just another dang 'ol truck

[1tirefire]

well, i'll start from the beginning. im your typical workin/ college kid on a budget blah blah blah. im trying to build as many parts as possible that i feel are worth my money/time. i started with this. bought it with a blown head gasket and did a motor swap. she ran cherry and I daily drove it for a while.



bought a ghetto-fab beat-to-death 4runner off a friend as a donor vehicle.



came with
-propane setup
-axles (no thirds)
-front lift springs
-chevy 63's
-high steer setup
-motor
-tranny
-duals
-driveshafts
-rear cage
-title
-and other random shit.

before i had a chance to start building this thing i crashed it and pretty much fubar'd it. I'm really lucky i didnt seriously hurt anybody



the motor mounts snapped but the t-case mount didn't, just the entire case split.

[1tirefire]

So, i figured my 21st birthday was a good enough excuse to spend money that i shouldn't and i picked this thing up. fairly clean for a 1st gen. Pretty much your typical mall crawler truck once you scope it out. basically 99% stock


i got a killer deal on it and bought it from a super cool local dude who ended up buyin another rig after he sold me his. when i got it, it had:

-2" lift springs in the front
-flat bed(for sale)
-IFS rear axle
-spacers on the front
-38" tires. and yes it had 4.10's and he used it as his DD.

parts that weren't installed that he gave me were:
-extra used set of 38's
-complete high steer setup
-chevy 63's
-and some 3rd gen rear springs for a RUF swap.

here's a few poser shots of me testing out the stock shit after i did the dual case swap and built a new crossmember(i'll post pics of it later).












since then i've hacked off all the suspension, steering, and whatever else and as of now the truck has come a looong way and is gettin close to being driveable again. i'll post up a shitload of pictures of what i've actually done since i got it later tonight. flame on

[1tirefire]

Here's how she sits now



so here's the plan:
-Rears up front
-chevy 63's
-high steer
-lunchbox lockers
-4.88's
-trunion eliminator
-axle armor/gussets/truss
-frame brace up front
-dual cases
-15" BBC's
-35's and/or 38's
-longfields & hub gears(someday)
-Propane

.. and things to fab:
-spring hanger
-t-case mount/crossmember
-skidplate
-rear crossmember/shackle hanger
-shock hoops & engine cage
-new flatbed w/ storage compartments
-front bumber w/ winch plate
-sliders, possible boatsides
-exo cage (hopefully sooner rather than later)

first thing i started with was the dual case swap. i ended up just pulling the whole tranny/cases out of the 4runner and started fabbin up a t-case mount.

definately took some time but i'm stoked on the result. the only tools i used were an angle grinder and some hand files to hack out the hole and borrowed a chop saw and welder to do the rest. lots-o-pics

[DTCsk8er]

Originally Posted by 1tirefire

Tell me you always drive around making that face

Just messing. Looks like you have a good project going!

[kdub0013]

Should have called this thread just a bunch of dang ol trucks that cross member looks good!

[tom415]

How did you wreck the blue truck? Was the rear axle ripped out when you wrecked it. It looks tweaked in the picture

[SKULLYOTA]

you win the trophy for tcase carnage.

the 4runner didn't look too bad, what was so hack/ghetto fab about it?

[rcp916]

[QUOTE=DTCsk8er;14298620]

This is fuckin hilarious!!!! Thats how I look Wheelin!! After too much brew and a couple Hooters! Hahaha!

[lazlow]

i like that t case mount especially with just the basic tools. plans for a skidplate/flatbelly?

[1tirefire]

Originally Posted by tom415

How did you wreck the blue truck? Was the rear axle ripped out when you wrecked it. It looks tweaked in the picture

just being stupid and not paying enough attention. went a little too wide around a windy highway turn and got my outside tires a little bit too far onto the shoulder/bike lane where gravel sorta collects and started to drift around the corner and slide even further off the road. when i passed the apex of the turn a pretty much shot across the road into the oncoming lane and slammed head-on into some nissan truck. i'm super lucky to have not injured anyone everything behind the cab was fine, the axle is pulled out and sitting on the ground.

Originally Posted by lazlow

i like that t case mount especially with just the basic tools. plans for a skidplate/flatbelly?

ya i'll post some pics of the crossmember. i'm making a second crossmember where the stock one bolts on and i'm gonna have a piece of 1/4'' plate that will bolt on all low-profile like, with no bolt heads to get ground off. i raised the tranny as much as possible without having to hack out the horse-collar crossmember or raise the motor mounts. i didnt really wanna hack a bunch of my floor out and completely destroy my driveline angle either. especially with such a short rear shaft compared to a single case setup.

Originally Posted by SKULLYOTA

you win the trophy for tcase carnage.

the 4runner didn't look too bad, what was so hack/ghetto fab about it?

oh man, if you saw this thing in person, you would know. i remember it when it was totally clean and stock. ultra ghetto dovetail, no floor in the rear, started to flatbelly it, everything that was fabbed wasn't even halfway welded on. lots oh half baked ideas that someone realized were very bad ideas half way through a fresh pack of sawzall blades. kind of like "vugit, it will probably(maybe) work" mentatlity. but man i had alot of fun thrashing the shit out it with my buddy in high school

[1tirefire]

hell ya for bailing wire!











... and chrome driveshafts hahah

[toyotathrasher]

Very nice work on the t-case mount

[whitwilliams74]

Wow kid. Good work. I like the t case mount

[1tirefire]

thanks guys i appreciate the compliments. im trying to end up with somethin that will hold up as a daily driver/ huntin rig that can also take some trail abuse.

here's a few pics of my front spring hanger i finished up a week or two ago. i think all the aftermarket ones are pretty damn fugly and i'm pretty sure they're all made from 1/4" where the spring bolts hangs. there's also alot less surface area where it contacts the frame, especially with first gens having a frame 1 inch shorter than later models. plus they look like a damn robot just mass produced about a thousand right before it made the one you bought. the material alone ended up costing ~$50 plus electricity, shielding gas, filler material, abrasives, wear and tear on borrowed equipment, and all my time and hassle; but it was definetely worth it

made from 2x4 .250 wall square tube and 3/8" plate.







i try to take the time to prep all my joints and bevel anything that might benefit from it



tryin to keep it square and straight. i used alot more c-clamps then that when i welded everything.









BAM

[1tirefire]

it looked like there was a lack of fusion and proper penetration in a few spots that were buggin the hell out of me so i ground them out, pre heated with a neutral flame, and added a some more material

the bottom most welds in this picture where the triangle-shape brace ties to the tube were ground out and re welded:



as well as these joints







all's well



added the hitch reciever

[85dhor]

damn dude nice job on the crossmember and hanger! if you havent done it yet. might want to cut and rework the horse collar to clear the driveline under full compression. judging by the pic theres barely any clearance. keep up the great work.

[88runnasr5]

thats some really clean welding, good job

[yotarover]

Originally Posted by 88runnasr5

thats some really clean welding, good job

What he said^

[1tirefire]

adding all the bells and whistles to the axles

this thing was pretty damn goobered up from 30 years of leaking seals. pictures do no justice


gutter crust rust




got a little too squirrelly with the angle grinder. cleaned it with lacquer thinner and JB welded it and sanded it smooth.


added some 3/8" plate to even out the perches and drilled some holes to move the axle a little further forward.


trussed


knuckle gussets and steering stops and the like


wadda bing wadda boom


vug'n crust


the good 'ol lincoln locker pretty much fell apart with one light swing from a ball-peen

[1tirefire]

and some hillbilly enginuity


my front axle housing had soo much loose slag floating around in itfrom the factory welds. alot of it was loose enough to scrape loose but was impossible to remove it all


all fresh




i used this fancy POR 15 paint and it seems to work really well. it cost about $20 a can versus $5 for the regular rattle crap but it seems like it has atleast 4x the amount of coverage and sprays on much more consistently and ALOT thicker too. however i do live in California and alot of our paints and solvents are "safer" compared to other states. so maybe you guys get better rattle can paint than us? but i doubt it. i deffinately recomend tryin it out




soakin my nuts to get em nice 'n slick


Lockers and gears! i had a friend of mine cruise over and help me swap them in. i wanted to put in solid pinion spacers but we decided it was too much hassle and the gears had already been broken in with the crush sleeve so we decided not to. ended up combining a few different 3rd's that i picked up to end up with this. and they're 4.88's


clean and fresh and all that jazz

[1tirefire]

i spaced out when i was cutting the brake plate so i'll have to figure out how to mount the hard lines to the knuckle. ANY IDEARS?



the ass end




shaving unnecessary brackets and tabs





no mo shock towers/bumbstops/ugly crap


before:


gotta love them u bolts

[1tirefire]

gettin there

[1tirefire]

i installed trail gear's trunion bearing eliminator so i had to remove these dealio thing-a-majigs. one fell right out and the other one was a &%#$ bitch. i had to find someone with a press and nearly boke the damn thing gettin these out. it removed some material from inside the arm but i think it ought to be all right.




definately caught some flack when i asked (on a tuesday) what the hell these were and if they were necessary. turns out they're oil baffles and they aren't necessary



Before


after. sexy and fresh


started workin on some shifters so they won't knock each other out of gear when im in 2nd with the front range box in low range.

[1tirefire]

i hacked out the rear crossmember and started fabbin a new one. i used ruffstuff's shackles hanger, always had fast shipping and good quality stuff. i used 3/16" thick 2x4 square tube


sand blasted


and painted








hackin


added some braces


the shackle angle looks a little steep but i think with the bed on and all my equipment it will be alright

[1tirefire]

getting things mocked up


i heated up the steering box mounting plate and clamped a c-clamp down to make it fit the curve on the inside of the frame rail really nice so i didn't have to booger it up with weld to fill the gap. the welds ended up lookin pretty boogery anyways but whatever.


gettin the boss's approval