Nice work on plating the frame, looks good! Are you planning on building your own front bumper for it?

Edit*** Δ just saw your post, the first Gen flares aren't metal, they're rubber, or polyurethane, or something flex able, could n't weld them in.

 

Plan on making a plate bumper for a winch once I get the time and money lol I've got a few other things to worry about before I get to the bumper.

I didn't know the original flares weren't metal.I always thought they were for some reason. So I would probably be better off with aftermarket flares for an 84-88. Thanks rustED

 

Can't weld rubber - that's what the first gen flares are made of. The second gen wheel wells are more square than the first gen and with the flares, it accentuates the squareness even more. There may be another option though to make the bed look more like a first gen... I was talking to Corey at Toyota Fiberglass and he got a hold of a set of Bushwacker fender flares for the first gen pickup. They don't make them anymore and they are damn near impossible to find (I've been looking for well over a year now). He's going to make molds for fiberglass replacements (I plan on buying a set) and you might be able to buy those to bolt on and hide a little bit of the second gen look (squared wheel wells) of that bed. Corey makes great products - he's actually building a fiberglass bed for me now.

A member on here has them on his truck and they look pretty good. Here's a link to his photo album:

https://www.yotatech.com/members/sha...ums-my+83.html

 

That would be awesome to have some fiberglass flares made, that's a good idea. I like those bushwacker flares, but I personally would like them to stick out about half as far. more like the factory flares. I wonder if Corey could make a mold from a factory flare if someone could find one? I'd be very interested if he could. I think I need to talk to him.

 

You can check with Corey - you want to email him at CJ@toyotafiberglass.com or better yet give him a call. His user name on here is Slacker, but he doesn't usually like doing business inquires over the forum - he's a pretty professional guy when it comes to business, but really down to earth and easy to talk to. I have asked him about a fiberglass replacement factory flare, but if I recall correctly, he said that he can't get a good mold out of them due to the material. I have never actually touched a factory flare, but from what I understand they are a very soft and flexible rubber material.

 

thanks kawazx636, I might have to shoot him an email. I may not even need to worry about it tho. I found an 81 parts truck not far from me and the owner said the bed is in good shape. plan to go check it out this weekend. would save me a lot of trouble to just swap beds, plus its from the same year as my cab. so it would cut down on my franken-yota status I got goin on now lol we'll see how it goes

 

I might be able to help with factory rear flares I'm going to change my bed there's some on it just have to wait for my bed sides $
Plus my friend might have some lying around

 

well I ended up not going to get that parts truck. I wound up having to put a new starter on my other truck and fix some wiring issues. I did get a chance to look over the yota a lil more tho to try to see what I need to fix next. I'm gonna have to do something about the brakes. the rear brakes are leaking down the inside of my tires and the front are weak as well. I read over kawazx636's build where he did the disc swap and I'm kinda leaning towards doing that instead of going back to drums.


"83 trail rig" I might be interested in your flares off your truck or your buddies. let me know if your serious about getting rid of them.

 

I am I will send them but it will be after I get my cage done and the fiberglass bed sides
You may have to wait but there free and undamaged

 

thanks,I'm in no hurry for them I still have a lot of work to do myself before I get even close to painting/bodywork.

 

Well there yours I won't get rid of them to anyone els
Check out low range they have a 5% off sale for tax season

 

well finally got my new alternator put on last night. I had to jump it to start it because the battery was dead again. it ran good until I unhooked the jumper again and it ran for a minute then died again. so I pulled the battery out and have it on a charger now and will check it when I get home to see if it held a charge. I plan on checking all my grounds too to make sure they are all good. I will probably end up re-doing a lot of the electrical connections because whoever had it before me didn't do a good job and some of the wires look down right scary lol


anyways while I was putting on the alternator I noticed I have an oil leak coming from what looks like right under where the distributor mounts. I also had a small drip of coolant coming off the oil pump cover. I'm guessing it is coming from my timing chain cover? I replaced the front main seal and oil pump cover seal early and that fixed the major leak I had before. but now I have this leak(s) anybody have any idea what it could be? or did I answer my own question.


I'll post some pics of the leaks to try to help. sorry they're not the best they're off my phone.