Builds Box Rocket 1980 1st Gen Hilux (1 Viewer)

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Making some progress. The deeper we get into this truck the more evidence there is that it's been "well used" and will never be a candidate for a show truck. But we weren't after that in the first place since it will be a first car for my 16 yr old and I'm sure will not only get used on trails but probably get tagged a time or two by careless drivers in the high school parking lot.

Hood and fenders and roof are sanded and primed, trimmed the front fenders since we removed the lower valence.
Cleaned up and did some fixing of the biggest dings etc on the passenger side and got it sanded and primed. Bed is getting wire wheeled in prep for some monstaliner. Hoping to get the driver side to this same point this week.

Windshield is getting replaced on Friday.

We're having unusually nice weather here this week and it would be awesome to be able to get paint on this thing this week, but I don't know if I can pull it off. I leave on Saturday for the Baja 1000 with Canguro Racing so we'll have to see how the week goes.












 
Looking good! I don't have any real good pics, but the 81 in my avatar was the first vehicle I ever drove. Not sure if this will be helpful, but I thing the round eyes halogen replacements are a good upgrade from the the stock sealed beam setup. Also, I'd double or triple coat the inside of the sides of the bed--that single wall steel shows dents when things are rattling around in the back and you take corners too fast! Does it have the stock transmission? If so, I'd watch it closely and verify that it has the correct oil--If I remember correctly, we ended up swapping my tranny for one out of an 84 based on the better/stronger design.
 
Looking good! I don't have any real good pics, but the 81 in my avatar was the first vehicle I ever drove. Not sure if this will be helpful, but I thing the round eyes halogen replacements are a good upgrade from the the stock sealed beam setup. Also, I'd double or triple coat the inside of the sides of the bed--that single wall steel shows dents when things are rattling around in the back and you take corners too fast! Does it have the stock transmission? If so, I'd watch it closely and verify that it has the correct oil--If I remember correctly, we ended up swapping my tranny for one out of an 84 based on the better/stronger design.
Thanks for the tips.
We have plans to upgrade the headlights for sure. I'm looking for LED options if I can find a good one just for the lower amperage. If not, then we'll look at halogens. The 7" round lights are pretty common so there are some other 7" LED or HID lights out there that could work but would probably take a bit of custom wiring. But anything will be better than the stock sealed beam. :hillbilly:

We'll get the bed protected as well as we can. I'm not one for having things loose in the bed. I'm funny that way, even when I was just going around town in my Tacoma I always tied stuff down. So I'm not too worried about lose things denting the bed from the inside as I am things denting the bed from the outside. ;)

I haven't verified 100% that the trans is the stock L series but I'm pretty sure it is. The truck is a bit of a mongrel in that there are parts from different years all over the thing. The W56 would be a nice upgrade. I love the 22R, but I've been watching classifieds for good deals on a 3RZ or a 5VZ. I'd love to swap either of those motors along with the later 5-speed into this truck. Drivability would be SOOOOOO much better. That's not a huge priority but a guy's gotta have goals right?
 
You might check with @KLF --he has hit a sweet spot with the 22R, axle gearing, and tire size--3RZ would be a good swap, not sure if the juice is worth the squeeze though. 5VZ would be sweet, but maybe too much engine for that truck--especially for a teenager...
 
3rz starts at 150 its a perfect engine for swapping in. the 5vz will take more work to swap in but it's a good engine as well. If you haven't checked, over on the Marlin board they have a 3rz swap thread.
 
Misremembered who it was. @Mark W was the one who had it dialed in.

More Power for 22R


There was nothing special about that engine or anything else. Just basic simple stuff... carb header and cam IIRC and the right gears for the tires. Was not a case of "Mark having it dialed in". More a case of just putting the pieces together they way they should be. :)


Mark...
 
There was nothing special about that engine or anything else. Just basic simple stuff... carb header and cam IIRC and the right gears for the tires. Was not a case of "Mark having it dialed in". More a case of just putting the pieces together they way they should be. :)


Mark...
Simple enough. I had that pretty well figured out on my carbed '85 I used to have. Ran great and was fun to drive. I don't need much more than that. My '93 with the EFI 22RE had headers, cam and gears and was even better, no doubt because of the fuel injection.

The Weber that's currently on this truck is brand new and for the most part the truck runs well. The carb needs to be tuned, possibly re-jetted and the float vent relocated along with a fuel pressure regulator to help on angles. It runs quite rich at the moment, I just haven't had time to dig into it yet. Truth be told, I've gotta shake off a bit of rust and get comfortable tweaking carbs again. I haven't had a carbed truck since my FJ40 that I sold 12 years ago. Those of you with experience know there's a bit of magic involved that only comes from experience so I've gotta dig some of that back up. Timing is probably off also. I'm confident with a bit of time I can get it spinning smooth.
 
Does the carb have a fuel pressure regulator? I believe a stock carb runs at 7 psi and a weber only needs 4-5 IIRC.
 
Did you do that yourself or get a glass company? I know nothing about how that works.
Safelite Autoglass. Always had awesome service from them. Had to special order this one because of the age of the truck but it was all good. There was a small scuff in the glass on one of the lower corners that took the technician a bit of time to point out well enough for me to even see it. They offered to get me a "perfect" replacement or knock some $ off the service. Guess what I chose.
 
Did you do that yourself or get a glass company? I know nothing about how that works.
but to answer your question again.....
Since this windshield uses a gasket unlike most modern windshields, it's pretty straight forward and could pretty easily be installed by yourself if you can find the glass for it.
 
New tires are on the way for my Cruiser, so my MTR Kevlars will be making their way to the hilux. Still about 50% tread left on the MTRs and we're planning to use the factory 80 wheels too so it should look pretty good I think. 35's will be better than these 33's on the hilux and I can't wait to ditch the current wheels. Anyone want them?
 
Cold temps have slowed us down on body work. We're still trying to finish getting it ready. If I can rig up a DIY paint booth in the garage and get it reasonably warm I'll still try to get it painted sometime in the next month or so.

We did finish our grill mod and get it reinstalled.


 
sub'd on this one... I just bought back my very first vehicle... 1980 truck that my dad ordered brand new from the factory.
 

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