I picked up this 1987 pickup last summer as a daily driver intending to just pound the pavement with it and leave it alone...yeah, that's just laughable now. I can't leave stuff alone! It wasn't long before things started to change. Here's how it looked shortly after bringing her home...sweet faded paint job and all!



This isn't my first rodeo, but I had to sell my last yota when the wife and I moved to Illinois from Idaho for me to work on my master's work. Long story behind that one, but it actually turned out pretty sweet. I traded my old runner, it got stolen (not cool), wheels and tires were taken (new 37" mtr's), and the truck was left in an orchard. A buddy of mine helped the guy I sold the truck to pull it out and my buddy ended up buying it for $500 (with 12k mile fresh motor, Marlin 4 inch suspension, 5.29's, yada, yada, yada). Needless to say, he got a screaming deal out of it and put all of my gear on his rig. Here's my old runner and his pickup with all my old parts.






After coming back to Idaho...

I started the planning of the new rig.

The build on the new rig isn't going anywhere near where the last one was, but I do have a rough idea of the plan. Right now the wife is stoked about an expedition build and the prospect of tooling around central/northern idaho this summer and maybe even up into Canada a bit. Here's what I've done so far:

- Engnbldr Street RV head and Crawler 261c camshaft (head gasket blew 3 weeks after I bought the truck)
- Weber 32/36 carb
- Catco high flow catalytic converter
- Custom 2.5" mandrel bent exhaust from stock manifold back
- Ball joint spacers up front (traded with a friend for some triple drilled flanges)
- Free rear lift springs (not sure what brand or how much lift...super stiff, going to change for some Ford 54" springs later)
- Over valved Rancho rear shocks (temporary until I get the rear set up how I like and pickup some Bilsteins)
- 32x11.50r15 Open Country XTR's (screaming deal off Craigslist)
- 8" wide black rims (again, screaming deal off Craigslist)
- '94 4Runner bucket seats
- Hella 500 off road lights

Here are the pics of where she sits:












It's late tonight. More info on the plans of the build to come. Any thoughts or critique are certainly welcome.

 

critique; why'd you sell it for $500?!

 

he did not sell it again, it was stolen from the guy he sold it too, stripped and dumped. The guy that bought it sold it to his buddy for $500.

too bad, that 4runner was pretty sweet

 

exactly. i traded that 4runner straight across for a 97 civic with 90k miles. i felt it was a fair trade. funny part is the exact same week my old 4runner was stolen we got t-boned in the civic and totaled it. must have been some cosmic karma or something.

the 4runner was definitely still in progress when i sold it, but knowing that my buddy has the majority of the parts makes the sting a little less. it's really fun to watch him continue with the build of his rig. he's actually the son of my buddy and is in high school. needless to say, he's got one of the sweetest yotas at middleton high!

 

Thanks Russel,

I love my truck even though it may still be a work in progress i think i only have about $3000 into my truck with the cost of the actual truck

 

now that i've got the lift on my '87 we need to get out while there is still snow on the ground. i'm hoping to make it to jalopy jungle on tuesday (my day off) and look for a 7.5" LSD from an early 80's supra. if i can snag one, that would make a sweet front setup. i still won't be able to follow you everywhere, but we should try something soon. i also have that winch still in my garage that i am dying to get mounted up. might have to swing by pac-steel on tuesday too and see if i can scrounge up some scrap that will work.

also, while i'm on the topic of things to be done in short order, i think i've got a line on a used power steering box for cheap. i'll need to rebuild it. i haven't looked into the cost/difficulty of rebuilding an ifs box, but it shouldnt be too bad...now, if i just had a line on a cheap power steering pump....

 

i need to stop staying up late reading

 

no way...that's the best time to perouse yotatech!

 

Hmmm. . . maybe our shop?

 

sweet. i knew you said you had one last summer but know you've been selling parts since then too. let me know what you want out of the ps pump and reservoir.

 

Did you find treasure in the jungle?

 

i have no idea what you're talking about...what jungle?

 

had a question about more details on the lift/stance of the truck, so here is my response with some of the particulars:


"right now i have 1.5" ball joint spacers in the front with the torsion bars cranked another .5". the rear is a set of worn out 3" springs that i think are giving about 2.5" of lift. i don't know what brand they are since they were given to me from a friend. my guess is they are superlift or rancho or something like that. they ride pretty stiff right now, but i think that is mostly because i've got rancho shocks in the back that are valved for a cherokee, not a pickup. hopefully new shocks this week.

i found the tires on craigslist...they are 32x11.50r15's. so far they have been great. the wheels are 8" wide and i think have 2.5 inches backspacig...so they stick out just a bit farther than stock.

that's the rundown for right now. as far as a pretty cheap, reliable build goes, i think this is definitely the way to go."

 

had another pm asking about the difficulty of installing the bj spacers. there is information ad nauseum on the forum about this, but i thought i would post up my experience with it. here is my reply to that private message:



"it is relatively easy to accomplish. took me 2 hours to do both sides. here's a link to the procedure i used.

http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/...er_HowTo.shtml

i did not cut my upper control arms. i used a punch and 5lbs sledge hammer and about 150 swings per side to make enough room for the spacers. i felt this was a better way to go than cutting.

you will definitely need an alignment after you do the install. i followed the instructions on the link i just gave you to get my alignment back into relatively close spec (this took me another 1.5 hours). it still needs an alignment but is drivable without shredding my tires.

i have never done my own alignment on an ifs, but these instructions are very thourough and the process is relatively simple. i did it in my garage with minimal hand tools. installing the ball joint spacers is also a simple, hand tool job. nothing technical and nothing scarry.

as a note, it helps to have a friend to help pry up on the upper control arm when you are trying to get the ball joint spacer and ball joint put back into position. the torsion bar pushes the upper control arm down and you need someone to help pry it up with a bar while you insert the bj spacer and bj."




hope this helps someone else get the job done effeciently.


r

 

The link you posted wasnt working, here is the one that should be good to go...http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/...GetAnAlignment

 

fixed. thanks a ton! not sure what the deal was.

 

No problem man, the Pickup is looking great, i like the direction youre going with it! Def keep us updated and keep the pics coming!

 

Subscribed and waiting for the rig to be ready for Chile...

 

refering to jalopy jungle as the jungle and good deals as treasure

 

oh...i wish. i had too much to do on my day off to actually get to go do something fun. oh well, i'm hopeful that i'll get out there soon and look for an lsd for either the front or rear. been reading up on the toyota 7.5" lsd and 8" lsd. sounds like a great, cheap option for this build.