Builds Just another 79 build..... (1 Viewer)

[Gun Runner 5]

I assume the filler piece is not part of the wheel arch kit and must be purchased separately?
In my humble opinion the filler piece doesn't do much for the tan truck but is actually a nice addition to the white truck. ( Just a personal preference thing I guess )

 

[c2dfj45]

Yup, separate piece. Neat...more parts. And just when I thought I was close to being done. They're really cheap though...$30 or something.

Agreed on the look....I think the stripes and chrome tidbits on the tan truck are distracting(putting that nicely). That white truck is nice. Really nice.

In that pic of the white one, that truck, in my opinion, looks like a REALLY light grey, very, very light. I think Ford had a color like that on a Mustang GT back in 85-ish. I've seen it on a Mitsubishi Lancer/Galant too I think(although it may be a pearl). I'm tempted to do a repaint on this thing when I tire of the white....that ultra light grey would be the leading contender.....

Another shot of it.....that front fender flare piece makes a big difference.

 

[Gun Runner 5]

The designer at Toyota who though the side graphics looked good should be dismissed without severance pay.

 

[Gun Runner 5]

You can wash my "white" HJ75 and it looks good for days or you can wash the "blue" BJ74 and it looks good for a hour or so. There is a moral here somewhere.

 

[gifu]

Your instrument cluster is a work of art. It gives me motivation to fix mine. I've put maybe 10k miles on my hzj79 since I took possession of it, including 8 trips through rubicon, and the only working gauge I have is fuel. Though I do have aux temp, EGT, and boost. My efforts have gone to redoing some work in the name of safety (steering and brakes), then transmission (took four tries to rebuild H55f and get doubler to stop leaking), then fuel (diesel shop refused to believe this truck was actually running b/c the injection pump and injectors were so bad.

I agree that a simple front winch bumper would be an improvement over that front porch.
It's been fun watching this.

 

[c2dfj45]

Thanks Gifu...the cluster really is pretty slick. We spent a lot of time with it...it's still not quite done either...we have a few more things to square away.

We'll see on the winch bumper.....for now I'll drive it as is....the front bumper doesn't actually bother me so much but I'm sure it will one day.

 

[c2dfj45]

Finally, after a ton of hours and a whole lot of $$$, she's officially done her first 5 miles(5.5 to be exact). Dialed in a few last bits and pieces this AM and drove her around the 'hood a few laps. The truck feels incredible....drives like a new vehicle(which is should since most everything is new)....sounds great, rides beautifully, steers perfectly. It's far beyond what I imagined.

We'll finish up our dash harness(needs to be wrapped up...we were holding off wrapping it up until we knew the truck was running and driving), get the AC/Evap in and hooked up(wire the AC...still a few questions/obsacles), align some body panels and make a couple of adjustments(slight interference where the hood and air cleaner housing meet). Once that's done, I'll pop a tag on her and really put some miles on it.

I've had a tough time judging the size of this truck...it's not quite a full size...more of a medium size...kind of. Dimensionally it's just very different than what we see on our roads. We took some size comparison pics to see how it measures up. I don't care what size it's classified as......in my mind it's PERFECT.

 

[Gun Runner 5]

What is that cool looking truck on the right?













Just jerking your string......
Your 79 Series is beautiful.

 

[OGBeno]

Very nice. Very nice.

 

[AlbertoSD]

Beautiful work....VERY well done.

Congratulations. You pulled an amazing project. Top notch work for sure.

It's been great to follow your build.

Thanks for sharing your journey.

Alberto

 

[c2dfj45]

I'll tell you, that Tacoma is a great little truck. Get's the job done....has required 2 sets of tires, an 02 sensor and a center driveshaft bushing in the last 115k...not bad. It's just a nice and basic truck that is very low profile. The 79 is not so low profile.

Can't wait to drive this thing around....I drive that 45 series lately and people freak out over it, this thing will be a whole different deal I think. I know if I saw a 70 series driving around I'd go nuts.

 

[Gun Runner 5]

Can't wait to drive this thing around....I drive that 45 series lately and people freak out over it, this thing will be a whole different deal I think. I know if I saw a 70 series driving around I'd go nuts.


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Just remember those things are real chick magnets. I could load the rear bed every time I visit the local Waffle House.

 

[Cmoney]

2 trucks

The two best trucks to ever run the roads, IMO, the taco and the 70 series. I bought the first toy pu in my town in 1980 and was about laughed out of town. Those same guys aren't laughing anymore.
33 years later and I'm still driving one of the tacos.
Building this 79 from scratch has been one of the most interesting threads ever and a lesson in good old fashioned American ingenuity. My hats off to you!!

America, the land of plenty, plenty of everything except the 79 cruiser.

 

[coldtaco]

Very nicely done.

 

[75Ute]

Great thread, really enjoyed the build, thanks.

 

[c2dfj45]

Well I appreciate all the kind words....fortunately this build is far from over....I'll keep this thread going. It's been fun sharing it with the Mud community....we don't get to share a lot of our work due to the privacy of our customers so being able to share MY stuff has been fun.

A pic of the truck before it's maiden voyage.....hanging out with some of it's ancestors....

 

[Gun Runner 5]

It would be interesting to know how many 75/79 Series trucks are in the U.S.
I assume they are far more rare than other 70 Series in this country.

 

[Muscat LC]

Fabulous thread. Way to go

 

[sleeoffroad]

Ok, no you officially suck! Gives me inspiration and a kick in the butt to get mine done. Congrats on getting it out of the shop.

 

[swamprunner]

I don't wanna be the last one to finish I gotta get to work on mine soon. I don't even want to guess how many hours have gone into your truck...In the end it doesn't matter you have the nicest one built yet...the bar has been raised. Top notch work!