Tonka turning crawler!

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As you can see above, I had to cout out the center of the front clip and totally cut out the front crossmember, but I am welding in another front crossmember, so no worries.

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Here is a shot of the rears that I built up front:



They gave me a little bit of lift and more clearance between the oil pan and front axle.

I like the look of a clean leaf spring with no leaf-clamps.


Here is an under side shot of the crankshaft pulley and radiator:




Got some 31X10.50 Mud Rovers for cheap from a buddy for the front, since the other front tires I had were like drag-slicks!





I have been painting quite a bit and have gotten the whole cab primered gray for right now:







As you can see in the last couple of photographs, I had to run the wiring harness on the outside of the inner fenderwells, as there was not any room on the inside of the cabin firewall to make another larger hole for the harness.

I believe the 4Runner harnesses are routed similarly, so it should be a problem once I secure the harness to body.

More spring photographs:





I like the flipped ball, but I have got to upgrade soon:



Here is the "discovered" bent stock tie-rod:




Oh, and a shot of my left side motor mount before I solidly weld it with a large (adequate size) welder:

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And as usual, people keep throwing crap in the back of my bed and I don't even have the bed on the truck yet!

I bet my brother and his friends have atleast 300 beer bottles in the back of that bed!

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I think the front looks fairly ominous with the larger radiator.

Shackle angle is good, but I am having frame contact. I need longer shackles.





Another shot of the drop-arm with the flipped ball:






Here is a shot of the hole I hacked since the transfer case is about 6 inches back of where the normal first gen is:



I like also how is shows that the drivetrain is not solidly mounted yet. Can you see the leaning?

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Here is the '87 steering column I will be using:

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After seeing Snohman's rig and talking to him, he highly recommended www.12voltguy.com for any electrical switches and that is who I used as well.

Extremely clean switch builder!

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Here is where I am at right now.

Tomorrow I am welding in the motor mounts and the transmission/transfer case crossmember mounts.


I believe the project is coming along nicely.



Slowly, but surely!

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One more:

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If it isn't bad enough that people are lurking around and looking at your stuff, it is even better when they are jokesters:

[Rocksurfer]

It' coming along very nice Tonka.

[DTB]

Believe me, that thing is in there tight!

I am not going to have any heat, A/C, vents or any ventilation system of any kind.

Not having defrost should be fun!

get one of those little 12v fans they sell at auto zone. instant air hahaha. looking good man. what color u gonna paint it?

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It' coming along very nice Tonka.

Thanks Rocksurfer, it means a lot coming from you. (Really, it does)

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get one of those little 12v fans they sell at auto zone. instant air hahaha. looking good man. what color u gonna paint it?

I was thinking about Krylon Ultra-Flat Khaki or somthing along those lines....HA!

[Ramrod]

you need more leaves in those front packs bad

[pyrotec220]

man pete it is lookin better everytime i see it. good luck

[toyspider81]

i like what your doing with your rig. im from pismo beach ca. my 81 is a flat bed without 40s

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you need more leaves in those front packs bad

I know, but it will hold me over until I get my SAS (Super Axle Swap) done!

You know they flex like Arnold!

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man pete it is lookin better everytime i see it. good luck

You know I try not to disappoint!

My welding connection didn't come through yesterday, so everything has been halted for a week or so, but don't you worry Dan, I will get this ball rolling even faster as time goes on....

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i like what your doing with your rig. im from pismo beach ca. my 81 is a flat bed without 40s

Your '81 Rocks dude! I enjoy a 40" tire, but not so much necessary all the time!


I believe I will like it even more once completed, but it has been a blast so far, so I don't plan on stopping!

Thanks so much for the comments and please come back to visit every now and then!

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Well, folks...time for some update photographs....

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Here are the shackles I built on the truck:



The angle is not too bad, but I want it to be a little better. It should be considerably better with a drop hanger on the front.

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As you can see, I have gained some clearance from the top of the axle to the bottom of the oil pan.


Also, you can see my booty fabbed replacement front crossmember....

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Here are a couple of shots of the harness that I had to run outside of the inner fenderwell.

I buttoned it up a little bit and secured it to the inner fenderwell via zip-tie.

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Do you guys like the flat-black primer?

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Here is a shot with my dash taken out and the newer style '87 steering column....

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Here is another shot of the Supra motor:

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Here is an upclose shot of the zip-tie trail....

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Now, what you guys really want to see:

Some semi-flex shots....