solid front axle conversion on newer mini? (1 Viewer)

[rusmannx]

so i've been looking around at early 80's mini trucks, but haven't commited to one yet.
there is a early 90's in the parking lot of where i work for sale (like $2200) and i was wondering what the difficulty would be to swap out the IFS. or would it even be worth it?
i'm planning to buy one of these trucks for
1. trail rig
2. licensed driver
(in that order)

if this whole idea is just stupid, then could someone tell me what years the solid front axle could come with fuel injection? or did they ever? i would really like to have both.
thanks crew.

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

1985. That was the only year with a solid front axle and EFI. To do an SAS on anything you're looking at approximately $2000-3000 assuming you do your own labor(that includes springs, shackles, axle, steering, etc etc) and depending on how much $bling$(longfields, PolyPerformance Chromo inners, ARB, etc) you wanna put in it.

I would recommend going over to the Toyota Truck and 4runner forum on Pirate and read the FAQ at the top of the page, then start searching. There is an UNGODLY amount of info over there. Just about everything you could possibly want to know about SAS'ing a Toyota can be found there.

Good luck!

 

[woody]

yeppers...between PBB and 4x4wire you'll find lots of info.

85 was the only year with FI, and it was optional. 84-85 have the strongest solid axle housings, best trussing. 79-85 are all "identical" for guts however.

86+ IFS mini's are all 88" WTW....85-older are 85" WTW, so you run 1.5" spacers on a solid front to widen them out, or you swap over the IFS hub/brakes onto the solid axle.

confused? hit the two forums above and check out toyotalinks.com too for ideas.

 

[pappy]

http://www.allprooffroad.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=64

http://www.marlincrawler.com/sas_instructions.html

 

[rusmannx]

thanks guys. this is just what i was looking for.

that marlin kit is under $1,400. http://www.marlincrawler.com/sas.html
much less then i would have expected. maybe i'll have to look at
the IFS toyotas a little more. i could get one for wheeling, and once it's payed down
go for the marlin kit.
great link!
thanks again!

 

[bkg]

. 79-85 are all "identical" for guts however.

Actually, 79's have slighly different wheel hubs... Difference in the mounting of the rotor, IIRC

86+ IFS mini's are all 88" WTW....85-older are 85" WTW, so you run 1.5" spacers on a solid front to widen them out, or you swap over the IFS hub/brakes onto the solid axle.
.

Uh... Woody... Dude... 88"?? That's about 2 and a half feet wider than it should be, wouldn't ya say?

58" for the IFS rear axle, 55" for the Solid axle rear..

Solid axle swaps are cake these days. Many expensive, many inexpensive ways to do it. But I'd do it the easy and right way by buying a kit from Marlin, or piecing together pieces from Marlin, FrontRangeOffroad and All-pro.

What will it cost total? As mentioned, it depends on what you put in the diffs, and how much Bling you add. Parts for front and rear "kits" run about $2000-2200. Figure another $800 for tires and cheap wheels (4), $200 for a front axle, $100 for a rebuild kit, $0-$2800 in gears and traction aiding devices.

Realistically, a full SAS, with gears and tires can add up to $5-6K pretty quickly. If you are set on the type of vehicle you want, I'd consider checking out the for sale section at PBB for an already built rig. You'll save thousands, if you can afford to pony up everything up front. Just something to consider.

Good luck! And take plenty of pics if you do the SAS!!!
bkg

 

[rusmannx]

thanks for the tips BKG.
i was kinda looking to build a rig over the next few years.
thought i would get a truck, do a sas in a year or two (assuming i go 86-late)
and then kinda get into gears, lockers, etc.

the reason i'm asking all of this up front, is because i DO want a little toyota truck,
but don't want to buy some old farm truck if i can help it, but also don't want to drop a
load on something i'll feel bad about abusing (if that's possible).

thanks again everyone. i'll head over to the pirate board and see what i can learn.

 

[rusmannx]

oooo, here's another thing. notice the steering arms in this pic?
anyone know if they would hold up to a hydro assist setup?
they look pretty beefy to me.

 

[Curran]

I've been doing this same research for a couple of months now. I thinik that the Marlin arms that you're looking at above are strong enough for hydro assist. However, I dont think that the arms would be the weak link in the setup -- the mounting bolts that connect the arms to the top of the knuckle would likely be the weak point. If this is a concern to you, Marlin is also coming out with a six bolt knuckle/arm setup that looks sweet. but you add more money to the cost of the arms and an extra $300 or so for new knuckles. IIRC, Front Range Off road also sells an upgraded/stronger bolt kit for the knuckles.

 

[bkg]

I've been doing this same research for a couple of months now. I thinik that the Marlin arms that you're looking at above are strong enough for hydro assist. However, I dont think that the arms would be the weak link in the setup -- the mounting bolts that connect the arms to the top of the knuckle would likely be the weak point. If this is a concern to you, Marlin is also coming out with a six bolt knuckle/arm setup that looks sweet. but you add more money to the cost of the arms and an extra $300 or so for new knuckles. IIRC, Front Range Off road also sells an upgraded/stronger bolt kit for the knuckles.

Agree with all of the above. if (when) I rebuild my front axle, I will pony up the $$ for Marlin's new knuckles and steering arms - for safety reasons alone.

I'd also recommend staying away from CAST arms... I have them, but will be replacing them. Simply not worth the riisk.

If you do your axle build before Marlin's new knuckles are available, I'd recommend using Marlin's arms with FRORF's studs as mentioned above.

 

[KliersLC]

I would spend the time to find a 79-83 mini that already has the SFA
Less money, less trouble, reliable and easy to work on, easier to mod, and they are more resistant to beating IMHO
Either way, you'll end up with a great truck
Good luck,
Dan

 

[rusmannx]

here's another question.
why does marlin give you 4" lift springs? couldn't you just do the rear-front, chevy-rear setup and saveyourself the money? or are 4" of lift necessary to correct front end height after the conversion?

 

[calamaridog]

If you look for a built truck, you will get a great deal. I've seen several nice SA swapped rigs in the 88-94 category and they went cheap.

 

[bkg]

here's another question.
why does marlin give you 4" lift springs? couldn't you just do the rear-front, chevy-rear setup and saveyourself the money? or are 4" of lift necessary to correct front end height after the conversion?

you certainly could do rears up front and Chevy's in the back. It will save some money. My white truck has rears up front - custom pack. My 4Runner has AP springs. Both have their advantages. *IF* you will be DD'ing the rig at all, i'd consider going with Marlin's springs and calling it good. You'll be very happy with them.

As for "why" does Marlin supply 4" lift springs.. There's an assumption that you will be lifting the rear of the truck as well. You really can't do a SAS w/ less than 3"-4" of lift - the steering won't fit. Marlin's kit will give you about 5" of total lift of front, and you'll have to match that in the rear. Should be good for 35-37" tires.

 

[rusmannx]

Should be good for 35-37" tires.

NICE!
how well will the drivetrain hold up to this size of tire (assuming you keep with the 22re)?

 

[bkg]

22re, W56 tranny, tcase will all hold up just fine. I'm assuming you'll throw 5.29's in the front and rear diffs to make up for the tires - all should be good. Your weak spots will be the birfields - which can be fixed easily with a call to Bobby Long for a set of his 30 spline birfs/axles ($650 - the last set you'll ever buy).

There's an unlimited amount of upgrades you can do, really. All of which cost money, of course. Spend a lot of time figuring out what you want, how you want to use the truck and what your priorities are. You can easily, and QUICKLY, spend $10K in mods on top of the purchase price, and end up with a cookie cutter truck that you could have bought pre-built for $6K... Or you can take your time, spend 10k over the course of some years, and have the exact truck that you want/need that will last you a good number of years.

bkg

 

[Sir_Titus]

well if you shop around you could find a deal on an older mini

I bought my 81 for $500 put $100 in it for a tune up and upgrade lights. No problems yet

 

[customcruiser]

i got a stock 86 4runner in the shop with a motor rebuild -- soon 4sale

the SAS isnt that hard of a process..... i would get the whole kit either AllPro or Marlin

i like my truck but the suspension is super flexy.... people stare at me and think i am gonna flip turning in parking lots

 

[rusmannx]

i got a stock 86 4runner in the shop with a motor rebuild -- soon 4sale

the SAS isnt that hard of a process..... i would get the whole kit either AllPro or Marlin

i like my truck but the suspension is super flexy.... people stare at me and think i am gonna flip turning in parking lots

your sig says you just got your 86', why you selling it? how much? where are you?

 

[customcruiser]

i bought it to fix and sell.....

having the motor rebuild ($1500) by a race shop in Mooresville, NC -- 20min North of Charlotte

i have had it since November just not updated my sig

i am gonna ask around $4000 OBO!!