Builds 86 Xtra Cab Build (4Wheelunderground 3 link front, 4 link rear and 3.4 swap) (7 Viewers)

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I'll be putting together my parts order so I can take advantage of this sale.

I thought I was done prepping the tailgate for paint and I noticed this inside it today. Weird how it rusted towards the top. Not where water would collect at the bottom. It was inline with missing seam sealer though. The only way I could reach it was to use my long shank carbide burrs in my die grinder. I managed to get the loose stuff ground off. I decided to just coat it with rust converter. I also applied it between the layers of sheet metal since it had surface rust present thanks to the crumbling OEM sealer. It flowed through nicely since I cleaned it all out. It also gave me another afternoon of work today cleaning the dried overflow off. That stuff hung on tight and I had to sand it all over again. It'll get epoxy primer and seam sealer prior to paint so it shouldn't rust out in my lifetime.

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I applied the rust converter from the inside and it ran out the seams and across the surfaces like Alice Cooper's makeup. Lots of sanding and scrubbing today because I was too lazy to wipe it all off yesterday.

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I just went to two different Toyota dealers to order parts and they say down for maintenance, be back soon. :confused:

So.....I got logged in. Got a security text and then a security email. I input over 30 part numbers from my hand written notes. Got to checkout and the site was down again for maintenance. I came back to check and tried to checkout again and it said sorry, your session timed out. I have to start all over. My cart is empty.

I'll try again tomorrow. 🤬
 
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Website maintenance must have worked. After the 2nd time I logged in to my account today, my cart was back with all my items. Parts have been ordered From Serra Toyota of Decatur. I'll follow up when I get my parts.
 
Well it's like someone flipped the weather switch here. It was over 100 one day and the next morning it was in the low 50's and only hit low 70's later in the day. I was ready to shoot some primer just out in the side yard to take advantage of the weather but, the main housing of my pool pump cracked so I had to get on that. My TIG welder torch cooling hoses started leaking so I had to get on that as well. Then my wife had yard work honey-do's for me...........

Anyway, I DID manage to make a decision on what mirrors I am going to run and did some work on them. Also welded the cracked driver door. TIG welded on one of the mirrors after I damaged it working the detent loose.

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The mirror pivots were pretty much siezed up. The lower ones just needed lube and loosened up easily. The upper pivot/detent on one also worked loose with some lube and slowly moving it. I worked the other one too hard and the thin stainless bracket started to break loose from the pivot. It's just swaged on. All I could do was TIG it to the pivot post. This detent required phosphoric acid down inside to eat the rust. It's stainless outer parts and shaft so the acid just dissolved the rust. I made sure to keep it off the aluminum bracket. Works smoothly now.

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I tried to get out and spray some epoxy primer on some parts this morning. The weather is nice but it's too windy to do this outside like I had planned. Plus I have a grandkid to watch for a few hours.

Once her Momma picked her up I decided I better test fit my tailgate latch before I paint anyway.

My door handles are chrome metal parts and the tailgate latch is black plastic. I looked for chrome ones and found out OEM ones are all black plastic. I know I've seen metal chrome ones and found out they are for 3rd gen pickups. In my search I found posts on some of the mini truck forums about adapting them to the 2nd gen trucks. They just said they fit with minor mods and looked great. No other details posted. So I took a chance and ordered one. I figured I'd post up what needs to be done for it to fit. Sorry if this is old news. I couldn't find anything about it.

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On the outside they look pretty similar. The mechanism on the back is definitely different but still operates "basically" the same way.

The chrome 3rd gen latch doesn't fill the opening as much as the original. The first thing that needs to be modified is the bolt holes in the tailgate. They need to be elongated about 1/16" because of the different bolt centers.

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Once the bolt holes are elongated the latch bolts right in. The passenger side latch rod hooks right up but the driver side rod hits an internal gusset and won't reach the latch.

All that needs to be done is to grind the opening larger. This lets the rod angle over to the latch. Now it can be clipped in place.

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The pivot point on the chrome 3rd gen latch is now hidden behind the sheet metal. It can still be hooked up but I chose to grind more clearance for easier access. It gets covered by the cover plate anyway.

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I like the look of this latch much better. The only downside to this latch is the gap around it. It's not really visible but it will definitely allow water inside the tailgate when I wash the truck. To be fair, the original will too. It's just a smaller gap. Here's another comparison.

I might make a gasket out of some thin rubber sheet I have. If I do I'll update this page.

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good job there. gotta love engineers changing that part for zero reason.
i personally have always liked the old skool double handle gates vs the "one touch" bs
 
Dont wash your tailgate. Problem solved😁
 
Thanks gnob, I thought about modifying the opening but quickly decided to leave it where I can easily use either style latch. I actually found I could close that gap with a piece of vacuum tube with a slit cut in it. It fit perfect. The test piece I had was too short to go completely across. I'll get some for after paint.

I like the two side latches as well. I had an 87 2WD with that style bed.
 
Ha ha, I don't wash my truck very often. I "rinse" under it and under the hood more than the rest of the truck gets washed. ;)

Hmmm, But.......... NOW that it's CHROME...................I might HAVE to wash it. :doh:
 
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Thanks gnob, I thought about modifying the opening but quickly decided to leave it where I can easily use either style latch. I actually found I could close that gap with a piece of vacuum tube with a slit cut in it. It fit perfect. The test piece I had was too short to go completely across. I'll get some for after paint.

I like the two side latches as well. I had an 87 2WD with that style bed.

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Ar one time I'd put together that there 4 different beds this body style truck could have come with. All names are mine, since no one else seemed to care much.
The "JDM" bed, which had rails, hooks, and the two side latches like the pic above. Only came on JDM trucks as best as I could tell.
The "Federal"bed, center latch, rails, and no hooks. Seems like most early US production got these.
The "Canadian" bed. Center latch, rails and hooks. Some early trucks, like my old '84, got these.
The "California" Bed. Center latch, no rails or hooks. Almost all later US production got these. I recall seeing truck loads of beds heading south from Fremont on I5.
I named them based roughly on where it appeared that they were made.

We're sometimes nostalgic for what we couldn't have or easily get. My '86 turbo 2WD had a "California" bed and the '84 4WD had the Canadian bed. I liked them both, but the Canadian bed made for a better working truck. I did like the inner panels that the California bed had. The Canadian didn't have those and I thought frequently about adding them.
 

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