hey bud, hows it going? sorry i havent gotten ahold of you man, been a little crazy with abigail starting a new job, little man starting day care, my brother moving out, little man getting sick 3 times in first two weeks at daycare, and busy schedule at work. how are you making out with the sas? give me a holler man, so we can meet up or whatever.

 

Looking good man, where in NJ are you from?

 

dont worry about it i understand youve been busy. if you want just give me a call anytime your free and ill probably be at my house cause school is out haha.

everything is goin good with the swap so far, its been a little slow but im waiting on the new gears for the front diff anyway. the axle is mocked up on their to check my shackle angle and it looked good with weight on the springs(no weight in this pic) so im gonna take it off and finish welding everything soon.

and swimmerboy im in montville.

 

awesome!! looking good man! was working on my 60's yesterday for the jeep a little bit before the snow hit, i should have called you in the morning, but i was excited to finally get something done on them.
what are you doing for the rear, leaving as is for now? it was already up about the same as the front will be, right?
you got all your steering stuff too? i ended up having to move the box forward because the axle ended up a little bit forward of stock, which caused the drag link/end in the pitman arm to hit the tie rod.

 

hows working on the 60s goin? Im liking toyota axles..nice and light to move around by myself haha. im hoping the rear stays level but i doubt it cause im pretty sure its only stock springs and a 3 inch block. might go with 63" chevys cause i dont have much money. as for steering i have the trail gear high steer that comes with their kit and when me and my friend looked at it i might have to move it forward but that wont be a big deal if it comes down to it.

 

yeah, the toy axles are sweet, and def buildable. i was toying (no pun intended) with the idea of using them on the jeep, but decided to do the 60's. they are a real pain to move or anything like that. i have them mostly torn down to do all new bearings, seals, joints, knuckle rebuild, etc, but still have to grind old brackets off.
the chevies with a small block seem to be a sweet setup price and flex wise (def better than short stiff stock toy rears! lol)

 

yeah i was thinkin about goin 60s but toys should be plenty strong enough if i stay with 36s or 37s plus its easier to keep it more street legal with toys. i plan on leaving the front open for a while so they should hold together good and eventually ill get dirty 30s. but power steering will need come first before i try crawling this at rausch haha

 

You should look into a set of Longfields they're proven to take the abuse of a SBC and heavy right footed drivers. Truck looks good and is really coming along.

 

well it sits stupid high in the front(i hate my body lift) but im going to break the springs in by flexing it a bit and then see how much lower it goes and ill probably end up getting a shorter shackle. If that doesnt help it enough ill take some leafs out of the springs. still need to finish steering and set it up right, hook up and bleed brakes, and figure out my radiator situation(thanks dad for cutting a hole in it...)

 

awesome man!!!!!
love the purple knuckles! how does your steering box location look? how long are the shackles you have now?

 

im liking the knuckles too. also painted the locking hub dials purple. Steering box looks like it might do alright for now. and the shackles are the 5 inch ones that come with the trail gear kit so i might make some 4 inch ones to help if needed.

But i flexed the truck out with the hd springs and did not like it at all! front didnt flex at all really but the back with worn leaves and blocks stuffed the tires good. So we took out the bottom two leaves out of the pack which im pretty sure makes it the hd springs. truck sits better and feels softer. no pics yet but these are with the 2 bottom leafs still in.

 

looking good, any new pictures?

 

no good pics since the last one except this quick poser driveway shot lol. took the truck for a drive without the shocks and it was pretty good. gotta bleed the brakes again and some other small things. also have a spartan locker sitting in my room waiting to be installed.

 

looking good my friend!! i bet it rides and flexes better with those two bottom leaves pulled, huh? in that last pic it seems like it is sitting lower in the front too, lookin good and level.

 

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This has been my dream for over 5 years now.
I was going to drop a 327 in my 1987 toyota but with money issues i had to sell her

Your off to a good start.
Keep us updated.

 

i never even rode it with the 2 bottom springs it was so stiff so i wouldnt really know but it rides good for having no shocks yet lol. im gonna be giving you a call tomorrow ive got some questions haha

 

sounds good man, no prob, doing work around the house tomorrow.

 

shocks finally on after a few days of driving without them. now just to bumpstop it and make driveshaft and the sas will be complete.

To do list:
-install spartan locker
-Move steering box forward
-make new bumper and then later sliders when i get more money
-eventually flat belly it
-install power steering. yes its manual steer with a power steering box
-and probably most important...get a dam job so i can afford this stuff lol

 

Finally finished the install on my spartan locker tonight. Bought it from a guy on pirate http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=793909 Paypal'd the money late at night and got it in 2 business days. Awesome service!

Locker install went smooth. For never taking apart a third member it was not scary at all. Had to remove ring gear to get the carrier out but everything went really quick. I also recommend the spartan locker. Cheap compared to others and doesnt use the thrust washers and install is very easy. Locker is really smooth from my first test drive and i can barely notice and tire chirping unless giving it gas and dont notice the ratcheting unless listening for it.

Ran into a problem though and the bearing on my passenger side axle shaft was bad so i had to replace it. Problem is its hard to find a machine shop to press it out and install the new one because of the way toyota made it. Toyota actually told this shop before to just cut the retaining washer and slam it on concrete, which is the pirate method haha. I made my own little jig to press it out. I would use thicker metal if i made it again but i used what i had. Anyways..heres a crappy cell pic like all my pictures lol

 

and just another random picture. i was letting it warm up a bit before driving around town again to get some miles on it before i tighten everything up again