very clean 1983 4x4 Long bed (1 Viewer)

[jgallo1]

This should be fun.
I just picked up this gem.
It will be used for small camping trips, and driving around town.

The Good:
it is a 1983 4x4 SR5 long bed . It even has factory AC
I will be the 3rd owner. I bought it from a friend who intended to build it but has too many projects at the moment.
It has 148k original miles. The interior is mint.

The Ugly:
It has a blown head gasket and a few other issues. It turns over but it needs work.

The plan.:
rebuild the engine
New Carb, radiator , hoses, water pump, timing etc..
New bushings, mounts, etc.
Headers, and exhaust
New brakes, New master cylinder, New Lines,
Rebuild axel components (knuckles etc).., get into the transfer case and see what's what.
New suspension, leafs , shocks, bushings .

I am starting to order parts.
Here are a few questions:
I have used and had great results with LCE. I was going to order most parts from them
I have been combing the forums and it seems a few guys like NWOR for headers and leafs.
Does anybody have any experience with NWOR?

I don't really want to lift the truck, I love OME but they don't make a stock height kit. For those that are running the light duty OME kit, does it work well with 31's?
I was just going to go with Bilstein's and new leafs. Then I could run 31" tires on 15"s
Open to suggestions for parts and methods of keeping this truck running well.
Thanks

 

[gnob]

nice

 

[msahr]

Nice truck!

Quite a few parts are still available from the dealer. Unfortunately, Toyota just took down their parts website for vehicles older than 1991 (which really sucks, by the way). So you're at the mercy of whatever parts guy you encounter as to whether or not they want to bother with an older truck. I buy all my OEM parts from Cabe Toyota in Long Beach, ask for Mike Bingham, he's very knowledgeable and is willing to help.

If you want to see the original exploded view diagrams which shows part numbers (but not availability, again what the hell Toyota?) you can use this website:

Toyota parts catalog - https://toyota-usa.epc-data.com/

Not super user friendly but it works.

As for springs, why not call Alcan Spring tell them what you have and want. I've never actually used them but have heard really good things about them.

LC Engineering is a good place to start. There's others, too. I've ordered a lot of stuff from LCE.

 

[Devils Paw 80]

I love it. The lack of rust and mint interior are very uncommon. You could get new stock height springs from General Springs or SD springs. I got a set from one of these companies for my 1995 Nissan hardbody pickup, can't remember which one. They're good quality.

 

[jgallo1]

Thanks for the recommendations.
I have ordered a few parts from LCE and working on a few other things. I hope to get going on this over the next few months.