So I haven't been active on Yotatech much over the last 2 years b/c I sold this setup:



and sold this:



to buy this:



and this:



It's been fun for sure, but I do miss that 3rd gen. I miss having a nice 4wd rig to drive on the street and I miss doing "trail rides" as we mostly just do "obstacles" with the '85. So when I saw hawkdog's rig for sale, I just had to have it:



So last week I drove about 800 miles roundtrip and brought it home on a trailer. Woohoo, I've got a 3rd gen again!

Now, it's got a lot of mods and some problems. Mods are:

Lift using SAW's in front and OME coils rear with OME shocks rear
2" Roger Brown bodylift
315/75/16 BFG KM2's on 16x8 steelies
Budbuilt front and belly skidplates
Factory 4.30 gears and e-locker
Aussie locker in front
Kennesaw mountain rear bumper w/ tire carrier, jerry can mount, and hi-lift mount
CB mounted in dash
Transmission cooler
Power steering cooler
All pro sliders



Problems are (no complaints b/c of the price he sold it for):

Needs rear axle seals, bearings, rear brakes, e-brake
Transmission has some issues-maybe related to rear axle or solenoids
No front bumper
One broken door handle from tree
One broken mount on drivers seat



My plans are to (trying not to get to carried away-we know how well that usually works though):

Give it a serious cleaning inside, outside, underneath, everywhere
Run the codes first to see what's up with the light
Fix the issues in the rear axle
If the rear axle doesn't fix the trans. problems, then fix or replace the trans.
Check front end suspension components and wheel bearings to make sure everything is up to par
Change all the fluids
Change belts, hoses and timing belt and water pump if they need it
Cut the sliders off and move them up to match the bodylift
Possibly move the rear bumper up too, or maybe sell it and do something different for a rear bumper-undecided there so far
Get a custom front bumper or used winch bumper
Winch
May stick with the 4.30 gears if it drives ok, if not may go to a smaller tire
Roofrack and possibly a camping lab rooftop tent

I bought this rig mainly for mild wheeling trips that we could also camp out of so that my 3 year old son and wife could have a little more fun wheeling. They like the '85, but really prefer to ride mild stuff than to stand around for hours while we try obstacles. I'm really excited and look forward to the project. I also look forward to getting back into Yotatech and talking with some of the original crowd and some of the new.

 

welcome back you have some very nice rigs!

 

blah blah blah

 

Now, now, WW wouldn't be a wee bit upset about 18 minutes too late on his post would he?!

 

Hey, how did that 3rd GEN do pulling that Niagara? Sorry to revive and old thread..

 

It did great, but it had a 5spd and 4.88 gears with the 33's. Also had a better clutch. I used a sway controller, but no weight distributing hitch. I could basically run any speed I wanted and I towed it up to Tellico a couple of times.

 

Damn this forum, I was trying to figure out the PM's.. but Failed..

I tow my Niagara with a 2009 Tacoma, it works great. I bought a 97 4runner, and would like to be able to tow with that as well. I am running 255/85/16 on stock gears for now so... I don't think I can. 4.88 is on the road map for upgrades though. It is good to know I could tow it.

I would even have attempted it for fear of the unknown.. I am using the landcruiser coils in the rear of the runner (Sonoran 1.2 lift) so didn't know how they would handle the weight.

I am going to do the axle flip on the Niagara after getting a lower profile AC unit so it will still fit in the garage. Great camper. nice Step up by the way.. So you tow the First Gen behind?

 

If you have an auto you may tow it just fine, find out what geasr you have though. I later owned a '96 with auto, 35's and 4.30 gears and it felt just as strong as the 5spd, 4.88's, and 33's.

I sold the '99 about 3 years ago and tow the 1st gen with my 2500 Suburban. I no longer own the '96 on 35's either. The Niaga weight is well within the thrid gens limts of 5000 pounds if you have the 3.4. The Niagara maxes out at 3700 pounds.

 

Welcome back dude!

Fink

 

Thanks. But, I am actually 3rd gen less right now. Sold the '99 years ago and the '96 earlier this year, not long after I purchased it. Just concentrating on the '85 right now b/c it rides on a trailer and it really doesn't matter what I do to it.

I do have a 2007 Taco CC TRD 4x4 work vehicle with 165,000 miles on it! Love it!

 

welcome back... lets see some picks of the work truck...
Don't forget the 2011 calendar thread is open post up some pics

 

Here's the work truck a few months ago sitting in the driveway:





All stock except for a toolbox, used Allpro bumper, and Warn M8000, yes it's got the locker

 

Lemme find that, I may post this:

 

LMFAO at that last pic, that's a classic hahahahaha definitely calender worthy in my opinion!!!

 

Yeah, the Rock Monkey (my camo rig) got a little crazy last weekend:





Obviously, those guys were close friends and didn't care that I did that, I was actually trying to push that red truck out, but instead drove up on him.

 

uhh....got any info on that "thing" beside your rig in the last picture?

trying to figure it out...looks like a single cab pickup, with maybe an FJ cruiser rear welded onto the cab, and wtf is up with the tailgate?

I LIKE IT

 

'91 FJ80 Landcruiser turned into a 2 door pickup. Tailgate is what is left of the factory rear hatch.

Another shot of it:



Oh yeah, it's on 40" MTR's.