Builds 1981 Pickup build up (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

Been tinkering on it here and there slowly making progress. Got the a pillar tubes tacked in place along with the upper windshield tube last weekend.

Cool poser tractor flex shot...




 
Does anyone read this??

I got a decent bit done on the exo. I need to figure out seat mounts, then I can pull the front part of the cage off, then yank the cab off again so I can finish the floors and finish welding the cage. Its getting closer.

Roof:


Spare tire mount/shock crossmember:


Cage:


Obviously I still need to add more member to the cage. But the main structure is done.
 
Hey! Thanks for the motor! This rig is something else! you should post pics of that custom floor.
 
pretty sweet build!
I used to hate exo cages but know that I have an internal cage I hate that more! im about to cut it out and build an exo around the passenger compartment.
 
I'll post up some more pics of the floor when I take the cab off to finish it. The only thing holding that up is figuring out seat mounts.

I too was never a fan of exo's but I definitely wouldnt fit with an incab cage. I've grown to like well executed exo's. Unfortunately there are a lot of horribly built exo's floating around.
 
Well time to get this thing finished. I bought some tires, not exactly what I wanted, but I got a good deal on them so they'll have to do. 39.5in Iroks...17in wheels will be arriving tomorrow. Hopefully I can get my friend to mount them up this week.

Over the long weekend I got quite a bit done. I had been stalled out on making seat mounts. But once I got over that hurtle it hopefully will be smooth sailing. Last night my friend and I lifted the body off the frame so that I could finish the bottom of the floor and finish all the welding that would be more difficult to do with the cab on. Today I got the floor finished and almost all of the cage work tacked. Hopefully tomorrow after work I can get a bunch of the finish welding done and maybe some paint on it so the cab can go back on.

Anyway here are pictures.



 
So this weekend was fairly productive. Saturday I got all of the chassis work welded that would otherwise be inaccessible with the cab on. Then a couple friends came over and helped me paint and put the cab back on. Today I got the front part of the exo finished and the IFS outers on. I'm going to run slip on Tacoma rotors with V6 mini truck calipers. Tomorrow night if I'm motivated I want to get the IFS rear axle in the truck and the front fenders clearanced for the cage and tires.



 
Looks good. :cool:

Edit: By the way, if you are going to really wheel you need to go ahead and do the longs now. I ran my truck twice with the sock birfs and exploded one last time out. I learned the hard way even though a lot of people told me I should go ahead and replace them. Also, I only have 37s so with those 39.5s your birfs don't stand a chance. There's a guy on here named Trevor that was selling a set of brand new Longs for like 550 a while back. I don't know if he still has them though.
 
Thanks!

I know you're right, but I'm stuck on what axles to run. On one hand if I keep running 39.5s I'd like to step up to either FJ62 axles, which I have or tons. My future plans for the truck include links and a v8, so 39.5s + mini truck axles + v8 powa isnt a very good equation. The other thought I had was to downsize to 37s in the spring and get some nice Trail Grapplers or some Toyo M/Ts. Downsizing tires would alleviate a few issues, but the 39.5s are SWEET!

Anyway I rolled the truck out today to measure for shocks. I still need to reinstall shifters, bedline the floor, install seats and harnesses, move the front axle even further forward, decide on my fuel system and whether or not I'm going to put the RE in now. I'm also in search of some stock LWB bed sides, I really want to put the skins on. But here are some pictures.








This thing scared the :censor: out of me while I was taking pictures
 
Looks good

Really like the tube work over the cab and the way it tucks nicely behind the fenders.Any plans to run bedsides over the tube?
 
Thanks!


I'm hoping to find some bedsides to run on it. But so far I've only found one 1st gen bed locally and they want more for it than I want to pay for 2 bedsides.
 
Fired up the ol 22R tonight. Getting darn close. Just need shocks, brake rotors, brake lines, hook up the clutch line and mount the 5 point harnesses.
 
Drove it around this weekend. Today I turned my hubs down so that Tacoma rotors would slip over them. Shocks came today. Leaving next Friday for its shake down run. Gotta do shocks, mount the calipers, run brake lines, install harnesses, rebuild the cage node where the a-pillar meets the sliders to try and gain more tire room. If I have time I'll build a front bumper.

 
I worked on my truck a bit recently. Most of my fuel system parts came in Friday, still waiting on the Aeroquip hose and 2 fittings. So I started getting ideas on where to mount my cell. I also whipped up a front bumper with the help of a friend. I designed it on Bend Tech Pro and then built it according to the printouts. It worked great, I dont know why I waited so long to buy it.

Pictures...







I ended up moving the whole bumper 1in closer to the truck after I took the pictures. I think that was a big improvement. I'm going to tie the top hoops into the a-pillar tubes over the headlights and through the fenders.

Tomorrow I'm going to start getting the fuel system in and finish pulling the EFI parts off the donor 22re.
 
Thanks! I got a good bit done last night, working on it again after work tomorrow. Will post more pictures.
 
So I have the bottom of the fuel cell mount built, fuel system plumbed as far as I can without having the EFI parts on the engine and I added a leaf to each front pack and welded a spacer on the the drivers side perch.






Going to have to redo my exhaust, probably going to lose the flapper.

For the straps on my cell I'm going to run 2 pieces of flat stock vertically both on the front and back of the cell with a 1in flange on the top to match the flange on the cell. Then run 2 lengths of flat stock over the top of the cell sandwiching it. Is it necessary to use 2 bolts per corner of the cell (8 bolts in total) or is using 1 bolt per corner sufficient? Hope that makes sense...

Last but not least, my cell has a rollover valve on the vent. Should I still run the vent line as described in the BillaVista tech post? Or is just running the vent somewhere out of the way good enough?
 
Landcruisin'60 said:
Last but not least, my cell has a rollover valve on the vent. Should I still run the vent line as described in the BillaVista tech post? Or is just running the vent somewhere out of the way good enough?
Click to expand...

I'd just make it a point to not roll over. :D

Truck looks great!
 
KLF said:
I'd just make it a point to not roll over. :D

Truck looks great!
Click to expand...

I'll make a mental note not to roll :)

Thanks! I'm getting anxious to get out and wheel it.
 
I havent updated this in a bit. But the RE is in and running decently. It loads up at low RPM under heavy load. But I ripped it around in a field for a couple hours last weekend and plan to do the same this weekend since we're getting snow dumped on us currently. Here are some pictures.









Here's my buddy with his 4.3 Vortec 3rd gen, locked front and rear on 35in Kevlars doing some donuts.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

yotapickup
90 pickup rebuild/build
Replies
2
Views
408
yotapickup
yotapickup
T
Complete Bushing Set For 1981 Pickup?
Replies
3
Views
678
t6dpilot
T
T
1981 Pickup 4 X 4 New Owner
4 5 6
Replies
104
Views
12K
t6dpilot
T
tangerinedream
1982 pick up x 1999 Tacoma collab
Replies
9
Views
724
Beams37
Beams37

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom