After a year of planning and months of searching, I finally found a relatively intact 1st gen longbed for a project of two phases. The first phase is basically a DIY Chinook camper, the second is a diesel engine swap (probably Isuzu 4JB1T). But the zeroth is just taking care of odds and ends and fixing up what I've got.

This here is an '81 base model: armstrong steering, no AC, no trip meter, no tach, ugly steeringwheel, and the outer facevents piped straight to outside with no valves (the engineering of the rest of the vehicle is as sensible as you can get, but this bit was definitely a "WTF were they thinking?"). I previously bought another '81 SR5 longbed that turned out to have a bent frame, but has a lot of useful parts. I've swapped all the relevant interior parts, including proper facevent ducting, will eventually swap the AC, but I'm going to keep the manual steering because I like simplicity and don't mind having to work my arms.

Noteworthy features of this ol' truck:
* Came with an IFS rear axle, which I was going to swap anyway. Rear driveshaft bolts are M10, so I suppose the diff is an 86+ long pinion head style, compatible with the Tacolocker I want back there.
* Came with a freshly rebuilt 20R (not a 20/22 hybrid).
* It's flat black!

Issues:
(FIXED) * 4wd works, but makes a bonking noise, once per driveshaft rotation. I took apart the whole front axle and found nothing wrong except missing thrust washers. I want to rule out that it's the front diff, since I'm swapping the T-case and front driveshaft anyway. (Turned out to be the front driveshaft).
* Pings slightly, and stumbles when getting on the throttle (pulls great once you're on, though). All emissions equipment except the cat is gone, maybe that's related? I know gas EFI and diesel mechanical injection, but not the first thing about carb tuning...
* Heater, two fan speeds, and the horn don't work.
(FIXED) * Headlights are crap. Hella E-codes and 80/100W bulbs already on the way from Amazon. Yes, I know I'll need bigger wiring and relays.
* Steering had more slop than a drunken pig farm, until I swapped my parts truck's stabilizer, and tightening down the steerbox. Now it's very much acceptable for what it is, but I might tighten it some more, maybe get a rebuilt box if I'm feeling generous with my budget. I have no plans for a lift, so no intention of high-steer or an IFS box.
(FIXED) * Driver's door seal whistles, has lots of wiggle room at the top. Doesn't look bent, but that's what I might do to make it seal tighter. The seal itself is fine, swapped from the parts truck.
(FIXED) * Mounds of semi-hard goop all over the front axle. Wiper seals, yeah?
(FIXED) * One stripped caliper mounting hole. Haven't decided if I want to swap knuckles with the parts truck or use a threaded sleeve to repair the existing one.
(FIXED, pending rain to make sure) * Windshield leaks.

My priority at this point is to determine if I need to swap the front diff, or just wait until I do the trans and driveshaft. Then I'm swapping rear springs (80-96 F150 4/1, 1655# rating), trans and case (W56, R, or Jeep AX15), both driveshafts, and painting the frame before building a camper box on the back.











I previously built a BMW wagon as a project of awesomeness rather than utility.



Two years of overutilizing it (some good pics there) made me realize the necessity of designing a vehicle to my needs, not wants and esthetics.

This here is a project of utility, and I intend to keep it for a while. I've got plenty of other junk around here in "beater" status.

 

if you dont mind me asking what did you pay for this rig? she looks fairly clean minus some dents and dings, love the first gen but im more of a square headlight guy, should be intresting!

 

I wonder if your bonking noise could be the rear axle swap and having different axle gear ratios. if it's an 81, then it's got 3.90, not sure about the rear axle swap.

Horn could just be the fact that it's not connecting underneath your steering wheel. Get a couple washers, or one if its thick, and put it in between the horn connector and the metal piece(you'll know what I'm talking about when you look at it). I still have to do this.

 

I paid 1800, with the assumption that the knocking sound was due to a hub that wouldn't lock. My thinking was that if I could drive it home + frame was straight + not too rusty = sold; the rest was details. It met those criteria and came with a couple of bonuses, so I'm happy.

I drove it about half a mile down a straight paved road, in the dry, in 4hi. There's no chirping or problems other than the bonk, so the gear ratios are not mismatched (having said that, I am wondering now where they got an 86-95 3.90 for the rear. My sources say it only came in 1-ton trucks).

For the horn, it's a wiring issue. I listed it just for documentation purposes; I'm not worried about it at all - rebuilding electrics is easier than fixing them, and one of the reasons I bought a truck older than I am is because it has so few of them and they're a lot easier to deal with.

 

I just swapped the front driveshaft from my parts truck, and the noise is fixed. Now... axle refresh. I've got inner axle seals and wiper seals, both from Trail Gear. I've got two whole front axles, both complete except that one's missing hub thrust washers, and one has a stripped thread for the caliper mount. I'm going to use the other's housing, trunnion bearings, and knuckles, and mix-n-match the other parts from both using whatever looks and feels less worn. Got a vat of degreaser and some heavy gloves, going to get it nice and shiny before it goes back in.

One thing I'm not sure about is if I want to replace the front springs while I'm at it, or later. Not sure about having the stock ones rearched, or replace them with OME no/low-lift ones. I hear they ride nice.

Other thing is whether I want to do a vented rotor swap now or later.

 

Those are solid trucks and with a few upgrades they can be quite nice to drive daily.

More Toyota pics, less BMWs

:wabbit2:

 

When doing a vehicle build, I like to have about three subprojects going at once. I find it a good balance between too many delays with few projects, and overwhelming complexity with too many.

The first is a research project: looking into sourcing and fitting an Isuzu diesel, hopefully a 4JB1T.

The second is the axle refresh, that I haven't done much with lately.

The third is painting the frame. I dug up an old sandblaster and used one for the first time. I need something easier on the lungs than silica, maybe alu oxide or this stuff called "black beauty". Any suggestions?

My plan is to sandblast at least the rear half of the frame (otherwise the whole thing, cab-off), clean it with degreaser, and brush/roll 3 or 4 coats of SPI epoxy primer. They suggested not bothering with a topcoat, since the frame never sees the sun anyway and no topcoat is as strong as the epoxy. Does that sound right?

My main compressor is nowhere near enough to power this thing constantly, so this here was just a test run while I cobble together a 3-to-1 junction, to use 3 compressors to improve the flow rate at the same pressure.