Builds 86 Xtra Cab Build (4Wheelunderground 3 link front, 4 link rear and 3.4 swap) (6 Viewers)

[aztoyman]

I pulled the driver seat from the 88 and installed it and the seatbelt. Put the battery on the passenger side floor and ran the jumper cables through the open windshield frame and.....

TOOK IT OUT FOR IT'S FIRST CRUISE!! Woohoo!!
This is the first time I ever drove without doors. (Or glass ha ha) Kinda fun except it's too hot.

Only problem I had was an obvious rear brake noise. It was just a dent in the bottom of the backing plate hitting the drum. Easy fix.

I still have to adjust the brake switch and adjust the drag link a tiny bit to center the steering wheel.

I ripped around the block a few times and around the neighborhood a bit.

It ran good, no leaks or overheating. It sits high without much for weight on it yet.

 

[aztoyman]

I'm NOT looking forward to all the work this bed needs. I'll do my best though.

 

[ntsqd]

Looks to me like a Comp Cut would remove most of the dents in the areas below the tail lights, and a High Clear Cut would eliminate them entirely.

I can't recall, do you have the bed inner sidewalls and have they been cut down to fit? Patch didn't have those and I long thought it would be a great idea to make some that had compartmentalized storage built into them.

 

[aztoyman]

I'm considering some heavy cutting. Especially for steep angles and drop offs. I was going to bob it more but I wanted to fit the spare.

I do have the inner walls. They are also a little beat. I have not trimmed them to fit yet.

 

[gnob]

looking good.

 

[aztoyman]

I'm glad I made my goal of starting and driving this bad boy. The little stuff can really suck some time. The brake switch needed ONE turn of adjustment. I had to pull the seat, lower dash trim and an A/C duct to get to it. It felt extra hot in the garage. I was feeling it bad. Turns out we set a 116 degree record so I said F it, I'm getting in the pool. The water is 94 degrees. About 10 minutes in, a monsoon thunder storm hit. I wish I was with all the Cruiser heads at SAS 8 right now.

Anyway, I gotta get stuff done around the house before I'm out of service. I WILL be able to look up parts and such so I'll be picking your brains (bugging you) if I can't find what I'm looking for.

 

[aztoyman]

I've been looking up parts online. Mainly all the plastic clips that need to be replaced in the cab. Not happy to find a lot of stuff is NLA. Like the light that I need to fill the holes on the back of the cab. Or the rear window gasket.

I've also been picking through all my parts, separating what I'll be using. I organized what I'm not using and boxed them up in the shed. You know, the not so fun stuff that has to be done.

It got a little more fun since I found this in a box. The one off this truck was dust. This good light must have been on the spare cab that I bought.

 

[aztoyman]

The gasket for the rear window is actually usable but the sliding window is pretty beat up and needs to be rebuilt. Then I found a cherry one that I forgot I bought. Some guy on CL was selling it cheap and was close by. Also included the gasket.

 

[aztoyman]

Dug out some trim. I have a lot of stuff to clean.

Got the wiper motor and linkage cleaned and installed.

 

[bkg]

I've been looking up parts online. Mainly all the plastic clips that need to be replaced in the cab. Not happy to find a lot of stuff is NLA. Like the light that I need to fill the holes on the back of the cab. Or the rear window gasket.

I've also been picking through all my parts, separating what I'll be using. I organized what I'm not using and boxed them up in the shed. You know, the not so fun stuff that has to be done.

It got a little more fun since I found this in a box.

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I’ve always wanted to turn that cargo light into a 3rd brake light.

No idea why….

 

[ntsqd]

I suggest an amber LED in it. Then you can also use it as a dust light.

 

[aztoyman]

@bkg that was one of my thoughts if I couldn't find one of these lamps. A generic LED. Or just plug the holes.

 

[clrussell]

Love this build.

Also Baja Boss MT might be the best looking tire on the market currently.

 

[yotadude520]

You know I THOUGHT I was done with the dash so I organized the wiring under the hood. I installed the Koito H4 headlight kit and shortened up the harness to eliminate bunching it up.
I tested the lights and they come on. High and low beams work. The flash function works and I noticed that the high beam indicator didn't work. Dang it! Gotta pull the cluster...... AGAIN. I just put new bulbs in.

Bulb is good. I get my 88 manual out and start looking at the schematic and checking wires. Continuity is good.

Long story short, it works as it should without the H4 conversion. You unplug both headlights, plug the new harness to both headlights and use one of the original headlight connectors to operate the H4 kit and the indicator does not work.

I don't want to put high current back through the original wiring and switches so I bypassed the switches and ran a wire direct from the high beam lead at the relay to the indicator bulb. I cut the original wire that went to the switch. Maybe I didn't need to cut it, but it works as it should now.

I tried other things but the high beam indicator lit up with both low and high beams on or not at all, depending on how I hooked thing up. Unhook the H4 kit, go back stock and it all works normally. Weird. I think I'll be ok with what I did. Nothing gets hot, no fuses blow, no high current through the switches and everything works as it should.

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This has been a pretty common problem with the Koito H4 kits, @CruiserTrash sells a module that corrects this issue for the FJ60, not sure if it'll work on the minitruck but might be worth picking his brain.

HBIM - High Beam Indicator Module for Koito Headlight Upgrade Kit

The High Beam Indicator Module: So you bought the Koito Headlight Upgrade Kit - "the best $35 you can spend on your FJ40/60" - but now the indicator for the high beams doesn't work. Annoying! Here's the fix. This has been designed to work seamlessly with Toyota's stock wiring system for...

cruisertrashparts.com

 

[joseywales]

So I’ll come clean… I read the first page, and then skipped to here. Wow! Some great work you’ve done! I’ll keep this thread in my back pocket for when I have a few down days and give the whole thing a read. My favorite era of Toyota 4x4 is 84-88. I really want a doublecab some day. Miss my 4Runner…

 

[aztoyman]

@yotadude520 , now you tell me. I "modified" my harness already. Just teasing. Good to know so I'm glad you posted it.

@joseywales , I wouldn't read all of my thread either. I should put a note to "skim" at the beginning now that I'm over 3 years in and 80 pages and still not done.

I think @gnob has stayed with me through it all and helped me out A few times. A man of patience for sure.

 

[aztoyman]

I'm kind of back in a mock-up stage again. I need the fenders and cowl on to figure out where to cut the hood. The hood is aftermarket and pretty rusty so I don't feel too bad about cutting it.

I also want to fabricate a shock tower brace so I'm not sure how this is all going to work out. A hood scoop might cover it all. If not, I guess I'll just have a hole in the hood. I can probably just close the hood real hard a bunch of times and form fit it.

 

[aztoyman]

I test fit my old hacked up grill and realized that my custom bent A/C line is blocking one of the grill mount holes. I might leave the line as is since I straightened it and rebent it to fit. It's not available and I'll be screwed if I crack it. I'll "adjust" the grill I install.

 

[aztoyman]

I never watched a windshield instal on one of these trucks but, I'm assuming I need to get all these clips or whatever they're called. Any recommendations or advice?

 

[aztoyman]

I like the front bumper I built for my 88 but I'm not sure if I'm going to run it or build another. If I have time to pull it tomorrow I might mock it up on the 86.

But I do know it's almost time to freshen up this baby. I know gnob is the go to guy for all things Warn, especially the 8274. So I'll be bugging him.