new build: 81 toyota

jeepcj3a

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2006
Location
winston salem
just had this dropped off today. 1981 toyota frame and axles with a '88 extended cab body and bed.
4.3L v6/400/np203.
~4in. suspension lift, blocks in back
3in. body lift.
35's mt's
4.37 gears, welded in the rear

Because i dont have a tow rig/trailer, the plan(and it may be a long stretch) will be to have this as a reliable driver that will make it to URE, have fun on the trails, and make it back to winston in one peice.

my plan is to have it done by the end of june w/:
sliders, flat bed, interior cage, hysteer, new shocks, brake lines, some sort of new rear suspension and rattlecan repaint olive drab.

so far:
1900 = truck
55 = new oil/filters/ps fluid/and antifreeze
90 = 12 cans of ultra flat camo paint and 320 grit sandpaper
10= 6 new spark plugs

6/19/07
275= T-G hysteer
49=T-G ubolt rear flip
39=T-G IFS steering mount
120= sky toy rear chevy leaf toyota kit
69= T-G SS brake line kit
49= T-G 14" shock hoop kit
79= T-G 1.5" wheel spacer kit
60= Budbuilt bommerang shackle kit
34= shipping
53.65= sales tax
"free"= 63" chevys with bushings(traded parts i had laying around for them)
TOTAL= 830

6/28/07
450= th350/adapter/toy 21 spline case

7/2/07
600= (4) 36x13.5x15 like new bias iroks on 15x10 wheels (i spent 800, but used 200 from tires i sold the day before, so I was "out of pocket" 600$)

7/6/07
53= 24 special long shank lug nuts and washers from Galloways
14.97= (4) grade 5 bolts/washers/nuts for the front shackles

7/15/07
600= crawl box with new marlin clocked dual adapter, set up by justin at unbreakable

7/24/07
100= front and rear toyota driveshafts
125= ifs steering box

?/??/??
2780= CRS
70= more cv's
50= tcase shifter
20= trans cover metal
20= tcase shifter boots
102= random from jegs
203= jmedic bill
120= towing bills

Total to date(1/12/2008) 8193$ minus 1550(sold tires/axles).... so 6643 invested so far.

will update whenever i make noticable progress



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Damn, June's almost over! You better get crackin'! J/K Looks like a good start!
 
didnt get much done yet today, sanded down the run marks from the old paint job and got the first coat of paint on. Its krylon ultra flat camo paint from walmart. Going to put on the second and hopefully last coat tomorrow.
still need to adjust the carb tonight to get it running smoother

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Last edited:
Good to see someone else around winston building a toyota. Good truck to start with too. Hey if you ever need some help working on it give me a shout im not far from you, oh and ive got a welder and plasma cutter.
 
not much to update, very doubtful that ill make my deadline but im trying. So far the paint is finished, took 3 coats, rear axle is out and got the new IFS rear today, got the compression test done and have the engine running a bit smoother now

really need some advice about the suspension set up.
i have a 3in. body lift on it now, which i may drop down to 2in. but i want to keep it so i can lift the drivetrain for a flat belly. Therefor im not looking to get a really big lift, i just want a setup that will flex well but not lift up the truck a whole lot more since ill be running 37's hopefully.

Right now im looking at three options:

#1) 44044's and chevys in the rear. would go with the sky kit for the chevys and just bolt up the 44044's with ford towers, 9012 shocks and ubolt flip highsteer. Roughly 1050 for everything including new brake lines f/r ect.

#2) 3in classic lift from trail-gear and stock toy rear springs with longer shackler or lift block. should be just about 1140 or there abouts

and #3) 44044's up front and a 3 or 4in. trail gear lift out back.
once again it comes out to be around 1300 all said and done.

All of those options include new shocks+mounts, ubolt flips, hysteer, springs, brake lines...

right now im leaning towards option one becuase i could try to get more of those parts second hand and come out with less spent.

Any opinions or input would be great
 
well i had originally planned on being done with this whole build up by tomorrow, but thats not gonna happen.
heres a picture of the current condition of the truck:
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Ive updated how much i have in it in the first post. Ive got the ifs rear setup. Decided to go with chevy springs in the rear and a set of rears up front. For the chevys i got skys kit which includes everything ill need to install them. For the front im combining two rear packs, one '81 and one '83 pack.
The new packs with be:
1st three leaves will be the top three in the '81 pack
4th leaf: 1st leaf of the '83 pack
5th leaf: 3rd leaf of the '83 pack

Not sure on whether or not im going to need to add more leafs because of the added weight of the v6. Right now all the parts and axles are getting the last coat of paint in hopes of installing the front axle this week. Got 14" shock hoops for the front as well as t-gs hysteer and budbuilt shackles. Going to keep both the axles stock for now. Have decided to change the trans/tcase, and just picked up a th350/adapter/toy case for 450. So that will be going in and hopefully be clocked flat for a flat belly, and Justin at unbreakable will be putting together a stock dual setup with a clocked marlin adapter.
 
IIRC the 4.3 is only about 50-75lbs heavier then the 22R, so i doubt youll needa worry about the added weight up front...

truck looks good... shouldnt be too far off from gettin it done
 
thought id update.
Got the front axle brackets cut off, cleaned, painted, and the rear leafs cut up and painted to go on the front. Ended up with 6 leaves on the pass. side and 7 on the drivers side.

The 7th on the drivers side is because the drivers side axle perch is 3/8th lower than the pass. side, and the extra spring is almost exactly 3/8in tall. Used 3/8 by 2.5" cap head bolts for the centering pins which worked perfect.
Front axle bolted up, spacers on, and painted the aluminum wheels that i got.
The tires are 36x13.5x15 irok bias plys that i got from toyotadad.
First two coats of paint are on the frame, just waiting to get the sky brackets welded up to bolt up the rear.
Justing at unbreakable is putting together the stock dual kit using a marlin 10 degree clocking adapter.
The th400/203 is pulled out
Painted the wheels rustoleum hammerite black.

Plans for this week:
get the th350 installed
another coat of paint on the frame
get the ifs box bolted up
clean and paint the inner fender wells

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What are you planning to do with the seats/floor after the flat belly?

Im planning to do that pretty soon here and know the options i have, but am curious to first hand experiences and what people like and dont like.
 
Was your truck at CRS around last week? If so then it is looking good.
 
slravene said:
What are you planning to do with the seats/floor after the flat belly?
Click to expand...

Im going to use the stock seats that i had in it before. All the mounts are stll there, didnt have to cut them out to make the tcases fit.

As far as the floor, just plan on bending some 20 gauge sheet metal i have laying around and screwing it down in a few spots for the time being. Decided not to build any sort of frame for it for now; which ive seen many people do.
 
Looking good man.
Can't wait to see that in action.
 
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