Builds Flooded 1981 Toyota Pickup Revival & Sprung Under FJ80 Axle / Dolphin RV Dually Axle Swap Build Bonanza on 4Ds (2 Viewers)

[Lucille]

Bumper 90% knocked out last night. Need to add recovery points and may add a hitch receiver tube frenched in to the middle. Simple and should bump things just fine.

Going to head to TSC today and get some d-rings and a receiver tube. May add some cool lights in the future.

 

[clrussell]

Great work on this

 

[Admiral Snackbar]

Dude, watching the Unreal Adventure announcement, hell yes! Looking forward to watching it get wheeled

 

[Lucille]

Dude, watching the Unreal Adventure announcement, hell yes! Looking forward to watching it get wheeled

Thanks man. Yeah I’m pumped. Been working on it non-stop since I found out. Lots of work to get done on it.

 

[aztoyman]

I'm glad you were chosen. I'm looking forward to watching it. Love that event.

 

[Lucille]

UA tires came in. Here is an unmounted 38 vs a mounted nitto 40. Its a little shorter but overall is a decent size. Weight is significantly less than the heavy 105lb 40" nitto. The MT-02 sticky comes in at 82lbs. Should feel like a race truck now. Overall should be better on drivetrain parts.

 

[Lucille]

More work on the truck over the weekend. It was ****ing hot and not pleasant to be in the shop working on this thing, but had to be done.
Installed my chromo hy-tuf rear full float shafts from Dutchman. Less than half the price quoted from RCV and 8x less lead time at 2 weeks.

Added 4x more studs for the rear hubs that were included with the RCV drive flanges.

Installed the front and rear Skyjacker Adventure Series 2.0 shocks. Quality feels nice. we will see how they work on the road and trail.

I removed the rear degree shims to correct the pinion angle and welded on new perches and installed the new Quigly 4x4 rear driveshaft. Also installed an add-a-leaf from skyjacker in the rear to help when we have this thing loaded down with all our gear for the trip. Painted the wheel wells as well with some Steel-it.

No more leaf spring hanger bushing issues up front. I cut off the old hangers and replaced the frame side up front with a pair of Johnny Joints i picked up from Barnes 4wd. We will see how they hold up.

Trimmed and capped the front bumper and added more tie-ins to the frame with plate. Had to bust out the TMR dimple dies which wasnt fun on 3/16" plate, but came out sweet. Still needs finish welded and painted to match the rear.

Bumper will get stuffed with this Come Up 8k race comp winch. They are a sponsor this year and gave out a sweet deal for UA participants. I needed a new winch anyways, so here we are.

Added a hitch frenched into the rear bumper. Still need to weld on some D-ring recovery points, but its basically done in the rear minus some wiring for the lights.

With the rear bumper finish welded out and painted i could then get to welding out the bobbed bed. Toyota sheet metal sucks to weld, but these buttweld clamps i picked up on Amazon really helped to keep things lined up.

Need to clean up the welds and finish out the bottom of the rusty bed floor, then the rear will be done. Slowly knocking things off the list.

 

[Lucille]

Finish welded the front bumper last night and got it all cleaned up and painted. Installed and wired in the Come-Up Comp 8k winch. It seems to have a pretty fast spool speed.

I will get the fairlead mounted up today and finish welding out the end caps for the slider / rear bumper. I closing in on the last of the fabrication for this UA trip.

 

[Lucille]

Not sure whats up with the site. it wouldnt let me attach pics. ill try again later.

 

[gnob]

how long until ua starts?

 

[Lucille]

how long until ua starts?

I leave in about 2 weeks.

 

[aztoyman]

Great job on the bumpers. 2 weeks!!

 

[Lucille]

Great job on the bumpers. 2 weeks!!

Yeah I know. Lots of late nights ahead to finish off my list.

 

[Lucille]

Another 20+ hours of work on the truck over the weekend, but i think its now in a good place for the UA trip. Did a flex test on the lift to check clearances, fender trim, and place some front bump stops. My concern was diff to oil pan clearance, but that was perfectly fine. I did find that the drag link hits the passenger frame and the pitman arm still hits the tierod even with a flat arm and the heim under. So i got to cutting and notched the frame in both locations, moved the heim to the top of the pitman arm and not i have plenty of clearance for things. Bump stops are in now as well to keep everything happy.

Lifted the rear until both tires were just off the ground.

Tierod contact to drag link. Moved the heim up top and notched the frame.

Took it for a quick 70 mile spin to test out the upgrades. The add-a-leaf really leveled it out which is great because it should settle some with all the gear in the back for the trip. As shown here, the spare wheel and tire are in the bed. Initial impressions are a little more woopow from the lighter tires and an overall very smooth ride with the new shocks and new tires. Im pretty happy with the results. Stance is still killer with the 38s. I also installed my cheap tablet to use as gauges since i cant fit the cluster anymore. The 3+ layers of insulation were the right touch and kept out lots of heat and noise and the 4-point PRP harnesses were nice and comfy.

Left on the list before we leave next week:
1. Install front RCVs
2. Recovery points for the rear bumper.
3. install winch rope
4. mount spare wheel in bed (thinking i am going to have to stand it up to get more bed space)
5. cut more rear fenderwell out in the bed just in case (enclose the hole if i have time)
6. Install front fog lights
7. nut and bolt check and mark
8. mount/wire fridge in bed.
9. mount a couple ammo cans in bed
10. mount everything else in the bed and play tetris to get everything to fit.
11. Check trailer bearings and mount spare tire
12. Check/clean tow pig
13. give it a bath to wash off all the grinding dust

Probably more little s*** that im missing but overall im pretty close to being ready to roll out.

 

[Lucille]

Installed the 300m fj80 RCV ring and pinion breaker accelerator 5000s to the front axle. Install was nice and easy and RCV was nice enough to include two snap ring grooves in the stub for a locking hub or drive flange. Old shafts will be used as spares for the UA trip.

My frame notching for the steering to clear the frame. Lots of work for 1/2" more up travel.

Bump stops are new ones for my FJ40 that i had on the shelf for years. Should be nice and plush on the kidneys at any type of speed.

All fasteners on the suspension and driveshaft bolts were torqued and marked with marking compound to make sure things dont loosen up on the trip. Installed and wire in the new LP Poor amber fog lights up front as well.

List update:
1. Install front RCVs
2. Recovery points for the rear bumper.
3. install winch rope
4. mount spare wheel in bed (thinking i am going to have to stand it up to get more bed space)
5. cut more rear fenderwell out in the bed just in case (enclose the hole if i have time)
6. Install front fog lights
7. nut and bolt check and mark
8. mount/wire fridge in bed.
9. mount a couple ammo cans in bed
10. mount everything else in the bed and play tetris to get everything to fit.
11. Check trailer bearings and mount spare tire
12. Check/clean tow pig
13. give it a bath to wash off all the grinding dust

 

[Lucille]

Staring mocking up potential arrangements for the gear in the bed of the truck. The 38 when flat takes up 80% of the bed floor so i think im going to stand it up and mount it against cage. I made a plate with some wheel studs pressed in and will weld some tabs to the cage to make it easily removable.

D-rings welded in.

Im thinking on stuffing the spare driveshafts and axle shafts forward of the fridge. Fridge cant go any more forward as the handle hits the tire and cage.

Plate i made up to mount the tire. Ill weld a tube to some tabs and a bashing on the cage. Ill also throw a ratchet strap over the tire as well.

Had to have a parking brake for UA so i added a line lock. It works.

Dash setup with the tablet. It mounts to the dash bar and is plugged in to a usbc charger behind it that comes on with the ignition. Im using the Torque app and gps for speed.

List update:
1. Install front RCVs
2. Recovery points for the rear bumper.
3. install winch rope
4. mount spare wheel in bed (thinking i am going to have to stand it up to get more bed space)
5. cut more rear fenderwell out in the bed just in case (enclose the hole if i have time)
6. Install front fog lights
7. nut and bolt check and mark
8. mount/wire fridge in bed.
9. mount a couple ammo cans in bed
10. mount everything else in the bed and play tetris to get everything to fit.
11. Check trailer bearings and mount spare tire
12. Check/clean tow pig
13. give it a bath to wash off all the grinding dust
14. double up rear shackles to 3/8" thick (Currently just 3/16")

 

[Lucille]

Also got my LP Poors mounted up. Not bad for a $27 knockoff BD light.

 

[jsnow]

Looking good Alex!

 

[Lucille]

Looking good Alex!

Thank you sir. Final touches now.

 

[Lucille]

Used some scrap tubing from the rollcage to build a cradle for the spare tire. My OCD couldnt let it stand straight up and off center so i came up with this simple cradle. the tire will lay in the cradle and be strapped to the cage. Also adds some protection to the cell. The angle of the tire is still up in the air depending on how much other crap i take with me.

Working on deciding a spares list for the large heavy parts. Ill be bringing a rear shaft for sure and probably one rear shaft (they are the same length), a FJ80 birf and a locking hub/drive flange. Plus all the normal small spares, i.e belts, fuel pump/filter, nuts, bolts, spark plugs, fuel hose, random fittings, etc. I dont think i need to carry a full set of front and rear shafts and a spare front driveshaft with the high pinion. Trying to run lean but not too lean is difficult.