Thread: Big Blue

so after being on here almost a year and a half i decided to make a build thread for my truck. its a 1995 toyota pickup, my first car, and first ever build, so there is a ton of ghetto stuff on it. it has the 2.4L 22re, and i got it for free from my cousin with over 200xxx miles on it.

day one.





this was all before i knew anything about prerunners, and i was unsure if i wanted to lift it or lower it (lowering it would have been sooo much cheaper!) but i ultimately decided to lift it. to make it look a little better for the time being, i painted the stock steelies black


the headgasket was gone, so i was loosing a ton of coolant, and i kept overheating every 1/4 mile going south up the grapevine, so my dad and i pulled the motor and tranny and went to town. we did a complete rebuild, all the way down to the block, acid dipping everything we could, and got an enginebuilder rebuild kit with new pistons cam (stock size), gaskets, connecting rods, cleaned the injectors, new clutch... and while we had the tranny out i cleaned it up pretty good.





blue paint to go with my color scheme (blue and black)

new pistons in


and then my brother and i bought another truck just like mine, except it was auto and motor was fried. we paid like 300 or 350 for it and flipped it and sold it to a mexican for i think 750.



then i blacked out my turn signals and moved the bulbs to the corner lamps


i had no luck looking for a decent "lift" for my 2wd truck, but i came across yotatech and a lot of people talking about total chaos longtravel. i read up on it, and read twisted sid's build on toyotanation.com, and that really made me want a prerunner.

then i went spearfishing with a friend a couple years ago in san diego and came across this, and i fell in love.



and so it began. i read on twisted sid's build thread what size wheels and tires would fit stock height, so i ordered up some 15x7 steelies and 235-75-15 yokohama geolanders (like 28.5" tall haha)



next i knew i wanted to do long travel, but didnt have the funds for it, so i started gathering parts. i was told that 2.0x12" shocks would work great for the front end, so i bought some kings and coils thinking it would be good. after a lot of people telling me to run 10s instead, i sold them


to get rid of the terrible tire rubbing i was having, i put on a 2" bodylift from 4crawler offroad. (no pictures, and i know, ugh bodylifts...) and then early december 2010 i found a used total chaos balljoint kit, spindles, heimed steering, and SAW torsion bars for sale on RDC in san diego, and went down there to have them install it. i also bought used ivan dan fenders from the classifieds here, and built my own "prerunner" bumper (i know i suck balls at welding. im using a harbor freight 220 flux welder and still learning haha) (i ran stock shocks for a while)



then i decided i wanted to get some better shocks on so i can use all the travel, and my friend sold me a set of fox 2.0x11" smoothbodies. i thought they were 10s so i could buy one more set and run duals, but screwed myself and didnt bother to measure.



with no real welding skills, i went and bought a 20ft stick of 1.5" 120 wall mild steel (see above picture) and decided to make my own shock hoops. i dont have a bender or a tube notcher, but i was told about chop saw notches. i said "screw it" and went to town! it was pretty time consuming and frustrating, but i had a ton of fun doing it, no matter how bad or weak it is.





i made a crossbrace that goes from the top nub of the drivers side to the top nub of the pass. side, and to mount the shocks, i cut a little piece of tube and put it horizontal between the sides of the hoops, so it looks like an A. then i just mounted tabs off that. im actually really surprised with it. ive jumped it, stuffed the front end, and trashed it, but there are no cracks and its still going good. i know for sure i want to have it redone professionally within the next month or so.

so now with my front "done" for the time being, i went on a little day trip to gorman with my dad and little sister.

going through some simple whoops, my back end was bucking like crazy! so i decided i needed to do something to it. i bought travisfab's chevy 62" junkyard leafpacks with a couple of deavers and nationals thrown in, and his 2.5x14" SAW shocks. i figured id get both since they were perfectly valved for his truck, which is basically my truck haha.

i knew i wanted dual standups, that way i can still load my dirtbike, and so i bought 2 new wheels, and 2, 31" wheel/tire sets from the classifieds here, sold the old wheels off the tires and threw mine on at my shop, and i knew how i wanted my cage to be done. much like matt nielson's red tacoma.
while i was gathering funds to have the bedcage made, i went to gorman with a couple buddies, and strapped teh spares in with a toolbox using a bajillion tie downs





stock rear ahhaha


i wanted to save money and try to build the rear myself. after a lot of thought i realized i suck at fabbing and didnt have the right tools, so after gathering all the parts i decided id pay someone to do it


then just as i was getting ready to have enough cash to get the bedcage work done at Killer Offroad Fab here in moorpark, i ran into some medical issues and had to have surgery on a vericose vein. i was out of work for 2 weeks (it was in my groin area, so no lifting or pushing ANYTHING.) and wasnt going to be able to pay chris the entire amount. he worked with me and let me do payments, taking a big risk on his part, and i really appreciate it. he did a great job on the cage and is a great guy! he did the cagework, made the shackles, and remounted all the hangers for the leafs and shackles.





i can still fit 2 dirtbikes in if i needed to, but one fits great!







i took it to our local, secret testing grounds (haha) with a couple of my buddies to try it out within an hour of getting my truck back. it handles sooo much better now and im extremely pleased with it.










and a better look at my sikky prerunner bumper (i mowed down a bush after not making a corner). miter cuts FTL



so this is where im at with my build. i might be picking up 2 sets of 2.0x10" fox smoothbodies next week, and i bought the TC shock towers a little while ago to run duals, so hopefully this is a good paycheck and i can afford it haha. plans for the near future are to make a set of lift spindles so i can hopefully take off the bodylift and not rub on the 31s, make a new bumper, install the dual 10s and make a simple engine cage/crossbrace, tie the bumper into the engine cage, bumpstops in the front, 31s, new idler arm (mine has too much play, so they cannot get a good reading on the wheel aligner, and my tires are getting worn wayyyy too fast), and possibly bedsides. id eventually like to cage the cab. i was thinking about getting the 4xinnovations cage and frame tie-in kit, not install the dead toobs, and tringulate it and make stronger where it needs to be. also with the extra set of spindles i have now, dirty dangler and i (a much better fabber than myself) are going to try making some lift spindles. maybe 3-4" to help with wheel clearance

oh and id like to go to some kind of tubed core support, or just cut out my entire inner fender and brace it like a mother so the tires dont rub. and id like to tub the firewalls a bit. a little later down id like glass bedsides as well

nice, i dig the bed cage and the usability of the bed still.
i didnt think anyone actually looked at my thread over there so i stopped updating it.

yeah man i was asking you a ton of questions on there haha. i pretty much copied your build aside from getting the uniball kit. that thread helped a lot

solid start man. There is a posse of the single cab yotas on here.. We need to get a trip with everyone together

Originally Posted by DWPhoto

solid start man. There is a posse of the single cab yotas on here.. We need to get a trip with everyone together

agreed. mine will be ready by fall!

Originally Posted by 93TCYOTA

agreed. mine will be ready by fall!

mine was going to be ready for new years 2011....

oh damnit that was 6 months ago.

Soon though!

Maybe an Ocotillo run or something for you AZ homos

haha well mine has to be "completed" soon since its all chopped up! those are fighten words right there.. lol

haha im so down! let me get my front end buttoned up. the idler arm is toast, so the passenger tire wobbles like crazy and i cant get a reading out of the alignment machine, and its trashing my tires. also im having my spare set of spindles converted into +4" (or 3") lift spindles with my buddy adam and a couple other guys, and then a new bumper. all that should be done within the next month, and i just got back from adams house, building rodney a bumper for his yota. we have a pretty good local group of guys and a big camping trip would be way fun.

id be down for a single cab yota romp!! just got to get the truck legal again.kit or not kit on it ime down for it! would be nice to see all the inspiring yota trucks of DR.

Originally Posted by the bodj

haha im so down! let me get my front end buttoned up. the idler arm is toast, so the passenger tire wobbles like crazy and i cant get a reading out of the alignment machine, and its trashing my tires. also im having my spare set of spindles converted into +4" (or 3") lift spindles with my buddy adam and a couple other guys, and then a new bumper. all that should be done within the next month, and i just got back from adams house, building rodney a bumper for his yota. we have a pretty good local group of guys and a big camping trip would be way fun.

Might have something that will do the trick for you for cheap.. stock set up with Idle arm gusset I think its downey? As I just scored some king kong steering for my truck.

Originally Posted by DWPhoto

As I just scored some king kong steering for my truck.

you got to keep bringing that up dont you....

Originally Posted by Twisted Sid

you got to keep bringing that up dont you....

I'll send you a photo real soon haha

Originally Posted by the bodj

haha im so down! let me get my front end buttoned up. the idler arm is toast, so the passenger tire wobbles like crazy and i cant get a reading out of the alignment machine, and its trashing my tires. also im having my spare set of spindles converted into +4" (or 3") lift spindles with my buddy adam and a couple other guys, and then a new bumper. all that should be done within the next month, and i just got back from adams house, building rodney a bumper for his yota. we have a pretty good local group of guys and a big camping trip would be way fun.

just saw these
RDC | race-dezert.com | TOYOTA PICK UP (1984-1995) LIFT SPINDLES -4 INCH-

Originally Posted by DWPhoto

Might have something that will do the trick for you for cheap.. stock set up with Idle arm gusset I think its downey? As I just scored some king kong steering for my truck.

hey man shoot me a text in the morning im really interested 805 390-9786

Originally Posted by Twisted Sid

just saw these
RDC | race-dezert.com | TOYOTA PICK UP (1984-1995) LIFT SPINDLES -4 INCH-

yeah ive seen those too. i think we're going to double shear our steering though

so it looks like im going to be picking up elliot's idler arm sometime next week(ish). should have an update soon

i saw those spindles too. i was curious about getting a set but i wanted to get it set up for heim steering. hey bodj does your buddy know how to make six lug 4x4 lift spindles?

honestly im not sure, im keeping mine 5 lug, and this is the first set of spindles hes making. the spindles he is building are not drilled out for heimed steering, but the ones on my truck currently are. all we have to do is drill it out, but its a little time consuming. id also like to double shear them

took her out today for some pictures

quick update: got some new (to me) parts from DW photo. hopefully putting that on tomorrow. ill get pics and update. should be done and aligned by monday

nice little yota man. your gonna keep it on torsions? an theres also 2 hoods on dr for sale that go with your fenders

yeah i think so, i found 2 sets of 10s (4 shocks total) on RDC last week for a total of like 210$. im not racing, and they can be made to work really well. also for the hood, my buddy has the hood i need, and i have the hood he needs hhaa. but he wants to go to a one piece soon, so im gonna buy his

note to self. the hole for pitman arms to go onto the steeringbox shaft splines is larger on trucks with powersteering than on trucks without. pulling pitman arms off balljoints suckkssss

update. steering is on and drives like a champ. little bit of carnage tonight. the shock hoops and crossbrace i built a while back broke at the welds tonight while taking my pops out for a little night sesh. im honestly surprised they lasted this long. my welds+harbor freight flux 220v welder+chop saw notches=LOSE

oh i forgot. the other night i went to go repaint the bedcage, and i had a bunch of cans left over from various other paint jobs, so i wasnt paying attention and some are gloss and some were semigloss, so my bedcage looks like poop. also i got tired of my shock bodies and resi bodies rusting, so i steel wooled them, masked off the caps and hoses and everything else i didnt want to paint, and went to town. i did one or 2 light coats, so it shouldnt have much effect on the cooling. i used high temp engine paint.




and new steering. painted the frame a bit and the steering too. big thanks to DW photo for hooking me up

no problem man...

and dude you painted your shocks black... lol who does that ? what happened to Clear coating them ?

there was too much rust on them. even after steel wooling them, they were still stained. it looks really good hahaha. in the picture the paint is still wet so it lookslike poop.

update! got the new engine cage built thanks to adam (dirtydangler)
removable crossmember


passenger side


poly performance mounts



drivers side
clears the brake booster thanks to the 2" BL haha


had to notch and plate the hoop to clear the lower part, though

New front hoops look good!

Mike

thanks man! im really stoked on how they came out! adam really did a great job. all i did to help was grind a bit and hold stuff in place haha. we have the hoops set up for 10s, but im currently running 11s. fox has the weirdest sizes.

i like the one you did better bodj

that looks really good! way better than the flux core 5000 set up that you had before!

I like the notch out for the booster.

Poly Performance JEEP/TRUCK & BUGGY*::*Bump Stops & Mounts*::*Daystar Urethane & Foam Bump Stops*::*Daystar Bump Stop w/ 10mm Single Stud - 4X4 Off-Road Parts, JK Synergy Suspension Systems, Fox Racing Shox, Beard, CNC Brakes, Johnny Joints®, Currie

Originally Posted by dirtydangler

i like the one you did better bodj

-______-

if anyone other than you or elliot sees those my heart will be broken </3

ps: order me up some of those bumps and add them to my bill haha

---------- Post added at 06:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:54 PM ----------

Originally Posted by DWPhoto

that looks really good! way better than the flux core 5000 set up that you had before!

I like the notch out for the booster.

dont mess with harbor freight welders!!! hahahahahahha. yeah adam did a solid job! im super stoked on it

time for a little bump. nothing really new with the truck. if any of you have been following the fishing thread youd know ive been diving a lot more than working on big blue





i did have a little problem with the cross shaft coming loose from the frame, so much so that i lost my alignment shims and the bolt backed itself all the way out while driving home from work



but i got that all fixed up and good to go. been driving it at our local spot about once or twice a week with no major problems (besides blowing my turn signal fuses CONSTANTLY. i gotta find where its shorting out)

Dont use shims, washers are more of a pain in the ass, but it's the only way to go.

best advice ive been given yet! heck yeah! i dont know why i didnt think of it before hahah. ill throw on the shims and see where im at for alignment, pull them off and mic. the size of them and figure out the washer situation. awesome man im so stoked haha

Its about time, you bumped this. Almost forgot you had it haha.

hah well realistically im probably not gonna have ANY updates on this for a looong time. ive got stuff with higher priority right now. next step for this would be coilovers and cage, both cost lots of monayyys