1981 Pickup 4 X 4 New Owner (1 Viewer)

[t6dpilot]

So I lowered the spare down to create more room for refinishing the frame rails. What an ingenious little system. Anyway, I get the wheel down and am surprised by the upper half not exposed to the ground. Factory white paint! And the tire has never been used. Still has the little nubs that you see on new tires. It is coming off, but will be saved. Or not. Looking at it, it says “Snow Charger 78”. That is definitely NOT original to a Florida rig I’ll bet. Maybe the inside of the wheel will be white too? So now I just need to clean up and paint the one half. Anybody know what would be a good match?

 

[thetoyotaman]

Dunlop Snow Cruiser 78. Factory bias ply tire that came on Cruisers and 1st gen mini trucks during that era. The wheel is actually getting rare as they were pitched. Same as FJ40 without clips and white.

 

[t6dpilot]

Cruiser, not Charger. Oops. I’ll keep it for the next owner. The person I bought it from installed Mastercraft Courser MSP 235/75R15. I think that’ll fit in the spare tire spot. The Snow Cruiser is H78/15.

So the bumper is all cleaned up to the degree I am going on this truck and the chassis clean up underneath continues. A little at a time. Starting on the RR spring and bushings. Rear shackle was easy, the front is impossible. I tried a clamp to move the bolt and it won’t budge. Tried grabbing the flange and it will not rotate. Damn I wish I could get a BFH on it, but can’t do that without removing the tank. It’s like that flange is welded to the frame even though it’s not. Don’t want to cut it as that assembly is probably NLA. Shoot, maybe I’ll just put it back together and do those bushings another time. Dang. Really would be easier if I could get that spring off to clean.

 

[Beams37]

Not sure if you got that front leaf spring squared away or not, but dropping that gas tank skid plate leaves plenty of room for hammering. LOL

 

[t6dpilot]

Been a while…. Focusing on other things. So I decided that for now the front bushings with that special bolt will have to wait. I want to get this truck finished and off the lift and driving. I can work on that later.

So the right rear is finished and looks great. Time to tackle the left rear and get it cleaned up and painted. Cleaned up all 4 wheels and installed three of them. Looks great now. Can’t wait to get this off the lift and driving so I can do a paint correction and replace the windshield seal.

Question about the seal. Got one from an aftermarket supplier. Are they OK or should I get one from Toyota?

 

[t6dpilot]

Figured I would update the project. I got rears all done now and most of the frame cleaned up and repainted. I just need to finish the center area between the front bed mount and under the cab. I'll wait until it is cooler to do that. Plus I wanted to drive it to see how my work paid off. And it did, truck rides and runs great. And looks good underneath without all that red dirt and surface rust. I was really pleased to find out through all this that the frame is essentially in fantastic condition. I'll start picking away at some other things when the weather cools.

So I got the story of the truck from the woman I purchased it from and she sent me some photos. She had a niece that she let use the truck one year and it was in the graduation parade. I guess she loved that truck. Anyway, I look at the pictures and see original steelie wheels! I immediately contacted her back asking if she still had them. Nope, left them at the tire shop when she bought new tires. Dammit! I am going to call them, but I am sure they are long gone.

 

[t6dpilot]

Here is a photo of it now. I did paint correct that left side, but have since gone over it again and the rest of the truck. Looks fantastic with more work to do. Going to enjoy it a bit before diving into more stuff. I think I might get a Soft Topper for it.

Oh and I did find a decent copy of Larry Owens' book How To Keep Your Toyota Pickup Alive for a reasonable price.

 

[thetoyotaman]

Can you take a close-up picture of the rear wheel hub. It looks like a locking hub. Is that one of those older kits that was added on the truck or is that a look-alike center cap?

 

[msahr]

Can you take a close-up picture of the rear wheel hub. It looks like a locking hub. Is that one of those older kits that was added on the truck or is that a look-alike center cap?

I zoomed in on the rear wheel and it does indeed look like an Aisin locking hub! https://forum.ih8mud.com/attachments/fc0f4912-a7b0-42ba-b114-8b9efcc3b62c-jpeg.3402072/

 

[t6dpilot]

The photo in post 105 above shows the rear wheel. It is a look-alike fake of the front hub.

 

[thetoyotaman]

Pretty cool for what it is.

 

[thetoyotaman]

Cruiser, not Charger. Oops. I’ll keep it for the next owner. The person I bought it from installed Mastercraft Courser MSP 235/75R15. I think that’ll fit in the spare tire spot. The Snow Cruiser is H78/15.

A little trivia. So the H78-15 would be 28.5" diameter from Dunlop and the same as today's overseas 215/80R15. The 235/75R15 is around 29.1 so slight hit in fuel economy and speedometer but very minimal and because 235's were so common on domestics (Chevy) of the era all of the tire shops put these on as standard practice. Something like the Toyo AT 225/75R15 is the closest you can get in a modern tire but slightly wider or try Coker's H78-15 bias for retro. You'll notice though the Coker is bigger and some of the conversion charts on the H will go anywhere from a 225 to a 30" But around 86 Toyota changed the trucks from H to 225. The speedometer is calibrated for the 28.5"

STA Traxion | H78-15

STA Traxion H78-15Super Traxion These long lasting and durable tires offer exceptional traction for pickups, vans, campers on both highways and for off-road uses. Super Traxion tires have a minimum stone retention design. Clean out is a snap as mud and stones are cast off as the tire rotates...

cokertire.com

 

[t6dpilot]

I got word back from the tire shop. They do not have the wheels. Dang, I was hoping I might get lucky. What are guys using that is a close replication of those original steel wheels.

 

[thetoyotaman]

Get the FJ40 wheels from Toyota and you can add the hubcap too or remove the clips. Also an option on the 81. Price not bad from Toyota.

 

[thetoyotaman]

Wheel part # 42601-60072 Should be able to get these with discount below $150 each.
Front hubcap part # 42621-60020-86 Around $20
Rear hubcap part # 42621-60010-86 Same

 

[msahr]

In case you're looking around for something cheaper, be aware the older Land Cruiser wheels had riveted clips for hubcaps instead of the newer ones Toyota now sells. The riveted wheels will not work with the disc brakes as the rivet heads hit the caliper. You really can't go wrong with those new wheels from Toyota though.

 

[t6dpilot]

Thanks guys. I'll look into the new ones from Toyota. I would really prefer wheels without the clips since I do not plan on installing the hub caps. Even though they are pretty darn cool.

@msahr It looks like the wheels from Toyota have the clips riveted to them, so no go with front calipers.

 

[thetoyotaman]

And really cheap too by dealer standards. I'm assuming your truck is an RN48 and I looked up in the parts catalog and the wheel/hubcap referenced above was indeed an option that year but pretty rare in the states.

 

[t6dpilot]

Yes, the truck is an RN48. Guess I'll just start scouring the internet for original steel wheels.

 

[cruiserdan]

Thanks guys. I'll look into the new ones from Toyota. I would really prefer wheels without the clips since I do not plan on installing the hub caps. Even though they are pretty darn cool.

@msahr It looks like the wheels from Toyota have the clips riveted to them, so no go with front calipers.

The hub cap clip rivets will clear. The rivets that cause issues are with the pre-1975 wheels that have the wheel center section riveted to the wheel rim.

Also, if you don't like the clips you can cut the rivets off and weld up the holes. The wheels need to be painted anyway. They come in black prime.