So Thursday night around 1am I stopped to help out a fella broken down alongside the highway, he's driving a 1983 2wd Toyota pickup, since I have a soft spot for this model and know them well I figured I could give a hand getting him back on the road.
Turns out the truck was for sale and for the right price includes 2 part trucks, a pair of 4wd's, a 1980 and an 1982.
The parts trucks arent picked over yet and when parked a few years ago they ran, they belonged to a relative that passed on who owned all three trucks since new, they were used for a local landscaping buisness.
We struck a deal for the trucks sight unseen and Christmas eve I went over with my wife and car trailer to pick up my new projects.
So now I have 3 trucks that if plans go right I'll build into 1 (or 2 if theres enough useable parts).
I got my son-in-law to agree to work the project with me, the only thing he doesnt know is my purpose for building another truck.
Him and my daughter have wanted my 99 Tacoma for years, and since I bought a new Chevy Silverado a few weeks ago they've really been hinting about getting it, well they wont get that truck until I'm dead, my plan is to restore one of the 4wd trucks and give it to them.
If all goes well heres the plan:
The 1980 4wd has a perfect frame and cab so I'll use that as the base for the build. We'll strip it down to bare metal, do a little custom welding to strengthen known weak spots and add brackets for planned modifications, add new bushings, springs, and a few other parts.
The 82 has a perfect bed, flared 4wd front fenders, grill, and hood so we'll use them.
The 83 has a recently rebuilt 22R engine so I'll couple it to the 5spd and transfer case from the 82 after I rebuild them.
At this point I plan on retaining the original 80 r/r axle and rebuilding it, we'll leave it an open r/r since neither of them is an experienced 4 wheeler and we can modify it later if we have to. After a set of upgraded Birfields and a rebuild we'll use the front axle from the 82, again with an open diff.
As luck would have it I have the complete interior from my 1990 crawlerr in the garage, it was completely redone right before I bought the truck so the interior is like new and with slight modifications it'll work perfectly.
A quick garage paint job and I think we should be in buisness.
I plan on doing a few upgrades during the build, right now I have a stand alone electronic fuel injection system and a Weber dual carburator set-up, I'm not sure which one I'll use to replace the factory carb on the 22R, I also have a full stroker kit with cam and crank that I plan on installing in the 22R.
With the added HP I plan on adding a new heavier clutch package.
We'll convert from the old manual steering to a more modern power steering set-up.
And during the T-case rebuild I'll convert it to a twin stick set-up and swap out the factory low 4wd for an even lower aftermarket gear set.
I plan on using 30" tires and factory height springs, they can lift later if they want, this is a leaf spring suspension so lift kits are inexpensive and easy to add.
It's gonna be a few months late for Christmas but once I give it to them I dont think they'll care.
Should be a great project to teach the son-in-law about mechanics and in the process he'll learn everything that makes his new truck operate.
Turns out the truck was for sale and for the right price includes 2 part trucks, a pair of 4wd's, a 1980 and an 1982.
The parts trucks arent picked over yet and when parked a few years ago they ran, they belonged to a relative that passed on who owned all three trucks since new, they were used for a local landscaping buisness.
We struck a deal for the trucks sight unseen and Christmas eve I went over with my wife and car trailer to pick up my new projects.
So now I have 3 trucks that if plans go right I'll build into 1 (or 2 if theres enough useable parts).
I got my son-in-law to agree to work the project with me, the only thing he doesnt know is my purpose for building another truck.
Him and my daughter have wanted my 99 Tacoma for years, and since I bought a new Chevy Silverado a few weeks ago they've really been hinting about getting it, well they wont get that truck until I'm dead, my plan is to restore one of the 4wd trucks and give it to them.
If all goes well heres the plan:
The 1980 4wd has a perfect frame and cab so I'll use that as the base for the build. We'll strip it down to bare metal, do a little custom welding to strengthen known weak spots and add brackets for planned modifications, add new bushings, springs, and a few other parts.
The 82 has a perfect bed, flared 4wd front fenders, grill, and hood so we'll use them.
The 83 has a recently rebuilt 22R engine so I'll couple it to the 5spd and transfer case from the 82 after I rebuild them.
At this point I plan on retaining the original 80 r/r axle and rebuilding it, we'll leave it an open r/r since neither of them is an experienced 4 wheeler and we can modify it later if we have to. After a set of upgraded Birfields and a rebuild we'll use the front axle from the 82, again with an open diff.
As luck would have it I have the complete interior from my 1990 crawlerr in the garage, it was completely redone right before I bought the truck so the interior is like new and with slight modifications it'll work perfectly.
A quick garage paint job and I think we should be in buisness.
I plan on doing a few upgrades during the build, right now I have a stand alone electronic fuel injection system and a Weber dual carburator set-up, I'm not sure which one I'll use to replace the factory carb on the 22R, I also have a full stroker kit with cam and crank that I plan on installing in the 22R.
With the added HP I plan on adding a new heavier clutch package.
We'll convert from the old manual steering to a more modern power steering set-up.
And during the T-case rebuild I'll convert it to a twin stick set-up and swap out the factory low 4wd for an even lower aftermarket gear set.
I plan on using 30" tires and factory height springs, they can lift later if they want, this is a leaf spring suspension so lift kits are inexpensive and easy to add.
It's gonna be a few months late for Christmas but once I give it to them I dont think they'll care.
Should be a great project to teach the son-in-law about mechanics and in the process he'll learn everything that makes his new truck operate.
