Builds 1983 Toyota Hilux 4x4 Short Bed

[Will Van]

So you sayin I should add power steering and AC and think of it as saving money! I love it.

You can't afford not to, really.

 

[Will Van]

I got some decent pics out at the lake this weekend.

 

[Will Van]

I have also decided to post the truck for sale.

It is so awesome and immaculately clean. But I just have too many projects. I want to swap a diesel into the FJ40.

And if I kept it, I would dual-case it and add a Holley Sniper. Which would be tragic for a truck this nice/original.

 

[Buckums]

what ever happened with Summit and your wheel situation? i'm looking at these for my 85 but not folks are having issues with them.

 

[navydivedoc]

I'll let Will address his truck, but I put a set on my 66 FJ40 with some 255/85r16s and they balanced up very well.

 

[Will Van]

what ever happened with Summit and your wheel situation? i'm looking at these for my 85 but not folks are having issues with them.

Summit offered several solutions for the wheels, including a full refund. Since I had already powdercoated the wacky wheel, I decided to buy a 5th wheel at a deep discount from Summit. I will spin the 5th wheel and make sure it's not out of balance before I powdercoat it.

FWIW, I have purchased several different sets of these Wheel Vintiques wheels, and this was the first one so far out of balance. If the need arose, I would buy Wheel Vintiques again.

 

[Will Van]

Well, after having several deals fall through for the sale of the truck, I'm thinking about keeping it. At least for a while. It's just so much fun to drive and such a cool little truck. People stare everywhere I drive it!

My '77 FJ40 is running so well with the Holley Sniper setup (once I fixed the vacuum and fuel leaks) that I am debating installing the same setup on my Pickup. On really cold mornings the pickup takes forever to warm up. Plus, it will occasionally bog down on really steep grades while 'wheeling as fuel dumps into the carb bowl.

I don't have any of those issues with the FJ40. Just hop in, fire it up, and go!

The Pickup currently has lots of LCE Performance products on it that were installed by the previous owner. Including a Weber 32/36 carb conversion and LCE header.

LCE Performance also offers a Holley Sniper kit for the 22R, but unfortunately it is currently unavailable with no ETA. It also requires you to convert to a Offenhauser intake manifold, which I am not interested in.

However, LCE also offers lots of various adapter plates to retrofit modern carburetors to the OEM Toyota 22R intake manifold. The PO used one of these to install the Weber setup. One of their other offerings is an adapter plate to convert to a Holley 350 cfm or 500 cfm 2-barrel carburetor using the OEM Toyota 22R intake manifold.

Holley 350/500 to 22R Manifold Adapter Kit/Spiral Bore

Obviously I am not trying to swap one carburetor (Weber) for another (Holley 350/500). But the Holley 350/500 carb has the same flange dimensions as the Holley Sniper 2300.

I'm not sure why LCE Performance does not offer the Holley Sniper Conversion Kit with just the Holley 350/500 adapter plate instead of the Offenhauser intake. Maybe they just want to sell more intakes? Or maybe the Offenhauser is somehow better suited for the Sniper? I'm not sure.

Either way, I think I could make the Holley Sniper system work on the Pickup with just the Holley 350/500 adapter plate. I would use an in-line fuel pump in case I ever want to go back to stock.

But the truck is already "not stock" with the Weber conversion. Might as well be "not stock" with fuel injection too. Also, the LCE header the PO installed has an O2 sensor provision already welded in place. All I have to do to plumb the Sniper O2 sensor is buy a 2-bolt oxygen sensor to thread-in adapter plate. Simple!

What do you guys think?

 

[gnob]

Do it.
Efi and don't look back.

 

[Mudder]

Probably could get a full 22re efi setup for that money. Bolts right on just have to deal with some wiring and install a high pressure pump.

 

[Will Van]

Do it.
Efi and don't look back.

That’s what I’m thinking. It will be perfect when I add a Marlin Crawler dual case. No bogging down while crawling!

Probably could get a full 22re efi setup for that money. Bolts right on just have to deal with some wiring and install a high pressure pump.

Do you think the 22RE setup is better than the Holley Sniper? Where do you source the components? The wiring is stupid-simple on the Sniper. Not sure about the 22RE conversion though.

 

[gnob]

Sds is another option.

A word of caution on the Holley. A friend has a system in his rig (idk if its a sniper) it has a weird fuel mapping issue right where you need to crawl. The idle to off idle map has a drastic change and makes the rig buck and do dumb shyt when the ecu switches back and forth

 

[Will Van]

Sds is another option.

A word of caution on the Holley. A friend has a system in his rig (idk if its a sniper) it has a weird fuel mapping issue right where you need to crawl. The idle to off idle map has a drastic change and makes the rig buck and do dumb shyt when the ecu switches back and forth

I had noticed that while idling in my FJ40 in 4:1 low on flat ground. But under load (crawling up or down hill) it smooths out. It only bucks (slightly) when the terrain is flat.

While crawling on steep terrain it adjusts the IACV automatically from 8% to 10%. It’s really smooth and just idles up anything. It’s pretty impressive.

 

[Will Van]

I have definitely decided to keep the truck and I'm back on the build.

I want to proceed with the Holley Sniper install, but I didn't want to cut up my perfect OEM fuel tank for an aftermarket fuel pump (I used an Aeromotive Phantom setup on my FJ40 that requires cutting a 3.25" hole in the tank). And I don't want to run an external in-line pump. So I figured I'd just order a new fuel tank and retrofit an EFI fuel pump to the tank...

But I had a helluva time trying to find a new tank. The tanks for the 1983 short bed Pickup are NLA from any parts warehouse and are uniquely shaped. They have a 13.5 gallon capacity and are approximately 31"x16"x12" with a pyramid shaped top.

All of the tanks I could find were either 17 gallon or 19 gallon and at least 37" long. Way too big for the space on the 1983 short bed.

Finally, I stumbled upon a photo of a late-model Pickup with the correctly sized/shaped tank! It is a 1986, standard cab, short bed, 2WD Pickup model that has a 13.7 gallon tank and the correct size/shape. It's a Spectra Premium T09A available from all major parts stores for $150 (Also, Dorman PN: 576-213).

What's more, the 1986 to 1995 Pickups also came with fuel injection. So you can order the Spectra Premium T09B (Dorman PN: 576-214) with the correctly sized fuel pump hanger flange for a Toyota EFI fuel pump and hanger.

I also ordered a 1992 Pickup Short Bed, Standard Cab, 2WD EFI fuel pump hanger from Toyota ("Fuel Pump Mounting Bracket" PN: 23206-35240).

I also found this unique adapter from Radium to convert the M14 inverted flare on the fuel hanger to -6AN.

I still need to receive all the parts and do a final comparison, but I'm fairly confident this setup is going to work. What's more, I can use an OEM Toyota tank, hanger, pump, and lines to plumb the Holley Sniper.

DUI HEI electronic ignition is next.

 

[Will Van]

Can anyone confirm that this Trail Gear rear bumper for a 1984 - 1989 4Runner (PN:120109-1-KIT) will work on an '83 Pickup?

The 1984 - 1989 Pickup rear bumper (PN:120108-1-KIT) will work, but it requires some cutting and fab to fit.

(Big thanks to @gnob for confirming that the OEM frame dimensions are the same from the 1980 Pickup to 1985 4Runner).

 

[msahr]

First of all, wow your 83 is really nice. Love the way it turned out. I wouldn't feel bad about obsessing over the wheel/tire choice, it took me FOREVER to finally decide where to go with mine.

Really good find on that gas tank. The PO of my 82 Hilux (apologies to @cruiserdan) swapped in a aftermarket thing with a ghetto inline electric pump, even though the stock pump worked fine. Huh?

As for the TG 4Runner bumper, I doubt it. I'd always thought 1st gen 4Runners had a different rear frame and that's why the frame mounts on the bumper do that upward bend thing. TG copied All-Pro and Marlin, so they're all the same. Marlin has rear bumpers made for the 1st gen pickups.

1979-88 Shortbed & XtraCab Rear Bumper | Marlin Crawler, Inc.

 

[Will Van]

First of all, wow your 83 is really nice. Love the way it turned out. I wouldn't feel bad about obsessing over the wheel/tire choice, it took me FOREVER to finally decide where to go with mine.

Really good find on that gas tank. The PO of my 82 Hilux (apologies to @cruiserdan) swapped in a aftermarket thing with a ghetto inline electric pump, even though the stock pump worked fine. Huh?

As for the TG 4Runner bumper, I doubt it. I'd always thought 1st gen 4Runners had a different rear frame and that's why the frame mounts on the bumper do that upward bend thing. TG copied All-Pro and Marlin, so they're all the same. Marlin has rear bumpers made for the 1st gen pickups.

1979-88 Shortbed & XtraCab Rear Bumper | Marlin Crawler, Inc.

Thanks so much! I'm still hunting for a set of OEM steel wheels (without the hubcap clips) for the truck. But the Wheel Vintiques will work for now.

Luckily the 1986 13.5 gallon tanks have both a carb or EFI replacement (I think), so if you ever want to clean it up and replace it, you can.

Member @gnob actually did a comparison between the 1979-to-1983-Pickup-frames and the 1984-to-1989-4Runner-frames: they have identical dimensions. I believe the difference is that the 4Runner frame has an extra body mount outside the frame rail to support the rear seating area. Hence, the optional support kit from Trail Gear.

The Marlin Crawler bumper is very nice, and is probably the bumper I will use if I swap. But it requires notching the rear bumper valence or using a body lift to clear the frame brackets. It's definitely the strongest option.

Ultimately without having all 3 bumpers side-by-side to make a comparison (Marlin 1979 - 1983; Trail Gear 1985-1989 4Runner; Trail Gear 1985-1989 Pickup), I would just have to order one and see if it fits.

 

[gnob]

After what we've discussed here, it's pretty obvious (in typical fashion) that TG is chinese bs with no qc sold to cheap fůcks.
The bumper you posted was clearly built incorrectly.
You should buy a Marlin bumper

 

[msahr]

After what we've discussed here, it's pretty obvious (in typical fashion) that TG is chinese bs with no qc sold to cheap fůcks.
The bumper you posted was clearly built incorrectly.
You should buy a Marlin bumper

Agreed, and they're no better since they bought out All-Pro. It's impossible to find anywhere on their site where their stuff is made.

 

[Will Van]

The bumper you posted was clearly built incorrectly.

Sorry, I've posted a lot of bumpers. Which one are you referring to that was built incorrectly? What leads you to believe it was built incorrectly?

 

[gnob]

The one that guy had to mod to fit the rig.

Regardless of build quality, i dont/wont buy TG based strictly on "business ethics".