38s, no lift, the buildup begins!!

[Arya Ebrahimi]

I bought this truck from Mike Jamison two weeks ago. The goal of the project is to have a cheap, fun wheeler that I can thrash and not care about

I picked up the truck for $700, got the tires from a buddy for $400, ordered $400 worth of stuff from Marlin earlier this week, and picked up the wheels for $160 shipped from Summit. All told w/ registration and everything else I'm 1900 into it.

I'm currently searching for an FZJ80 axle to do the SAS. Considering full hydro behind the axle if routing the draglink through the leafs proves to be impractical(no reasonble hysteer arms for an 80 axle). Gonna gear it to 4.88, weld the rear, e-lock the front, and swap in a manual tranny(auto now) and dual cases. With the auto and stock 4.30 gears it will actually spin a 38, I must say I'm impressed w/ the 22re.

Now onto the pics:



Hmm, something fell off...


Stock ground clearance 8.25":


38s are on:


Ground clearance w/ 38s 13":


My pair of 'yotas :


Trophy truck stance:


The 'yota was so excited to finally have real tires is messed itself....


Seriously though, any idea why the power steering fluid is yellow? It's leaking from the bottom of the box, so I'm assuming I need to R&R the seals, but why is the fluid yellow?

I'll update this thread as the buildup progresses...

Oh yeah, they're 38x12.50R15 Bias TSLs

Ary

[mobil1syn]

my guess is that there is water in system.

[tanman2003]

that looks pretty cool, i bet that it will never roll over

is the fire wall already clearanced? aka Bashed in ?

edit: what are you going to do with the bed? cut it up and run it or just toss it?

also i could sell you my push pull steering you dont need no stinking crossover

[Lowtorious]

Is that B-Burg?

[wv4runner]

I dig it.
The flat black/no lift/fiberglass fenders/big swampers looks sweet.

$400 for those tires was a steal, they look brand new.

Are you at Virginia Tech? I'm in Morgantown, WV. Might have to meet up sometime.

Do you have to have a FZJ80 axle? I think I've seen some reg toy fronts in junkyards around here.

[Kajo4x4toy]

Pretty sweet,

I know Mike is happy to get it out of his driveway. I couldn't talk my wife into another toy or I would have bought it . Hope to see you on the trails.

[Arya Ebrahimi]

Firewall still needs to be clearanced. I'd be 'wheelin it right now if it didn't

Yes it's blacksburg, it was about 30* here today w/ a wind chill of about 0*. And yeah, I'm at Virginia Tech.

I'm pretty set on a FZJ80 axle since they're nice and wide, hi-pinion, e-locked, bigger birfs, etc etc. Also since the tie-rod is behind the axle stock I think it will make doing a double-ended hydro ram behind the axle very easy.

I bought the tires from a GOOD friend who needed them out of his garage and will be getting some driving priviledges on occasion in return. I think they're about 95% tread

Oh yeah, and for the bed, it'll be TUBE. Thinkin along the lines of Camo's old old rig w/ the utility lookin bed on it.

Thanks for the compliments. It's SO nice being able to work on a truck and then have the DD to be able to run to the store, or clean up and go out w/ the ladies

Ary

[Psychojimmy]

minus the ext. cab and a 5 inch tire deficite thats my truck exactly! looks sweet!

[BrettM]

lookin good Ary, but ~3 inches of lift wouldn't kill ya

what's the wheelbase on that? you gonna leave the wb alone?

don't worry, I won't tell these guys you're really a uni-body Jeep guy at heart... oops! it slipped

[Rescue]

You`re actually modifying your rig in the parking lot!!??? Wow I bet you will see a cop pretty soon and some neighbors with some pitch forks! Unless its ok over there!

[tominator]

sell me your bed cheap and you wont have to worry about your neighbors complaining about it.

[Arya Ebrahimi]

My neighbors are all college kids, and most of them are agriculture majors, aka rednecks I'm planning to SAS it, and do the Chevy spring swap in the parking lot, in addition to building sliders and a tube bed for it... Parking lot wrenching is where it's at...

tominator, you're more than welcome to buy the bed. I'll sell you the cap too if you want. The bed has a plastic bedliner in it and a dirtbike mount. Dunno if you were serious or not, but I was gonna try and trade it in to the junkyard for some 63" chevy springs.

Brett, I believe the wheelbase is around 112" or so. I'm pushing the front forwards about 2" and I'm thinking of shortening up the back about 6-8". Shooting for a wheelbase around 105-6" We'll see how it turns out. And SHHHHH, that's supposed to be a secret! Although I guess my sig kinda hints at my past... oops

Ary

[Lowtorious]

That looks like Foxridge. They'll tow your junk if it looks inoperable.
They did it to me back in '99 w/plates on the truck.

[Flatbow]

Originally Posted by Arya Ebrahimi

I'm pushing the front forwards about 2" ... Shooting for a wheelbase around 105-6" We'll see how it turns out. And SHHHHH, that's supposed to be a secret! Although I guess my sig kinda hints at my past... oops

Ary

That'll require moving rear axle forward 7"-9" which will require gas tank relocation. You may also run into some axle/frame clearance issues, even with zero lift if the axle is that far forward on a LWB frame.

The reason why I'm bringing this up is I'm planning to replace the frame on my extra cab and am debating whether to stay with a LWB frame or use a 4runner frame. Does a WB of say 106" really offer that big of wheeling advantage over say 114"?

[Arya Ebrahimi]

Originally Posted by Lowtorious

That looks like Foxridge. They'll tow your junk if it looks inoperable.
They did it to me back in '99 w/plates on the truck.

Yeah, it's foxridge. They're supposed to warn ya first, got a notice the other day for another truck in the lot that hadn't moved in over a month. I'm definately doing my best to keep it off of jackstands long term, and I move it around the lot so they think I've been driving it. It is registered, inspected, and insured, so I'm not sure what they can do... So far I haven't gotten any trouble but we'll see. Thanks for the heads up though, now I'll be even more paranoid

Flatbow, that's a good point. I am definately still a newbie when it comes to Toyotas, and a lot of things in general. I hadn't considered that, but had kinda figured on moving the gas tank anyway. I was thinking about turning it 90* and sliding it tight up to the back of the cab, or relocating it behind the axle. Not sure yet, haven't really planned it out in full detail. I didn't consider the frame interference, but will keep an eye on that. The reason I was shooting for 105ish is cause my old XJ was 101 and never gave me a lick of trouble in the wheelbase department. It did at times try to impail itself on the T-case crossmember because of the breakover angle though. I figured w/ the 38s I could go a few inches longer and still feel about the same. I will keep an eye on frame clearances and make sure everything fits well before finish welding the brackets on. Thanks for the heads up on this too.

BTW, by the time this is done I do expect to pick up at least 2-3" of lift. I'm putting the rears up front w/ Marlin's hanger and the Chevy's in the rear w/ a 2" shackle...

Ary

[Arya Ebrahimi]

Well I spent most of the day yesterday clearancing the inner fenderwells so I could turn the 38s. Pushed everything back to the body mount and discovered quite a bit of floor board rot in the process There's a hole about 12" long by 3" wide in the driver's side floor and it looks like if I clean up all the rot it will be even worse. I guess I'll have to get some sheetmetal, get rid of as much rot as possible and weld in a new floor panel. Not a huge deal, just not something I'm looking forward to.

I also have come to a crossroads with the rear frame. I have the typical rot right where the frame turns up behind the cab and it's pretty bad on the driver's side. I was thinking about cutting out the bad, plating it, and reinforcing it, but by the time I do all that, and then weld on the new spring hangers, I could probably fab an entire rear frame. I haven't gone out to measure 'cause it's raining and I'm sick, but I was thinking I could use some 2x4x.188(I already have it), cut the frame off just behind the last body mount for the cab and then sleeve in the 2x4. Then w/ a series of miter cuts turn the frame up and then flat again mimicking the lines of the stock frame. I would butt weld the connections and then plate them in the proper method(can't recall what it's called, fish something or other). Some will probably ask why not just tube it from the back of the cab, and the reason is I can't afford to link it up right now, and I think it will be a lot easier to fab this from 2x4 and mount the leafs to. I'm open to suggestions, but it just seems like the least amount of headache and downtime this way. Fabbing a new rear frame also makes mounting the gastank in a different area, doing a shock hoop, and anything else I want to do easier, 'cause I won't have to cut off the old crap first.

So what do you guys think? Anyone done this before and have pics? Thanks

Ary

[35xj]

Hey Ary. Gonna be a good looking project. You gonna make it down this way this summer? 105 would probly be a good WB. cut the frame off/replace with box, get a cell, good to go. You need to check out the buggy project, and Jody's junk! later dave

[Arya Ebrahimi]

Hey Dave, I heard about Jody's junk, Aaron(MrShoeBoy) was telling me about it. I'm really hoping to make it down that way this summer. We'll see, gotta see how work goes... Anyway, I'll keep ya posted if I make it down.

[JamisonWorkshop]

Glad to see you are not wasting any time on ripping it apart. Has a real nice stance to it.

Looks great with those tires. Now go out and rip that IFS out with a few good climbs.

Is the fluid actually leaking out of the box?? Never seen it leaking before.
As far as the watery fluid, I never touched it so I am sure a good flush and refill would be nice.

Floor rot, as long as it is not interfering with the strength or area of thebody mount and it is not allowing any water in the cab, I really wouldnt mess with it. Like you said. Always opens a can of worms where you then want to patch like crazy.

Rear frame. Does it need more patch aside from what he did, I agree that a new clean rear part would be nice and trick, It gives you full option on doing exactly what you want. Slide similar box tube into the back of frame, cut and angle as needed. put in a couple of crossbars for strength and you should be fine. Tank directly behind the cab.
allow you to cut alot of that rear frame off. hangers will go WAY forward for a 105" wheelbase but will also turn out great.

Good Luck.

[Arya Ebrahimi]

Mike, good to hear from you. The box didn't start leaking until I tried to turn the 38s while parked. It was all down hill from there. It only leaks when turning to the right I believe. Anyway, it's the least of my concerns. I'm not sure how far the floor rot goes, but if I were to pull the carpet out I would have a large hole at my feet on the driver's side. I'm gonna pull the carpet this weekend and see what it really looks like down there.

As for the frame rot it's pretty bad on the driver's side. I stuck a screwdriver through the side and bottom of it, and when I felt around inside it's flaking off all over the place. I'm thinking a cut and sleeve w/ a new rear portion is gonna be the only long lasting solution.

The SAS hanger from Marlin should be here today or tomorrow I'm gonna get everything welded up and then once I find an axle chop out the IFS and install the axle in a weekend. I found an e-locked 80 axle in Woodbridge for $850, but it's spindle-to-spindle. Hopefully I can find one for a little better price hub to hub. I passed on one on Ebay a couple weeks ago for $522 hub to hub complete w/ e-locker and steering and I've been kicking myself ever since.

Ary

[JamisonWorkshop]

Don't know why I never noticed the floor rot. Never looked to hard, but I thought the cab was pretty good. I guess patch as needed. You know you still have a perfectly good donor sitting RIGHT beside it.

[Arya Ebrahimi]

To be fair it didn't show it's head until I started moving the sheetmetal around a good 2-3" w/ a 3lbs sledge The thought of cutting up the bed hadn't occurred to me....THANKS!! :duh: Nobody seems to want it since the corners of the floor are rotted, but there's plenty of solid metal there to be harvested.

Ary

[alk1174]

Ary I got a 4' square of 16ga sheet in Cburg if ya need some.
Adam K

[JamisonWorkshop]

I was reffering to cutting up the cruiser for the axles, not the bed for patch panels,
but now that you mention it.

[Arya Ebrahimi]

Originally Posted by JamisonWorkshop

I was reffering to cutting up the cruiser for the axles, not the bed for patch panels,
but now that you mention it.

LOL. Ironically enough I was in another accident this past Friday in the cruiser. Poor Saturn never stood a chance What is it w/ girls and their attraction to driving into the side of my cruiser? That's the second time!

Ary