ocdropzone's 1981 Trekker (B4Runner) Build-Up Thread

[WSUWESTON]

Like your new shoes. Ride is looking great

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[ocdropzone]

Originally Posted by idayota

i really like the new rubber. thanks for the pictures of the latches...so they seem secure, huh? do they rattle much? seems like there are better ways to engineer a latch system, but if it works, why reinvent the wheel? cant wait to see what's next!

The latches actually don't rattle too bad. I repainted the doors so I still need to replace the rubber pad that was included to keep some of the rattle down. I have seen some people that use a similar latch but weld on extension to the release. Seems to me that you could poke an elbow if it was extended too far. Still might see what I can do with the factory door system just to make it more convient to open the door..

Originally Posted by slacker

dude .. come see me and bring that beer well do a quick install , and go for a dig ... (yeah right )

when the time comes , shoot me a email , and I quote you some prices .. dont really like to conduct business here on the board .

Sounds good Corey: Guess I need to get on the Passport thing just so I can get up there. Would be great to see all your projects. Your Supra truck makes me want to build one too..

Originally Posted by WSUWESTON

Like your new shoes. Ride is looking great

Thanks, looks like you are starting on yours too...Hope the carb rebuild worked out...

[ocdropzone]

I am still looking for a V-6 Rear End to throw on this thing, but in the mean time picked up a set of 1.5" spacers, I was going to need them for the front anyway. I know that a ton of people have put them on, but here are some pictures.. Put them on all four wheels, stability seems a lot better when cornering. I am just going to have to put on some mud flaps soon to keep the law happy.

Before spacers:

After 1.5" spacers:

Now the tires are fairly even with the sliders but stick out a ways:

[Victor]

Looks good.

[4banginRunner]

thanks for posting the before and after with the spacers, i was gunna start a thread bout that

looks good!

lucky trekker owners.....

[bigredford]

rob-

i see you are the one that ended up with one of my old trekkers. call me at 503-799-0666 and i can tell you all about it. i bet the kid you bought it from beat the crap out of it.

[slacker]

Lookin good Robb .. kinda wish my Trekker was advancing as quick as yours .. HMMMPfffff .. mine is still in pieces .

looks like my fenders might just fit on there just right now

[ocdropzone]

Originally Posted by bigredford

rob-

i see you are the one that ended up with one of my old trekkers. call me at 503-799-0666 and i can tell you all about it. i bet the kid you bought it from beat the crap out of it.

hey Robert: I just got your email, I will definitely give you a call soon. You ended up with Sky's Off Road Trekker--SWEET!!

Originally Posted by slacker

Lookin good Robb .. kinda wish my Trekker was advancing as quick as yours .. HMMMPfffff .. mine is still in pieces .

looks like my fenders might just fit on there just right now

Corey: thanks, I just wish i didn't have to keep blowing money and crap on my house. You should see the mickey mouse Ductwork the previous owner did Oh well, by next week the house should be warm again . Your fenders are at the back of my mind. Will see if I get pulled over for the tires Working on some kind of quick release for the mudflaps, they look like crap hanging down so far....
Looks like I am going to use some aluminum plate and make a new back window frame...lexan that size is just a bit too much for me...aluminum can get cheap from a friend...

Rain is in the forcast for the rest of the year it seems, got the regular door back on just in time...

[slacker]

just hackin' on ya bro .. no worries .. you should be fine with the cops .. I dont think they'll hassle you at all .

I haven't got the lexan either for the one I'm doing , soon .. I will have 1 piece left over I think .. I'll post up when I get there . might be cheeper then originally though .. anyway .. I post it up when the time comes .

[ocdropzone]

Slacker: Your window work got me thinking--
My Trekker is going to be evicted from the garage for a month or so and I was sealing up the top part of the seam between the cab and canopy and after seeing what Slacker did for his window probably got to wondering if I would be able to find one that matches the original curve at the lower front corner.....
But comparing the window on the trekker versus the window on my Leer Canopy the leading edge looks the same...both are 15.5" high, only difference is length..Guess I could pop them out over the weekend and see what I might find...


I have got a slider on the left side of the Tacoma, wonder if I could order the window from Leer and shorten the frame, with the slider some overlap would be fine on the glass....

[slacker]

how much longer ?

it's very suttle , but I found out the hard way .. The body line above the window is not leval .. it curves .

replacing the window should not be a problem .. its just finding the right one .

on another note ..
I started a Trekker board .. http://toyotatrekker.proboards107.com/index.cgi not much there yet , but maybe in a while .

[ocdropzone]

The Trekker window is around 44x15.5. The window on my Leer canopy is 52x15.5. The windows they used on the 01-04 Double Cap canopys look to be about 48" long. I noticed the curve too, might explain the black silicone from a previous owner..it is not an immediate project, seeing what you did just got me to thinking...
Just got to work, but will check out the Trekker board when I get on break.Cool ..

[ocdropzone]

A little update. Trekker is getting kicked out of the garage again. Something about my wife wanting the space so she can use it to stain some trim for the house oh well gotta give a little sometimes...
So I have gone through a couple of pieces of plexiglass on the back hatch and lexan is way too much. Got a piece of 16 guage or so aluminum from a friend of mine and got to thinking that it might work to use as a frame for the back window which has been a constant pain as far as leaking. Am hoping that what I came up with will help solve it.
Took the frame off and tried to clean it up:


ground off all the old crap and painted it with some rustoleum though I do have a spot that needs to be welded:

Used the cracked back window as a template:

What I ended up with:


I did leave enough aluminum that I can make the opening bigger which is mine plan. The plexi I have seems to be kind of old, kept cracking even when trying to cut it. I ran out of time tonight for paint so I did rough it up with a wire wheel in preparation for paint sometime soon....

Eventually I would like to come up with a way to totally redo the rear hatch, maybe even do some kind of ambulance door type arrangement that would get the lip of the rear down to the cargo floor level. Trekkers came with about a 4-6" lip that makes getting stuff in and out a pain...

[ocdropzone]

Forgot, the UPS guy dropped off some stuff from Trail Gear today:
front spring mount, shackles and winch mount:

Hi Steer, u bolt flip kits, rear shock mounts and my favorite--dual case adapter. Hope to have all this stuff mounted over the next few weeks...


Forgot, got it out on the trail a few days ago but ran out of room...amazing how fast blackberries grow...

[idayota]

i love that you really wheel this thing...nice work!

[ocdropzone]

Originally Posted by idayota

i love that you really wheel this thing...nice work!

Thanks, I just wanna get it all together and get wheeling more often.
Ganoid (another member) has offered to help me put together the dual cases, having his knowledge will be a big help...

Looks like the aluminum on the rear hatch may only be on for another week or so. Found an ad on craigslist for smoked plexiglass, ...$20..met the lady and went ahead and bought it.. turns out to be this stuff, Makrolon http://www.makrolon.com still had the protective sheet on one side. A little scuffed around the edges but more than enough (need 50x18.75")

sounds like it is very similar to lexan, but made by bayer. same thing that they make some CD's out of , used for headlights and even some roofing...thought for the money it would be worth a shot...

[ocdropzone]

We had a ton of rain monday, about 5 inches, so checked out the Trekker today to find about 2.5" of water in the back...so I knew a bunch had made it up to the front, carpeting was totally soaked...figured that I wanted to rip it out sometime anyway so started cutting away...

Wondered why my carpeting was so nice and plush, found one layer on top of some indoor/outdoor carpeting...yipppeeee


Got the double layers ripped out from the front passenger side and was happy to see a nice basically rust free floor:

Go to the back and found a rusted through spot about 1.5 x3 which should be pretty easy to fix. The metal at the joint with the fiberglass bed is in great shape

Was happy to see the floor in as good as shape as it was as these trucks have a tendency to have swiss cheese floors at times...Won't be able to rip out the driver's sides for a few days...
Slacker (aka: Corey) has found a supplier for new rear hatch seals so I hope to be getting one of those soon to help fix my leaky rear hatch...

[4banginRunner]

dang, u got lucky with the floor, rust isnt that bad

[ocdropzone]

Originally Posted by 4banginRunner

dang, u got lucky with the floor, rust isnt that bad

thanks, but got the driver's side carpeting out today, worse shape than the passenger side guess this is what happens from a leaky windshield for who knows how long...get to mess with the body mount

Driver's side rear of the cab, a lot worse than the rear passenger side:


Found three layers of carpeting in one spot this time,

Hope to have this stuff repaired the same time a buddy of mine helps be with the front suspension welding etc...

[ocdropzone]

Oh yeah, got rid of the temporary aluminum rear window deal went from this:

To this using some stuff:

http://www.makrolon.com very similar to Lexan..
Here is what I did with a scrap, it flexes pretty dang good so I think I won't be doing my rear window for a long time...just need to see how Corey 's (slacker) rear seal material works out...

No way you get ever do that with plexiglass

[idayota]

wow, that's impressive. how well does it hold a bend with a little bit of heat?

[ocdropzone]

Originally Posted by idayota

wow, that's impressive. how well does it hold a bend with a little bit of heat?

I think that it must hold the bend pretty good, according to the website for makrolon: http://www.makrolon.com/BMS/DB-RSC/M...nsf/id/home_en --they make headlights and other stuff out of it...

Guess I will see if I still have the scrap and try the heat gun on it or sneak into the oven this weekend to see what happens..

[ocdropzone]

I was having some problems finding some rubber seal material for the back hatch. Junkyard van stuff just wasn't sealing at all. Running around with a stack of towels in the back to soak up water was getting old.
Skacker (Corey) as many folks knows has been doing a lot to help find parts for Trekkers. He hooked me up with some stuff that he found:

He shipped right away, even coming from Canada it only took a few days to get down here! talk about awesome service
Old material on the Left, new material on the right:

Old crap just did not cut it, new stuff forms to the corners awesome. Guess I did not realize how checked my top was till I took these pictures...not too worried though since it is a trail truck.
OLD at the corner:

New at the corner:

Used a rubber mallet and a set of these to cut the seal with, works really well since the strip has got some metal clips built in to hold it on:

Material cut just right and matched up like it came from Winnebago (probably better )

Included in the order was a few stickers so decided to baptize my new rear window with this, probably good for a couple of horsepower :


I can't say enough about the Slacker's customer service and the quality of the material he found..Definately considering some of his first Gen fenders down the road...

[waskillywabbit]

Looking good Robb.

[ocdropzone]

Originally Posted by waskillywabbit

Looking good Robb.

Thanks Brian!