pfmedic

OK here it goes:

First of all thanks up front for all the info, advise and knowledge i have accrued from pointing, clicking, and reading up on this forum.

It all started in 1986 when my dad bought a white 86 4runner. It was without a doubt the most reliable vehicle we ever owned and after many stupid decisions regarding my own vehicle purchases, I got back to the basics and with the help of my good friend Jeff and his gas-sipping Prius, we drove over 850 miles round trip to buy an 87 pickup that I found hiding out in Pagosa Springs!!












The engine and interior are super clean and the outside needs some work but I have the desire to devote the energy to restore the vehicle into a reliable daily driver that will spend its nights in my garage for the rest of its life.




Up front I will say that I havent a clue what I'm doing. Im an epic noob who has scratched the surface and gotten a glimmer of what I should be doing. I have not done much yet because as the sun here makes it unbearably hot, I am having a complete a/c install done and it should be completed sometime next week. Im very happy to get started on the next leg of its journey when I install the tailgate i bought from a fellow Toyota enthusiast down the road. Im going to the junkyard to find a second swing-arm for the install tomorrow. I also found matching chrome circa 1990 ford bronco after-market mirrors on ebay because the ones I currently have are completely different from one another. The passenger side mirror is OEM and I will keep it in case I ever find another. I also located some vintage white steel rims I found through my love affair with the internet... and finally, maybe next week Im putting in the 488s I bought from NWOR to help turn the 33s it has.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

That truck is clean. Being in the southwest really helps to. Looking forward to your build. Dont worry about being a noob, alot of good people here that are willing to help. Welcome to YT.

pfmedic

Thanks! Very excited and glad to be here.

pfmedic

The tailgate was pulled off of a white 86 from down the road. Nice guy, gave me a few parts for free too.



The plan was to clean it up and do a fade from some almond-colored rustoleum spraypaint and fade it into the white.


It came out decent for the amout of cost involved.



The tailgate bolted on fine but closing was another issue... two steps forward...



but a ratchet tie down action and it fits until I can get it into the body shop after its done with the regearing.



... damn... I'm so happy right now.

Anyway... I also installed a red shift knob from sickspeed because the one that was in there had mirrored lettering that would blind me when I drove down the road. Whose idea was that?!?!



Ok thats all I got. Next up is installing the Ford Bronco mirrors i bought... but as it turns out I need to go buy a star allen wrench set to do it.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

Looks like you did a great job on the tailgate. Your picture looks like it was orginal tailgate. Wouldnt of noticed it if you hadnt mentioned it.

pfmedic

Thanks- I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

pfmedic

Today I pulled off the old mirror arms before installing the mirrors. I did this because I feared there might be rust hiding underneath. Luckily, I found that NOT to be the case. I did however discover that both mirrors were off a Ford just like the replacements I bought. I was very surprised. No big deal. However, they weren't safely installed and were slowly damaging the door. As a result, I gave the bronco mirrors to a buddy of mine and went to my go-to man for some mirrors. Turns out that DESPITE what the web says, the sporty 84 mirror will indeed fit on an 87. I bought a pair of the 1987 mirrors off my friend for a quick fix and ordered a set of 84s from Amazon becuase I think they look better. I will have the extra holes filled in when it goes in for the cosmetic work.



UPDATE: The 84 mirrors dont fit... but as far as I can tell this is not because the 87 truck is not compatible but because the aftermarket mirrors I bought where cheap... and not OEM. It MIGHT also be the angle of the screws are different on an 84-85

alex_mcnair

on the A/C install. did your truck come stock with one? or are you putting everything in?

pfmedic

It came stock, but was heavily neglected with many many missing components and had to be replaced from the ground up. My gas mileage seems to have gone down a smidgen, but it's so damned hot here there is simply no living without it.

alex_mcnair

where are you buying all the parts from?

pfmedic

I handed the truck over to a reputable shop I have used for the past 6 years. I don't know where they got the parts they used. I do know that the compressor is from Toyota.

pfmedic

Tomorrow I'm putting in a new air filter system.

alex_mcnair

thats pretty cool then. id love to get A/C in my truck, but it didnt even come stock so i'd have to get everything new..and idk how much that would run me

pfmedic

It's very expensive. I justified it by reminding myself that I'm going to keep the truck as a daily driver so some of the other fancy stuff like lockers and armor won't be needed although I would certainly want the a/c to work.

pfmedic

OK here is a brief synopsis of my K&N air filter installation, which made my truck much faster and more responsive off the line. You can PM me to find out where I got this kit if you want.

The old filter housing with top removed



In order to take the bottom of the stock housing off, there are some lines you have to remove that connect to 2 charcoal canisters. One of them you can see above directly in the airbox. The other is on the tube that extends out and dives down into the header area for some reason unbeknownst to me. I just pulled them out where they attach to the carburetor, exposing the nipple. I capped these before I was through.

I spent some time on a thread on here called "De-smogging an early 22R." It helped me figure out what lines are needed and which ones arent. You can read this awesome thread here.

Anyway, the two vacuum nipples I capped off are labeled 1 and 2 in the next picture. You can buy all caps at your local auto parts store. They are called "vacuum caps" or "vacuum plugs"



Had to buy a rubber cap/plug for the air housing at autozone shown here. Whatever this is supposed to go to... I dont have it



After insertion of the air housing plug (Note the old bolt is still in place in the middle of the carb. This has to be swapped out because its too short)



Just so you know, its a tight fit getting the hood to close after this. There may be some rubbing on your shiney housing over time. I was able to close it by abandoning the rubber gasket that surrounds the old housing where it sits on the carb. Instead, I just flush fit the adapter on there. It wasnt my first choice, but it was my only choice without shaving the hood as far as I could tell. Also, I almost forgot to mention, I bought that little red filter you see on the engine picture below to cap off the opening left when I took off the top of the old airbox. Anyway, here it is



Ok so thats pretty much it, Significant power increase in 1st through 3rd gear. Im pretty happy with how it turned out. Im going to take it with the dogs to go get ice cream and coffee now.

Have a great day everyone

pfmedic

Also would like to add that probably over the next week or so I will have some data to share regarding fuel mileage.

Terrys87

iTrader: (1)

Its looking good. Am intersted in how the filter helps with mileage. In your part of the country, AC is a must. Pretty much that way here. I need to start checking into it.

I had one coverted to the 134 and it was around $150, and had to get a new dryer and I dont remember its cost.

pfmedic

If you can get it done for under $1000, you did well.

alex_mcnair

i just have a drop in K&N in my truck and it works pretty good. but another question. i im looking to install a vacuum gauge and i know you hook it up to a hose off the intake manifold or something like that. do you think it would be the hose you labeled #2 in the picture above. i was looking around on my truck and that one seems to be the right one...just wondering?

pfmedic

I have no idea. I would check out the link I posted to the desmogging thread. The answer might be buried in there somewhere.