Frankenyota Monster build. Michigan.

[Jbissell]

I have been searching for a Toyota to offroad with for sometime. Initially I was looking for an FJ40, however I looked for quite a while, and with my budget was not finding what I wanted.

Finally I decided on a different route, getting a pickup to bomb around in until I have more funds avaliable. So after that I found a 92 Toyota pickup on craigslist... It was a steal at 400 bucks! Good running condition. I got it home and realized the extent of the rust damage.

I began looking for a replacement frame. If you're not from up here in the bitter north, it's hard to find a good frame on that old of a vehicle. I couldn't find one close enough, but I did find an 85 pickup with the solid axle and a decent body, frame was shot and didn't have an engine, but did come with 2 transmissions.

The reason I needed a new frame:

I spent the rest of the after noon after this laughing...

After surveying the damage, and not finding any replacement frame. I decided to build my own frame... Bright idea, right? It may not be the most time effective solution, but it will sure be beefy. Well, I am making progress... All 2x4 steel tubing 3/16 inch walls.

This is far from finished, those are just temporary cross members to help maintain the shape. I have made some more progress on it, but no pictures of it yet. Gotten the front spring hangers installed now too. I have already been working on this whole project for a few months.

Cutting holes for the front spring mounts:

The front axle will come from the 85, the rear from the 92. The engine and transmission will be from the 92. The transfer cases will be a mix of parts from all three that I have. Not going to put on either of the beds, both are pretty rusty.

Just got the body off of the frame of the 85 earlier this week. A few cuts later and it was ready for the scrap yard... Got 50 bucks for 450 lbs of steel! Woo!

Planned upgrades I have parts for (and funds) :

- New Beefy frame
- Full suspension lift, all-pro offroad 4 inch springs
- bilstein shocks
- all new mounts, shackles, etc...
- High steer cross over steering
- Solid Front axle (from the 85)
- with ball joint gussets and axle gusset
- Marlin Crawler dual-transfercase adapter
- Vented Front brake upgrade
- Rear disc brake conversion
- 33'' tires (haven't decided what type yet)
- ARB rear air locker, ARB compressor
- POR 15 paint for the new frame
- Orange paint for topcoat on the frame

Planned upgrades I don't have parts for (or funds... lol):

- Custom front and rear bumper
- Warn 8274 winch
- Front ARB air locker
- Possible diesel conversion
- belt driven air compressor
- full roll cage
- flat bed

My wil-e-coyote in training brother after we got both the axles out:

There's plenty more, keep checking back I will be working much more over the next few months. I am hoping to have it drivable by Christmas time.

Thanks!

Jman

 

[Huroneymoose]

Will butt welding square tubing hold? I am thinking you should fish plate all of the joints. I am not a professional welder by any means but you want your foundation as strong as you can make it.

 

[Jbissell]

Will butt welding square tubing hold? I am thinking you should fish plate all of the joints. I am not a professional welder by any means but you want your foundation as strong as you can make it.

It may hold... I don't plan on finding out... I will be welding over all the joints with 1/4'' plating. I am waiting for that until I have all the brackets and mounts attached.

Josh

 

[porten1134]

go cat go! i like this build allready!

 

[Huroneymoose]

You... You're good you!

 

[mookie]

dammit! when i read the title i thought this was gonna be a big blocked beast with rockwells and like 49's or something

 

[Jbissell]

dammit! when i read the title i thought this was gonna be a big blocked beast with rockwells and like 49's or something

lol... Sorry if the title was misleading. Who needs a big block when you can have a diesel? Maybe a 4bt? I'll be going with larger tires when I can afford some better axle shafts... or when I break the ones I have.

Josh

 

[PAToyota]

After surveying the damage, and not finding any replacement frame. I decided to build my own frame... Bright idea, right? It may not be the most time effective solution, but it will sure be beefy. Well, I am making progress... All 2x4 steel tubing 3/16 inch walls.

Yep, that is the route I took. Here is the frame I fabricated sitting next to my truck.

 

[Jbissell]

Yep, that is the route I took. Here is the frame I fabricated sitting next to my truck.

Looks like you used varying size of tubing. I thought about it... I still will probably add some bracing to the center section of mine since it's the shorter 4 inch height. What wall thickness did you use?

Josh

 

[Tapage]

nice .. thoughts about your diesel engine .?

 

[Jbissell]

nice .. thoughts about your diesel engine .?

lol... Haven't thought much about it yet. I am concerned with getting the whole beasty together.

It'll most likely be next year before I do that part of the build. It will run the 22RE out of the 92 pickup for now.

But as far as the future, I have been considering a Cummins 4bt or a Toyota diesel of some sort, though I don't know the models of Toyota diesel engines very well so I haven't ID'd one that would work well for my application.

Any thoughts on that would be appreciated. Anyone have ideas?

 

[Jory]

Thought about a 2.7l 3rz out of a Tacoma? Friends of mine down here have managed 30+ mpg running on Megasquirt in a much heavier vehicle than yours. Plenty of power too.
Oh and I'd consider going bigger than 35s

Keep the progress going! We're about to start the spring over on the 62 and as soon as the Starlet sells, I'll be adding a 4bta stepvan to the driveway

 

[Chop Shop]

lol... Haven't thought much about it yet. I am concerned with getting the whole beasty together.

It'll most likely be next year before I do that part of the build. It will run the 22RE out of the 92 pickup for now.

But as far as the future, I have been considering a Cummins 4bt or a Toyota diesel of some sort, though I don't know the models of Toyota diesel engines very well so I haven't ID'd one that would work well for my application.

Any thoughts on that would be appreciated. Anyone have ideas?

Go with the cummins. Way more common in the states. Cheaper in the states. More aftermarket support. More power.

Plus cummins just plain kickass

 

[Tapage]

Any thoughts on that would be appreciated. Anyone have ideas?

well it's all about your budget and target .. you can start from something nice as the 1KZ-T is ..

 

[Jbissell]

Thought about a 2.7l 3rz out of a Tacoma? Friends of mine down here have managed 30+ mpg running on Megasquirt in a much heavier vehicle than yours. Plenty of power too.
Oh and I'd consider going bigger than 35s

Keep the progress going! We're about to start the spring over on the 62 and as soon as the Starlet sells, I'll be adding a 4bta stepvan to the driveway

Sup Jory! How are things at Southern? I don't have any budget left for another engine right now. When I do the swap I want to go with Diesel though. You're getting rid of the starlet??? Man, guess something's got to go though. Oh and as far as the tire size... 33's is where it's at for now. Once I have moola to upgrade the axle shafts I'll probably go with 35s or 37s. Otherwise I'll be snapping those shafts!

Go with the cummins. Way more common in the states. Cheaper in the states. More aftermarket support. More power.

Plus cummins just plain kickass

Cummins are pretty sweet. Though I am tempted to keep it Toyota. Also, I may be taking this beast on an road trip through the lower Americas eventually, I would imagine Toyota diesels would be more common down there.

well it's all about your budget and target .. you can start from something nice as the 1KZ-T is ..

Sounds good. 2.9 liter? What's the power output of the 1kz-t?

 

[Jbissell]

Also, as an update. I just finished up welding all the gussets and perches onto the front axle today. I'll get some pictures of it on Sunday. I am also hoping to get the dual transfer cases put together on Sunday.

 

[Tapage]

Sounds good. 2.9 liter? What's the power output of the 1kz-t?

3 liters .. 130HP / 220 ft/lb pretty light and fast engine ..

 

[Jbissell]

3 liters .. 130HP / 220 ft/lb pretty light and fast engine ..

Mmm... Really liking the sound of that... Probably pretty hard to get a hold of one up here in the states though I would imagine?

 

[Combat Chuck]

Mmm... Really liking the sound of that... Probably pretty hard to get a hold of one up here in the states though I would imagine?

Up where you're at, you can find a Canadian one and have it imported as parts.

 

[Jbissell]

Up where you're at, you can find a Canadian one and have it imported as parts.

Ah... Excellent. Probably could import a whole front clip for parts.