1980 Pickup - First Trail Carnage!

[birfection]

Bought this 1980 Pickup this summer. Here in Michigan, we don't have many rocks to crawl, so I'm building this truck as a sand, snow, and mud vehicle. We like to climb whatever hills the 22r can tackle, but also love to crawl around any and all solid terrain/obstacles we can find. The truck currently has 4.38 gears, which turn the 33s quite well. (I plan on staying with this gearing and tire size.) I need the truck done by April for a snow hillclimb at a local ski resort.

Things Already Done:   Weber Carb (vent mod done)
                               22r, W56 5 Speed
                                Header, Power steering
                               2.5 inch Body Lift
                               Bed Removed

Plans For Build:      Disassemble Front Axle to see why it's clicking
                         Clean Frame/Axles and coat with Rust Proof Paint
                         Build Flatbed
                         Weld Rear Diff
                         New Rear Brake line, fix frozen parking brake lever
                         Patch some holes in the cab floor
                         Find some junkyard comfy bucket seats
                         Paint the cab FJ Blue
                         Install new shocks and Tires

                           
                         

[birfection]

Doing Some Climbing

[birfection]

Last Shot with old rusty bed intact(barely!)

[birfection]

Time to Work!

[birfection]

Axle Dissassembly(My First Time )  Birfield work should definitely be on "Dirty Jobs"

[birfection]

Carpet and Seats Removed (Only took an Hour) Need to get some Buckets to replace the terribly uncomfortable bench seat!!

[birfection]

Got rid of this junk (sway bar). I'm starting to see how a sawzall in sometimes man's best friend

[birfection]

MEATS!!!!!   33x12.5 R15 Interco TrXus MTs(Can't wait to get these babies on when everything else is done!)

[birfection]

Some Wheelin Shots From This Summer

[birfection]

What do you all think: should i paint the rims black? The aluminum is in excellent shape(zero pitting)

[mayberry]

no way put em up on craigslist for trade if you want black rims you may even get trade for tires and rims for thos rims to a guy with a pavement pounder

[birfection]

Do you think i could find a Toyota 4.88 third at a junkyard? If so, how much do you think it'd cost for front and rear?

[83 Crawler]

4.88s are in automatics rights?

[86bobbedtoy]

Do you think i could find a Toyota 4.88 third at a junkyard? If so, how much do you think it'd cost for front and rear?

I found both mine 488s in pick and pull
90 each
found in 3rd gen runners with v6 and autos
alot came with 456s only a few came with 488s
hope this helps

http://www.brian894x4.com/Gearratiosanddiffs.html

[85_4RNR]

4.88s are in automatics rights?

yes and you cant regear them

[83 Crawler]

why cant you regear them?

[85_4RNR]

something about the ring gear i think. i forgot exactly

[79coyotefrg]

just keep your 3rd members you have so if you want 5.29's later you can build those,  its no big deal really

[-Jake-]

why cant you regear them?

Toyota used a thinner ring gear on 4.88s and moved the pinion closer therefore they will not work with aftermarket gears.  I don't know why they did it but they did

[mayberry]

what you mean pavement pounder

i mean trade someone the rims so they could run the bling  alloys on a street ride toyota, chevy, whatever so he can run some stronger black Ds or something along them lines

[birfection]

I'm about to put some new bushings in my rear(stock) leaf springs. I'm gonna take the leafs out completely to wire wheel and paint them. Should i take the bottom(overload) leaf out while i'm at it? (I'm looking to get more flex out of the stock springs and don't plan on hauling anything heavy.)

[wakkjobb]

Slick, didn't know Michigan had hills to climb, just Detroit. What do you have in store for the flat bed? Buy one or build one?

[TRACKER]

those trail pics remind me of         Whitehall ,MI

[birfection]

I've got some new pics to post. I'm trying to get the frame, axles, leafs, and hardware painted before my buddy and I start building the flatbed. It's a lot easier when everything is outta the way.

[birfection]

those trail pics remind me of         Whitehall ,MI

the trail pics were taken in Grayling, MI near the military base

[birfection]

I bought some nitro-charged Rough Country shocks for the rear. I do not rock crawl, so how should i mount the shocks: shaft up or down?

[P-DiseToy24]

Buddy of mine had a truck that look identical to that... keep up the work lets see some pics with the new shoes

[REG535]

i like this truck, keep up the good work

[birfection]

Here's some pics of the last 2 weeks of progress. Spent a lot of time cleaning the frame and all metal parts so I could paint everything with Chassis Saver, made by Magnet Paint. I've got most everything reassembled, but need to weld the rear diff and rebuild the rear brakes. Still need to replace the transfer case output seal, both pinion seals, and order diff breathers from Toyota. Flatbed will be built this month, then i can drive to the tire shop and get those TrXus Meats put on  I probably won't get to painting the cab until late spring when it's warmer. I have changed my mind on the color; i plan to paint it a classic red(like Marlin's) . Gonna check the junkyard out tomorrow for some bucket seats; that's a priority for sure.

[birfection]

Latest Progress