Builds 94 Toyota Pickup on 94 80 series chassis

[HiCruiser LandLux]

Hello everybody. Long time lurker, first time poster. Decided to try to document this at least a little bit if anyone else likes the styling of their minitruck enough to butcher an Icon

So heres the candidates.
My 1994 Toyota Pickup Xtracab, bought new by my Dad, first rig. Currently BlazeLand Longtravel'd, 63 swap in the back, 22re single case w56 with 4.7's.
tired of replacing CV axles, not having horsepower, not being able to tow, and it riding like, well, a minitruck
AND
The cheapest, most beat, ute'd poorly, 365k mile 80 series, picked up for only $2000, drive home 250 miles.

 

[HiCruiser LandLux]

So, step #1 is obviously remove the absolutely destroyed 80 series body off the frame. We started by making it a worlds first 80 series drop top:

After cutting down, we freed everything that was holding the body on the frame, then I got the boys together and we tipped the body right off with the little Kubota. Thing was HEAVY. No wonder these get like 12mpg lol.

After that, pressure washed the chassis, pulled the powertrain (currently for sale as of August 12 2024) began to remove unnecessary components and things i will be redoing, IE, factory brake lines and prop valve, spare tire carrier, factory P/S cooler, the obnoxious 6" puck lift with no alignment correction, transmission cross member etc.

 

[Mike Shull]

Sweet! I can’t wait to hear about your engine/trans/transfer choice.

 

[HiCruiser LandLux]

Sweet! I can’t wait to hear about your engine/trans/transfer choice.

I forgot to mention that! I own a 1983 Celica with a UZ swap, powertrain for the truck is gonna be a thick rod 1UZ, R150 to Gear drive duals, both with 2.28's

 

[Mike Shull]

I forgot to mention that! I own a 1983 Celica with a UZ swap, powertrain for the truck is gonna be a thick rod 1UZ, R150 to Gear drive duals, both with 2.28's

That’s going to be sweet! You should sneak a picture of that UZ in the Celica. I had a ‘78.

 

[UZJ40]

Awesome project.... looking forward to following along!

 

[aztoyman]

 

[HiCruiser LandLux]

Update! Got the 22re pulled, cut, removed all fuel lines, brake lines, wiring etc from the pickup chassis and lifted the body off using redneck engineering (broke the steering arm on the tractor at a bad time)

Kinda bittersweet "killing" the truck as I've always known it, but I outgrew the platform. Last look at the pickup frame

The Blazeland kit, cheap spartan lockers and 35's got me alot of places i shouldn't have made it lol

 

[HiCruiser LandLux]

Next up I started stripping the engine bay, I removed all wiring, clips, hoses etc. I plan on rewiring the truck, redoing all brake and fuel lines, and probably redoing the hvac hose routing. Then i stripped the 80 frame down using the same logic.

Next i pulled the springs out of the front of the 80, got some 15" steelies to get it to lay low and slide it under the body.

Next weekend i plan to measure and cut the fender skirts on the cab to fit the shock towers. Gonna try to have the front axle centerline slightly further then it is factory on the truck, both for approach angle and engine bay space

 

[family80]

Cool build definitely interesting

 

[tmxmotorsports]

Cool build definitely interesting

I agree

 

[HiCruiser LandLux]

As previously stated it was time to trim the fender skirts to fit the shock towers and to make working on things easier and more accessible in the future

I decided go big or go home, will probably ad plastic splash shields later on

The passenger side got trimmed to the same degree, you get the idea

 

[HiCruiser LandLux]

Next up was the somewhat sketchy bit. I work in a shop, so I hate to do redneck engineering when it comes to lifting vehicles, but as I had a random Thursday off and wanted to make more progress, I set about getting the frame under the cab.

Used a combination of 2x6's across tires and hilift jack to inch the chassis forward. Pulling the springs in the front and having the bare steelie rollers was invaluable, especially for doing this solo.

After getting it all the way forward, just to set it down on the frame I used two pieces of wood to suspend the cab. Then i reinstalled the springs and big tires

 

[HiCruiser LandLux]

After getting it set, i enjoyed a few beers and just sat and looked at the monstrosity lol. Then I set about trying to actually mount it. I wanted to retain the OEM 80 series front cab mounts

This amount of lowness of the cab on the body is what I'm shooting for. This is as far forwards as the cab could be

on the 80 series factory mount:

Even with it this far back on the chassis id have to build some kind of weird offset bracket to mount the cab properly. So sadly I will have to stop being lazy, hack off the 80 series body mounts and build my own

 

[HiCruiser LandLux]

Because I was short on equipment this weekend, IE no welder, fab equipment or steel, we decided to tinker with some other fitment stuff. Mocked up the grill and OEM bumper, definitely enjoying the look, albeit a bit wide:

With proper offset wheels and no spacers it'll suck the width back in to tolerable levels. We alsp dropped the engine in, found a nicer UZ then the one i had set aside, 80k mile sc400 engine

We decided to drop it in the hole just to see how things were looking

Fitment is shockingly good. Will unfortunately have to swap to a front sump LS400 oil pan, probably gonna relocate and slightly redesign the Panhard brace that's directly above the bar to get it to sit a tad lower.

That being said, all the room in the world to access exhaust and accessories for servicing. Sadly gonna be busy for the next weekend or two, will post updates next time i make major progress

 

[chappysfj40]

super cool project
do tell more about the engine? like what kind of power and such can you expect

 

[HiCruiser LandLux]

That’s going to be sweet! You should sneak a picture of that UZ in the Celica. I had a ‘78.

My 1983 Celica GT. Does triple duty as my autocross car, track car, rally car.

Toyota 8" rear out of 79 4x4, mk3 supra w58, custom bellhousing to 1UZ. Caged, custom everything at this point.

super cool project
do tell more about the engine? like what kind of power and such can you expect

The 1UZ was Toyota and Lexus' first truly mass market V8. They spent billions on development and because of that they're an insanely robust platform. Several unopened motors have hit 1 million miles, they SIX BOLT MAINS, the blocks can hold north of 1500hp, they're non interference (early pre vvti) and they're dirt cheap. They came in LS400, SC400, GS400, and the Toyota Celsior. Factory they make a modest 250hp, 250tq, but with intake work, exhaust, cams and a tune that can be brought much closer to 300/300. Plus they're light and compact. Look at how good it fits in my Celica:

 

[chappysfj40]

but all this power and going with toyota tcase out of a mini truck. i seen guys with worn out tbi 350 making south of 200 hp breaking tcase not even trying.

 

[chappysfj40]

what years are you looking for

 

[HiCruiser LandLux]

but all this power and going with toyota tcase out of a mini truck. i seen guys with worn out tbi 350 making south of 200 hp breaking tcase not even trying.

Ive seen plenty of people run more power through Toyota cases on bigger tires. Obviously gotta go to 23 spline everything. Even if I wanted to go stronger, dont have much of a choice besides going Atlas and I'm not that rich.

what years are you looking for

In reference to the engine? 89 to 95