i am totaly loving the build. dont let me bring it down. not my intent. really love hearing more about this engine. is there good stand alone support and can you go to a th350 pretty easy type of stuff.
Builds 94 Toyota Pickup on 94 80 series chassis (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter HiCruiser LandLux
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- #22
No problem, didn't mean to come off defensive lol. There is pretty decent support actually! I love a company put of South Africa of all places, ARC Spitronics. Cheesy name but they make a plug and play ecu and harness for only $860. It literally cant be beat. They have options to retain OEM dual cam driven distributors and also go to coil on plug using cheap plentiful Audi coils
- Thread starter
- #23
Alrighty finally managed to get back to it and make significant progress. After much thought, decided it was better to sacrifice some approach angle and move the cab forward, mostly to avoid cutting the grill corner light etc,
Took another slice outta the fender well to make some space. Next up was to grind off the factory 80 mounts that just werent gonna work. Which was a big PITA
Used a selection of angle grinder and sawzall to get the job done. Then smoothed with a flap disc
Took another slice outta the fender well to make some space. Next up was to grind off the factory 80 mounts that just werent gonna work. Which was a big PITA
Used a selection of angle grinder and sawzall to get the job done. Then smoothed with a flap disc
- Thread starter
- #24
Next up I cut off the body mounts off the truck frame and trimmed em down:
Measured from frame to body bolt eyelet, and built the "boxes"
All 1/8" steel. Wanna get a hydraulic hole punch and some dimple dies at some point
Made sure they lined up and were nice and square:
Measured from frame to body bolt eyelet, and built the "boxes"
All 1/8" steel. Wanna get a hydraulic hole punch and some dimple dies at some point
Made sure they lined up and were nice and square:
- Thread starter
- #25
Next up was the moment i was dreading, actually welding the f***ers on. Measured 39 times and finally sent em home
Made sure they were bolted to the body when i tacked em on
Finish welded both sides
My welds might not be dimes but I don't think the cab is gonna come unglued lol
Made sure they were bolted to the body when i tacked em on
Finish welded both sides
My welds might not be dimes but I don't think the cab is gonna come unglued lol
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- #26
After finishing the mounts, realized the body would be a tad low, swapped my body mount bushings for some off the 80 series to gain height, then ended up making spacers
Nothing fancy, gonna redo these at some point with new bushes etc
Got em lined up and bolted down tight. Front wheel centered nicely:
Leveled the cab off the bottom of the frame rail for reference to start building rear mounts. Starting to get there! Little busy for the next while, wanna finish the rear mounts, mount the powertrain, then do steering and brakes
Nothing fancy, gonna redo these at some point with new bushes etc
Got em lined up and bolted down tight. Front wheel centered nicely:
Leveled the cab off the bottom of the frame rail for reference to start building rear mounts. Starting to get there! Little busy for the next while, wanna finish the rear mounts, mount the powertrain, then do steering and brakes
AgentOrange
TLCA #28372
You didn't sacrifice too bad on the cab positioning. Approach ange still looks pretty good. If you ever 3 link in the future, you can always push it forward an inch or so if steering allows for it and make it even better if you want
- Thread starter
- #28
Alrighty! Back to it. Been busy as hell on the truck and getting my new garage done. Made alotta progress these last few weeks
Dropped the powertrain in the hole for the first time with the transmission bolted to the engine and the cab mounts done. My main concern immediately was, as previously mentioned, the oil pan clearance.
This picture shows perspective terribly, but the oil pan is dead centered on the axle. The driver side can compress fully and clear, the pumpkin would collide with the pan.
That being said, the transmission is very nice and tucked up into the body, might be able to run a nearly flat belly pan when all is said and done
Made sure the shifter lined up good as well, pretty stoked on that
Just like the body mounts, it just doesn't quite line up enough for me to use the 80 series frame brackets. Annoying but quickly resolved with a sawzall and flap disc
Dropped the powertrain in the hole for the first time with the transmission bolted to the engine and the cab mounts done. My main concern immediately was, as previously mentioned, the oil pan clearance.
This picture shows perspective terribly, but the oil pan is dead centered on the axle. The driver side can compress fully and clear, the pumpkin would collide with the pan.
That being said, the transmission is very nice and tucked up into the body, might be able to run a nearly flat belly pan when all is said and done
Made sure the shifter lined up good as well, pretty stoked on that
Just like the body mounts, it just doesn't quite line up enough for me to use the 80 series frame brackets. Annoying but quickly resolved with a sawzall and flap disc
- Thread starter
- #29
Knowing I had to figure out engine mounts and being a cheap ass I decided to raid my spares pile, found a set of RuffStuff rear hangers I never used
Figured they'd make a pretty decent mount. Tig welded em together, pls dont judge my sh** ass welds lol still figuring out tig welding
Got some DOM tube leftovers from a project at work to span between the mounts and the frame. Made flat plate mounts for the engine side with simple tabs. After figuring out my plan for engine mounts I started looking into transmission mounts. Decided on the case mount from Front Range Offroad:
Because of how tall the 80 series frame rails are and how high the powertrain is relative to a minitruck I figured this would be the best solution. As for the cases I've decided to run a single 4.7 case opposed to duals, mainly for simplicity and me being honest with myself about how hard I'm gonna be wheeling this thing.
All new shiny parts from Marlin, 23 spline competition 4.7 gears, full rebuild kit, advance adapters reduction housing and triple drilled flanges
Figured they'd make a pretty decent mount. Tig welded em together, pls dont judge my sh** ass welds lol still figuring out tig welding
Got some DOM tube leftovers from a project at work to span between the mounts and the frame. Made flat plate mounts for the engine side with simple tabs. After figuring out my plan for engine mounts I started looking into transmission mounts. Decided on the case mount from Front Range Offroad:
Because of how tall the 80 series frame rails are and how high the powertrain is relative to a minitruck I figured this would be the best solution. As for the cases I've decided to run a single 4.7 case opposed to duals, mainly for simplicity and me being honest with myself about how hard I'm gonna be wheeling this thing.
All new shiny parts from Marlin, 23 spline competition 4.7 gears, full rebuild kit, advance adapters reduction housing and triple drilled flanges
- Thread starter
- #30
Finally decided on my oil pan solution. While rear sump would have been ideal, it's expensive. So I got creative
While I am losing about half a quart of capacity this way, its easy, quick and should clear easily
Made it so i could easily put two bends in my patch panel on the metal brake, a nice radius might have looked better, but again this isn't the type of build where I'm worried about people critiquing my oil pan
Bent it to shape, trimmed the edges, made sure i had the lower pan bolted to my mock up upper pan and welded it on. Cleaned and painted.
Gonna get it on next time I pull the powertrain, if the clearance still isn't quite there I'll drop the bump stops slightly.
While I am losing about half a quart of capacity this way, its easy, quick and should clear easily
Made it so i could easily put two bends in my patch panel on the metal brake, a nice radius might have looked better, but again this isn't the type of build where I'm worried about people critiquing my oil pan
Bent it to shape, trimmed the edges, made sure i had the lower pan bolted to my mock up upper pan and welded it on. Cleaned and painted.
Gonna get it on next time I pull the powertrain, if the clearance still isn't quite there I'll drop the bump stops slightly.
- Thread starter
- #31
Finally got around to mounting the engine. Didn't get in progress pictures, but everything is within a degree or two of level, and withing a 1/4" of centered.
Cut the front core support, banded it, welded nuts and made it properly reinforced and removable. Makes install and removal a MILLION times easier
Also after measuring I have a whole 4" of clearance for a MASSIVE radiator and some big fans. Still split between pullers for ideal cooling on the highway or pushers for better performance when crawling. I'm also aiming to retain AC to make the lady happy.
Tossed the hood and front end on to verify fitment and also to get it all ready to move outta my moms open garage addition to my new garage. After a somewhat sketchy dolly tow (no front shocks made it exciting) we got her into her new home:
Maintaining progress going forward, gonna do my best to avoid losing steam around the holidays. Will update when more progress is made.
Cut the front core support, banded it, welded nuts and made it properly reinforced and removable. Makes install and removal a MILLION times easier
Also after measuring I have a whole 4" of clearance for a MASSIVE radiator and some big fans. Still split between pullers for ideal cooling on the highway or pushers for better performance when crawling. I'm also aiming to retain AC to make the lady happy.
Tossed the hood and front end on to verify fitment and also to get it all ready to move outta my moms open garage addition to my new garage. After a somewhat sketchy dolly tow (no front shocks made it exciting) we got her into her new home:
Maintaining progress going forward, gonna do my best to avoid losing steam around the holidays. Will update when more progress is made.
I like how you cut the radiator support like the cruisers have. I "almost" cut mine out and kinda wishing I did.
I originally did 4.7's in a single case. The low gears are awesome for crawling but too low for the easy sections of trail. And high range is too high for those sections. I found I still needed the stock low range so I ended up going duals. I don't have the power you will so maybe not an issue.
I'm enjoying your build. Nice work.
I originally did 4.7's in a single case. The low gears are awesome for crawling but too low for the easy sections of trail. And high range is too high for those sections. I found I still needed the stock low range so I ended up going duals. I don't have the power you will so maybe not an issue.
I'm enjoying your build. Nice work.
I'm with @aztoyman, I have 3.3 low range gears and 10% under drive gears that work in Hi and Low. Hi is to hi for the hard sections and low is to low for the easy sections. So I'm constantly shifting from Hi to low and back on the trail. It gets annoying !
Have been looking at getting the black box
- Thread starter
- #34
Well now y'all got me second guessing hardcore, you guys aren't the first ones to say this. In my mind I was planning on running 2nd, 3rd and 4th in low for the easy parts of the trail. My ratios with 5.29 rp's should be:
95-1 1st gear low
50-1 2nd gear low
36-1 3rd gear low
25-1 4th gear low
20-1 5th gear low
21-1 1st gear hi
And so on and so on. Y'all still dont think thats "stretchy" enough gearing?
I'm just telling you my personal experience. I thought I could use the higher trans gears like you mentioned. I "read somewhere" that's not a great idea. Something about the higher gears not being up to the task strength wise. IDK if it's true but ,it was a pain in the ass doing it anyway and the gears were screaming when I did. It got old fast.
If I were to do it all over again, I would have used the money for the 4.7 gears for a dual adapter and just kept stock gears in both cases. The dual cases also give you a longer front drive shaft which is a good thing if you have long travel suspension. Even better if you have a high pinion front diff.
Now that I'm linked, even with a Tom Woods high angle front shaft, I had to use limit straps to prevent my drive shaft from binding at full droop. So I think that was 3" more than just protecting the shocks. It would be even worse with a single case and shorter drive shaft.
Just some things to consider.
If I were to do it all over again, I would have used the money for the 4.7 gears for a dual adapter and just kept stock gears in both cases. The dual cases also give you a longer front drive shaft which is a good thing if you have long travel suspension. Even better if you have a high pinion front diff.
Now that I'm linked, even with a Tom Woods high angle front shaft, I had to use limit straps to prevent my drive shaft from binding at full droop. So I think that was 3" more than just protecting the shocks. It would be even worse with a single case and shorter drive shaft.
Just some things to consider.
So when I was running my 88 with the 3.4, dual cases with 4.7's in the rear case, on 35's with 5.29 gears, R150F manual trans. I was usually in the stock low range once I got on the trail. (Unless it was just a dirt road then I'd be in high range) I'd be using mainly 1st through 3rd gear. I don't haul ass everywhere I go though.
When I need the 4.7's I typically start out in 2nd and at times get into 3rd. If I need 4th, I'll go to 2.28 low in the other case. I don't often use double low unless I'm creeping on some crazy and long stretches of huge boulders or something.
My son had the same setup as me except had stock 2.28 duals and he did everything I did. I don't think I "need" the 4.7's but maybe I will now That I'm running 37's ??
When I need the 4.7's I typically start out in 2nd and at times get into 3rd. If I need 4th, I'll go to 2.28 low in the other case. I don't often use double low unless I'm creeping on some crazy and long stretches of huge boulders or something.
My son had the same setup as me except had stock 2.28 duals and he did everything I did. I don't think I "need" the 4.7's but maybe I will now That I'm running 37's ??
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Mike Shull
Let’s go…
These ratios seem reasonable though I haven’t read too far back in this thread to see where the conversation started and I probably missed some critical info.
My ratio is 186:1 - 34:1 in first gear through various transfer case configurations (different drive terrain) and 101:1 - 17:1 second gear with 40s. I had 51:1 1st gear low with a SM465 and 35s for 25 years and it was okay.
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JMO stock dual's gives you more options. If you have duals you don't need the 4.7 lows
Your not supposed to tow in 5th gear so I don't think it's a good idea to use it in low range.
Your not supposed to tow in 5th gear so I don't think it's a good idea to use it in low range.
And nice shop !
I suck at math so I never did the ratio calculations. I just know where my engine likes to run and I pick the gears I need at the time. After a while I just know what combination works without the engine lugging or screaming. I go where I need to go and keep the engine in a happy place and the transmission in the lower 3 gears. 
To add, I originally had a 22RE and the 5.29's and 35's were a good match. When I went to a 3.4 V6, 4.88's would have been a better choice. (For hwy use) Now I have 37's so I think the 5.29's are good.
To add, I originally had a 22RE and the 5.29's and 35's were a good match. When I went to a 3.4 V6, 4.88's would have been a better choice. (For hwy use) Now I have 37's so I think the 5.29's are good.
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