dlbrunner

Nice work!

Ever think about a career in a chop shop?

drew303

lol, thanks...

drew303

Ok heres the last update... since i didnt post on the last 2 days of the swap since I was to freakn tired at the end of the night to care LOL

this consolidates day 3 and day 4 and day 5

The whole process was pretty much completed in 4 days. I finished wednesday night at 12am. I did some alignment adjustments the following night.

and infact im not taking this truck in to get aligned. After driveway aligning this truck for 2 1/2 yrs and seeing how the tires have worn over 30k miles I'm not to concerned with my ability to align the truck. Tires are at 0 camber and perfect toe and no abnormal wear and it drives straight im not concerned =)

Ok onto the last of the photos:

We got the new chassis ASSEMBLED completely on day 3 ... I had the help of my brother and a good friend and we got the body and engine back in on day 3 ... The engine was just sitting in with the nuts in place and a jack on the oil pan to help support it. The cab and bed were just chillin with the mounts in.. ... that was enough for day 3 ...

heres the new chassis assembled (that was A LOT OF WORK)



backing up... I had to cut the driver side front differential mount off the OLD chassis and WELD it onto the new one.. For some rediculous unknown reason this mount was cut off the new frame then half assidly welded back onto... so crappy a weld I broke that mount off with my hand the day we got the donor frame to my house last winter...

So I carefully cut the mount off my old frame and then welded it in place on the new one... I couldnt believe how well it lined up when we installed the differential.. Luck i think played a roll =P



I must say the new frame looked real sexy once it was assembled. People driving by habitually slowed down to take a better look at this whole project on day 3... neighbors started to get curious finally and stopped by to chit chat. heh

*Any hardcore yoter's notice the front axle on the side of shed in the background? huh huh? ha, i see your not hardcore enough to notice those details =P .... I swear that axle was cussing at me, it was very gealous it wasnt being swapped in this week! hehe


I tell ya what isnt sexy... Stock 6 spoke wheels on some tiny road tires up front and 31 mudrovers out back!






ok ok ok .. There are some minor details on this swap that most likely only I'll notice but when you're getting free help and under the pressure to complete it all in 4 days you just deal with some things =)

For example shackle bolts going opposite directions:


I mean we got one side in, my helpers did and we went to get the other shackle hooked up and i noticed this crossup... i mean... i really dont care. LOL its only asthetics.. .right? LMAO .... to funny ... definetly not worth the hassle of fixing =p



DAY 4

ok i was alone on the LAST day... I had the task of getting the transmission back in, drivelines back in .. motor mounted properly and hooked up and all the other minor stuff you all take for granted =p...

I started at 11am and only had a couple food breaks until i wrapped up around 1215am ( Thats 13 hours and 15 minutes later) and drove it to jack n the box for some dinner!!!

Now this was the 4th time I've put this transmission back into this truck BY MYSELF .... The three previous times were with a standard SMALL floor jack (a real sh|ttty one that you have to unscrew the screw to lower.. just crappy) ... This time i had a HUGE 4ton floor jack that i borrowed from a friend with a FAT head on it! Its only drawback was its enormous size and weight.. This is a HUGE floorjack!!!!




see i told you its a huge jack... And the huge handle on it made it impossible to really manuever below the truck.

After 3 or 4 hours of fighting this I ended up using two jacks and the cherry picker!




skipping to day 5 here she is, completed.. Probably wash and wax 'er sunday... with a shiny black frame and everything else shiny new it'll look like a bran new truck..something you dont see to often when you come across a 21 year old truck =)



This truck is one month older than I am!

Plan is to chop this frame up Monday and haul it respectively by this Toyota to the recylcer... Like a final pay of respect to the 21 years of service that frame offered hehe... I guess its sentimental! :

*I am not in any of the photos posted.. unfortuanetly im the only one who cared to take pictures!*

I'll post a glamour shot soon as I get this beast washed n wax'd =)

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

Nice write up. I can understand being tired at the end of a project such as this. Definitely something to be proud of. Might consider a front end alignment just to make sure it tracks correctly.
Congrats on a job well done!

the_gunslinger

congrats, bro.

I couldn't help but notice your missing an LS1 (or 2)...

drew303

help my tired mind a bit? LS?

the_gunslinger

just a suggestion for such a build...

http://www.gmhightechperformance.com...ure/index.html

drew303

LMAO!!!!

hahaha.. yea man no crap. that would rock


But overall the shifting gain and new smoothness (even if its only mental) of the new exhaust "sound" is enough to satisify this weary yota owner! =)

no plans in this lifetime to depart with this truck, and thats in all seriousness. It's sad to look back on the vehicles my parents owned and sold and how much those impalas, vets and camaro's would be worth today not to mention HOW COOL THEY'D be today if they hadnt gotten rid of them!


but really.. I have the know-how to fix anything on this rig.. why get rid of something your 110% happy with as a daily driver for something 300x more complicated that gives you NOTHING more in return? I'm a down to earth kinda guy. I stain every clothe I own with dirt and grease, i would be out of place in a leather ridden SUV!!!

bottom line, this truck will see a SAS, dual cases, Air conditioning and a toyota V8 swap in its future. Everything, regardless of price I've promised on this rig has happened i am a man of my word =) and i have 60+ years to accomplish it all =D

drew303

and to conclude this wonderful story

Heres the sentimental moment of yotatechs week. The yoter carrying its old bones to the recycler!

straightaxle

I just bought a 92 4x4..the frame where the control arms go is completely rusted...i have a 85 straight axle i bought new, it has been a tough truck and was built in japan..they say the straightaxles are better....i was wondering if this could be done fairly easy...these are both regular cabs..the only thing is that i am missing the doors for the 92 model, i can try and find some of them cheap....was wondering if can be done, the problems i will run into , and is it worth it.....my 85 has serious rust issues but run and operates like a champ....around the windshield i have black urathaned it to stop the leaks that i have around the windshield.... if it can not be done waht about the bed....i hate to part with this truck, i have a new chevy hd2500 duramax and rather drive my 85 beater.....any input will help out alot....i pretty much know these trucks ....but is this worth it......trying to save my truck.....the 92 i sold the engine it only had 67k on it ...what i have been seeing is that the 22r carb last longer than the 22re fuel injected.......someone said that i could take the 85 axle and weld it in the 92...sounds like alot of trouble to me....what would you pros do in this case.....hope you can encourage me to do the correct thing......please email me back.....also can email me at blown@comcast.net....thanks jeff

gilby4runner

you have one of my favorite trucks on the board. It is exactly like the one i had years ago...great work and nice truck

just a 22re

ok i have a real dumb question for you i have the same trany and trasfer but what is that disk brake on the way back of the trasfercase??? is that like a newer parking brake??? how much and is it easy to do cause i need a parking brake and that looks cool!!

jagger_snitt

All pro makes a disc brake assembly like that. I bought it and it does great.
It is a parking brake on the driveshaft. I believe that front range offroad has one as well. Not sure which one the above is.
Hope this helps.

just a 22re

yes that does thanks im so going and getting one and installing it on my rig

isaac338

sounds like a waste of money if you don't have rear discs...

bigtrucknwheels

nice chassis swap. If I can't get my truck to ever stop its shimmy, thats what Ill do, seeing as you did it in 5 days time. I'd give myself a month or so, and do my 5 speed swap, SR5 swap, and resto whatever little bit of my truck needs to be done.

Great work, and nice pics. Sweet truck too.

drew303

Heh, well thanks for bringing this back to life =)

That parking brake, better called a Driveline brake or a rear-transfer case parking brake is only neccessary if you do a DISC BRAKE conversion on the rear axle otherwise it isnt neccessary or even a positive upgrade to the stock parking brake. Without a rear locker your differential can till rotate if the driveline is locked in place which makes this not a very wise upgrade on stock rigs..... just.. ya save your $ lol

FYI mine is made by Sky Offroad

http://www.sky-manufacturing.com/

As are the rear-disc brackets and brake lines (NOT DOT Approved btw)

Thanks for the comments everyone, Im so happy w/ how the rig turned out! It was NIGHT N DAY from before n after in on-road driving and off-road. It was worth every dime, sweat and blood spill.

WatsonToyota

Great job! I basically gotta do the same thing but am giving myself a much longer time schedule, a good summer drinking project for me and the boys! Lol! will definitely be checking this thread for advice. Thanks in advance.

85gijunk4x4

i have to swap my frame this due to the old one cracking and rotting away. on a scaleof 1 to 10 how hard do you think it was?

drew303

I'd put it at a 5/10... but this can easily become a full blown 10. It's impossible to say really how hard it will be for you vs how hard it was for me. Experience, knowing the ins and outs of the truck and what to expect play a big roll in how smooth it goes.

I did this in 4 days flat. I planned it out took the time off work and had peopled lined up to help me where i needed help. So it went smooth as silk.

You might encounter rusted siezed bolts or brake lines that you find need replacing or a gas line or whatever. So it could be longer. I had the new frame ready to rock n roll and my truck had already been pretty much refurbished in the years prior by myself so no siezed bolt issues since every bolt had been taken off before hand at one time or another.

Just give yourself lots of time and patience and have resources lined up for things like removing the cab and bed etc.


goodluck