awesomeissquid
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It looks like the bottom sits below the spare. Are you going to build some sort of storage tray thing?
100 Series Ute Conversion
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It looks like the bottom sits below the spare. Are you going to build some sort of storage tray thing?
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- #202
Getting closer to a stopping point on the project since I have to get moved out of the house in the next few weeks. So I am at the stage of getting it ready to drive and move stuff and then work on it again later in the summer or as time permits.
So I went ahead and put hammertone in the door jamb to cover over the grey seam sealer and now I just need to get motivated for redoing the top and back panel.
I ended up using the 4 old tie down loops from the back as a sort of washer for the side rail bolts. Probably just a temp solution for tying stuff down, but since they were just laying around decided to give them a go.
Went ahead and just used the tail lights I had. Of course I grounded out the brake wire at some point and had to replace the fuse in order for it to go into gear without hitting the over ride switch. Having the fenders tie into the old spare tire cross member brackets worked out pretty good as i was still able to spin the spare tire lowering tool around under the flat bed and didn't get much interference from how the fender was placed. Also, ended up just making a heavy bracket to slot up under the gas neck to hold it in place, hopefully this works out ok for filling it up and not wearing a hole in the side of the neck from vibration.
Ended up looking ok from the back in my opinion, but I would like to change the tail lights and filler neck at some point. Regardless it will work for now!
So I went ahead and put hammertone in the door jamb to cover over the grey seam sealer and now I just need to get motivated for redoing the top and back panel.
I ended up using the 4 old tie down loops from the back as a sort of washer for the side rail bolts. Probably just a temp solution for tying stuff down, but since they were just laying around decided to give them a go.
Went ahead and just used the tail lights I had. Of course I grounded out the brake wire at some point and had to replace the fuse in order for it to go into gear without hitting the over ride switch. Having the fenders tie into the old spare tire cross member brackets worked out pretty good as i was still able to spin the spare tire lowering tool around under the flat bed and didn't get much interference from how the fender was placed. Also, ended up just making a heavy bracket to slot up under the gas neck to hold it in place, hopefully this works out ok for filling it up and not wearing a hole in the side of the neck from vibration.
Ended up looking ok from the back in my opinion, but I would like to change the tail lights and filler neck at some point. Regardless it will work for now!
I know you did an estimate earlier of finished weight. Do you have any plans to confirm that on a scale?
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- #204
I am going to make a dump run in the next week or so, so that should get me a good final weight. According to my estimates there is still about 6 inches of rake so I don't think a great deal of weight was added (unless it all just shifted forward a lot), but the scales won't lie!
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- #205
Put some hammertone on the grey paint yesterday and it made the back look a lot less noticable. I finally used a foam roller to apply the hammertone and it worked out so good I am tempted to paint the rest of the rig the same now.
Since I am in town this weekend, I might go ahead and build a front bumper to fix that fat lip in front now.
Since I am in town this weekend, I might go ahead and build a front bumper to fix that fat lip in front now.
How does the 100's brake proportioning valve compensate for varying weight on the back axle? is it "smart"? My 1984 version of this project has a mechanical "spring" (lever) that (supposedly) adjusts the braking power at the rear... it doesn't. Currently, my truck just drags the back tires if I apply more than 30% of the pedal. Yeah, that's getting addressed.
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- #207
Good question, I will have to look into that a little closer. From memory there is a lot of cables and lines on the back axle so it is probably a mechanical system of some type, or does the abs compensate?? Maybe I will just road test it and see if I have similar problems.
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- #208
Decided to get started on the front bumper yesterday afternoon since It would be convenient to get rid of some scrap metal prior to moving. I think with the pieces laying around I have the potential to make a decent bumper from them.
After taking off the cover it funny to see just how low it goes.
I was a little disappointing with how the windshield fluid reservoir interferes with the passenger side angles for the bumper. I am not going to relocate it, but will probably just trim some of the plastic shield away.
I took about an inch off of the front mount. The funny thing was I felt more apprehensive about this cut that chopping the top off!
And after some dinking around and trying to figure out what direction to do things I decided to mount the main structure in this way with 1 front bolt and 1 top through bolt. We will see how things go from here, but I think this will be a solid base to start from.
After taking off the cover it funny to see just how low it goes.
I was a little disappointing with how the windshield fluid reservoir interferes with the passenger side angles for the bumper. I am not going to relocate it, but will probably just trim some of the plastic shield away.
I took about an inch off of the front mount. The funny thing was I felt more apprehensive about this cut that chopping the top off!
And after some dinking around and trying to figure out what direction to do things I decided to mount the main structure in this way with 1 front bolt and 1 top through bolt. We will see how things go from here, but I think this will be a solid base to start from.
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- #209
So a couple of months ago I ordered some new upper control arms and finally got around to putting them on this weekend. There was still grease in the joint but as you can see the boot was shot.
I went with the cheap freedom off-road brand off of amazon for a try. They appear to be beefier than the oem ones, and the ball joint seemed pretty good to me, but time will tell on that one.
The geometry is a little different since they are made for a 2-4" lift.
Overall a very easy part to swap in if someone is thinking about replacing these on their vehicle.
I went with the cheap freedom off-road brand off of amazon for a try. They appear to be beefier than the oem ones, and the ball joint seemed pretty good to me, but time will tell on that one.
The geometry is a little different since they are made for a 2-4" lift.
Overall a very easy part to swap in if someone is thinking about replacing these on their vehicle.
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- #210
Moving forward on the bumper, I put the top edge in first to make sure it was level and offset well with the body.
Then filled in the bottom structure with a lot of pita cuts of 1" tube with the grinder.
And then tacked in some sheet metal to fill in the gaps.
I need to add more gussets and such, but the hardest part is probably done on this bumper now.
I am happy with the general shape of it, and it should be pretty easy to fill in the middle part to make it look good... or at least interesting
Then filled in the bottom structure with a lot of pita cuts of 1" tube with the grinder.
And then tacked in some sheet metal to fill in the gaps.
I need to add more gussets and such, but the hardest part is probably done on this bumper now.
I am happy with the general shape of it, and it should be pretty easy to fill in the middle part to make it look good... or at least interesting
Running a winch in that gap (sorry if you said so already)?Moving forward on the bumper, I put the top edge in first to make sure it was level and offset well with the body.
View attachment 2629744
Then filled in the bottom structure with a lot of pita cuts of 1" tube with the grinder.
View attachment 2629745
And then tacked in some sheet metal to fill in the gaps.
View attachment 2629747
I need to add more gussets and such, but the hardest part is probably done on this bumper now.
View attachment 2629748
I am happy with the general shape of it, and it should be pretty easy to fill in the middle part to make it look good... or at least interesting
View attachment 2629746
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- #212
I am thinking about making some type of removable grill thing in the gap, that will just bolt on. That way if I wanted to add a winch or some other accessory (snowplow?) later it would be easy without cutting up the bumper.
On another note, dropped off the "pick-up" at the tire shop to get the brake fluid changed, AC charged, and the alignment done last night. It was fun to hear the guy at the counter sound confused when his computer pulled up toyota land cruiser!
I am a little concerned that some of the wiring to the back that I currently have disconnected may have to do with the ABS system. The warning light is on, but hopefully that is just from air in the system after I changed out the booster pump motor during the build. I guess I will find out today.
Could you have disconnected wheel speed sensors?
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- #214
Yep, that is probably the culprit. I didn't want to mess with the wiring harness to the rear this summer, but looks like some stuff is missing. Not so concerned about having ABS, I would probably prefer to delete it... but if the rear locker isn't engaging we have a problem!
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- #215
So got the "truck" back yesterday and surprisingly enough the alignment was still in spec. I was a little surprised at this considering I put new UCA's in and then cranked the torsion bars as high as they would go (in anticipation of putting new ones in this week for a front lift).
Measuring from center cap to fender vertically, I now have a difference of 20 7/8" inches. As I said before I plan on putting new torsion bars this week and the UCAs that are now in are good for 2-4" of lift supposedly. I am guessing I might be in that range now, since the rake on the vehicle is around 2-3". I was trying to find what the stock difference is supposed to be on the forum, but it is hiding from me. If anyone knows this number let me know.
Other than that, I went ahead and filled up the car on my way home to see if the gas cap at the back is going to work out with the slope to the fuel tank. I am happy to report that it filled up perfect and stopped when it should have, without spraying gasoline all over the place.
Measuring from center cap to fender vertically, I now have a difference of 20 7/8" inches. As I said before I plan on putting new torsion bars this week and the UCAs that are now in are good for 2-4" of lift supposedly. I am guessing I might be in that range now, since the rake on the vehicle is around 2-3". I was trying to find what the stock difference is supposed to be on the forum, but it is hiding from me. If anyone knows this number let me know.
Other than that, I went ahead and filled up the car on my way home to see if the gas cap at the back is going to work out with the slope to the fuel tank. I am happy to report that it filled up perfect and stopped when it should have, without spraying gasoline all over the place.
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- #216
Tried to get the bumper finished out last night and of course I ran out of wire. So I jumped on putting new torsion bars in.
They went in pretty easy. Not sure if this is a common trick or not, but when I installed them I barely had the tire off of the ground. As I tightened them down, when the tire touched the ground (or wouldn't wiggle with my foot) I stopped. Both sides ended up being at the same height after this and I had 3 inches of drop still with the new control arms.
Center hub to fender is 22" now, So I am guessing the front is lifted about 2-3" now?? It seems like everything I find people say this is generally 19-20" from the factory??
So with the front suspension reworked. It looks like the body is at about 2" of rake now. This should work out good with a little bit of a load in back.
As for how much actual lift has taken place who knows. But I do know that it is nice and spacious to work under the rig now. There is over 16" of space up to frame with 33" tires on.
They went in pretty easy. Not sure if this is a common trick or not, but when I installed them I barely had the tire off of the ground. As I tightened them down, when the tire touched the ground (or wouldn't wiggle with my foot) I stopped. Both sides ended up being at the same height after this and I had 3 inches of drop still with the new control arms.
Center hub to fender is 22" now, So I am guessing the front is lifted about 2-3" now?? It seems like everything I find people say this is generally 19-20" from the factory??
So with the front suspension reworked. It looks like the body is at about 2" of rake now. This should work out good with a little bit of a load in back.
As for how much actual lift has taken place who knows. But I do know that it is nice and spacious to work under the rig now. There is over 16" of space up to frame with 33" tires on.
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- #217
So I took the first load of stuff for my move this weekend. The truck still handled pretty good with about 6-700 lbs in back. I did notice it leaning more than normal on the sharp corners (it's a 70 mile drive to the new place through a river canyon road) with the load in. On the way back down it was a lot better. I also took it on some muddy/slushy roads and with the ABS out it was a lot funner sliding around corners than having the ABS pulse when you are on the brakes.
Anyway back in my shop I decided to start filling in the gap for the bumper. Since some of the remnant pieces I purchased earlier had a slight bend to them, I went ahead and used it as the base for the fill piece.
After some trimming Decided the bast way to attach would be with threading some holes so it can bolt on. That way it will be easy to remove since I see this as more of a temporary cover.
The main frame done.
I tried filling it in with the 1" square tube, but don't really like the look of it.
Instead, I will see if there is some expanded metal at the hardware store today to fill in the open space or just use flat stock to make horizontal slats tonight.
Anyway back in my shop I decided to start filling in the gap for the bumper. Since some of the remnant pieces I purchased earlier had a slight bend to them, I went ahead and used it as the base for the fill piece.
After some trimming Decided the bast way to attach would be with threading some holes so it can bolt on. That way it will be easy to remove since I see this as more of a temporary cover.
The main frame done.
I tried filling it in with the 1" square tube, but don't really like the look of it.
Instead, I will see if there is some expanded metal at the hardware store today to fill in the open space or just use flat stock to make horizontal slats tonight.
Looking great! Love the progress
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- #219
So finally got around to finishing out the bumper and center fill piece and after a little paint applied in my paint booth (aka back yard) they were ready for install.
Ended up looking ok with the expanded metal imo, and at least it will be hard for sticks to poke the radiator.
After a quick trip to the car wash and removing the sombrero off the grill things are looking pretty sharp, and now only toyota fans will be able to readily identify it's origins (from the front anyway).
And with that I think it is time for a before and after picture (the day I bought it about 3 years ago and yesterday).
And sorry for all the extra large pictures on this thread I just realized I could shrink the photos down after trying to put a side by side comparison in!
Ended up looking ok with the expanded metal imo, and at least it will be hard for sticks to poke the radiator.
After a quick trip to the car wash and removing the sombrero off the grill things are looking pretty sharp, and now only toyota fans will be able to readily identify it's origins (from the front anyway).
And with that I think it is time for a before and after picture (the day I bought it about 3 years ago and yesterday).
And sorry for all the extra large pictures on this thread I just realized I could shrink the photos down after trying to put a side by side comparison in!
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