1st88yota

ok well i've been searching around on here for a while now. found ALOT of helpful stuff and also alot of stuff that has changed my mind on what i want to do to this truck. i'm 16 years old,and just purchased a 1988 ext cab 4x4 v6 toyota truck with 240000 miles on it. i am certified in mig and arc welding and have a full welding fabricating shop on my hands to build anything i want. my original plans were to build a rear bumper and a front bumper out of square tubing, but after looking around a bit i've decided on building out of round tubing a front bumper, rear bumper and rock sliders for under the doors. also i only planed on putting a 2 inch body lift and 31's on it but now i have been looking into maybe doing a front axle swap and lifitng it 5 inches with 35's or 36's ?? i am new to this stuff so please give your opinion on how hard this may be or what a better idea may be. i love offroading. my family owns 1300 acres we farm so when winter rolls around i can ride allt he trails and such. if anyone has any pics of homemade front/rear bumpers or bumpers that arnt hard to copy please post them.

thanks

drew303

Well, I like your ambition =) My best advice is don't try to tackle it all at once for a few reasons. It's not cheap and do it right the first time =)

Determine your goals for the truck. Do you want it as a Daily Driver? Something you can cruise on the highway long distances or something purely offroad?

There are tons of ways you can solid axle swap these rigs and a lot of people will argue the best way. I don't half ass anything anymore, it's always come back to bite me in the butt so I just save up the cash to do it right the first time or go without.

check out www.allprooffroad.com www.marlincrawler.com www.trail-gear.com for SAS kits, all good ones.

and 5" lifts is excessive, might consider 3" with 33's for practicality, but a million people will argue otherwise. But I think it's safe to say everyone will agree low and stable is best.

and you're gonna need to think about rebuilding that v6 sooner than you probably want to. 240k on that motor is A LOT. =) Also, rear axle rebuild, brake upgrades, front wheel bearings... the fix it list goes on and on with these old trucks.

It's not uncommon or above average or excessive to say most people easily dump 10k$ into their rigs. This stuff aint cheap, it adds up stupidly fast. I've dumped about $1500 i think into mine this year. And thats just maintnence, new head/cam engine stuff, other crap. about 2 grand in the rear axle alone.

bottom line have fun and be safe! =)

muddpigg

iTrader: (1)

What kinda funds you got for the project. Cash is usually the limiting factor on what can be done to these trucks.

Search: tires and gears, traction devices, pirate4x4 faqs has a full post on different fr bumpers. Learn to search has simply posting questions you'll get loads of opinions and personal perferences but its your rig and your money you need to build it to your needs/desires. Sounds like your on the right foot.

Welcome to YT

toyota4x4907

How about a compromise, Drew303. 4" with 34" tires
I agree, an SAS is not for me. To be honest, I like the look of IFS better
You don't even have to lift it to fit 31's. You don't even have to regear it to run 31's. Is your rig an automatic or a manual? At least you aren't like " OH dude, I wanna lift it lyke 20 inches and get 56" tires under there. isthat possible?!?! dude man!" IT sounds like you'll have fun, and I'm sure with that welding experience you will be able to SAS if you choose to. Good luck...and get pics!!!!!!!! Welcome to YotaTech

1st88yota

thanks guys. yea i am rebuilding the v6 motor as i speak. or type haha. so the motor is taken care of. also its a a 5spd so no automatic. i really just wanted the solid axle swap just because anything could do better than the ifs if u ask me and it looks better haha.has anybody thought of making skid plates? i mean i dont see why i couldnt but i just thought i could use some of them also.