Out working on the truck right now. I had to run back to the hardware store to switch out some bolts and washers on the tank to better fit. I had to cut down an Allen wrench to tighten the rear inner fuel tank bolt. All the parts on the tank are now sorted and finished. The skid plate is finally back on after sitting next to the truck re chromed for almost 2 years. Also had to modify the dash frame to fit the new gauges but they all clear now.

 

Man, 10 different shocks pushing back on that rear axle is completely nuts! I've never seen shocks mounted horizontally off the springs like that before. For a show truck/trailer queen it's pretty cool looking though.

 

i know they were intended for display back then but I keep thinking, maybe the ones on top of the axle could help with axle wrap haha.

 

I’ve just had the gauge panel replicated with 6 gauge holes instead of 9 to cut down on wires to have to hide. Also I could not find any other gauges besides trans temp and fuel pressure that would be useful. So for now it will be the 6 gauges and possibly a JL Audio Bluetooth controller on the left side.

Once I wire up the gauges, starter wire, sending unit, fuel pump and door pops I will be installing the gauge panel for good. In the mean time I’m either going to paint it silver or brush finish it, just can’t decide yet. Originally it was brush finish but a nice low gloss no metallic silver would look great I think.

 

How about machined turned, or polished to match the steering wheel? Black anodized would look good too. What year was it in the Oakland Roadster show? Was it in Oakland more than once?

 

I love that gauge panel. I might do something similar to that with my '80... It looks like it fits with the dash really nice. Are you planning on putting a heater in it? If so I was wondering what your plan was for heater controls.

 

the truck was finished in 95 and believe it did the 95 Oakland roadster show before it came to Texas in late 95. Still on the fence about the finish but I’m wiring up the gauges now so I’ve got a little time to decide.

 

all the vents have been shaved so I think I’m going to leave it for Display purposes. I was thinking about setting up some sort of heater under the dash but without all the extra functions like wipers, heat, ac, power brakes etc it is very simplified. I do want power brakes and an e brake tho

 

Alright it’s getting a little bit crazier. Upon my typical search for Toyota’s and other trucks I don’t need to buy on Facebook and Craigslist I stumbled upon a K5 blazer yesterday. What caught my eye was the 5 spoke wheels on it. Any time I see 5 spoke wheels I always have to wonder if they are Weld Racing HR30’s. 99.99% of the time they are not of course and after finding the only known centers left in 2 different states I was certain that was it. I was ecstatic to have a complete set finally. So the chances of finding spares or let alone another complete set was almost out of the question.








So looking at the picture of the K5 I saw the centers and was almost positive they were the real deal. They appeared to have the same center caps as my truck had, bolts to attach the centers and 12” barrels. I messaged the seller asking to see pics of the back of the wheels and when I saw them I knew right away they were the real deal.




Long story short I was going to buy this K5 for $2,500 just to get the wheels off but ended up trading my 15x12 Alcoa’s on 35s and a bunch of cash to make it worth his while to get them. I drove 3 hours round trip last night, went to check them out after dark and they were 100% the real deal.




Now I can’t say for certain but there is a very high chance that these are THE very set that came off my truck. Since there were only a handful ever made and this is the only set I have ever seen in Texas it could be them. The previous owner who lived roughly an hour from where I just picked these up told me he sold them to someone else here in Texas after listing them in autotrader magazine back around 2000/2001. If it is true that only 8 sets were made then I could be looking at the very wheels off my truck. If nothing else I’ve got the same wheels and now spares for backup.

 

Nice Score!! That is awesome you found them!!

 

Its been a while since Ive checked on this build. Its looking great! Good work

 

This is the new radiator being custom built right now. The difficulty in trying to buy a radiator for this truck came in 2 ways. First the space between the towers built into the chassis was very odd. Then combine that with needing both passenger side inlets, a lower trans cooler and a highly polished finished made it hard to just buy one. But the biggest problem came in clearance between the water pump pulley and back of the core support. There is literally no radiator that fits the criteria and is also less than 4.25" with a fan and shroud. So to get around this I ended up designing it with 4 fans to allow the water pump pulley to sit between them. All that is left is the polish and a custom over flow bottle being built and it will be shipped back to me. Among all the other barriers I have faced trying to build this truck to be streetable while trying to combine show looks with function and looking like the original theme, this has been one of the toughest.

When the radiator comes back I will be sending the fans off to get plastic chromed or paint matched since the only finish Spal offers is black. In the mean time I can extend the fan harnesses and hide all the wires in the chassis.

 

Are you going to get a really big mirror to slide under the truck?
i just noticed it in a couple of your old pictures of the truck

 

I think painting the fans would be pretty sweet and break up the monotony of chrome under the front end.
Looking good though.

 

I think when I get the truck 100% I will probably get one for shows.

 

http://www.killerridez.com/1980_toyota_4x4.htm

Hey I was perusing the toyotas on the net today and stumbled on this...idk if its on this thread already but I figured Id post it just in case.

 

yes, the owner of that shop is the guy I bought it from actually.

 

It’s all polished up and on the way back now. Itching to get it installed and wired in.

 

I got the radiator back and it has just enough clearance where it needs it. Next is to make custom radiator hoses, trans cooler lines, overflow hose, route harnesses then take the fans off to be paint matched.

 

The Weld HR30 wheels are in Virginia right now being turned into mirrors. I am super excited to get them back. This is one huge missing piece of the puzzle.