OK OK OK... Where to start... This Yota has been restored from top to bottom with the goal being to create a formiddable rock crawling rig. It started with a frame and axles from a 1980 Toyota Pickup.. Linked up with a cab from an 86 Toyota Pickup and away we went..
Chassis: 1980 Toyota Pickup Cleaned, Sandblasted, Bobbed and Painted.. Rolling on 35" BFG Mud Terrain's and Black Rock Crawling Wheels...
Axles: Same 1980 Yota.. Cleaned, Sandblasted, and Painted.. The 4:10 Gears were pulled and replaced with 4:88 gears. Detroit Lockers installed in front and rear axles. Both axles cut and angled to correct driveline straitness..
Cab: The cab is from a 1986 Toyota Pickup. it had it's share of rust, but all rust was cutout and replaced with fresh sheet metal... The interior has SR5 bucket seats from a 1987 Toyota Turbo Pickup.. The interior is very clean, you'd never think it was an 86'. although the interior needs a make-over, I'm thinking pull all the carpet and rhino line the whole thing..
Bed: Custom fabbed flatbed. Enough said right? The Frame was Bobbed about 18 inches, so the bed is only maybe 4 and a half feet long. It was made with defined fender wells for maximum movement of the rear axle. The whole thing is steel diamond plate.. The rear has a custom light setup. It's got a Full Size spare mount, Hi-Lift Jack Mount, and Jerry can mounts. at the rear is a 2500 LBS winch to help with those "sticky" situations.
Front Bumper: Custom fabbed from about 3 different Bumpers... they were cut apart into pieces, and put back together like a jigsaw puzzle to make one great bumper. Equipped with a 9,000 LBS Mile Marker Winch.
Suspension: This is the area that leaves much to be desired.. I'm not sure where the springs are from, But I believe they are 6" in springs from Sky-Jacker.. They were way too stiff, so a spring pack was removed from the rear, and entended shackles were added to correct the height change. It has a dual Shock setup in the front with Rancho RS-5000's that were painted black. The rear has two Rancho RS-5000's Painted Black. The suspension will need something a bit better to be a true performer on the trail.. I'm thinking an AOR Orbit Eye system, but we'll see.
Under The Hood: The chassis from the 1980 TOY had a motor on it originally.. It had been converted to a 1977 Buick 231 V6. That was kinda cool, and was told that the engine was OK, so Decided to leave it. It is mated to a Turbo TH350 Automatic Transmission, and the Tranny is mated to the stock Toyota transfer case by use of a Downey Offroad adapter. The engine swap is really clean, bolted right in, no major modifications were required. A 4-core radiator was gotten from Downey to cool it, and a 14 inch electric Fan was wired up in front of the radiator for a little extra added boost. 15 minutes into driving it for the first time... BOOM... Threw a ROD, right through the block... So now my 231 idea was kinda shot.. Needless to say, I'm stubborn.. I picked up another Buick 231, this time a 1983.. after about a week, the new motor was in, and I had gotten it started, but something just wasn't quite right.. Starved for fuel.. So next was to order a new Carb.. I went with a Holley 4160 650 cfm, should do the job. now everything is up and running good, the timing still needs to be advanced slightly, and the alternator might need a change, but for now it's doing quite alright..
Future MODS: It's endless!!!! First order of business is to get some protection.. Body Armor that is... Rock sliders are a must, and a complete exterior cage is eventually the goal. The brakes are great, but not great enough, the rears will be getting converted over to a rear disc setup. Vented rotors all around.. The Steering is no longer sufficient for this rig, Next order of business is def a Hi-Steer Kit. I could go on and on... projects like this never end...
