Mini Toy to 80 noob intro/questions... (1 Viewer)

[OREGON85]

I have posted a couple times, but figured I should make an official introduction.

I've finally accepted the reality that my '85 pickup that I've been wheeling and driving since I could drive is no longer practical now that I have three kids..... so now I have an 80! I love it, even though we really haven't driven it much yet. Mostly it has been torn apart in the garage. It is getting the usual routine... OME lift, 4:88's, chromoly birfs, 315's etc. It is coming along slowly (remember the the kids mentioned? They aren't much help). That said, there are a couple things that I'm not sure what to do with in the 80 world.

1. What do I do with the exhaust?! There are these two giant catalytic converters hanging down and a gigantic muffler to deal with. Any good, clean suggestions for this? I would like to have a catalytic converter because that is important to me, but I don't have smog. If I were doing things with the exhaust anyway should a throw a header on? Would that make much difference? I need to get this figured out before I can move forward with building or buying sliders.

2. With full-time 4WD the spare tire has to match!? Is there even room for that? What if I go to 37's? Is this why everyone has a bumper with a spare tire carrier? I was hoping to avoid that. With my Mini Toy I keep a skinny little 33 tucked up under the bed. It isn't a perfect match, but if I was somewhere with traction I could take out of four-wheel-drive and if I didn't have good traction it didn't mater that it didn't match. Again, I need to get this nailed down before a bumper. Currently it has a factory bumper and a tow hitch. I plan to find a bumper with a hitch built in suitable for towing.

3. E-Lockers are awesome. That is not a question. I just like open diffs on the road - that is a sweet feature.

 

[inkpot]

What year of 880 do you have. It makes a difference on the exhaust, sort of. I have a 97 and I am running a small performance cat and that leaves lots of room to route the tube up over the frame for better clearance. Lots of folks carry the spare inside, but hard to do if you need the 2rd row seats for kids.

 

[chap79]

You can cut, turn the cats, and reweld the flanges so that they don't hang below the frame. As for the spare, if you are going to keep the tow package the largest you can fit is a 33" tire. You can space the factory tire winch up to get the tire up a couple more inches for added clearance. If you remove the tow package you can fit a 35 under the truck. But IMO it looks like a baby carrying a loaded diaper. If you don't want a swing out tire carrier in the truck or on the roof are you're best options.

 

[RyRoRyan]

I have an EMS powered exhaust and love it. I need to readjust it as I have noticed it rubbing on the frame recently. It really tucks up nicely and stays out of the way of those pesky rocks.

 

[Heckraiser]

Exhaust: you can fanagle the cats into a less in-the-way position by rotating, or replace them with the lower profile universal cats. Muffler: just dent it up until it doesn't work anymore. If you're getting (or making your own) sliders, there are several available that offer cat protection/skids built in.

Spare: Yup, that's pretty much why everyone has a tire carrier bumper. 315 can fit in the stock location (just barely, and depends on the make or amount of tread left), but it looks ridiculous there. Tire carrier or interior storage are the most common. I'm throwing around an idea in my head to remove the factory tire carrier and fabricate a swing-down carrier/skid since there is so much room above the stock carrier. No idea if it would work (haven't taken measurements yet), but it looks slick in my hillbilly mind. Other option would be to run a 34x10.5x16 tsl in the stock spare location (I hear it's close in diameter to a 315, but not exactly the same) and carry a plug/patch kit.

 

[OREGON85]

Thanks for the replies. Mine is a '96. It sounds like a carrier bumper is the way to go, especially because I'm thinking I might run 37's at some point. Taking up space in the back is a no-go with three kids. I might need even more space than is there anyway!

I may have to head to the exhaust shop before I build sliders!