what to do with my "new" 85 truck

[furbis]

I just traded into this 85 longbed (7') truck with an automatic.

 

 


what do you guys think of the longbed/auto setup I have? I am not sure what I want to do with it should I turn it into a serious offroader or keep it basically stock and use it as a dd and hunt out of it some this fall and winter?

[Yota4life]

Lift,Bob,Convert to 5speed

[MiniSimp]

Go all out and buy a Formula Toyota Chassis from Hendrix Motorsports.

[CTENG in KS]

Sell the bed, regear to5.29, weld rear, flatbed, lift, 35's, wheel!

[furbis]

Lift,Bob,Convert to 5speed

Go all out and buy a Formula Toyota Chassis from Hendrix Motorsports.

Sell the bed, regear to5.29, weld rear, flatbed, lift, 35's, wheel

I see there is no middle ground here, I either need to run with the big dogs or stay on the porch.     I've only had the truck 3 days and the whole junkyard spring thing still has me a little confused. 

I just finished reading WT's $300 thread, maybe I had better read it again.

anybody in Colorado have a 5sp setup they want to sell? 
 

[No Power]

Lift,Bob,Convert to 5speed

I AGREE

[wa4x4]

FLATBED

[CTENG in KS]

Junkyard springs are easy...if you want to go inexpensive, take the rear springsand mount them in the front with an extended shackle.  You will need to add a couple extra leaves to the pack to compensate for the weight of the engine.  This can be done by adding leaves out of your front pack, or by getting another rear pack and ading extra springs out of that.  WT will tell you that standard chevt 63 inch springs can be tough to work with on a pickup truck as they are made for a much heavier truck.  They tend to work better on runners because of the added weight of the top and seats.  For your truck he may advise another route, I think they are caddilac springs, but I may be mistaken.  These longer springs in the rear will require moving the spring perches forward...this will require you to have some welding skills, or know someone who can.  If you choose that you do not want to relocate your spring mounts you can go with other manufacturers that produce stock length lift springs-
www.skyjacker.com
www.downeyoff-road.com
are a few.  You will find that a cheap way to run longer shocks in the front to accomodate the flex allowed by the "rears up front" is to use Ford F250 shock mounts in place of your stock mounts.  You can run a 12-14 inch shock depending on placement.  For the rear, the easiest way to extend travel is to angle your shocks inward.  There are many different setups you can run, search a bit and you will find plenty of pictures.  Smartest thing to realize, however, is that flex is not the most inportant thing.  Flex is nice, but you will be much better served to do some reading, and try to install a suspension that will be well balanced.

[CTENG in KS]

Oh yeah, the rears up front, or similar lift springs from Marlin will relocate your axle forward.  The rears up front app. 2 inches and the Marlin spring app. 1.5 inches.  These springs will require you to upgrade to a crossover steering system.  If you do not want to upgrade this fast, but want to wheel, you can slam a set of 33's on that truck with some fender trimming and firewall pursuasion with a hammer...then wheel like a madman.

After that you need more traction.  Cheapest is to weld the spider gears inthe rear.  Larger tires will require new gearing...35-37 inch tires work very nice with a 5.29 ratio.  If you are mechanically savy, the gears can be setup in your garage with a vernier caliper...if not you can have them done at a shop.  I happen to like a welded rear/front locker setup.  Detroits are available for the 8-inch toyota, as well as the luchbox style...Lockright, Aussie Locker, etc.

After that think about upgrading your front axles.  Marlin sells nice chrommoly birfs.  Longfield is about the best in the buisness for the same, and polyperformance sells some killer 300M axleshafts if you have the cash.  Perhaps then you can put some big a$$ dents in that truck and start thinking about rocker protection, bumpers, exos...

F-in hell...just wheel the fawker!

[unclejpl4x4]

  wait its 4wheel drive  O never mind

[Rocksurfer]

Lift it, lock it, wheel the hell out of it, if you like it wheel it many more times, if you didn't like it change it wheel it some more, change more stuff, etc, etc, that's what I do. Don't throw that auto out until you try it, you may like it. I loved my auto Toy, miss it dearly, an auto trans is like having instant gear reduction except downhill, but if it is the electrically controlled converter you can shut off the stall and it's like having a engine brake. My friend/mechanic figured that out for me, and wired a switch to it. If you do it you just have to remember that once you try to stop it will not want to and if you manage to get it stopped it will blow the converter. Just flip the switch off and it reverts to normal. You do loose about 15% hp that the auto soaks up. Personally I love the long wheelbase Toy's, it's the same feeling when you go from a short wheelbase Jeep type vehicle to the wb of a standard base Toyota. Trust me I have had just about all of the popular offroad vehicles and some less popular types, the lwb Toy is the way to go as far as I'm concerned for the average rig. Now if you were going extreme which most of us don't, (I don't conceder the little sluice extreme) then I'd want a standard wb Toyota.

[furbis]

/F-in hell...just wheel the fawker!

great advice!   

I think I will try the auto for awhile look for some 33"s maybe trow on some small lift or just ghetto fab the fenders to fit with a sawzal and BFH.

thanks for all the advice so far I will post some pics when I make some changes.

[unclejpl4x4]

I think I will try the auto for awhile look for some 33"s maybe trow on some small lift or just ghetto fab the fenders to fit with a sawzal and BFH.

           truck looks to nice for that    if U wana be     put a 3" body on it for now and some 33.
Then when you have the   to put on a 3-4"lift  cut the body lift blocks to xx.xx    
Thats  my plan  anfter every things fixed  get a 3" lift and  cut 2" off my body lift.

[decyfer]

i would leave the auto tranny for now. it makes life easy.  throw on a lift some 33's, maybe a dual case and wheel the piss out of it. the beauty of toyotas is they don't take much to wheel pretty well. have fun with your new project

[blackdiamond]

Take your truck and a blank check or credit card to Marlin's shop and have him call you when it is finished.

Order of Mods:
(1) 5 speed transmission
(2) Dual cases with 4.70 rear (heavy duty skid plate)
(3) Lockers and ring & pinion - I like 4.88 gears, detroit rear and either a Trutrac front or selectable locker
(4) Lift, wheels and tires - I like 33 or 35's and 4-5 inches of lift
(5) Cut the bed about 10 inches - I did 13 and wish that I would have left a little more
(6) Roll Cage and body protection
(7) winch

[Skinny_Pedal]

best thing you can do is ditch the auto tranny in there. that truck can't even move out of its own way right now. i would just bob the bed, do some 33's and have a good hunting and fishing rig while keepingit practical for daily driving. thats what im doing with my 85