Cynxing

Ouch. That makes sense. The PO and sPOuse were more, um, formidably formed than the Dolphin really needed. He made the driver's seat into a bucket... without a pillow under me I can't see over the steering wheel.

Jonathan literally has a "hole in the wall" garage with a lift. As you can see, my little Dolphin barely fits in, but she did. He can lift one end at a time. He has an extensive tool collection and has been a mechanic for 40 or so years. This is his retirement gig. Mostly he likes to work on fancy shmancy cars but he's not above working on wee little RVs. He will not charge the shmancy rates for the old Toyotas. He's from the UK and so has an amusing accent. He's an honest bloke. He said he would be happy to at least look at other rigs to see if he can help. He can be found in Oxnard CA and you can text him at 620 - 504 - 2930 and tell him Cynthia sent you.

Did it, Done it, new airbags are on. Drives like a bouncy house now. It is still riding a little lower on the passenger side. Do the bags have to sort of settle in? Like new guitar springs or a house foundation? Springs probably shot. I know the bushings are shot. The dead airbags looked nothing like the new ones. But close examination showed the Firestone label faintly on the inside. Clearly this job has been done before because there was no issue with the support plate. I have put the right up to 80 and the left to 40 to try to even out. Funny, I always thought of myself more as left-leaning. Maybe the rig is trying to compensate.

Floor wax, huh? I have an 87 Dolphin and you can see the fibers in the fiberglass. Coming from boat world I was thinking about brushing on a protective 2 part epoxy resin first and then matching the paint with a marine grade paint. The key being to add some layers rather than polish them off. Thoughts? Harangues? Other?

I'm wondering if it's because he lived in hotter-than-h San Bernardino? I'm not planning to stay anywhere I can cook an egg on the dashboard.

Hello All, Have had 87 Toyota Dolphin for almost a month now. The previous owner left me two quarts of Castrol GTX 20W/50. Anyone care to guess why he would use that or leave it for me? Am I missing something here? I saw the 15W/40 recommendation for metal wear protection...? Am going to do an oil change and would like to make a good choice going forward. Geographically, in CA now, and hopefully eventually headed to VT.

Air suspension kit ordered from 3T. It is now $251.95 and I was told it would be shipped out "sometime next week." The extension 16 doesn't work anymore btw.

Found a "seasoned" mechanic with his own lift who likes to chat and knows the old Toyotas. Word of mouth. Gotta love it.

Here is the blown bag. It's about the size and shape of a canning jar. There are fissures all along the bottom edge. It doesn't look like the ones I've seen on google. Re: drag racing, would that be only with other vintage Toy Campers? Or do I have a shot at something more grand?

Definitely blown on the Right side. Already did the soap bubble spray test even though the cracks at the base are clearly visible. Needle on the gauge also sank obviously. When I replace the bags I'll be doing all of the hoses too. Not sure how to determine what the maker / model is. The bag is black plastic and doesn't have any obvious markings or codes on it.

Hi All, My new-to-me 87 Dolphin is riding a bit low and bouncy. I can see in the 2015 photos from the seller that the body rides well above the rims, whereas now, it sits far lower. Visual inspection yielded a blown right air suspension bag. Right now it's riding on bow springs and shock absorbers. Regarding the shock absorbers, one faces fore, and the other aft. I thought they were supposed to go the same direction. Any comments on that? But mostly I want to replace the air suspension system. I see there are kits for around $270 out there. Before I go researching on YouTube how the thing is done, any warnings, caveats, cheerleading from the Folks in the Know? Thanks!

Hello All, I have owned my 87 Dolphin for a whopping 3 weeks! Very excited and want to do right by The Beast. I need to get an initial tune up done and go over the automotive systems with a mechanic who knows the 22RE well, and has an appropriate lift. I am in Southern California in the Oxnard area. Can anyone steer me to an excellent fellow/gal who doesn't mind (and is able to) converse about what s/he finds? I am a basic shade tree mechanic going back to my original vehicle of choice in the 80-something little pick up truck genre. The gender divide is tedious and I'd love to find someone reputable who is over it and can just talk - one motorhead to another.