2002 TuRD

[gslander]

2025 edit, build philosophy and goals:
I decided to add my build parameters to the first page of this, mainly to keep me grounded and to lay the ground work of why I did what I did. This truck needs to do a few core functions:
1) I don't have a trailer nor do I want a trailer, so comfortable to drive me and all my stuff at 70mph for hours on end
2) wheel whatever I want within reason, I have no desire for death climbs or hill killing
3) be reliable and simple
4) have easy to source parts
5) double as a truck doing truck things

So laying that out here is how I have worked within those parameters:
1) the truck is geared low, 5.29s on 37s with a V6, 5spd, has a full interior, working AC and cruise control. I even retrofitted power seats out of a Camry into this thing. Pretty much every wheeling trip is a mini UA for me.
2) I enjoy rock crawling and not hill killing. It seems here in the SE there's a big delta between trails that can be done on 37s and a full bodied rig, to bouncer shit. Even in a buggy I have no desire for the bouncer shit. I have no desire to play on things like cream puff at Harlan and little Caesars at AOP for example
3) the truck is on 37s with leafs f/r for a reason, one because I'm cheap, but two because leafs do a ton of things pretty well in one package, are hard to break and if I break a shock I can still get it home. Same with mechanical lockers f/r and the same drop out diff f/r which has saved me once already.
4) this is getting harder to do with a Tacoma based platform, especially for after market parts, but I can kind of manage with this. For some reason auto parts store treat these trucks like a 911.
5) I still need to haul shit with this truck. That's why it has a full bed, I also think bobbed Toyota beds are ugly, but mainly I need to carry stuff. I have explored a tube bed but come up with nothing but overcomplicating a factory bed with nothing but negatives and compromises.

I have a v6 5spd 2002 tacoma that I have and been building since 2005, I'll skip all the bolt on IFS on 33s stage of the build and post up the cool shit. The truck as of today has 37s, fj80 rear axle with a spartan, flipped fj60front with an Aussie locker, rcvs/longs 5.29s and is on leafs. It was all built in a suburban 2 car garage with a grinder, chop saw, 115v welder and no other special tools.

I built a lefty and dual combo in 2010 a few years after blowing up my taco box I built in front of the stock chain drive tacoma case. It's stuffed with 30spline marlin chromo shafts and some og 4.7:1 gears it's about as strong as you can make a.toyota case minus the chromo comp gears. It's still going strong, looking back I should have built an atlas but here we are.

I am phone posting all this so bear with me.

I take forever to do anything especially build wise. So I drove the truck and wheeled it until 2014 when I swapped in my fj80 rear axle. Everyone said it would vibrate, it infact does not. I stuffed it with a spartan and drove it while I saved up to SAS this bitch. For the jeepers out there this gets a 9.5" ring gear, full float, and disc brakes and roughly 1tonish axle strength.

I also picked up my front axle for the axle swap. Fj60 front axle. Same 9.5" ring gear and uses mini truck outers.

 

[gslander]

My sister in law was over one night having some wine with my wife and I decided to clean the garage and see if I could get the truck in my small ass 2 car garage in such a way to work around the whole front end easily. Well I did, they were still talking and I was bored so....

 

[gslander]

In my first post I built the world's most expensive Toyota dual case setup and it turns out cheap Toyota bastards and overlanders don't want to buy it when you put it up for sale, the axle I had is pax drop and my cases is driver's drop. So what's the next best option? Flip the axle with minimal tools or experience.

I ended up stuffing the axle with 5.29s, RCVs and an Aussie locker. I did all this with a grinder and a 115v flux core mig and no true bar. No leaks and I have not died yet 6yrs later.

 

[gslander]

In the mean time I started fabbing up the front frame rails, they are 2x3 3/16 and fish plated on there with 3/16 scab plates. I used allenfab and the brocoma as my guide for this. In retrospect I should have notched the pax side because I am currently into the frame rail with the steering when flexed certain ways I also inboarded the front frame rails a bit, which was a good idea at the time but now that I look back makes for more hassel than anything.

the frame rails are pretty much butted up against the radiator, comes out to almost an inch narrower than stock. I am transferring these pics over from another site, this part of the build is from 2016....

 

[gslander]

Back to the frame, my dumbass decided I don't want to fuck with IFS boxes and hydro assist so I would use the Ford boxes that were all the rage for toyotas made by a certain builder in the 20teens. So I started to work on fitting that big bastard in there.

Fuck me that's a huge bitch! Turns out it hit my alternator so modded the bracket

Started the frame mount

hand drilled awesomeness with a milwaukee m18 hammer drill, I'm lucky my wrist didn't get snapped into 5,000 pieces.

 

[gslander]

So the one mounting hole for the box was right where the motor mount is, so I did something that I'm sure I'm going to regret someday in the future, made my own nutsert thing.

Built the frame mount for the box, pretty sure it can take a direct hit from a hellfire missile and be fine.

It sucked bending this with a MAP torch and a hammer

 

[gslander]

Suspension time, I went with fj62 rear springs up front because they were free and I made sure the shackles were facing the correct direction

I don't have too many pics of this stage of the build forward as I was thrashing to get it done for a black hills trip. I ended up using f250 shock towers and bilstein 7100 12" short body's up front. Steering is a used marlin fj60 histeer kit, and at the time I was on 15" TR beadlocks and SSRs.

 

[gslander]

This stage of the build was all done the spring/early summer of 2016. I was building it to go on a black hills trip, and figured I had plenty of time, well I ended up leaving 2 days late! The first time the truck went over 55mph was merging on the highway with my wife and all our shit packed embarking on a 1000mile one way 8day wheeling trip. The shake down trail was hal johns and I was the only one in the group not to break. Felt good!!

 

[gslander]

So I didn't die from the trip but had to make some changes, those SSRS had to go as they suck donkey dick and were rhombus shaped. I needed some new tires, more to come on those... In the meantime I needed to figure out why my steering box sucked ass and was overheating constantly. This couldn't be, people said the ford boxes were just as good as hydro assist.... So I threw the biggest cooler I could on there to cool it down.

still fucking over heats to this day. I believe it's because the box is like an inch away from the manifold. I need to build an inner fender well for it to shield it from the hot ass exhaust. I also have another ford box that I drilled and tapped that I need to install along with a ram.

 

[gslander]

I built this truck way too low, it's got a frame height of 23" on 37s with about 1" of uptravel. Remember me building this axle off the ifs center line? Yeah it continues to haunt me... So I got sick of my steering hitting my pitman arm and the oil pan so it was time for some bling. I got some fox bumps for it. Im pretty sure I have more $$$ in bump stops than the rest of the front suspension added up

Pax side was the easy side:

Driver side I had to hack up my shock mount, mount the can and weld the shock mount back to the can.

I gotta say air bumps are sweet! I thought it was a bunch of bro hype or they only belong on buggies, but damn they are awesome!! I want some for out back now.

 

[gslander]

Got some new tires at this point, I went with some toyo MTs as those were the only non interco 37 for a 15" rim. These tires somehow sucked worse offroad than the SSRs, but were awesome on the street which is what I needed as I don't have trailer and it's 8hrs of highway driving to the trails for me. These tires were way the hell too wide, but had some crazy thick sidewalls. I ran them for a season and sold them.

Click image for larger version Name: 24351705178_b8ec584fb1_b (1).jpg Views: 0 Size: 258.4 KB ID: 334797 I ended up picking up some 37x12.50 procomp MT2s on some 17" pro comp beadlocks, I love this combo!

That pretty much brings us up to today. If you have any questions on anything post up and I'll snap pics and answer. I did this one a shoe string budget as a challenge and because I'm cheap. The goal of the truck has always been simple reliable and strong and it has been so far. I wish I would have went with a dana 60 up front as I hate toyota steering angles, this truck is like trying to turn a battle ship on the trail. I suck at taking pics while building stuff and I move at glacial pace, this was 11yrs of building posted in this thread . Ask away!!

 

[gslander]

Went wheeling in Harlan a few weeks back and probably had my craziest break to date:

Bent the damn frame while beached on a rock and winching off on white tail crawl.

Here's how we fixed it:

I drove it 4hrs home and didn't die.

So the rear section of the frame from the rear cab mount back is in rough shape. The plan this winter or spring is to chop it off, replace with square tube and put the bed back on it. In the mean time I'll just weld a plate over where it bent and wheel it. Still not entirely sure how it happened, maybe it was being stuck ontop of a boulder, winching off a tree to my left while flooring it in double low put a trillion lbs of force on it.

 

[gslander]

Wheeling pics

 

[Clubbs]

Good stories. I particularly appreciate the nerve to wrench, weld, and fab for weeks then pile in it, turn the key and hit the road for a 1000 mile trip the second after it comes off Jack stands.

 

[gslander]

Good stories. I particularly appreciate the nerve to wrench, weld, and fab for weeks then pile in it, turn the key and hit the road for a 1000 mile trip the second after it comes off Jack stands.

Thanks, that's no trailer life for you! I was supposed to go on a few shakedowns runs somewhat local but you know how that goes lol. I should have taken a picture of my wife's face when I told her the "BTW this is the first time it's been over 45" as we are leaving.

 

[paradisePWoffrd]

Not sure if your yota axle is worth much, but you could likely put an SD front in there. Would need to modify the front suspension to work with it, or narrow the SD axle.

 

[gslander]

Not sure if your yota axle is worth much, but you could likely put an SD front in there. Would need to modify the front suspension to work with it, or narrow the SD axle.

I hate building and like wheeling, so while I have kicked this idea around it will be a long time before I do it, if ever. The good thing is since it's Toyota, with the big land cruiser diff and setup for a solid axle swap Tacoma it's worth a decent amount of $$$ lol.

If I did do a 60 front I would swap the rear to a 14bolt or something and leave it all full width. My winter project in the mean time is cutting the back of this truck off at the cab and rebuilding the frame.

 

[paradisePWoffrd]

I hate building and like wheeling, so while I have kicked this idea around it will be a long time before I do it, if ever. The good thing is since it's Toyota, with the big land cruiser diff and setup for a solid axle swap Tacoma it's worth a decent amount of $$$ lol.

If I did do a 60 front I would swap the rear to a 14bolt or something and leave it all full width. My winter project in the mean time is cutting the back of this truck off at the cab and rebuilding the frame.

I understand that completely. If you need a hand, give me a shout, Im in the area.

 

[gslander]

I understand that completely. If you need a hand, give me a shout, Im in the area.

Will do!!! I actually work in Newton.

 

[gslander]

Doing a brake job and found a caliper that was fucked so after ordering parts I was laying under the truck and was wondering why my leafs weren't straight on the front driver side. I was banging away on the bottom leafs and noticed my main leaf was u shaped. Well fawk the damn main leaf cracked, I don't know if it was that last Harlan trip, windrock before it, or both. The shitty part is my dumb ass used some of the hardest springs to find stock, the damn fj62 rear springs. There has to be a jeep spring or something out there close...

Look up by the plate

So looks like it will be going under the knife sooner than I thought!

Good thing I caught that as I have been driving this thing to work all week and was planning on going wheeling a few times if any trips popped up.

 

[drkelly]

Doing a brake job and found a caliper that was fucked so after ordering parts I was laying under the truck and was wondering why my leafs weren't straight on the driver side. I was banging away on the bottom leafs and noticed my main leaf was u shaped. Well fawk the damn main leaf cracked, I don't know if it was that last Harlan trip, windrock before it, or both. The shitty part is my dumb ass used some of the hardest springs to find stock, the damn fj62 rear springs. There has to be a jeep spring or something out there close...

Look up by the plate
View attachment 361302
View attachment 361303

So looks like it will be going under the knife sooner than I thought!

Good thing I caught that as I have been driving this thing to work all week and was planning on going wheeling a few times if any trips popped up.

Time to four link it?

 

[gslander]

Time to four link it?

It's the front so no easy way to 4link it. I need to lay under it today with a tape measure and some spring charts and see what will work, I was web wheeling last night and found waggy springs are really close to the dimensions of these fj62 springs.

 

[1stgenxxx]

I've got some springs that I took off of my rig. 48"ish eye to eye. The are old man emu but I cant make out the PN. One of them has a broken center pin. Will trade for

 

[gslander]

I've got some springs that I took off of my rig. 48"ish eye to eye. The are old man emu but I cant make out the PN. One of them has a broken center pin. Will trade for

What's the center pin to spring eye measurements?

 

[1stgenxxx]

looks like 22.75 from front bolt hole to center pin