Hey guys, i bought this 1980 Toyota 4x4 2 months or so ago and ive been gathering parts. I had intentions of doing a 3rz swap and decided not to thinking it would cost me a fortune.

Im now swapping out the 20r with 4 speed for a 22r and marlin L52 5 speed. Aside from the engine trans swap I'll be Pulling the cab and box and Sandblasting and powdercoating all parts, OME 3" lift kit, Hysteer Kit, Rebuilding the axles, Upgrading The brakes, Original 1980 Steelies and 33" skinnies.

So heres some pics of what im starting with







My plan is leave the body as is at least for a while and maybe dig into the body rust repair and bodywork, at least when i pull the body and box off for that the frame and mechanical will be dealt with and done. The Frame is Mint from what i can see BUT the front floors were previously patched and there is a few spots in the bed

 

Right now the im having a 22r rebuilt at the shop with a mild cam, i found most of the original parts for the engine and engine bay like the air cleaner, air box, power steering pump and brackets.

All the parts have been powdercoated now, all the fasteners, hose clamps, pulleys are getting zinc plated like they were originally. I ordered an original bumper from toyota, along with windshield weatherstrip and misc parts for the motor, a hysteer kit from allpro

I'm ordering the l52hd from marlin in the next few days along with a rebuilt transfer case. So hopefully ill have the parts to do the hysteer install soon, and ill blow it apart after to powdercoat all the parts and have the axles gone through. Ive been thinking about putting in a spartan locker not sure about what tires to get yet any suggestions would be appreciated. The truck will mostly be for getting to work with my tools, going camping and everyday life. ill post soon when i have more to report, stoked to start minting everything out. -andrew

 

Can't wait to see how your truck progresses...sounds like you have a great plan!

 

ok, its almost been a year and im finally getting around to working on it. Ill post pics of the what ive done so far, and ill try my best to update as i go. Heres some pics of the truck after i pulled the motor and cleaned it up








classy

 

I am not proud how long it took me to figure out what your post title meant...anyways sick truck dude. I am always jealous of the super old pickups.

 

heres some pictures of the rebuild 22r thats replacing the 20r. ive got a marlin hd l52, aisin clutch kit, lc engineering header and the rebuilt transfer case in the shop all ready to go.

 

So After i had the truck all cleaned up i masked where the original stripes were and made a stencil to be sent off for new ones to be made. Gotta love the old stripes, at least i do ha





I also rebuilt my asco hubs, the ford blue paint wasnt quite right but itll do.

 

After that, it was into the shop to start metal work, pulled my fenders, doors, pulled the doors all apart. These doors i swear weighed like 2 lbs without all the regulators and glass, way lighter than a 57 chevy door. haha. I started metal work with the battery tray, heres a pic of "the hole"


Tracked down a rust free tray, blasted and primed it.




Butt welded it in with the mig

 

I than started digging into the floors. Ugghhh. I started digging into the passenger side through the last guys quickie
and kept digging and digging
until i found solid metal (the outer rocker. i formed a piece of the inner rocker and welded that in


a buddy of mine made a die to replicate that dimple in the mount, with his 50 ton press at work he pressed it for me into a piece of plate than i made the body mount out of it to replace the absolutely rotten one that was in the truck

plug welded back in


Than over to the drivers side now, the mount was still good but the floor was pretty toast, full of bad welding and bondo from the last guy.




after replacing the floor pans i put the dimples back in the floor pans over the body mounts


after sandblasting i gave it a coat of red oxide epoxy primer, later after my body work is done ill seam seal all my seams and paint it to match the exterior with the original red orange single stage paint.


when i sandblasted the floors, i also sandblasted any areas that had rust to get rid of it. i found lots of holes on the underside of the nose of the hood, the windshield corners, the drivers a pillar, the door jambs/rocker and the doors.



fixed up all the random bits of rust




After all that i the doors and hood, a put a coat of primer to seal up anything i had blasted. assembled all my sheet metal including my oem toyota drivers fender i scored. heres the truck before it went back into the prep bay for mudwork

 

Ok, after all my filler work was done, masked everything and gave it a few good coats of polyester primer to block out.

after blocking that out straight to 240 grit I sprayed two coats of reduced high build primer. up close the priming this time looks really nice. its really close


im going to let that sit for a week and start doing the box. When i come back to the cab itll be a quick 500 grit sand, seam seal the floor and paint. Thats it for now, If anyone has any questions feel free -andrew from BC

 

You are doing a great job on bringing this truck back into shape. Great job!!

 

maybe you should pay me a visit and help do this to my 82.

 

great job, lookin good

my 79 had the same stripes and sr5 guages

 

I'm always impressed when I see guys doing sheet metal work. Well done so far.

BTW, my oldest daughter graduated from TWU a few years ago so I've been in your town a few times.

 

Nice work!!

 

Thanks guys, im pretty stoked about getting it done for camping this year. ill be hitting up the box this week hopefully

 

Great quality work on the body, congrats!

 

Looking good. If you ever get an itch to come TN and do body work just let me know lol.

 

Very nice

 

Gonna be awesome! As many pics as possible please sir!