My'83 the rock rebel (new motor)

[bluetoy84]

First off some history on the truck. This truck was bought new as a "rebel" edition package offered by southeastern toyota distibutors. I bought it from the original owner with the factory paint and decals. It had a rebel flag on the hood and the stripes on the side. I started restoring it as a daily driver, until I wrecked it.

Here's  how it looked stock.

[bluetoy84]

After I wrecked it, I dissassembled it and I am using the drivetrain on another restoration project. The cab and frame sat in my junkyard for about two years until I bought a rusted and wreck '82 with a good drivetrain, so I dug the rebel cab and frame back out of the junk pile and went to work. About a year and less than $1500 later I ended up with this:

[bluetoy84]

Here's the specs: bone stock 22R, L52 with dual cases, 5.29's welded rear, lockright front, 3" all pro rear springs, 3" downeys on front, 37" buckshots.
I already have a fully built '89 so this was just a side project to see how cheap I could put together a trail rig. I ended up spending less than $1500 total on this project, and it is the most capable toyota I've owned yet. Funny how less is more somtimes.

More pics:

[rednk1980]

Thats a sick looking toy im a first gen lover so im a little bias but good looking rig none the less. 

[NorCalToy]

kick ass truck. got any pics of the 89?

[bluetoy84]

kick ass truck. got any pics of the 89?

Here ya go:

[NorCalToy]

thanks. you gonna get thread goin for it? im kinda intersted becasue i have an 89 extra cab that ive got some plans for.

[Doof]

[skipnrocks]

Nice pics!  the pics with the stone steps look freakin awesome, I love trails like that!

[oddball]

bad ass truck, its nice to see someone fit 37s with out some massive lift like 90 percent of the trucks out there

[bluetoy84]

bad ass truck, its nice to see someone fit 37s with out some massive lift like 90 percent of the trucks out there

Thanks. Yeah , I'm not a fan of big lift, they just don't work good around here. We try to build our rigs as low as possible. If you'll look closey at my rear springs you'll see that I mounted them to the stock front hanger and I moved the rear hanger back and up on the end of the frame. This give me an extra 6" of wheelbase and kept the lift down even more. Also by using the factory hanger I have more clearance than if I had moved the hanger forward to the flat part of the frame where it will snag rocks.
For front springs I have 3" downeys with stock shackles and stock spring hangers. I just sledge hammered the cab for tire clearance. The frame hieght measures 22 1/2" to the bottom of the frame rail under the cab.

This truck is SUPER stable. I have had it in some extremly off camber situations and it does not even offer to tip over.

[Gittinit]

Nice! I like a inexpensive rig. There must have been some innovative stuff going on to get in under $1500 Where are those pics taken? That looks like some trails I'd like to wheel. I may have to plan a trip out your way.

[Toymin8r]

Your truck is now branded a racist.   
I will now be force to report it to the thought police.

[Gittinit]

Now now  don't be judging that truck by the color of its paint.

[bluetoy84]

Nice! I like a inexpensive rig. There must have been some innovative stuff going on to get in under $1500 Where are those pics taken? That looks like some trails I'd like to wheel. I may have to plan a trip out your way.

Thanks. Like I said earlier I already have a built rig, I couldn't afford to spend much on another one so I had to get thrifty. I already had this cab and frame laying in my junk yard , I bought another wrecked '82 that had a good running motor and drivetrain for $600. I sold the tires off of it for $400. That's $200 for the majority of the drivetrain. I done a lot of buying, selling, trading on the local boards whenever I found parts for dirt cheap that I needed. I'm a machinist so I built everything that I could. I built the cage with a harbor freight pipe bender and 1.250" sch 40 that I bought from a buddy for $10 a stick. I wish I would have kept record of how much I spent on this build, but it was definately less than $1500 total out of pocket cost. Actually $1500 is a high estimate.

Pics are from our local trail in northeast Alabama. Awesome trails, pics do not do these trails justice. If you ever want to come out our way just let me know.

[bluetoy84]

Now now  don't be judging that truck by the color of its paint.

 

A lot of people ask me if I put those stripes on the truck. That truck was bought new off the lot in feb '83 with the rebel flag on the hood. I wasn't even born until a month later in march '83.

There where several of these "rebel edition" trucks sold here in the southeast. I found this for sale on ebay in Knoxville TN a few months ago. Someone had remove the stars off the side, but they left the pin stripe outline. It still had the rebel flag on the hood but the guy was ashamed to post pics on ebay of the hood, so he took all the pics with the hood up.

[THK Matt]

wow.. those are some nice first gens.

[skipnrocks]

WOW thats a clean one, looks showroom!

[THK Matt]

WOW thats a clean one, looks showroom!

i agree

[bluetoy84]

I called the guy about that truck as soon as I seen it on ebay, and he wanted $9500 for it. It was nice but WAY out of my price range. Probably worth it, but I couldn't afford it. Someone bought though because he pulled it off ebay before the auction ended.

[THK Matt]

wow, it must be PRESTINE to the max for that price

[bluetoy84]

wow, it must be PRESTINE to the max for that price

It was. Only about 40K miles on it. One of the nicest ones I've ever seen.

[THK Matt]

i agree.

[DeadlyPeace]

Nice rig and pics. I love those rock steps. Road trip........?

[bluetoy84]

I love those rock steps. Road trip........?

Come on. We'd love to have some visitors come wheel with us. I will have to warn you though, our rocks here in the south are wet and muddy with almost no traction. Sometimes you just can't crawl it so you got to use the skinny pedal and smoke the tires.

[tom w.]

How do you like the buckshots?

[bluetoy84]

How do you like the buckshots?

I really like them. I've owned about every brand of aggressive tire made and I rank them as high as any. They work awesome here in the southeast in the mud and rocks. The buckshots seem to grip just as good as a TSL but drive 10 times better on the highway and last twice as long.
The ones I run are R-85 bias ply mudders. They are about 37" tall and about 11.50" wide. The problem is finding them. Almost nobody has these tires anymore. I guess they're just not as "cool" as they used to be.

[tom w.]

Yeah, I noticed that... The only place I've seen them available is in a couple offroad magazines

[Jud]

I love that paint job!

[46&2]

Nice rigs. I never knew Toyota did a rebel edition, thats pretty nifty.