Crawlerado

Bought this from a gal after I totaled out my Acura. I didn't ask her much about it, just agreed on the price ($2500) and knew that if Jeremy Clarkson couldn't kill a Yota they must be worth a !

Went to pick it up and noticed first that it was a nice silver, second that it was a 4x4! Third that little badge on the pillar (EFI!), and fourth that it had working AC. Talk about a steal. I was thrilled. It's really clean on the inside:



One of the 29" tires was really low, it hadn't been driven in over 6 months and was damn near out of gas, but I was in love. First thing was to fix the flat, then it got plugs, wires, FF, AF, cap, rotor, alll fluids changed and a lube. Oh and it needed front brakes pretty bad. After that I just drove it for a while. I eventually put the lights on the roll bar/light bar it came with:



Here's it's first trip to Storm Mountain, this is mostly stock:




Tried to do Moody Hill right after I got the truck and it wasn't having it. With the worn out torsion bars, no lift in the back, no power, and 29"s it wasn't making it. I was bummed out! So I found a set of 31x10.5-15 BFG All Terrains, I got three for $75 and had to buy one new. What a change! So I set out to level the truck and maybe give it a bit of a lift. Torsioned up the front the most YT members recommended, and threw on some some cheap lift shackles for the rear, also replaced all 4 shocks with Skyjacker 0-2" lifts while I was at it. I also took the stock front bump stops and cut them all in half. While the IFS with the uber-preloaded torsion bars doesn't allow for much flex, the bump stops help give me all I can use:



After that I went looking for some power. Did a cheap air filter mod, bought an eBay header (had to modify it a bunch to get it to work!), then made my own header back exhaust, with only one bend in it and a turn down:





Since then I've been wheeling it as much as time allows, took it to the dunes at Walden and buried it to the frame too, that place is rough on vehicles!




Just put some black offset steels on it on Tuesday, so far I like the way it looks and rides, we'll see if it wheels any better once the trails open:




For now it sits as it is, the wife wants me to focus on the Commander for a while. Plans for the Yota include a AOR front bumper, rock rails, and a truggy kit. Then 33"s and eventually a SAS.

Crawlerado

Got some more work done this week. Sold the roll bar to a fella, makes the truck look very different:



Also started on the front bumper mount reinforcement in preparation for my tax return present, a new front bumper from AOR and some rock rails! Finally!

Here's a little write up on today's project:

Started with some quick measurements and a trip to Colorado Iron and Metal. They were able to hook me up with 10" of 2.5" 'C' Channel, and they even broke me off a piece of 3/16" plate in the EXACT dimensions I needed it in (27-1/8" x 2-3/8"). And the grand total? Less than $13! I can't say enough good things about that shop, thank guys!

So, here is the metal:


Here is the plate just mocked up, NO GRINDING and it fit this well!


You can see the horrible factory welds, at first I thought my truck had been wrecked and a new support put on, but there is no other evidence of any damage, just some nasty factory welds that will need to be cleaned up:



I had to use a die grinder with a steel bit on it to really get in there and flatten out the edges:


After the holes are marked and drilled, I re-mounted the plate with the stock bumper bolts, I'll need longer ones all said and done:





Finally, cut, drilled, and notched the 'C' Channel to make it fit flush with the front plate, bolted it on, all that's left is some welding, but it's cold, tomorrow is a new day:

Crawlerado

Finished up the welds and threw some paint on it real fast since it's going to snow tomorrow, overall I'm very happy with it, looks very stout and should hold up to anything the AOR bumper can put it through. I'm not thrilled with the welds underneath, for some reason I can never seem to put down a good bead while welding upside down!




Also finished my air intake yesterday, just made a quick and dirty template with some free USPS boxes and duct tape, then traced it onto the sheet metal:





Then using an air nibbler cut the sheet metal out, bent it, test fit after installing the MAF and filter adapter, no talking ish about the junky Vatozone filter, it's temporary!





All done! I only had to take about an inch off the factory tube to make it all fit, and I found enough slack in the harness to make it fit nice. Painted it and topped it off with some pinch moulding, not bad for a few bucks and an hour or so:

Crawlerado

Got my bumper from AOR a while back. Here's it prepped for paint:


Mounted after the flat black primer (which has actually just become the paint at this point...):


I moved the blinkers to where Scotty normally has them with the uber-custom zip tie mounts.

Getting 33's soon, rock rails after that. I still havent' figured out if I want to go truggy, fix my bed (yeah right!) or use the 90's bed I got from Scotty...