'85 Mini Transformation (1 Viewer)

[Tools R Us]

Juan's (lexycrzy) son Diego got a mini and they did some work on here at the shop. Only shot a few pix;

The victim and work starting on the rear.

 

[Tools R Us]

I'm not sure, but it looks like some important parts are missing?

 

[Tools R Us]

Stuck the parts back where it looked like they belong and it works! Still needs some minor stuff, front drive shaft, bump stops, front shocks, but it's close to wheeling. I think it looks !

 

[-Spike-]

Good lookin' tires on a good looking truck.

-Spike

 

[inkpot]

Howdy! Looks good to me. So, what tires, what lift? Your just teasin us without any numbers. John

 

[MaddBaggins]

Awesome! He's growing up. I remember him being a pretty good spotter for me on a Payette run years ago.

 

[Tools R Us]

Howdy! Looks good to me. So, what tires, what lift? Your just teasin us without any numbers. John

It's a collection of parts, most from Craig's List and All Pro. The CL stuff; 35x12.5 Pro Comps on 15x8" 2" backspace rims, modified Ruff Country rear springs, All Pro front springs, all of the spring hardware. New from All Pro; the spring hanger, hi-steer kit, IFS steering box mount kit, shock hoops and brake lines. Not sure where the IFS box, etc, came from or the specs on the springs.

We got lucky, nailed the shackle angle on the first try!

 

[inkpot]

Howdy! Still cool. We originally did 3" body and 4" suspension lift on mine. It would still rub on the rear of the front fenderwell when it was flexed hard and steered to that side. My sond decided to go with 5.29's and a detroit in the rear, which makes it pretty streetable with the stock power. John

 

[Tools R Us]

5.29's and 35's, if so how does it drive, he has 4.88's and I'm thinking that swapping them for 5.29's maybe better? This setup moved the axle ~2" forward, so it doesn't look like tire to firewall rubbing is going to be much of an issue?

 

[bwesty]

Nice truck, clean too. Is it a longbed? It reminds me of my truck when it was in its early life, I had the exact same setup. I ran the 35" Procomps too, they are a good all around tire and wore very well too.

It would be better to swap to 5.29s with 35s and the 4cyl, especially for off road use and if future plans include winch, bumpers, etc...

 

[clarkrw3]

Very nice!!! Great job guys, what happened to the 4runner he brought to one of the meets?

I like this much better

 

[lexycrzy]

Hello Everyone:

I’ve been out of the loop for a while and haven’t kept up with the posts. I’ve been off the trails so long that the tires on my Lexi are beginning to stick to the garage floor

First and foremost I need to give Kevin a HUGE THANK YOU for your guidance and knowledge on this project. With Kevin’s vision, and tools, I decided to take on the project because I never thought we could get this done ourselves. Although the vehicle is not done, we are very pleased with the results so far.
For those of you who have kids you know how tough it is when they get their hopes up and things don’t turn out quite the way you expected; you hate to see the look on their face. Needless to say he can’t wait to get home from school to sit and stare at the truck. We still have more work to do on this before we can hit the trails, however, we have most of the parts and at this point it’s a matter of making time to work on it. I feel like we’re taping an episode of Monster Garage with Kevin playing Jesse James.

I didn’t want to make this thread so long but did want to acknowledge Kevin for being so generous with his time, tools, and spending countless hour on the phone with my son Diego answering all kinds of questions and setting his head straight; you can’t buy that.

 

[lexycrzy]

Very nice!!! Great job guys, what happened to the 4runner he brought to one of the meets?

I like this much better

We we'rent crazy about the IFS and it was a heavy vehicle. Diego had always wanted a truck so when the head gasket blew on it we took the opportunity to get rid of it and get the truck he really wanted. This truck was on it's second owner, the last being a middle aged woman out of Apache Junction who never had it in 4 wheel drive and called it a "she"; can you believe that?

 

[inkpot]

We we'rent crazy about the IFS and it was a heavy vehicle. Diego had always wanted a truck so when the head gasket blew on it we took the opportunity to get rid of it and get the truck he really wanted. This truck was on it's second owner, the last being a middle aged woman out of Apache Junction who never had it in 4 wheel drive and called it a "she"; can you believe that?

Howdy! Looks like you did pretty good when you picked up that one. My son was only 15 when we went on the search for his 85, over 10 yeas ago. It took a long time to find a clean one that had EFI, 5 speed, A/c, without getting an SR5 which also had electric windows (and mirrors?). We did have to swap out the bed, as ours had the common floor-line rust. With 5.29's and 35's, mine runs about 3000 rpm at 65. Runs fine like that, but with over 200,000 on it, I don't want to cruise very far much faster than that. Maybe someday I will get the 4.3 from my wifes Astro van into it. Right after I hit the PowerBall!! John

 

[inkpot]

Howdy! By the way, if you still have the OEM rear springs, I would be interested in them. John

 

[lexycrzy]

Howdy! By the way, if you still have the OEM rear springs, I would be interested in them. John

Will probably hang on to the original springs for a little while until the dust settles. I'll let you know.

 

[Symon623]

Lookin good, but too tall and leaf springs...... ;p

good start though.

 

[inkpot]

Will probably hang on to the original springs for a little while until the dust settles. I'll let you know.

Howdy! Just keep me in mind when you get tired of tripping over them. Thanks. John

 

[Kavik]

update?

 

[Tools R Us]

update?

It looks the same, just a bunch of finish, fix-it work. The master cylinder was leaking, replaced, the rear drive shaft carrier bearing was wasted, replaced. The square front drive shaft from Kavik (Thanks!) is installed, along with shocks and bump stops. All of the frame side brake line mounts were cut, moved and welded back on, to give more flex slack.