1980 Longbed Pickup Build - Epically Slow Style

[Sam Stewart]

MASSIVE PICTURE UPDATE (Facebook required)

So, I haven't retrieved my camera yet but there are a bunch of pictures on facebook. Here are a few that other people have posted:

Oops...

Oops again...

 

[Sam Stewart]

 

[Sam Stewart]

What a great event. Definitely the best ACC Fall Gathering-ride-thingy yet. It was cold at night (got down to 25 the first night) but the weather during the day was awesome. I crunched the front fender on the left side about 10 times in different spots. I smashed the rear left bed side as well. I knocked my OTHER side tail light out. Bent the front drive shaft pretty bad. ... I think that was about it. The truck did awesome with the dirty 30s. I have an updated list of mods, upgrades, etc that I will be working on in no particular order and in no particular hurry:

Truck bed tool box for spares, tools, air comp, etc - You may recall I had one when I got the truck and got rid of it. I should have just kept it.

Air compressor for said tool box

Tube doors - I will eventually actually buy these and stop talking about it

Fix front driveshaft - Going to have the tube cut off and replaced

Check wheel bearings, etc - Front wheel is cambered in or out depending. I think the wheel might be bent.

2 or 4 Tires - Going to keep an eye on CL to see about some tires that have a little more tread. They have done fine so far so not a priority right now.

Figure out a way to put my phone somewhere so I can charge it while driving

Brake upgrade - 4Runner calipers, FJ60 rotors, 4Runner or T100 master cylinder. Also not a huge priority.

Fix e-brake again - Replaced the front cable but I think the rear is still binding.

 

[Phares]

I'm no rocket scientist, just a nuclear engineer, but that drive shaft looks bad...sweet photos though.

 

[Sam Stewart]

I'm no rocket scientist, just a nuclear engineer, but that drive shaft looks bad...sweet photos though.

I drove and wheeled it the whole rest of the weekend like that. I just couldn't go over about 3 mph. Could be worse. Thanks for commenting on the photos. I didn't take a single one though.

Sent from another Galaxy

 

[TeddyBoy]

Truck bed tool box for spares, tools, air comp, etc - You may recall I had one when I got the truck and got rid of it. I should have just kept it.

Air compressor for said tool box

Tube doors - I will eventually actually buy these and stop talking about it

Fix front driveshaft - Going to have the tube cut off and replaced

Check wheel bearings, etc - Front wheel is cambered in or out depending. I think the wheel might be bent.

2 or 4 Tires - Going to keep an eye on CL to see about some tires that have a little more tread. They have done fine so far so not a priority right now.

Figure out a way to put my phone somewhere so I can charge it while driving

Brake upgrade - 4Runner calipers, FJ60 rotors, 4Runner or T100 master cylinder. Also not a huge priority.

Fix e-brake again - Replaced the front cable but I think the rear is still binding.

lookin good Sam. Just my unsolicited opinion, it's all user dependent but forget the compressor and go CO2 - more reliable and has the power to run air tools if needed whereas a compressor does not unless you add an air tank. Only downside is it has to be refilled.

Build a square drive shaft - cheaper and stronger, you will only have to do this one time instead of having to continuously replace drive shafts.

Forget the emergency brake, they are reliably unreliable and mine hasn't worked properly in 4 years despite several attempts to repair. Instead, throw in a linelock, pro and cons to this but for what you need it should work fine.

brakes - pour that $$ into gears. The lower the gears the less important brakes are. You're gonna ride the gears down hills and over obstacles not the brakes. Obviously on the street that's a different story but you don't street this thing I dont think.

 

[Sam Stewart]

lookin good Sam. Just my unsolicited opinion, it's all user dependent but forget the compressor and go CO2 - more reliable and has the power to run air tools if needed whereas a compressor does not unless you add an air tank. Only downside is it has to be refilled.

Something to consider for sure. I don't know that I will ever run air tools on the trails though. I'm more of a "if it breaks, limp it back to camp and drink beer" kind of wheeler. I would only do a trail repair if I literally couldn't move the truck. The big benefit to that is that I wouldn't have to run power back to the bed for a compressor.

Build a square drive shaft - cheaper and stronger, you will only have to do this one time instead of having to continuously replace drive shafts.

I'm going to stick with what I have because I already spent $$$ on the long spline kit. It's really cheap to just cut the tube off and have a new piece welded on. Hopefully this will not be a common occurance. Next time there is a large rock encroaching on my driveshaft I will back out or try to get the rock moved. I should have stopped before I did. Oh well. Live and learn.

Forget the emergency brake, they are reliably unreliable and mine hasn't worked properly in 4 years despite several attempts to repair. Instead, throw in a linelock, pro and cons to this but for what you need it should work fine.

It works... sort of... sometimes... kinda... I think it's just the cable on the rear axle. It's old. Everthing else is new. So, I will likely replace it at some point.

brakes - pour that $$ into gears. The lower the gears the less important brakes are. You're gonna ride the gears down hills and over obstacles not the brakes. Obviously on the street that's a different story but you don't street this thing I dont think.

I already have the duals and use the gearing when going down hills. I'm not really concerned about that so much as having to stop while on the trail or on a steep incline. Basically now I have to shut the truck off anytime we stop. Also, if I'm in a precarious situation and someone is under the truck or behind the truck stacking rocks it makes me really nervous. I'm in the truck holding the brake with every bit of force I can muster. So, while the brakes are not a necessary upgrade, I think it will be worth the piece of mind in the long run. Especially if I have to hold brakes on a steep hill with a line of rigs behind me.

 

[TeddyBoy]

And so the factory E-Brake goes....

I have both C02 and a compressor, installed the compressor a long time ago and used it for airing up tires only b/c it's gawd awful slow, with 33s it was bearable but with 37s it's like a fart in a hurricane. Problem is it can't really be used for much anything else, that is, unless you add an air tank. This is why the C02 is now on board, so much more versatile, faster and really helps when re-seating (other ppls ) beads.

Just food for thought.... been through 4 rear drive shafts mainly when the truck was streetable and at 125 a pop to have re-tubed and balanced it adds up in a hurry. Since balancing is no longer an issue my latest resolution is to schd 80 the bottom 50% of the DS to prevent damage from rocks and oem tube the rest of it to retain a "fusible" drive shaft.

 

[Sam Stewart]

My rear D/S def needs some help. It's an old Tacoma shaft that we just swapped flanges on. It's actually too short by a couple of inches. The splines are pulled apart a bit. Still plenty of engagement but it could use some lengthening and strengthening. That's somewhere on the list...

 

[Sam Stewart]

I located the camera. I still didn't take any of these pictures either. Thanks to jynx and Mrsjynx for helping out. Here are a few select ones:

And here's a video:

 

[The Jade Bean]

Great pics, but very sad as well with all that damage!!!

-Daniel Kent

 

[Sam Stewart]

Great pics, but very sad as well with all that damage!!!

-Daniel Kent

That's just part of the deal. I don't mind it at all.

Sent from another Galaxy

 

[Tennessee80]

Awesome pics! Looks like a cool little rig, might need to get a trail truck to build like that one... cool build up thread too...

cheers

 

[Sam Stewart]

Awesome pics! Looks like a cool little rig, might need to get a trail truck to build like that one... cool build up thread too... cheers

Thanks! It's really come a long way. I had no idea starting out that it would end up like this. I'm really happy with the results. I've heard the, "If I was going to build a truck, it would be just like that" a lot lately. Really appreciate that everyone likes the truck. Makes me proud of what it has become.

 

[Sam Stewart]

So, some of you probably know already but I took a new job back in the Atlanta area. I'm no longer a vendor here on MUD. (Well, at least for now.) So, that means that we are looking for houses, the Mrs. is looking for a new job, and the truck is gonna stay parked for a while. I still have some things I want to do to it (see the list) but it's def back burner for right now. My new job is very time consuming (lots to do, so I'm busy from the minute I walk in to the minute I leave) and I'm driving ~67 miles each way every day. Since this is usually down time for the truck I won't be missing any events or anything. Anyway, stay tuned. I will try to post up some over the next few months.

 

[Phares]

Congratulations on the new job and good luck with the house hunt. Take care of what's important but don't forget to have some fun too.

 

[Sam Stewart]

Been a while since I posted. Short update:

Well, things are coming along with the move and everything. I have been currently driving 67 miles each way to work (which majorly sucks) but we got the OK on a house in Atlanta. We'll be moving in on the 25th of this month. The has already lined up 3 interviews and has some promising stuff on the horizon so that's good.

As for the mini (Tanner), he will have a nice covered and closed place to live at our new house. Since my Tundra will likely never fit in a garage (we checked at a number of houses we looked at ) Tanner gets the spot! That will actually be a really good thing. I can pull the doors back off and not have to worry about water getting in the floor boards, which is a problem now. It will also allow me to have some space to work on the truck in a nice enclosed area. Unfortunately, it's still kinda on the back burner for now. It's wheeling ready for the most part so if I decide I want to take it out I can. All the other stuff can be done as it comes.

Another good thing about our new location is that I am about 2 hrs closer to Windrock Park and Golden Mountain. So, I'm about a 3 hr drive right now. That means I can do some day trips and or overnight weekends. Here's to hoping I can do some more wheeling in 2014!

 

[Mattnatti]

Congrats Sam on the new position. I am sure you will excel at it like before.
Congrats also on the new house. You made pretty quick work of that and I would bet driving 134+ miles a day to and from work expedited the situation.

 

[robustbambi]

WOW 60+ miles to and from work... That sounds like a ton of fun!!!!!! Lol.
Glad your within driving distance. Good luck with the new house and job

 

[jynx]

I know you are glad to have a garage to play in. Can't wait to see how it looks next to the 4Runner.

Hmmm, 1,000 replies, that's gotta put this into an elite thread category...