Scrappy (1 Viewer)

[jynx]

It's late and I have been playing on the internet and got junk on my mind that I wanted to get put down somewhere, so why not just do it here.

This is my baby. Scrappy is my 1990 regular cab pickup.

Currently sitting in the barn in need of some TLC. He has been with me for over 15 years, bought him from a guy during the summer of 1999. It has over 300k on the original motor and drivetrain. Over the years I have done a few things to him, but I was a broke college kid and then when I finally had some dollars, I didn't have time or a good place to work on him. 3 years ago I got my 4runner and he go semi-retired and once he moved into the barn, hasn't moved since.

I have always had big plans for the little truck, but never time and money at the same time to move things forward. I still don't have much of either, but I want to get things rolling and this is kind of my way of at least starting the process.

I will have to dig out some of my old pictures to do the story justice, but I have put a lot of miles and many more memories into this truck and plan to put a lot more in it. Over the years I have swapped the old bench for a set of SR5 buckets from a 4Runner, I added a brand new console and shifter from Toyota. That one has a good story with it too. It has a set of MossyRock sliders on it, but other than that, it is pretty much just a standard run of the mill 4cyl 5 speed truck. Over the years I have had lots of "plans" for it, but as I have aged and learned a thing or 2, I have pretty well settled in on a resto-mod type setup.

Over the years I have amassed a pile of parts for this little truck which include:

A complete OEM 22RE Shortblock with pretty much every associated nut and bolt that Toyota has for it all in little baggies labeled and waiting for me. I must have been channeling my inner @beno before I even knew who the guy really was. Either way, I need to get it on the stand and start putting it together. I wanted it to have a solid powerplant that would give me another 300k miles of life.

I have a 1983 front axle that I want to swap under it. I plan to use a set of caliper brackets from @Front Range Offroad and a pair of IFS hubs to build this axle up to match the IFS rear without spacers. I am also planning to put tundra brakes on it and probably a set of 4.56 or 4.88 gears in it.

Overall plan to follow:

 

[ugamurph]

1st item on the list:
Sell or donate to Murph!

 

[jynx]

As of today I am settled on getting the motor put together and swapped in. I am going to get the axle built and slung under the front by some means, but that is where I go back and forth. I plan to stay low. I want to clear some 33s/285s with as little lift as possible. Flat pitman arm, frame notching, relocating the steering box are all on the table to make that happen to clear the hi-steer. Suspension is where I am unsettled. I want this truck to ride great. It will mostly just be a weekend ride for mom to make co-op runs and misc. farm chores as well as getting the occasional daily drive to the office. So with my parameters, I am bouncing between doing a super low SAS with some 84-85 OME or IM leaf springs using a FROR hanger kit frenched into the frame. My other option is the other end of the spectrum. I have been eyeing the 4Wheel Underground 3-link kit for a couple years, swapped some emails with the creator and think I can notch the frame and use some shorter CO's, maybe 10" or 12" units and keep the truck low. Again, ride is key and I know the CO's would let me do more dialing in on things, but this route is a little more "all in" than the typical SAS. of course either one will see the old IFS go by-by, but that has pretty much always been the plan.

Who knows where I will land, but I plan to put this in line with some of the other things over the next few months. The brown 80 is kind of at the top of the list right now, but I can get started on the motor build and axle as time allows.

I make no promises as to the speed of this work, or where it will go, but I needed to get something down and this more for me than anything.

Stay tuned to see where we end up.

 

[jynx]

1st item on the list:
Sell or donate to Murph!

Sorry bud, but of all the junk I own, this one would be the last one to go, but you already knew that

 

[ugamurph]

Sorry bud, but of all the junk I own, this one would be the last one to go, but you already knew that

You can't say I haven't tried.

 

[TeddyBoy]

I just found cab #4...

 

[FJCRAWLER]

If Erin is going to drive it to the Co Op and work and around the farm why not just leave it like it is. It's a nice truck and the IFS will give you a much better ride and will perform perfectly for what you're wanting to do.

You're welcome , just saved you X amount of dollars you can put towards one of your other trucks.

 

[jason in tn]

Truth /\

 

[jynx]

All very true. One of the issues is that the frame is (and has been since I bought it) tweaked just enough that the front end cannot be aligned. It eats tires on the passenger side. I mean I know that no more than it will be driven, it won't be an issue anymore like it was. Honestly, getting the engine built and getting it up and running again is the first order of business. Suspension and the like will probably be sometime down the road. Ahead of that is going to be cutting out and replacing the front cross-member that is tweaked so I can get the bumper I have laying in the floor mounted up.

I need to pull the front clip off and replace the core support as well. As best I can tell the truck was hit/ hit something in the front and it was "poorly" repaired. Basically as best I can tell they basically got it close enough to get all back together, but over the years I have found a number of things that support my hypothesis. For example, I bought some replacement brightwork for the front and a new OEM grill badge, well none of the holes lined up so it is in its packaging. That was when I really started looking at the front end and noticed how the core support was tweaked. Not really that noticeable until you get right up to it, or try to put a new part on.

Along those lines, the rear springs are clapped out badly and need replacement. I was looking at a set of OME medium rears for it which will give me about 2" over stock so probably close to 3" as it sits now. So this is where things start going sideways, becasue to match the rear I was looking at a set of ball joint spacers for the front and unloading the T-bars a little to improve the ride. Well because the cam adjusters are already as far out as they can go on the passenger side right now due to the tweak in the frame, to try and push it up at all is only going to exaggerate the tire wear issue. That is why I started looking at a low lift setup with the solid axle. I know the leafs don't give the ride comfort that the IFS setup does, which is why I started looking at a linked setup with a coil-over shock up front to give me the ability to dial in the ride. To clear the hi-steer linkage and maintain a low stance, I will likely have to clearance the frame and rotate the steering box up and use a flat arm. I have looked at the frame over the axle and the way the motor mounts are set on the IFS frame, it is pretty easy to see that one could add material to the top and remove it from the bottom to get a profile that is similar to the older SA or 2wd frames which will clear the linkage better.

In case you haven't noticed, I have spent a lot of time thinking thru this. Like I said, when I had time I had no money, so I did research on the internets, when I got a little money I didn't have time or a good place to do any work, but was still researching and buying bits here and there for some project I had in mind. So now I am getting to a place where I am going to have some space to piddle, a little time, but (thanks to this house) no money. So I can work on the things that I have parts piled up for. I think alot, come up with all kinds of grand ideas for things, but time and money are generally against me.

So first thing is going to be getting the rear main seal housing on the rear of the block and install the seal so I can get the block up onto the stand and start assembly. Any recommendations on assembly lube?

And of course all this will be going on while I am working on one or both 80s and whatever else needs it.

 

[jason in tn]

I'm sure none of us were aware of the frame damage, and even still we would probably pick on you about yet another project lol.
I'm sure you have checked into it, but could the frame not be pulled, it would be less work for you and shouldn't cost a ton, just making conversation here.
I've always just used STP for assembly line, it sticks to the bearings well, there is probably better synthetic options but I old and cranky and stuck in my ways.
Keep the projects coming they seem to be the most active threads in our clubhouse.

 

[jynx]

Yeah, I know none of you would have known any of that. And yes I deserve all the flak you want to throw out about all my projects. I've decided I have mild ADD. I tend to jump around a lot. When I get my mind on something I'm hyperfocused on that, then "squirrel" and I'm off to the next thing.

 

[jynx]

Front bumper is from a guy out in California, didn't fit right and the guy kind of just left me hanging.

He built it on the wrong winch plate so there is a gap that is going to need some attention.

Just another "thing" to put on the list.

At least the rear bolted right up. I got this from a guy off CL for a song. Brand new.

Just a few pictures to make things more interesting.

And @jason in tn I actually haven't talked to anyone about the frame pulling, but now that you mention it, it would be worth making a call to a few places just to see what kind of ball park we are going to be looking at. Of course, I also really like the idea of having a solid axle sitting on coil overs stealthily hiding underneath the frontend.

 

[jynx]

It was this Tacoma concept that actually started the solid axle stock look thought process. It is super slick and after I read the original article it has stuck with me. The look is pretty much exactly what I am after. (different years, but looks pretty much stock)

It was a 4cyl with a solid axle that was on coils. One of my favorites

 

[jynx]

Well damn! 3 years later... Putting this back on top of the pile.

Got to get the block out and on the stand, but I did pull these beauties out of the stash..

22REPerformance head, cam, rocker assembly and valve cover...

Going to be pulling out the rest and assessing what I have and what I may still need over the next week or 2.

 

[Hugh Heifer]

 

[jynx]

Grabbed another box tonight. This one is full up with nuts, bolts, sensors, belts, hoses, oil pump, rotor, cap, and a whole slew of stuff that I'm going to have to sort thru. I'll have to get a motor diagram to see where all these nuts and bolts go. There is a set of ARP head studs and a LCE wire seperater in there too.

Oil pan, pickup and timing cover I know are on a shelf in the barn. I will grab those one day this week. Shop slab prep slowed me a minute, but with the slabs down, I can get back to sorting thru boxes.

 

[Jon Hardy]

Looking good. Nothing like sorting parts out.