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1981 Pickup - Old Yeller

25K views 103 replies 20 participants last post by  Grronk 
#1 · (Edited)
Figured I should start a thread to archive my build progress, and to allow myself to get roasted by the rest of y'all 😆

1981 Toyota Pickup I bought off of CL

22r, Carb'd, Manual, Stock Gearing and TC, Body Lift, previous owner said new motor was dropped in and only has around 100,000 miles (not so sure on the accuracy of that since the OD doesn't work)

To Do List:
  • Going to run the "hose out of the carb" trick to have the carb do better on inclines, and then do propane eventually. - DONE Running on Propane now
  • IFS Power Steering Box w/ Marlin High Steer Kit - DONE
  • 4.88s all around - DONE
  • Spartan Locker for front - DONE
  • Yukon Spool for rear - DONE
  • Chevy 63s w/ Ruff Stuff mounting kit - DONE
  • U-Bolt flip kit from Sky Mfg - DONE
  • Boomerang Shackles for RUF swap from Sky Mfg - DONE
  • Dual 2.28 cases w/ Advance Adapter kit - DONE
  • Going to run the triple stick set up by RADesigns - DONE
  • 1.5" Spacers - DONE
  • 37s - DONE
  • Rock Sliders - DONE
  • Rock bumpers & winch up front - DONE
  • Roll Cage - DONE
  • Bucket seats with 4 points - DONE
  • Probably more that I am forgetting

When I bought it





How it is today





 
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#63 ·
Oops



Everything stayed tied down and mounted, just lost the empty road doggys out the bed which we picked up :flipoff2:





Couple mile drive on a flat through the wash to get back to the house



Spare mounted, damage report





Driver side, door was dented in by the pivot rock on Chocolate Thunder

 
#64 ·
Got some work done this weekend. Since its on propane, my smog pump has not been needed but I left it in. I was planning on swapping my stock alternator out for a GM one wire alternator, but didnt feel like it would fit down where the stock alternator goes, replacing the stock one was a tight fit, and the larger GM one would be no fun.

So instead, I used pieces of the trailgear GM alternator swap bracket kit to replace my smog pump with the GM alternator. Wasn't too bad of a job, jut had to cut up the trailgear kit a little bit, and cut up the stock smog pump mount and join the two pieces.

Smog pump and stock bracket removed


The two brackets side by side


Cut in pieces


Alternator mount ontop of the smog bracket base


Welded in place. NOTE: This positioning is wrong, I needed to shift it over about an inch for the pully to line up. You can see the difference in the next picture.


Mounted in place. Notice the difference in bracket placement from the last picture.


Time for the top piece, here is the stock smog pump bracket compared with the trailgear kit. It had to be cut up and flipped so it bent the correct way.




Here it is cut, flipped, and welded back together


The top piece needed more tweaking, cut it shorter, and put more of a bend in it, I dont have any pictures of it off the truck though, here it is mounted up



My stock alternator is still in place for now, it is unplugged and the wires are taped up and tucked away. I am debating on keeping it in the truck to use as a backup if the gm one dies on the trail.

Overall I am happy with the gm alternator, puts out way more power, and I can run all of the lights and winch at the same time with no worry.
 
#65 ·
Also got started on my steel dash. My windshield is cracked to shit, so eventually it will be removed or shattered out. So I am wanting to prepare for that with this dash, going to make it as water tight as I can to prevent water from leaking down behind the dash when there is no windshield.



Looks a little ghetto, needs some last touch bending before its welded, but its going along decently.

 
#66 ·
Ignore that last dash picture, looked like shit the more I looked at it, went with a different technique and turned out better. Don't mind the ghetto hole in the dash, didn't have a proper hole saw to cut holes for the accessory plug panel. It will be covered up and look better.

 
#72 · (Edited)
Yessir I will be out there the 4th to the 9th! How about you?


Here are some shots of my dash, just put some rubber edge guards on the part where I would gash my knuckles open in a crash. On the fence about what I am going to do with it, it has a clear coat on it right now so it wont rust, but it throws a decent sized glare up in the right light which is annoying.

Oh yeah, if anyone is interested, I made the dash from 1'x2' pieces of 16ga sheet metal







Cab shot
 
#73 ·
Did some work on the front end this weekend. Pretty much just threw tube at it and I ended up with this, front part is removable to take out the winch if needed.





Tube


More tube




Hood notched and hood pins in place


Grill somewhat in place, this sides fender is still out of place from the roll, oh well


Her good side
 
#75 ·
Got my transfer case brake on just in time for KOH! Over the thanksgiving trip my stock parking brake just wasn't cutting it on the hills, ended up having to sit in the truck while someone else hooked up my winch to pull out my buddy's jeep cause my truck wanted to keep rolling without the foot brake applied. That was no bueno for me, this should fix it!



 
#76 ·
KOH 2020 went well, had an absolute blast! Truck ran great, need to tighten the T-case brake a little more. Blew another sidewall on these tires, looking into getting rid of them for something that can handle rock rash on the sidewall better. Also blew both birfields in one go in a tight spot, putting in chromoly shafts this weekend after I clean up the housing that got damaged a bit by the birf exploding.

Pics




Giant Rock


RIP Tire, blew on the lakebed on the way to Chocolate Thunder


Birfield


Housing



Most of the issues happened late in the trip, so we got some miles down this trip, KOH is mostly about drinking and watching other rig flip anyways right? Chocolate Thunder was wild this year, looking forward to the next one!
 
#77 ·
Grinded/sanded it smooth, looks rough still since it was gouged deep in some spots, but its smooth to the touch and shouldn't be an issue for the new RCV Birfs.




I should have looked at my knuckle when I initially took it all apart. While getting ready to put it all back together this past weekend I noticed my brass axle bushing had gotten torn into pretty good by the broken birf. So its still sitting on jack stands all tore apart while I wait for the new bushing to come in. Since it'll be on the jack stands for a little while longer I also ordered some Trailgear 5" leafs to replace the worn out RUF leafs I made originally. Went with the 5" ones since they will keep the axle in pretty much the same position as the RUF did, which will let me keep running the front shaft I made with no issues. We will see how she goes.
 
#80 ·
Yep their brand new, I think my mistake was getting radials instead of a set of bias ply tires, the sidewalls just cant take any aggressive rocks. I did get a $100 warranty on all of the tires though, so I have three more free replacements to go lol
 
#81 ·
Took out the flat RUF leafs and put in 5" TG leafs. Went with the 5" because the kept the axle the same amount forward as the RUFs did, may take a leaf out if they dont break in and sit lower. Sits pretty damn high right now. Also need to relocate my shackle hanger a little bit back, new leafs are touching the frame lol. Have some new hangers coming in the mail as I type this.

RUFs hanging





5" TGs in



Sitting on rollers



Test run to the brewery across the river





 
#82 ·
Truck has been running good, aside for the shackles resting on the frame lol, decided to fix it by welding on some new shackle hangers a bit further back. Its going to lift it even more, I will see how I like it when the springs finally settle.

Last run poser shot


Axle off, springs hanging. This is as far as I got today, got the week off cause this whole Corona dealio




Old boomerang shackles, and the new kit I got from SKY




I also broke my Cardan joint pretty good, new one coming in the mail. Going to chop the old one off and weld on the new one, easy fix

 
#83 ·
Got the new leafs in, new front driveshaft in, took it down for a test run and broke the front driveshaft because I didn't think to test the driveshaft clearance with a jack. Oops, replacements is coming in this week, as well as axle shims to fix the pinion angle that is off by just a hair.







Carnage

 
#89 ·
Got the axle shims in and on the axle, rolled it under the truck then decided that they were a ghetto way to fix the problem and ordered new perches. Cut off the stock perches and shims, put on the new perches at a slight angle to bring up the pinion angle a bit to where it was before with the RUFs which will allow the driveshaft to clear it self. Also stole and idea from Mr. Stubs Krunch build thread and extended the perches an inch to prevent any axle wrap which would grenade the shaft like before.

Also got my shocks and shock towers mounted, drove the truck to work today and the ride was way smoother than before. Going to flex it out with the forklift at the shop to measure for bump stops. I know the proper way is to take out the leafs in the leaf pack and all that jazz, but its a shit box so this way will be fine :flipoff2: not planning on jumping it or hitting whoops at speed, so the only time the bumps will be hit is at full stuff when flexing, so it makes more sense to me to take measurements like this anyways

Didn't take many pictures since I was in a rush to get it all done

Axle off the truck and cleaned up


New perches welded on, painted, and mounted under the truck




At the shop





Also took some measurements and may have used some of my Sugar Daddy Trump check on getting a hydro assist kit :smokin:
 
#90 ·
Put my half door on since its warming up here in CA, forgot how exposed it left the driver seat. Made a door bar to keep rocks out of my face when pivoting on them. It also opens, leaving it bolted in for now, will run pins to make it easier to open when light wheeling, will use the bolts when doing more hardcore trails like down at the hammers. Those trails like to bash my doors in...


Was going to do a fancy one like this, but I felt that if a rock came in and hit the lower bar it would tweak the whole thing and fuck it up, so I went with the one bar





Bar can swing all the way out, past 90 deg.

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Added a plate to the back side of the coupler dealio to help guard from the bolts shearing and sending the tube into the cab in case it takes a large impact.



Fender fits on nicely, need to touch it up a little bit but I am happy with it.

 
#94 ·
Got the fender cleaned up and looking better around the bar, also finished the passenger side but forgot to take a picture, looks pretty much the same so just imagine this side but on the passenger side



Also took the truck down in the river bed behind our house for a river day since it was finally hot here in CA

 
#95 ·
Finished up the Hydro Assist this weekend. Drilling and tapping the box was not as difficult as I thought it would be, that teflon seal is a bit of a pain though.

Box out


Tapping


Installed and hoses ran


Ram Installed


Got it out for a test on Saturday, did great, turning was super smooth and easy. Took it out on Sunday to mess around and I bent my tierod :homer: The issue was that I didn't fully weld the tierod to the tierod ends like I was planning on doing. I just tacked the tierod to the bolt, and not the TRE itself. Tires were jammed in a tight spot, ram pushed through and twisted the tierod forward and bent it a bit. Oops
 
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