the first lap (132 miles) he was 3rd on the road a slim 3:45 behind Larry Noel (1st) and Bob Renz (2nd). The 2nd lap (108 miles) saw Ivan and Larry swapping the leap a few times and in sight of each other for the entire loop. Ivan would finish in front of Larry but Larry started in the 14th spot and beat Ivan on time to finish 1st by 1 minute and 30 seconds. Larry would be beat out for the Overall by Jim and Mark Temple in the Yellow Raceco by 1.2 seconds! Later in the day the official results showed Larry Noel had run a check point and was hit with an 11 minute penalty dropping him to 3rd place in class 1 giving the win to Ivan....his first win in the Unlimited class in the Toyota!

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Photo credit Centerline Photo

Here's the rest of the story with captions from the May 1986 issue of Dusty Times magazine.
Words: Jean Calvin
Photo's: Trackside Photo

Race Specs:
Race distance approx 240 Miles
Car/Truck/bike entries- 405
Finishers- 194
10 hour time limit

Overall 4 wheeled winner: Jim and Mark Temple, class 2 unlimited Raceco. 4:56:36
Overall bike winner: Dan Smith/Dan Ashcraft, Husky. 4:43:58

Steve Tetrick/Fred Ronn single seat ORE buggy out running Brad Diehl in the single seat DirTrix off the start. The Tetrick/Ronn ORE would finish 1st in class 10 and an impressive 6th Overall getting them the cover of Dusty Times in May 1986.

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The results.....

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Wardy

Active Member
Well, since the Ivan Stewart Toyota is in Vegas I decided to move the loaner Toyota into the garage and start the process of cutting off the roof. Turns out Mark Waite from Bilstein wanted the loaner Toyota for a rock crawler project and the body is not needed. We did some horse trading and i will be delivering the Toyota to them in a couple weeks. In the mean time Mark said if i needed the top off the Toyota, "have at it". Sooo, it was now time to hone in my sawzal skillz.

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First things first I needed to take all the glass out of the truck. the rear window was Plexiglas but had already developed a crack so it was no problem getting it out...

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The side windows were next and they are in great condition. I will be throwing these up on craigslist shortly so i can make a few bucks on them since i know they are sought after by the Yota crowd...

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The front windshield was also cracked and no easy way of getting it out. I will skip the photos because I didn't want any evidence on how much of a monkey show that was. I then started cutting the C, B and A-pillars as straight as possible...

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It went repetitively smoothly and i finished the entire project in about 2 hours. Here's the top after it was cut from the truck...

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Here's the truck after the top was cut off, and will sit patiently until it gets delivered to California in a couple weeks...

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Hopefully within the next 2 weeks Collins will be done with their portion of the work and i can deliver the truck to Darryl Putman so he can cut off the old top and put this one on. We're getting there.......
 

Wardy

Active Member
I know I know, it's been a while but not much to report. hoping that all changes next week. Talked with billy Goerke the other day and he got his first look at the trucks front suspension. He said the binding on the passenger side might be from needing shims and the bushings redone.....but will know more later tonight (he's working on my truck on a Sunday). Crossing my fingers it's a simple deal, then hopefully off to Darryls shop to put the new top on the truck.

Here's a little nugget for you, "off_road_baja_sur" (Instagram) messaged me this picture of the #001 PPI Toyota from the 2003 Carrera Coyote 300 (Todos Santos to La Paz). Photo credit Fermin Gonzalez.

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Wardy

Active Member
Well, not much to report just yet, Collins Motorsports has been extremely busy. Just when Billy Goerke thinks he has a window to work on the Toyota they decide to race San Felipe.....UGH! Hahhahaha. oh well, I know the drill. That doesn't mean i'm not doing anything productive.
In the meantime, here is the latest throwback of the #001 PPI Toyota's racing career.

History lesson- Race #18, The 1986 MINT 400

Problems would again plague the PPI team as both the Ivan Stewart 001 and Frank Arciero 002 Toyota's would have numerous mechanical problems. Ivan started way back in the 34 car field with #123 and move his way up to 5th place about halfway through the race but then the breakdowns started happening and would end up a disappointing 9th at the finish.

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Photo credit Trackside Photo

Here's the rest of the story with captions from the June 1986 issue of Dusty Times magazine.
Words: Jean Calvin
Photo's: Trackside Photo

Race Specs:
Race distance approx 404 Miles
Car/Truck entries- 367
Finishers- 113 (30.8%)
18 hour time limit

Overall 4 wheeled winner: Larry Ragland Woodstuff class 1 Chaparral 8:33:14

Cameron Thieriot and Greg Lewin won class 2 unlimited and finished 2nd Overall in their ORE Funco Hustler, 10 minutes behind Larry Ragland. Here they are landing themselves on the cover of the June 1986 issue of Dusty Times.

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I wish I had more to report on the Toyota as I'm hoping that will change with a short trip down to NORRA (spectating) next month to get the motivation kicked back into high gear.
 

Wardy

Active Member
I feel like the e-brake is on but i am moving forward. I wish I was talented enough to do all the fabrication work myself but I'm not. I'm on the back burner at Collins Motorsports by CHOICE, not their fault. Collins always takes care of me but the trade out is i have to wait till they are not busy. They are busy right now. Fortunately for me Billy Goerke is getting sick of looking at it sitting in the shop and taking up space so it has been moved into the fabrication room this week and looks like things are going to start happening.

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We need a new yoke made for the trans as the old one was upgraded. Billy is measuring out the specs and will send it out to be made up in Las Vegas...

Old housing and Yoke...
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New housing needing new yoke...
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I dropped the rear fender molds off at Norm Francis' house in early April. He is going to make cradles for the molds so they are straight and rigid so the new rear fenders come out correct. Even after all the hard work my buddy Jason Tilley did on the old fenders they just are too far gone for show. They might turn out to be perfect for race fenders though....

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When I'm not working on the car I'm saving my money so all is not lost. I hope to really get moving on this project this summer with LOTS of updates and something to look at by September. Cross your fingers.
 

Wardy

Active Member
Ok, are you guys ready for a REAL update?!?!? Me too! Ok, Billy was able to put in almost a full day on the Toyota and what he found was good, for both myself and Collins Motorsports. As you know, the PP! #001 Toyota was placed into the Fab room at Collins motorsports last week and when anything gets moved into their you know that work is about to happen....
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The lower bulkhead was taken off the truck as I believed this is where the "binding" was taking place....

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As the upper A-Arms are strapped up...

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Here's all the hardware for the front suspension, well, most of it, there is some stuff missing from the pile...

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I knew the lower A-Arms were binding but i wasn't sure why. I know that the bushings weren't lining up the way they should and it scared me (thinking i would need to have the lower arms rebuilt). Here is a close up of the problem, you can see the gap....

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Here's after Billy worked his magic...

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So of course I was wondering if it was the bulkhead or the A-Arms that were tweaked but before i could ask i got this picture....

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Alrighty then! Billy seems to think that the previous owners were having bushing problems and the lowers were not snugged up well enough. Over time and the harshness of the desert pounding the truck was taking it was slowly tweaking the lower A-Arms since nothing was holding them snug into place. I can tell you this was a weight lifted as replacing either the front bulkhead or lower A-Arms would have taken a HUGE bite out of my budget. Once again Robbie and Billy Goerke to the rescue.

The following picture was sent by Billy Goerke's phone but I know for a fact that Billy didn't do this because Billy does not partake in such shenanigans and would never stoop so low as to sending such an offensive text! I'm sure a full blown investigation starts tomorrow at Collins Motorsports.....

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Anyways, one more thing I have been working on....kinda....is a new t-shirt design for the Toyota. We are "THINKING" about coming out with some apparel to help fund the Toyota restoration but instead of getting sponsorships (that are hard to come by) I decided to see if YOU GUYS wanted to help fund the truck. Something like $25 for a 12 color process design on a high quality t-shirt. I'm still kicking around ideas and what to offer but a t-shirt is pretty much a sure thing. Here's a sneak peak....

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Starting to get exciting again, been a long time since I've had progress like this and I hope to keep the ball rolling.
 

Wardy

Active Member
From another thread someone asked when the first time I did a t-shirt design for Ivan Stewart.......

"I believe it was 1989, here's the shirt, I don't even have a copy of the original design. I was going to do the artwork for FREE but Ivan INSISTED on paying me. You can't imagine how giddy I was when i saw my artwork on a t-shirt for the very first time....and of course it was for Ivan Stewart!"

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Wardy

Active Member
While investigating more parts on the Toyota i came across this "washer"...
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I was pretty sure it had to do with the front or rear suspension because of the the ID of the washer. I know I have said this before but it bares repeating, I am fortunate to be able to ask the original builders in this tuck for answers when i run into a block wall.

I fist email Tommy Morris and he agree's that it is most likely a washer for one of the suspension pieces. He then emails Cal Wells and this is the response:

"That's exactly what it's for. This washer slips over the rocker arm stub that comes off the razed portion built to accommodate and position the rocker arm and torsion bar on each side of the chassis. It's just a simplified thrust washer made out of CDA 954 with carbon insert plugs for lubricity. As you stated the chamfer is to make accommodation for the weldment. We had looked at thrust bearings with rollers in them but were concerned about the dirt which is why we went to the stuff."

Keep in mind that answer is just off the top of Cals head.........FROM 34 YEARS AGO!!!!! Good stuff eh?
 

Wardy

Active Member
History lesson- Race #19, The 1986 Baja Internacional (500).

Coming back from a tough race at the MINT 400 the month before, Ivan Stewart got his 2nd win of the season (2nd Overall) at the Baja 500. The Baja 500 was always one of Ivans favorite races due to the fact it usually landed the week of his birthday. Ivan had a great race going against Mark McMillin and Mike Lund but Ivan was able to hold them off for the class 1 win. Corky and Scott McMillin would edge Ivan out for the Overall win by 2 minutes and 34 seconds.
Frank Arciero was having a strong run until his transmission went out near Mikes Sky Ranch and ended up finishing 10th in class 2.

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Photo credit Trackside Photo

Here's the rest of the story with captions from the July 1986 issue of Dusty Times magazine.
Words: Jean Calvin
Photo's: Trackside Photo

Race Specs:
Race distance approx 492 Miles
Car/Truck/Bike/ATV entries- 277
Finishers- 174 (57%)
20 hour time limit

Fastest time Overall- Class 22- Garth Sweetland/Scott Harden- Husqvarna- 8:27:57
Fastest time Overall car- Class 2- Corky & Scott McMillin-Chenowth/Porsche-8:53:58

Corky and Scott McMillin graced the cover of Dusty Times that month along with Glenn Harris and his Mazda Grand National sport truck...

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Class 1 and class 10...

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Class 8 and class 5...

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Class 1/2 1600...

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Class 6s and class 5/1600...

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Class 3 and class 4...

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Class 7...

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And the results...

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Wardy

Active Member
Kinda in limbo with the Toyota as of late. Original plan was to pull off all the suspension and have it painted. Well, Darryl is almost ready to weld the new top on the truck so I decided to wait till that is done. Trying to do some small projects in the meantime but some of those small projects include buying a big ticket item. Sooo, I decided to notch the grill because the upper torsion bar fingers protrude through the front grill as seen in this photo....

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The 001 Toyota ran a few different front grills depending on the year. The first couple years the cut outs for the torsion fingers were nice and clean. I think over the course of the years they didn't make it as clean due to the fact if they had to get in behind the grill during a pit stop they needed more room. Sooo, more of the grill would be taken out to accommodate that. As for me, I'm going for the cleaner look as this truck will most likely only be raced a few times (by me) and at no where near the pace that the "Ironman" raced it.

Here's a shot of the grill before cutting....

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I drew some lines of where I wanted the cuts and put on painters tape to help it from splintering the plastic (which worked great).....

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This is one of the covers that holds the Torsion bar and Finger in place. The torsion bar has been pushed flush in this photo as the grill is in the way...

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After some die grinder work the grill is notched to accept the torsion bar and finger. Their is still some clean up work to do but you get the idea...

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The grill is almost complete minus a bit more of cutting for the front bumper tubes that attach to the top of the front push bar and then the tubes behind the front grill....

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Doesn't seem like a lot of work but I had to mount and remount the grill about 4 times to make sure everything fit tight before cutting. Next up is the front tube bumper that mounts to the half tubes below the torsion covers. Once I get that bent and cut into place I will work on the stock front bumper and mount that. It too will need to be cut to fit but is only there for aesthetics.

*Still waiting on the rear yoke for the back of the trans, it's not holding me up but just one more thing I'd like to cross off the list. I swear, every time I get to cross something off the list i have to add 5 more!
 

Wardy

Active Member
As with the last couple updates not much to report. The summer months slow me down quite a bit but I was able to get the truck back up to Darryl Putman so he can swap out the new(er) top since the other one has a bit too much rust in a few different spots...

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And also some shotty body work...

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The truck is currently sitting quietly at Darryl's shop until he can tackle the fab work after Vegas To Reno....


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The replacement top is ready to go...

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Ex PPI fabricator (for the Frank Arciero 002 Toyota) Lance Barron sent me some pic's of these cool glasses he has had tucked away in his box of goodies...

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Hopefully by the end of August I'll have the truck back in the race shop and ill start stripping the parts from the frame for paint prep. Cross your fingers....
 

Wardy

Active Member
Darryl Putman in Las Vegas has been working on the putting the new top on the 001...


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With the old top off he has cleaned up the edges getting the new top ready...


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The new top also being prepped for installation...



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With the new top on it is time for some minor trimming to get things perfect. There will be material added to the inside to help make it stronger but the top will also be welded and attached to the tubing when finished...


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A little closer look...


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Still a lot of work to do before the top is mounted because it’s a lot of measuring and fitting. Can’t wait to get this done so I can finally cross it off the list. The top was one of those things holding me up from disassembling the truck to get it ready for paint. Now I’m actually getting closer although I want to separate the chassis from the frame and media blast both before paint but they will need to be put back together again for the paint job (stripes) Fun fun fun.

Sorry about the lack of updates, I hope that changes from here out as I think it will be moving along a bit more fluidly now. Cross your fingers!
 

Wardy

Active Member
The #001 PPI Toyota build is still in full swing but not in my hands at the moment. The good news is (and I use this phrase waaaay too much) I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Darryl Puttman in Las Vegas is just about finished with the replacement top. When timelines don't match up and the truck shows up late from one shop to next, projects gets shuffled, that's what happened to mine. I could of pulled the truck out of his shop and found another shop but trying to find the right people to do specialty work is very difficult so you just have to roll with the punches some times. I get it, I may not like it but I get it. It never crossed my mind to pull it out of Darryls shop anyways, he is the right man for the job.

Anyways, so here's where we're at. Darryl has been working on the top and slowly trying to sneak up on getting the fit just perfect. If you don't recall, the donor top had a little too much cancer in the a pillars and drip rails, along with some shady body work behind the c pillars. I figured it was no big deal as I've seen worse but was told by the body guy it would be cheaper and easier just to replace the top. Soooo, a new(er) top was delivered and Darryl has been in the process of matching the 6 points of contact and trying to get it as close to perfect as he can. Lots of tack welding, manipulating, cutting, grinding, smoothing, repeat. It's tedious work and I know it's kicking his butt a little but nothing he can't handle.


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Sometimes I hate posting pictures of work like this because I know someone is going to comment on how it could have been done faster or better or whatever. Since I have never done work like this before and Darryl has replaced MANY cabs and skins on old class 8 trucks and desert trucks I tend to leave there style to them.


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I've always been happy with the finished product out of Darryls shop and I can already tell by these pictures that I'm going to be extremely happy.


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Sorry about the lack of updates, limited budgets and extended times at race shops are the norm for restorations like this if you can't do all of your own work. Thanks for being patient guys, I want this thing finished too but you can't rush this type of work.........well, unless Toyota and TRD want to jump on board and send over that open check book :D.
 

Wardy

Active Member
UPDATE: The #001 is now back home in Arizona and I couldn't be happier with the work that Darryl did on the top of the cab. This was by no means an easy task and he spent a lot of time on it. Trying to match up 6 different points of reference is not easy especially when you only have 1 shot to get it right.

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With the cab pretty much finished besides some minor body work to smooth everything out, I will start prepping the rest of the cab/chassis for paint. One thing I need to do is work on getting some new urethane bushing chassis mounts made to fit the 12 contact points on the chassis.

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When I dismount the cab from the frame I will prep the frame for paint along with the suspension pieces. The cab will be sent out to Chris Hukill (original PPI painter) and he will get the white base paint on the body while also spraying the inside of the cab light grey. The tubing in front of the cab and behind the cab with be gloss black along with the frame.

Here's some pictures (courtesy of Lance Barron) of the #001 when it was being built back in 1984. Chassis...

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Back half...

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Lower front suspension...

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Interior...

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Wardy

Active Member
History lesson- Race #20, The 1986 Fireworks 250.

After winning class 1 at the Baja 500, Ivan was hoping to make it two in a row at the Fireworks 250. The rougher race courses were more challenging for the Toyota's due to their lack of HP and extra 1500 lbs. Their pace would have to be higher than that of their competition to make up for their short comings. The California desert in Barstow would yet a gain plague the Toyota's with gremlins as Ivan would finish a disappointing 10th in class 1 and Frank Arciero down in the standings in class 2.

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Photo credit Trackside Photo

Here's the rest of the story with captions from the August 1986 issue of Dusty Times magazine.
Words: Judy Smith
Photo's: Trackside Photo

Race Specs:
Race distance approx 231 Miles
Car/Truck entries- 293
Finishers- 147 (50.2%)
12 hour time limit

Fastest time Overall- Class 1- Rob MacCachren-Chenowth- 4:54:00

Rob MacCachren would earn the cover of Dusty Times this month with one of the most impressive runs seen in a long time. The starting order would be Class 10, Class 1 and then class 2. 35 class 10 buggies and 4 class 1 buggies started in front of Rob MacCachren and after the first lap (77 miles), Rob would be the 2nd car on the road. That mean Rob passed the 4 class 1 cars that started in front of him, and then passed 34 class 10 buggies....in only 77 miles! Rob would have to stop for fuel and a torn CV boot along the way, also fighting a broken Parker Pumper, but still managed to win the Overall even AFTER getting assessed a 15 minute penalty for running a check point. Rob won class 1 over Mark McMillin by :53 seconds!

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One of the best races of the day came from Manny Esquerra and Roger Mears. Running in the dust, both trucks fighting for the win 3/4 of a mile from the finish, blew a turn and BOTH rolled over an embankment. Roger was able to get his truck righted and towed a short distance while on 3 wheels but then continued to the finish. Manny stayed to work on his truck and then finished a ways behind Roger but Roger was disqualified due to being towed within a mile of the finish line, a BIG No No...

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Wardy

Active Member
Wow, time sure does fly by now a days. It has been 3 years this past weekend that my daughter and I made our way down to almost the tip of Baja to go get the 001 PPI Toyota.


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It’s come a long ways since then but still has much more to go...


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So what’s new? Well, unfortunately not much. I explain the reason below but I try and fit a few little things in here and there so to not totally ignore the Toyota. A couple things that got finished up was the new slip yoke for the back of the trans that had to be custom made (of course).....


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Then I stumbled upon a guy who polished wheels who gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse so I sent him 6 of my beadlock Center Line wheels to polish (minus the beadlock rings). It was such a last minute deal I didn’t even have time to take off the beadlock backing plates so he could get them done right (yes, the se beadlocks come completely off the wheel). Since I was just trying him out I just gave him 6 wheels, I have 6 more that will need to be done. The guy did a fabulous job at a fabulous price so I will send him the other 6 which are in better shape then the 6 I had him do.....


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The real reason for the slow down is threefold.
First we are thinking about moving and I have a ton of crap in my shop. I have been buying up old buggy parts for a build I’ve been wanting to do for about 5 years now. Well, a Chenowth 1000 frame practically fell in my lap about 6 months ago and I figured I could kill 2 birds with one stone. What do I mean? Well, I could bolt up a bunch of these parts lying around in my garage onto this chassis and then sell it. The ladder part meaning I could use the money for the sale of the Chenowth for the Toyota. Investing the small amount of money I had left in the Toyota budget into the Chenowth 1000 budget, I could turn it into more money towards the Toyota.

Soooo, possibly moving, get a bunch of parts out of the garage, less stuff to move, make money in the process, then more money for the Toyota.....sounded like a no brainer to me.

Funny thing is, the Chenowth 1000 frame is being built into a tribute car as Ivan Stewart’s old Modern Motors buggy from 1976......the car that earned him the “Ironman” name.


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This is what it should look like when it’s all done...

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In action at the 1977 Baja 500.....42 years ago!


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Photo credit Centerline Images.

Hopefully you all will forgive me but there is a method to my madness. Well, you’re all caught up on what’s going on. I hope to have the Chenowth done sometime this fall.
 

Wardy

Active Member
Well, Tommy Morris (one of the original owners of PPI with Cal Wells and builder of the 001) guilted into working on the Toyota yesterday......well, the wheels anyways. I'm currently waiting for a few parts to show up for the Chenowth so i put in some time on the Toyota. I have 6 wheels that had just went to the polisher and i have 5 more to go. I have to take the backing plate off of the beadlock (yes, you heard that correctly) so I can put new silicone on the wheels so they will hold air. The old silicone is over 30 years old and is hard as a rock. Soooo, let the fun begin...

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The above picture shows the bolt holes on the inside of the wheel. Once removed I had to break the seal of old silicone around the sides of the backing plate that attached to the sides of the wheel...

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This was going to be fun...

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WD40 and scotchbrite seemed to do the work but i had to use a razor blade too. The wheel cleaned up nicely...

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The backing plate was next and it too was a lot of fun but turned out great...

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The wheel still needs to be polished but for now they are just about ready to be put back together, just need to get some new hardware...

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Here's the wheel with the beadlock ring if the first photo was throwing anyone off...

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I will try and squeeze in little projects like this when waiting on parts for the Chenowth which seems to happen from time to time during these builds.
 
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