Builds 1983 Toyota Hilux 4x4 Short Bed (1 Viewer)

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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.

But it was said that the marlin bumper needs notching, not the TG. Or am I misreading something.
 
But it was said that the marlin bumper needs notching, not the TG. Or am I misreading something.
Yes, sorry it’s a bit confusing.

The Marlin Crawler rear bumper requires notching the rear valence of the truck itself for the frame braces to clear. I pulled these pics from Marlin's website and have confirmed this directly with Marlin Crawler on the phone.
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Alternatively, the Marlin Crawler rear bumper will clear without notching the rear valence if you use a body lift. You can see this on Big Mike's truck, which has a 1" body lift (and unmodified rear valence).
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The 1985-1989 Trail Gear Pickup rear bumper requires cutting and modifying the side braces on the bumper itself (but not the rear valence) to work. This is because the frame brackets seat on the inside face of the frame, not the outside face (like on the Marlin Crawler rear bumper). So the side braces interfere with the bumper sliding into the frame unless you modify the bumper.

Which Bumpers Will Fit My 1981 4WD Truck? - YotaTech Forums

A simple To & Thru 83 - YotaTech Forums
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And it is unknown if the 1985-1989 Trail Gear 4Runner bumper would work without modification, because it does not have the side braces to begin with. This was my original question. Is the TG 4Runner bumper identical, aside from the deleted side braces, to the TG Pickup bumper?
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Again, this is all just based on the information I have. Without physically having all three bumpers in my hands, and test-fitting them to my truck, I can't say with 100% confidence that any of the above would work. It could be that the Trail Gear rear bumpers just have low build quality and each one is different. And the one linked above just happened to work with modification. Or that the TG bumper is supposed to mount outside the frame rail (like the Marlin), but the YotaTech guy just got a bad one.
 
That tube-stuff is all fine and dandy but, by God, it just doesn't look right on these trucks. I had a damn nice RN47 40 years ago and the is no way I woulda hung something like that on it. :meh:
 
Nice, I have a soft spot for the earlier ones.

Many memories of people is Aus fitting 18RG twin cam engines and they used to fly in their day!
The 2.2 diesel version offered out here was hopelessly underpowered.
 
That tube-stuff is all fine and dandy but, by God, it just doesn't look right on these trucks. I had a damn nice RN47 40 years ago and the is no way I woulda hung something like that on it. :meh:

Agreed. It’s hard to find a rear bumper that looks like it’s supposed to be there. They all look like an odd afterthought.
 
That tube-stuff is all fine and dandy but, by God, it just doesn't look right on these trucks. I had a damn nice RN47 40 years ago and the is no way I woulda hung something like that on it. :meh:

I gotta heartily agree with Dan on this...

Get that EFI done, but keep a period-correct bumper on it.

Cool to see you keeping this. The thought crossed my mind to sell my 40 and pick this up from you several times.
 
I agree on the tube stuff. It's ironic though... when I searched for a front bumper for my '84, EVERYTHING was tube. I finally found the only ARB left in the country.
 
I agree on the tube stuff. It's ironic though... when I searched for a front bumper for my '84, EVERYTHING was tube. I finally found the only ARB left in the country.

Supposedly there is an uber-rare ARB front bumper specifically designed for the 1979 - 1983 trucks, but I have never seen one for sale.

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I will just leave this here... Toyota
That one made my short list. But, after paying someone to weld it, paying someone to powder coat it (or painting it myself)... the ARB, at $975, wasn't far off. Plus, the ARB has the vintage style/look that I was after.

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Definitely a solid option if you're setup to finish it yourself.
 
That one made my short list. But, after paying someone to weld it, paying someone to powder coat it (or painting it myself)... the ARB, at $975, wasn't far off. Plus, the ARB has the vintage style/look that I was after.

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Definitely a solid option if you're setup to finish it yourself.

I was just proving that there were other options than tube or ARB. Does anyone know off hand if a Hilux bumper would work? If so, I bet we could talk Ironman4x4 into importing them. That would be ARB style but new.
 
Decided to put the truck on BaT after dealing with a bunch of knuckleheads just kicking the tires.

Bring A Trailer auction is live.
 
great looking truck. i saw it hit BaT today. Would have loved to take it off your hands when you dropped the price but no room in the stable and can't seem to part with anything. best of luck with the sale. btw, what year 4 runner did the seats and console come from? i'm wanting to do the same with my 85.
 
great looking truck. i saw it hit BaT today. Would have loved to take it off your hands when you dropped the price but no room in the stable and can't seem to part with anything. best of luck with the sale. btw, what year 4 runner did the seats and console come from? i'm wanting to do the same with my 85.

Thanks for the kind words!

The seats and center console came out of a 1995 4Runner. The seats were recovered to try to match the rest of the interior.
 
Glad to see the bidding on the '83 is up into the right range! Good luck!
 
Glad to see the bidding on the '83 is up into the right range! Good luck!

Thank you so much!

I’m actually not sure I can watch it from here out. #Anxiety
 

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