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grant526's 1985 Pickup Build-Up Thread

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Old 03-28-2010, 10:28 AM
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grant526's 1985 Pickup Build-Up Thread

I guess it’s time for me to start a build thread. I’ve only been working at building my ’85 since 2004. Like lot of people, it’s been a slow process with small steps leading toward larger ones. Initially this will be more of a build review, as most of the truck is built now.
When I purchased my truck in February 2004, it was dead stock with a camper shell and slightly undersized tires.

The 1st two “mods” I did to it were replacing the cheap stereo that was in it with the Kenwood CD changer that came out of my last car. The 2nd of the mods was replace the Completely worn out bench seat with a nicer used split bench from the scraper. The seat was a HUGE improvement and it is nice to have a bench that I can adjust the driver’s seat back separately from the rest of the bench.
Within a month or two of purchasing the truck, I removed the camper and built myself a simple box for the bed. It wasn’t anything special or watertight, but it kept my books and such together and out of the cab.
Soon after removing the camper, a buddy of mine from school hooked up me up with a deal on a Roll Bar and a “push bar.” Thanks again SpaceJunk!!
Another buddy also gave me a deal on some used 31x10.50r15 BigO X/T’s. Thanks Nick! They were a huge step from whatever undersized garbage was on it.
Within a couple weeks of installing the roll bar, I found a truck box that fit inside it and worked for me. After looking around for a while, I found that a “Trailer Tongue” box was a good fit, because it had tapered edges allowing it to open within the roll bar w/o interference.

I ran the bar naked for a couple weeks until I had saved up enough to purchase a set of KC lights for it. After purchasing the 1st set, I decided I needed 2 more lights, to complete the look. So I installed 2 more.

The next, probably most useful, mod was the installation of a Spray-In Bed-liner. Not only does it add to the durability of the bed, but it adds to the look and appeal of the truck! Not to mention that in the process, it fixed a rust issue. . .
Several months later, I started building a winch bumper. I’d never built anything like that before, so it was a new challenge. I had an idea of what I wanted and the winch it was going to fit around, so I started with the center section and got it installed. Unfortunately, it stayed incomplete over a year before I got a chance to finish it.
The truck stayed like this for a year or so until I had a chance to install a lift kit. I decided to go with the SuperLift 4.5” HD Suspension kit. Installing the lift was the most serious work I had done on a vehicle up until this point. It was an interesting project, though it took longer than I had hoped. Since I was only working on it in the evenings after work. After getting the lift in, the truck looked kind of awkward with that much lift and only 31s.


(I ran this configuration of tires and incomplete bumper for several months until I completed the bumper build.)

Summer ’07, my buddy gave me a deal on some 15”x10” wheels (Thanks Robert!), so I found a set of used 33s to go on them. . .
But 1st we mounted up the 35s that the wheels came in. . . (He bought the tires for his scrambler, and go the Yota wheels in the deal) So I got to “Try-On” his Rockers before he did

They were WAY to big, but they SURE Looked GOOD!!!!!! Someday I’ll have a set of those
In ’08 I ran the Marlin Crawler Round Up with Robert, Tommy, Travis, Tom and Troy.
In preparation for this run, Robert had located a spare stock diff for me and we Lincoln locked it.

I'm REALLY Glad we Did!!! It worked GREAT!!





It was an AWSOME Run, but on the 1st day I wedged myself between 2 rocks and ended up breaking my stock push-pull Draglink coupler and bending the J-arm. Fortunately, Tommy had thought ahead and brought along his stock setup as a spare. Thanks again!! You saved the weekend




At the dinner Saturday night, I won a certificate for some parts from Marlin Crawler.

After debating about several different ways to use the certificate, I finally made a decision. So this last spring (’09) I ordered a Cross-over steering conversion, 5.29 gears and set up kits for both differentials as well as a knuckle rebuild kit. Thanks Marlin!!!!!
In May I installed the Cross-over steering and added power steering, since the truck never had it before. And what a Difference that made!! Now I can easily turn the wheels while the truck is stopped.

Power Steering of parts, ready to go in. . .

I wish I had taken more pictures of the build, but I was trying to get it done and back together.

Soon after I received the parts, I re-installed the open diff that came out of the rear, when we’d installed the welded diff for last years Rubicon run. Re-installing the open diff allowed me to have a running truck while I built the welded carrier with 5.29 gears.

Last September (’09) I had the opportunity to finally finish building my diffs and get them installed. As well as rebuild my front axle.
Initially I removed all the components while the axle was on the truck. After that my girlfriend helped me lift the empty axle housing out from under the truck.


And I was fortunate enough to get some help from my girlfriend with the cleaning and rebuilding of the axle.
Unfortunately she didn’t have enough time to help finish building the axle.

While I had the axle out from under the truck, I installed the steering stabilizer.

I've seen people weld their brackets for hydo assist rams onto the top of the diff, so I did the same with my steering stabilizer. Keeping it out of the way, perfectly aligned with the tie rod and completely away from Danger. And I can always utilize the same bracketing if I do someday decide to go to Hydro assist.
I also re-drilled the axle perches to move the axle forward 1.5”. Moving the axle forward, changed my entry angle ever so slightly as well as gained more room between the front wheels and the fenders. Running 33’s has both torn up the tires and the fenders from severe rubbing. The Rubicon run made me aware of just how bad the rubbing was. Now that I’ve moved the axle forward, I’m hoping to be able to run 35s for my next set of tires. But I’m anticipating having to get new front springs before that point, to replace the SUPER Sagged SuperLift ones that are on it and to hopefully move the axle forward a little bit more. We’ll see.

The next major step is to build myself a square tube driveline for the front. The stock driveline is WAY over extended with this much lift, not to mention pushing the axle forward so far forward. A square driveline will keep me on the trail until and probably for a while after I get my dual case built and installed.

Robert also found a deal on a stock t/case for me, so I’m on my way to starting a Dual case build. Marlin’s end of the year '09 sale allowed me to get a Dual Case adapter so now I need to order a top shift conversion kit and such.

On another note of mods, I’d like to send out a Big Thank You to lofreqjeff for being so helpful in locating an Inclinometer for my truck! He had a Brown unit that he was thinking about painting grey, to match his truck, and I was looking for a brown inclinometer. But I could only find a grey one at the scrapper. Jeff was very kind to trade me his for the grey one I was able to locate. Now we’re both happy Thanks again Jeff!!!



I haven’t had a chance to formally install it yet, but it looks good sitting on my dash!!! I’m stoked to have it and be able to use it. One of these days I’ll have the time to open up the dash and install the unit correctly including wiring it in so the lights actually work, and it doesn’t slide around. Lol

Here are a couple pics from the day before we installed the welded diff. I'd like to ramp it again now that it's welded.


More to come as I have time and money.
Old 03-28-2010, 12:19 PM
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Neat build.
Are those bucket seats in the bed? Because that's awesome.
Old 03-28-2010, 04:50 PM
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lovin`your rig !!


.
Old 03-28-2010, 11:09 PM
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Cool build up.
Old 03-29-2010, 05:23 AM
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about time nice to see the progress
Old 03-29-2010, 11:27 AM
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Thanks!!! That means a lot to me!

And yes, those are dune buggy seats someone had abandoned on the beach at Pismo. I saw them (4 total) and snagged em all. Gave two to a buddy for his scrambler, and kept two. He hasn't done anything with his yet, but mine have been mounted for a couple years now. Also got the seat belts (3 point) to match. They are Legal, they have lap belts and are bolted down. I got pulled over for them once, but was let go when they saw the seat belts.
I may one day weld rings onto the roll bar for the shoulder belts. But at this point, I'm expecting to pull them out for a while in the near future. I don't use them much and they take up an awful lot of the bed space.
But they are GREAT For the Drive-In Or the race track. . .
Old 04-15-2010, 09:05 AM
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New Tires!

After a surprisingly quick look at craigslist, I found a set of tires I Liked. I wasn't even looking to buy anything, but the price seemed right, so I grabbed em.

They are Mickey Thompson Baja Belted 35x17.50r15s with aluminum wheels.



The fact that 3 of them are essentially as wide as my XJ is pretty cool!!

Sorry for the image quality, I took these real quick with my camera phone this morning.

I'll get more pics as soon as I get them mounted on the truck
Old 04-15-2010, 12:18 PM
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Pure Unadulterated Childlike EXCITEMENT!!!!!!!

Lunch time- Time to bolt on the new tires!

I wasn't exactly sure how wide they were going to be. . .

Maybe a touch wider than I had imagined. But I like 'em!



But what can I say! They are 17.50s!!

Unfortunately the last time I had it out, the rear diff started making noise. So a road test will have to wait.
I think I got to much preload on the carrier bearings when I built it. But I'm planning on ordering a master install kit for it tomorrow. Maybe next week I'll be able to replace the bearings and try it again.
Old 05-16-2010, 07:25 PM
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what did you do with the tirty trees??

im thinkin they might fit on the taco...

if ya still got em, lemme know if you wanna get rid of em...
Old 05-16-2010, 07:51 PM
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Looking awesome. I like the stance of the truck with those wide tires on it.
Old 05-17-2010, 02:04 PM
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Thanks!!

@ Space-Junk:
I'm going to hold onto them and probably wheel them in the rocks for a while, sorry. Gives me lower gearing and more fender clearance. Not to mention I'm not sure how the Mickey Thompson's will do in the rocks or how well the side walls will hold up. They are more weathered than I was hoping, but they should be fun for a while anyway. . . I wanna run them at Pismo
And I had to use a plug kit in the sidewall of one of the 33s. It's holding fine, but I'm not sure I'd want to pass that along to anyone else. Though If I found a good price on another set of 35's. . . I might be inclined to let you take them off my hands. They would definitely look good on your Taco!
Old 06-28-2010, 11:09 AM
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After way longer than I wanted, I finally had a chance to pull and rebuild the rear diff. The diff died only a few days before my Registration was due and it required a SMOG test this year. So I had to put the truck on non-op until I had time to fix the diff. So, Upon re-installation I took the truck down to get SMOGed. Unfortunately it failed miserably. The CO was double what it should be and the hydrocarbons were high as well. After spending an hour and a half (and $145) at a SMOG shop, getting it diagnosed, they found the ground wire for the computer was broken under the hood. They also ran it on their smog dyno and adjusted the mix a little. I repaired the broken ground because they wanted $30 to re-attach it. Go figure. After all that I got it back to the SMOG tester and it passed. But the hydrocarbons were still nearly to the limit. If anyone has any suggestions, I would gladly take them.

In the process of getting all this done, I was able to drive the truck around with the 35s. The power is perfect with the 35s and 5.29s. According to my GPS, the Speedometer seems to be right on.

I do have this to say though. "Dynamic Balancing" takes some getting used to. And I think it's better in theory then in practice. The guy I purchased the tires from had taken them off his truck for a while, but decided to add some sand for balancing then never ended up putting them back on the truck. So he couldn't tell me what it would drive like with it. And that means I've never driven them without the sand.
I have heard it creates a Death Wobble as certain speeds, and it does, but mostly only felt in the steering wheel. It does smooth out at higher speeds, from 45 on up. 35-40 or so seems to be the worst. Any body have any experience with Dynamic balancing?

Last edited by grant526; 10-07-2010 at 09:28 AM.
Old 06-28-2010, 05:04 PM
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When writing my initial report of what I've done to the truck, I completely forgot to mention one of my favorite mods.

Not long after purchasing the truck, I was looking for a simple way to mount my hi-lift jack while keeping it out of the way. After thinking about it and looking at it for a while, my dad and I came up with a very simple way to mount it. Utilizing the removable inner bed sides, we marked where we wanted the studs, removed the inner panel and drilled two holes. We Then used a Large Carriage bolt and a custom cut piece of heavy duty plywood. We inserted the bolt through the plywood and "set" the head of the bolt into the wood, so it wouldn't turn. (Sorry I don't have any pics of the backside) The wood is to distribute the weight of the jack, keeping the inner panel from buckling and/or over loading one or two of the small screws that secure it to to the truck. We then inserted the bolt through hole we had drilled in the inner panel. Secured with a fender washer and nut, the panel was ready to re-install.

Dad had an old piece of tire laying around, so I cut a piece and drilled it for a deadener.

Dad had built a similar setup for the bumper on his jeep, he built some "nuts" for me that both hold my shovel and lock the jack in place. All I had to do was weld a link of chain onto the shovel.

Having the same setup at both ends allows the jack to be suspended on the side of the bed, out of the way including a shovel for when the need arises. Using the shovel to lock the Jack in place means I only need one lock because it's not going anywhere without 1st removing the lock.

With this setup I ALWAYS have a good hi-lift jack and a full size shovel. Both of which I have used numerous times both wheeling and not wheeling. More so when not wheeling in fact.
Old 09-29-2010, 10:42 PM
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any progress as of late, Grant?
Old 10-07-2010, 09:38 AM
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No, I really haven't done anything with the truck except drive it once in a while. I need to build some bump stops for the front end. As well as fold the fenders back to minimize tire rub when articulating. Really, I need to find some new springs that wont settle as much as the fronts did with the winch and bumper.
One of the next projects is to trim the roll pan and build a new rear bumper for it. But until then, it mostly sits and I look at it ever day at work. lol

An update on the tires since my last post. After running the "dynamically balanced" 35s, they seem to have gotten smoother and have Way less death wobble. I guess the sand was clumpy and has since broken up. The bigger issue is running only a single steerings stabilizer with tires as wide as these, they grab ruts and such on the road pretty badly.

How's your rig coming along SpaceJunk?
Old 10-07-2010, 02:22 PM
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Glad to hear you at least drive her sometimes!

And about the sand, it'll prolly clump back up as soon as moisture builds in the tire... I'd use the trick darkfairytales used and run airsoft pellets... He says they balance his 35's like glass...

As for me, meh, I've almost got all I need to get the replacement motor... I'm 250 short, but when I get paid again on the 21st it should be covered! Then it's motor swap time!!

Oh yea, for cost reasons, I'm not going to rebuild the original... I just need money for other things like tires... So I'm gonna be selling this one... I'll give you first dibs on it!

Also, PM me your phone number, i didn't realize I don't have it!
Old 12-19-2010, 04:03 AM
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still gonna let you have first dibs on the 3rz...

sell the HEEP and buy it!
Old 12-19-2010, 10:28 AM
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LOL I wish I could. And I Definitley Appreciate the Offer, but I just can't justify it right now. I'd still need a lot to make the swap. : { But Thank You!!

And sorry, no updates as of this moment. I was hoping to rewire my KC lights on the roll bar today, but it looks to much like I'm going to be packing up my house and getting everything out before it possibly floods tomorrow : {

How's the rebuild going? Almost done now??
Old 03-05-2011, 09:42 PM
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hey, your truck looks good, what are your plans to do next?
Old 03-06-2011, 12:17 AM
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still got the motor... interested?


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