Hey there YotaTech Readers, Writers, Builders, Destroyers, Choppers, and General Practitioners of Automotive Mayhem! Herein i'm going to finally shut up and write about my little truck, a 1980 SR5 Hilux 2wd. Go over some of the modifications, restorations, and renovations i've performed on my truck. Also i will relay the information gathered from my MONTHS AND MONTHS of reading and research on this and many other sites (who I won't name here I will only say if you have questions FIRST!!!! than ask questions. anyways time to stop and get down to the Gather round the fire kids its story time!

Ok First i might as well start with the history of how i got my truck and the SHEEETStorm i've gotten into with it subsequently.

My Truck started its life humbly owned by some dude i never knew in Albuquerque, NM. I guess he got sick and tired of trying to tune up and mess with the old mess so he sold it to a friend of mine for like $800 or something like that. Once my friend got his hand on it, he really didn't know what he wanted to do with it.
At First the plan was to swap a solid axle in the front and make it into a 4x4 but after much consideration he figured out it would be a bad idea considering his income and the fact he's in the process of building an MK2 Supra to compete with my 77 280Z. (Another Story for another day.)
Fast Forward about 6 months and the truck is still sitting in his garage in damn near perfect condition the only thing they did to it (that i'm aware of) is swap out the rear spider gears for a new set due to frying up the old ones driving it without any gear oil in it (DOH!!!),
Any rate he calls me up to come look at the carb on it and see about getting it running for him because it won't stay running to save his life. I Come by and mess with it a bit but at this point in the story i have less than no experience with a carb except little go cart and Briggs and Straton ones. I hit up Google and get some information on it and it turns out to be a something called a "Weber". I've only heard of Holley's and Edlebrocks and Carters/Rochester's at this juncture never Weber so i read up some more and come to find out not only is it not stock but its a performance carb!. I Only new of one kind of Weber at this point, the side drafts for the L24 and L26 240/260Z Motors and there supposed to be "really good". We start examining it and to my unrelenting amusement the trucks totally out of gas. So he goes and gets some gas and it starts up angry as hell and not wanting to do anything really just putter like a pissed off tractor. We do a couple little things to try and time it up and dial in the Carb but i still have no idea what kind of carb ir IS. I get on the Google and start checking it out and i read it must be a 32/36 DFEV, it meets the criteria (i thought) it was Electric choke, twin barrel, idle screws on the side and Redline sells kits that have everything on it just like the one on the truck does. To my than noob a$$ it seemed like it was it! except that it as a little different, though i couldn't exactly describe to you how. But it looked the part of a kit so it HAD to be it right? lol Anyways i needed someone with more skills in the carb dept. to check out what was going on so i get in touch with James, my crazy genius redneck neighbor who's built champion 460's and has an angry as hell Cummings Diesel. After James tunes the Weber just enough to get it running and we're goin home he tells me, "You should really buy that truck or I'M going to." I'm like forget that noise that trucks MINE!!. So i hustled up $500 bucks and gave my friend with the truck and gave him an offer he couldn't refuse. He needed Supra parts and i needed that truck! So $500 bucks later it was mine! and here's what it looked like before i picked it up......

Here's what it looked like once i got it home...

So This is how the saga began! from this point its been up hill... and down hill... and up hill again and generally all around lol I'm going to be telling the story in sections so as to not confuse everyone and to keep everything well segregated (History and Fact from Opinion and Nonsense) Next Edition.... How I got the Roll Cage, the Rear Seats and the Effed up Front Fender! Thanks for Reading!

 

About a week after i had it, bright and early at 6am My Nephew, My Brother and i were sitting at home bored as hell not able to sleep and wanting to do something kool we decide, Hey! Lets go SHOOTING!! But we only have my 2-seater truck to take three people out to the desert... hm... quite a conundrum we were in. So i get the bright idea, HEY! Lets Mob the front seats outta my (1988) Prelude (Si 4ws) and tek screw them into the bed of my truck and tek screw in some Seat belts so were street legal! as soon as we get done James comes walking out side and is like WTF are you kids doin! and were like Going shooting... and he's like no with the hack job seat arrangement you have in the back there! I turn and look at the truck.. The job looks nice.. for 10 min-rig-it-up-so-we-can-party job. Than James Enlightened me that if you want to have people sitting in the back of an open-backed pickup in New Mexico than you have to have a Roll Cage of sometype besides he was thinking i was going to roll the truck and kill us all (which is a possibility i won't lie) He looks around and sees a bunch of 2x2 square stock around and says lets build you a 'Cage so i don't have to go to any of your funerals today. Groovy i can dig it! So we took some 2x2 and happened across some nice old Work out benches in my junk pile and use a weight bench for the "headache rack" portion than weld square stock from front to the back and take some of the butterfly press racking and make mounts to the body. and in no time it looks something like this. This picture was while we were welding it up. I was holding the camera while james was torchin!:wabbit2:

After we got the cage on it we cut two (2) holes in the rack and mounted my 5-point harnesses outta my Z onto it so people in the back have some safety equipment. I Brought up cutting a piece of plywood to put on the top for a sunshade so people aren't dying of heat exhaustion. He than goes behind his shop and comes out with a sheet of 1/8th" steel plate that we measure, cut to shape and tek screw on with 6 on each side. I Hop up in the back to enjoy my new portable chill spot and notice the sun coming from between the truck roof and the shade and think, hey this is a good spot for a sun shield and cut a small piece of plywood and tek screw it to the front of the assembly between the roof and the shade and VIOLA!!! Here's what it looked like after all was said and done!


Not bad for a hack job just to go out playing for the day but it proved ever more useful! now i have a handy area behind the seats for stashing tools, fluids, jumper cables a spare battery whatever i need! all they really need are some drink holders and there set! I had yet to really use them on the free way or anything but they were sound enough for going and playing on the mesa and that was good enough for that! We went out shooting and had a blast but all wasn't well. The truck had a very weak clutch feel and it wouldn't shift into 5th gear, it would just knock itself right out as soon as you put it in gear and released the clutch. I thought to myself well if i change the clutch out i'll have a look in there and see what needs to be gotten if anything! So i ponied up and bought the cheap-o Sach's clutch from O Reilly's and got down to business changing it out. With the help of my Nephew, my dad and myself we were able to drop the trans and found out someone swapped it from a Celica into my truck? hmmm.... *suspicious glare* It still looked like a W50 for that year was steel aluminum steel construction. Here are some pictures of that particular endeavor
This is me holding the starter while my nephew was on top unbolting it

This is me and Jesse (Nephew) Replacing my Clutch Plate

Taking the Trans to the Car Wash


My Nephew trying to look pimp whilst power washing the trans

Funk For DAYS on this thing!

after we cleaned it up and put it in i guess we crossed a heater hose or something because my heater stopped working but we also broke my EGR bolts that hold it to the exhaust manifold so began the "20R EGR Delete Project" after a week of screwing around with it on and off we got the whole thing changed out cleaned up and Shiny i had to drive to a Memorial Service for my Gf's Dad who passed away few weeks prior to the clutch change. i was driving up to my grandpa's house to pick up my younger brother when some stupid short asian chick cuts me off in a brand new Highlander locks up her brakes and nearly takes me out. I was able to dodge out the way into a parking lot but took out a BRICK WALL in the process i thought my truck was doomed! but i was really grateful i didn't hurt that other car because she had some screaming little babies in the back and i don't need that on my conscience. Here's what my truck looked like Immediately following the wreck.

The Truck started and ran like a top! didn't break the radiator didn't mess anything up besides the fender and my neck a little bit! TO day the least i was startled as hell and i thought for sure it was a goner. Never to fret the Trusty Toyota wouldn't leave me on the side of the road like that!
I was able to take off the wheel well cover and drive it to my Gpa's house and had to pull the front fender off with quickness to make it to the memorial. So me, my Nephew and Aaron all broke out 10mm wrenches and rachets and ripped off the fender. i rigged my lights back up to functioning and sealed off all the ones that were now useless, we jumped in the truck, strapped my big ass brother in the back like a giant pumpkin in a baby basket and got to the memorial barely 5 min after it began! I earned major good points with my woman and extra points with her family after i showed them the car to prove i wasn't talking sheeeet. Here's a picture after i stripped the fender off. This is before i replaced the headlight.




That was the day that the name War Wagon became OFFICIAL....

Off-Note:
I get asked more times than not "Why would you name your truck the War Wagon..." Well i shall tell you, it came from watching too much CNN and other news and all the crazy stuff in Africa, You'll notice that they don't have tanks or planes or anything like that. They have Old Hiluxes (or is it Hiluxi?) with .50 caliber Machine Guns on top and welded in metal plating and... well... It looks like one doesn't it! Especially now that its all wrecked up it looks like its been in a freakin war zone! so the names stuck but like many other things thats named it also has several nicknames, "The Big, Little Ugly", "Big Red", "The Death Trap", "Little Angry Truck" but mostly "WTF IS THAT!!!" or just "THAT!!!" for short. /endrant

So thats the History of the naming, We've Also gone over my Rear Seat Add and my Custom Rollcage/SunShade and also how i "Customized" my front end as my dad would say. I think thats all for now. Next Edition I'll go over how i "fixed" the front end and how my Tranny Swap that happened on accident.! Thanks again YotaTechers and i'll say it again Keep on Yotaing!

 

For sake of Relevance i'll go ahead and skip some story and get some Meat and Potatoes for you guys on what actual Components i've changed in my Truck now this is a every changing list and i can't member everything all the time but its a good start for sure.

BODY:
Custom Welded Roll Cage w/ Sun Shadeand wind screen
Custom Mounted Rear Facing seats w/ 5-Point Z Racing Harness
"Customized" Front Driver Side Fender and Fender Well
Original SR5 Stripes
Original Red/Orange Color
Grill Removed
Parking Lights Removed

ELECTRICAL:
Electric Choke Control Switch
Fuses on POS Batt Cable changed from tube style to MiniBlade Style
New Pos and Neg Batt Cables hooked to original spots
Rewired Parking Lights to act as Turn Signals
Instrument Gauge Lights swapped to BLUE LED 194 type
New Cable ran for Stereo and CB Radio

ENGINE:
New Exhaust Mani Gasket
New Exh Mani Bolts
EGR Ports welded up on Exh Mani
Vacuum Delete
Re-routed Vacuum Advance
Weber 38/38 DGES (came with truck but is now Properly identified)
New NGK R V-style Plugs Gapped at .035
Spark Plug Cables 7.5mm , Rotor, Distributor Cap Swapped from '89 22RE
Specter Fuel Filter (didn't have one Before!!!)
Thermostat swapped to 180 degree from 195
A/C Belt Delete

TRANSMISSION:
New Sachs Clutch
New Sachs Clutch Release Bearing
New Clutch Release Bearing Clips
Swapped in W56 trans (i think) from W50 (i think)
New Shifter w/o Boot (you can see the ROAD IN HERE!!)

INTERIOR:
New Sony 200w Head unit w aux in ( )
Custom made Speaker Boxes stashed behind seats
Two (2) 6x9 Main Speakers 60w a piece
Two (2) 3in Tweeters 30w a piece
40 Band CB salvaged from old Ford Pickup

TIRES:
Stock Rims
195/75/R14 Kumho KR21's on back
195/75/R14 Douglas AT's on front (both sets from Llantera Shops around town)

I need to Replace my Shocks all the way around, my steering stabilizer, my ball joints, my wheel bearings all that good stuff. If anyone has a good deal on an old 20R header or Equivalent PM me. I Also need a Jet Kit for the Weber 38 and possibly a MSD ignition system of some type but thats all in the future This is where things are at and i'l update at another time! Keep Building Keep Breaking Keep Yotaing!