83Toyota88's 1983 Pickup Build-Up Thread
03-30-2012, 09:04 PM
#1
83Toyota88's 1983 Pickup Build-Up Thread
Well I am finally making a thread for my truck done a lot of work now its hard to keep up with the changes.
First I will start with some pictures of the truck when I got it from my grandfather. He was the original owner of the truck (I still have the original documents for the truck I posted in a separate thread) and supposedly the motor has been rebuilt once but no idea when. The odometer says 103999 but is stuck there so not sure how many miles are actually on the truck. Kinda think him and my uncle built the bumpers for the truck also. Had a warn 8274 in the beginning also.
First I will start with some pictures of the truck when I got it from my grandfather. He was the original owner of the truck (I still have the original documents for the truck I posted in a separate thread) and supposedly the motor has been rebuilt once but no idea when. The odometer says 103999 but is stuck there so not sure how many miles are actually on the truck. Kinda think him and my uncle built the bumpers for the truck also. Had a warn 8274 in the beginning also.
03-30-2012, 09:36 PM
#2
First thing I did when I got it was change the oil, spark plugs, fuel filter, belts, air filter, and give it a good bath inside and out. Cleaned up pretty good. Next I installed my cb radio I had in my other truck so I could talk with my friends while we ride around. Its a Cobra 18 WX ST II. Just recently had to re-solder the leads on the plug for the mic into the radio. They wires had stretched really bad and one was actually broken. In the past few weeks I also got new headlights (best purchase IMO so far I can actually see where I'm going now lol) and put on a new radio antenna as mine was broke off.
And got a set of 33x12.50R15 BFG's from Walmart for $680! I went there to buy a set of the 31" Wrangler Authoritys and they only had 3 of them but a mechanic said someone had custom ordered 33" BFG's but never came to pick them up and he was tired of them taking up space in the shop so they sold them to me at a discount. I did have some old metal studded snow tires which are illegal in the county I live in.
Next thing I did was test the old warn winch. I did not get a remote for it and considered wiring up a switch control in the cab but ended up selling it for $250 (it needed to be rebuilt I didn't want to mess with it) and buying a new smittybilt xrc-8 for $300. So $50 for a new winch. Not to shabby.
After the warn was gone I cut the top tube off of the front bumper to remove some weight and I personally think it looks better with out it.
Next I painted it black as well as the rear bumper with some black duplicolor wheel paint in a spray can I had laying around I never used and put on the fairlead for the winch. Looks pretty good to me!
And finally today I got the rest of the winch put on. I thought I was gonna have to weld new mounts for the winch as the warn was a front mount and not bottom mounted. But turns out the holes lined up for the new winch so I side mounted it like the warn was. Caught a lucky break on that! The only mod I had to do was to relocate the socket for the remote control. If the winch had been mounted like usual the socket would be on top but since its side mounted it made it not accessible so I moved to the side of the control box which in turn made it facing up for easy access. I still need to buy a filler plug for the other hole though.
And got a set of 33x12.50R15 BFG's from Walmart for $680! I went there to buy a set of the 31" Wrangler Authoritys and they only had 3 of them but a mechanic said someone had custom ordered 33" BFG's but never came to pick them up and he was tired of them taking up space in the shop so they sold them to me at a discount. I did have some old metal studded snow tires which are illegal in the county I live in.
Next thing I did was test the old warn winch. I did not get a remote for it and considered wiring up a switch control in the cab but ended up selling it for $250 (it needed to be rebuilt I didn't want to mess with it) and buying a new smittybilt xrc-8 for $300. So $50 for a new winch. Not to shabby.
After the warn was gone I cut the top tube off of the front bumper to remove some weight and I personally think it looks better with out it.
Next I painted it black as well as the rear bumper with some black duplicolor wheel paint in a spray can I had laying around I never used and put on the fairlead for the winch. Looks pretty good to me!
And finally today I got the rest of the winch put on. I thought I was gonna have to weld new mounts for the winch as the warn was a front mount and not bottom mounted. But turns out the holes lined up for the new winch so I side mounted it like the warn was. Caught a lucky break on that! The only mod I had to do was to relocate the socket for the remote control. If the winch had been mounted like usual the socket would be on top but since its side mounted it made it not accessible so I moved to the side of the control box which in turn made it facing up for easy access. I still need to buy a filler plug for the other hole though.
03-30-2012, 09:50 PM
#3
I did have a leak on the rear output of my transfer case but replaced the seal with one from Marlin Crawler and fixed that right up. Think my case maybe had half the oil in it was supposed to due to the leak. This also fixed my other problem of my transfer case not wanting to come out of 4WD. It would go in fine but coming out took a lot of massaging and time. Now it changes no problem.
Next big thing was putting on my 3" Ruff Country suspension lift I ordered. It came with all new leaf springs and shocks. Wish I had not gotten the shocks and gotten different ones. It rides very bumpy now but I have more clearance for my 33's and the old suspension was completely worn out after 29 years. It was a bit of a pain to put on due to rust but thats to be expected. I had never done anything like this but its all nuts and bolts so its pretty easy.
Biggest problem was the pins that hold in the front of the leaf springs. I had to cut 3 of them off and one actually came out pretty easy. I called the local Toyota dealer to order new ones but they cannot get them anymore but Autozone ended up having them for $16 a piece. Also got new hangers for the rear springs for $30 a piece also at Autozone. They dont carry the front hangers. Finally got all the lift on and here is a before picture and some install pictures and an after picture.
Next big thing was putting on my 3" Ruff Country suspension lift I ordered. It came with all new leaf springs and shocks. Wish I had not gotten the shocks and gotten different ones. It rides very bumpy now but I have more clearance for my 33's and the old suspension was completely worn out after 29 years. It was a bit of a pain to put on due to rust but thats to be expected. I had never done anything like this but its all nuts and bolts so its pretty easy.
Biggest problem was the pins that hold in the front of the leaf springs. I had to cut 3 of them off and one actually came out pretty easy. I called the local Toyota dealer to order new ones but they cannot get them anymore but Autozone ended up having them for $16 a piece. Also got new hangers for the rear springs for $30 a piece also at Autozone. They dont carry the front hangers. Finally got all the lift on and here is a before picture and some install pictures and an after picture.
03-30-2012, 09:54 PM
#4
I still have some more I want to do. I want to put in 4.88 gears for the 33's and some electronic lockers as well. Also need new front fenders which I can get new for around $90 a piece and the truck bed need to be replaced or a LOT of work. Oh I have two 100 watt off road lights to put on the front also so may look into a bigger alternator to support them and the winch. Also looking into turning my rear tube bumper into an air compressor tank.
03-31-2012, 05:12 AM
#7
I had been wondering about that. They do actually angle a little bit the other way now. I'm pretty sure what you called "invert" happened after I set the rear of the truck done when the rear lift was done. I had to raise it back up to get it to get back to where it is now.
Trending Topics
03-31-2012, 07:16 AM
#8
Registered User
That's coming along great! Love 1st gens.
It's very cool that your grandfather bought it new!
You did a good job on that front bumper, looks almost brand new.
Those stock rims are badass by the way, I'm kinda jealous..
I'm thinking you should to treat that frame pretty soon.. lots of wire-brushing and some POR15 and it'll last a while.
Looking forward to updates.
It's very cool that your grandfather bought it new!
You did a good job on that front bumper, looks almost brand new.
Those stock rims are badass by the way, I'm kinda jealous..
I'm thinking you should to treat that frame pretty soon.. lots of wire-brushing and some POR15 and it'll last a while.
Looking forward to updates.
Last edited by Crimson Yota; 03-31-2012 at 07:18 AM.
03-31-2012, 08:09 AM
#9
Registered User
Dude you gotta fix that shackle angle ASAP. You truck will ride so much nicer , and actually have working shackle movement. Bumper and winch look great. Where did you pick up that winch ?
03-31-2012, 09:03 AM
#12
Registered User
Changing the shackle plate length isn't gonna fix the angle as much as you need. Those springs are shorter in length eye to eye due to the more arch they have , which brings your shackle angle inward. If your happy with those springs cheapest and easiest way to set your shackle angle is to cut shackle hangers off the frame and move it forward . In your case Probly 2 or more inches. It helps to have a degree indicator . I got mine from harbor freight for 3$ . This will help you figure out how far to move the hanger up so that both side shackle angles will be the same. I would go atleast 15* the more * the softer the ride and better flex. Too much can be bad too, bouncy / and with a load in the bed angles will increase. I set mine at 35* with 3-4 hundred pounds in the back ( camping / hunting) the sag to 45* which is perfect in my application cause I'm running 1/2 Chevy springs in rear. Here's a pic to help under stand angle and how to use a indicator to set them .It's magnetic sits on shackle plate and tells you the degree of angle. Put it on both sides to set the angle evenlamanda re weld shackle hanger to frame.
Last edited by 775Toy; 03-31-2012 at 09:06 AM.
03-31-2012, 10:16 AM
#13
That's coming along great! Love 1st gens.
It's very cool that your grandfather bought it new!
You did a good job on that front bumper, looks almost brand new.
Those stock rims are badass by the way, I'm kinda jealous..
I'm thinking you should to treat that frame pretty soon.. lots of wire-brushing and some POR15 and it'll last a while.
Looking forward to updates.
It's very cool that your grandfather bought it new!
You did a good job on that front bumper, looks almost brand new.
Those stock rims are badass by the way, I'm kinda jealous..
I'm thinking you should to treat that frame pretty soon.. lots of wire-brushing and some POR15 and it'll last a while.
Looking forward to updates.
As far as the frame its not as bad as the pics make it look. Its mostly surface rust not any holes/rotting in the frame but I plan to address this issue in the summer or fall when I get new front fenders and work on the bed. Was considering using POR15.
03-31-2012, 10:20 AM
#14
It was very easy to install.
03-31-2012, 10:27 AM
#15
Here are a few more pics. I installed a couple of 100 watt off road lights this morning ( mount only no wiring) but I think Im going to move them. Im gonna get my friend to weld some brackets on both sides of the bumper (the plates on each side of the winch that protects it on the sides) so they sit back some. Not to crazy about them being that close and so far up front.
Here is shot of the cab since it was cleaned. I relocated the tach and hooked up. It wasn't hooked up when I got it and had to solder the leads coming out of the back of it. Also can see my cb radio.
Here is a shot of under the hood.
Here is shot of the cab since it was cleaned. I relocated the tach and hooked up. It wasn't hooked up when I got it and had to solder the leads coming out of the back of it. Also can see my cb radio.
Here is a shot of under the hood.
03-31-2012, 04:13 PM
#16
Registered User
Great deal on the winch ! How many pounds ? Lights also look great ! I'm gonna look into a cb I stall when my truck is ready for the hills. I don't know much about them or never installed one or used one lol . But I have been looking at a small cobra. I like the size of it, gonna mount it below cd player. Are the smaller Cb' s as good as the larger ones ?
Last edited by 775Toy; 03-31-2012 at 04:15 PM.
03-31-2012, 04:37 PM
#17
Great deal on the winch ! How many pounds ? Lights also look great ! I'm gonna look into a cb I stall when my truck is ready for the hills. I don't know much about them or never installed one or used one lol . But I have been looking at a small cobra. I like the size of it, gonna mount it below cd player. Are the smaller Cb' s as good as the larger ones ?
The fun part is tuning your antenna if you buy a tunable one. If your just starting off I would recommend a 4' firestick that is tunable/adjustable. The tip should have a small metal piece that is held in by an allen screw. You loosen the allen screw to move the metal tip up or down to change the wavelength. But to do a tunable antenna you need the tuner lol. So you may just want to get a firestick that not adjustable unless you want to buy a tuner as well. Also do not be cheap when buying the cable to connect the cb to the antenna. Get the thickest one you can find, stay away from skinny cables. I just bought me a new cable from a truck stop but cant remember the brand. Think it was K40? If you do decide to get a tuner and a tunable antenna pm me and I can help you figure that out if you need it.
03-31-2012, 07:39 PM
#18
Registered User
Haha I though I could just wire it up , mount an antenna go lol. Didn't know about tuning and such. I want to keep it simple as possible . Just gonna use it for wheeling trips and such. The cobra 19 ultra or dx iv is more than likely the unit I will purchase. Can you reccomend a antenna for that that is simple set up?
04-02-2012, 04:43 PM
#20
Ok I got my new pro comp drag link on today. I got everything lined up on it and adjusted and tightened it up only notice when it tightened up it pulled on the pitman arm a little and made the steering wheel crooked again 
so I took it loose again and accounted for that and now its tight and the steering wheel is straight. Only thing im worried about is that the clamp on the front end might touch the frame, around the where the pitman arm connects, if the front left tire was ever flexed up into the fender well and turned to the left a lot. Might have to adjust on that some more.
so I took it loose again and accounted for that and now its tight and the steering wheel is straight. Only thing im worried about is that the clamp on the front end might touch the frame, around the where the pitman arm connects, if the front left tire was ever flexed up into the fender well and turned to the left a lot. Might have to adjust on that some more.
