Hurley

Well ladies and gents,

I'm fairly new to the Toyota off road scene but have been lurking for quite some time here, finally registered a little while ago, and the chips fell into place and I picked up a 1982 Toyota Trailblazer. Don't know what it is? It's OK. I didn't either a month or two ago. But in the early 80's there were a couple of companies that decided Toyota Pick Ups were too sweet to be left alone. The most popular conversion (most know about) is the Trekker done by Winnebago. The Trailblazer is kind of a later cousin of that rig done by a company called Griffith. You can check out a brochure at the following link for a 1983 Trailblazer. Pretty cool.

http://www.ernestflores.net/hilux/

Also, some cool info on other conversions here: http://toyotatrekker.proboards.com/index.cgi

If anyone knows anything about the Griffith company feel free to chime in. So far all I can deduce is that they were based in Jacksonville, FL and the only other popular conversion they made were called Sunchasers out of the Celica. Not my flavor but apparently they did very well. Anyways, enough with the history lesson, here's my new project:

I just picked it up about two weeks ago and have been trying to figure out a ridiculous charging issue. New battery, battery terminals and leads, voltage regulator, alternator tests fine, starter is fine, connections are all great. Can't find anything that would be a huge drain. So after many an hour feeling like an idiot, I enlisted the help of ACC Toyota (it also helps that they're like 3 minutes from my house )

Hopes and dreams:

-New/Rebuilt 22R- this one has 214k on it and smokes like a banshee, have yet to do a compression test on it, but I'm going to assume the rings are a little neglected and in need of some loving.
-It's got a Weber on it, but it runs SUPER rich- doesn't help with the smoking issue. And has all sorts of funky little quirks to it-including but not limited to crappy cold starts, random idling issues, and a sweet sucking sound when its given gas. I might just go back to a rebuilt stock Aisin.
-Rebuild the front end hub to hub. Slightly leaky right now and in need of some attention and an alignment.
-Carpet the front/rear section
-Reupholster the front drivers seat. It's seen 30 years of ass ruining its fine support with beer farts and who knows what else, and I hate leaning to the left in the seat. Overall they're pretty comfy though. Backseat is totally nap-able. Tried it out already.
-It's got 33's on it with plenty of life left, but can't decide if I want to run 31's on it for a slightly lighter pump hit.
-Recharge/test for leaks on A/C. That's right it's got A/C.
-Get the auxiliary lights up top back on. Came with lights from the factory, but they're long gone. Mounts are still there though!

Pictures! These are of day one/cleaning day before the cleaning. So, the things got some grimy stuff all over it from being under a tree. Cleaned all that off. In the process of removing the Mossy Oak window tints on the rear. The Mossy Oak seat covers left first thing too. The camo door cards are another thing to address... along with the camo center console kind of just hacked in there. Basically the whole interior needs love ha... Paint is great though! Save for a rusty spot on the roof and a couple of little spots here and there...






















Thoughts, comments, snide remarks all welcome

dirtdobberoffroad

I say keep the 33"s looks like a fun build..

MaK92-4RnR

I say keep 33s and just regear...

Take care of that ol' girl. She's a beauty! Always fun seeing the pre-4runners! You definitely got a killer deal on it.

If you're looking to get better gas mileage... gears, and a weber carb are the way to go. and keep it light on the skinny pedal. also, a header should open that thing up and should fit nicely with that weber carb.

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

As a Trekker guy I look forward to seeing your progress.
I see a Celica Sunchaser around my area every now and than. They look better in person .

dsal_86Yota

Great find. Love those rigs. The door panels look good. On the 33s I'd stay with and regear axles since you plan to rebuild them.

83crawler

dont go weber! keep stock carb i hate webers

slacker

iTrader: (1)

looks like a nice trailblazer .. glad to see your not cuttin' it up
I look forward to your progress



.

Hurley

Alrighty. Mini update, "been a busy boy 'aven't we Turkish?"

Mossy Oak rear window tint is gone, thanks to a glass scraper and some well deserved time off. Cleaned all the windows and RainX'd the whole truck. With new wipers it's a dream in the rain ha.

Charging issue turned out to be a bad alternator. Go figure- still tested good but wasn't charging. Went with a 60 amp internally regulated alternator. Simplified the whole system (thanks ACC!)

Just got off the phone with Sunwest Auto out of Washington and should have a reman'd 22R with an RV cam coming next week!

Looking for a stock Aisin carb, if anyone has a complete one they'll let me have on the cheap, I'd surely appreciate it! I'm going to rebuild the donor whenever I do find one and get rid of the Weber.

Pics later today...

Hurley

Pics from the tint removal. Not the greatest, but you get the idea.

Also, went with an RV cam and springs in my 22R, shipping tomorrow from Sunwest Automotive in Washington.

Currently amassing parts, and so far all I think I need are:
1. Engine- Remanufactured 22R from Sunwest Automotive, upgraded to steel rub rails.
2. Stock Aisin carb- got a Weber, but looking for stock.
3. New clutch/pp/flywheel. Probably just resurface the flywheel I've got, and go with a stock Exedy replacement-not putting down gobs of power here.
4. Water pump
5. Belts/Hoses/Fluids, factoring about $250 for all.

Thoughts?

Pics:

B-yodaful

That looks way better with our that stupid tint. Good luck on that build looking forward watching this one.

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

Looks much better.
I think you are on the right track for the engine stuff.
I would include d/s u joints and mAybe rebuild the front End with v6 caliper, FJ rotors, new knuckle kit/bearings etc.

Diablo22RE

Glad to see you started a build thread for the rig. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

Hurley

Swap day.

dirtdobberoffroad

that means we are swaping truck right?


Nice.

rattlewagon

COOL PROJECT!

Glad to see its in good hands

Torpedo

That things gonna be awesome. i love those old Toyota conversion trucks.

dsal_86Yota

Any new progress???

Hurley

Old motor is out, new motor is on the hoist with new clutch and PP, got my flywheel resurfaced, and I've got all my parts back from the hot tank, I just need to get everything else cleaned and put back on the new motor. Catch is I'm working two jobs and trying to get it done after work :/ I'm also doing this at a buddies place and sleeping on the couch. Lolz. Oooh the swap woes.

Also the only thing holding me up today (its a different problem every day ha) is a bolt sheared off on the t-stat housing on the intake manifold. FML. I'll post pics when I get things together.

Diablo22RE

Sound's like you're having fun.

Hurley

Okey dokey. Been about two weeks since I've been able to work on the truck. But everything is back together and ready to go except...

1. My poor throttle cable broke after thirty years of service and it's turning into an enormous itchbay to find one. Weird. Toyota discontinued the cable. And apparently the only one I seem to be able to find that seems it will fit is special order and on top of that is back ordered. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm all ears.

2. I rebuilt a factory carb and don't have the throttle linkage. Also proving to be next to impossible to find. Also looking for a helping hand.

3. The three sensors on the intake manifold are toast. Basically crumbled in my hands putting them back in. Don't know how they all worked on the old motor, but if you happen to know where I can source these, I'm ready to give you money.

Other than that everything is jam up ready to go!