oh,,, please note, the gravel in the drive way. all these mods were done in a gravel drive way. not some pretty shop with lifts, and a million dollars worth of machinery.

so I am looking for the (good old boy stuff). Toyota's are awesome.

so I am not looking for Chevy swaps.. just toyota mods.. with toyota parts, or toyota after market parts.

so sorry but I don't want your 350 Chevy, ford transfer cased, dana 60 axle. truck that maybe has a toyota body on it. this is a toyota only thread. and I am a mod...

 

Wow..... How are you suposed to wake this place up when you answered all the questions....?

 

moving the front axle forward.
there are several things.
the first is the drive shaft, it will have to be longer.
the shock mounts will take about 3 inches before you have a problem.
the stock axle on the pass side has the extra hole. you just have to drill out the drivers side mount this will move it about 1 and 3/8 inches forward.
cross over with out bump stops will still hit your oil pan. so you will need to make some. when measureing remember that the front axle moves backwards when compressing. you will need these with your lift. you DO NOT want to have a hole in the oil pan. and you are trying to stay as low as possible.
flex your truck after moving the axle forward and get out the tape measure. mark on the frame where you are going to put in the bump stop.
leave an extra 1/4 to 1/2 inch compression of the rubber part of the stop.

now that you have your bump stops in place, put a tie wrap on your shock. go flex it up again or go wheeling. now you can often move your shock mount down. you can use or flip the rubber mounts. you are looking for the down travel.
for toyota's don't go for much more then 14 inches on the shocks with leaf springs.

reason for moving axle forward, and bump stops.

reason for down travel...

you can see that the tire is almost in front of the bumper. these are cheap 12 inch shocks.
I droped the bump stops 2.5 inchs and still put a dent in my oil pan from the cross over steering.

 

Tires.
it is all about side wall strength. some flex really well but the side wall is easy to cut, water makes this much worse.
unless you have the pockets for the crawlers, the next and I think they are still the best are the swamper sx. steel belted. mud, rocks, snow, sand, they are awesome. it helps to cut the big lugs in half. there are many write ups on how to cut them. but remember it is a balance on traction and how long you want them to last. I would not recommend them for a daily driver as the very nature of the beast they wear fairly fast, they also have a memory. if you leave your truck sit for a few weeks the flat spots are ugly when driving. it only takes about 5 miles for that to go away. but you sure don't want an open coffee cup in the holder!!.
I don't have bead locks and have not lost a bead even down to 5 psi. 8 inch wide rim with 12.5 inch tire mounted on it.

so that a side I think the sx's are the tire for toys.

rims, I have 2 inch back spaced rims and I think they are the ones that you want. my 36 inch swampers just touch the springs at full turn.

as we all like to air down at the trail head. I looked at many things. pulling the valve core... well that sucker shot over my shoulder and was gone. thank goodness for the one in the spare tire. using the screw on adjusters. well I am chatting as the thing let all the air out...
I wanted to air down fast. and I wanted to be able to measure the pressure at the same time.
so I came up with this. they are air compressor drain valves, I mount them on the other side of the rim from the valve stem. they are 1/4 inch NPT threads.
you can get them at Lowe's for about a buck each. 30 psi to 5 in about 30 seconds with 36's. so you have your gauge on the valve stem and open this valve and there you go.. I have a cheap pressure gage 30 to 0 psi, mounted to a filler fitting, to measure the pressure as it go's down

I don't know how many times at the trail head I have had folks come up and ask how I aired down so fast. then copy me.
I came up with this many years ago, posted it up and some guy copied my and posted it on pirate. so now it was his idea. he didn't grab the glory.. just how things went.

edge of rim peal back...
built them but have not tried them yet. With a 36 inch swamper, how out of balance can they be?
not the best example, usually the whole lip is twisted back into the tire.

 

Thats a good idea. cheap and easy.. I kill my rims.

 

Bed bob..

there are so many ways to do it, there are alot of good posts out there.
here is how I did it...

first figure out how short you want to go and mark it.

it looks dumb but do it.

once you get your measurements from the out side... and remember to look under the truck you have to at least leave the spring mounts to the frame.. for leaf sprung trucks.

drill a small hole and transfer the lines to the inside of the bed.

use tape to get the line straight, but then us a marker and pull the tape off.
saws all and tape makes a mess.

choose your weapon of choice, I used a saws all.

measure, measure measure.. then go for it.. your first cut.
make sure all wires are out of the way.

clean up the next 4 to 8 inches because you will be cutting this into mounting strips, about 2 inches wide.

now look back at how weird it looks

I prepped the frame for the rear 3.5 inch tube bumper.

clean up the next 4 to 6 inches of steel to cut into strips.

the strips that you cut and saved above.

line them up and screw them down, this took about 50 small sheet metal screws.

you have to leave a small area at the bottom of the box for the tail light part to slide in.. the corners that is.

cut out this part for fitment over the frame.

now the tail light part up over the bottom part and out side the bed sides.

this is where you will see why you clean up and cut the metal into 2 running strips. or maybe you want 3.. heck you are cutting out over 10 inches of bed. only takes a few minutes to cut extra strips.

drill your holes to snug the joints as you screw them in.

not bad,, bed looks ok,, but front fender cut sucks. more saws all.

this is the rear bumper that I came up with.. I think it was 3.5 in pipe. I could just make a fist inside of it.
I wrapped the upper and lower frame metal that I left earlier on around it and welded.

re cut the front fenders to look better.

I measured the fenders before I cut them to weld a little piece of pipe. the pipe had a nut welded on the inside of it.. I welded this to the cab. I hope the pictures make sence of that.

next post is painting the truck..... My wifes truck and her pink camo that she wanted.... ( some of you know the story behind this, there for a while I gave her what ever she wanted, thank you all for being there for me and her.) those of you that don't know it was a tough time. And I still give to her what ever she wants...she knows this and doesn't abuse it, she knows that I am there for her, and you guys too.... really,,, she wanted to know what you guys said, what you were posting ... (thanks people.).

 

Pause... she doesnt know any of you. I don't know any of you. but the support from all of you has meant the world to both of us.

 

paint, this is spray can... if you don't like it don't try it.. don't comment.

, my wife showed me that with the off road trucks it doesn't matter.
she wanted hers to be FUN and WOMEN. she wanted all the boys to know that she a girl just whopped their butts on a trail.
uh,, me I plan on 3 or 4 shades of blue..
but here is hers, ace hard ware, wal mart, 4 or 5 shades that she picked out.

the first step is to remove, tail lights, head lights, blinkers, running lights, anything that is easy to remove that you don't want painted.

the next step is to tape up everything else that you don't want painted.
take your time, this is supposed to be fun.... go with the 1/2 inch painters tape.. then follow with the 3/4 inch painters tape.. the blue stuff.
new papers for tires and running boards.. bumpers.. you can shove the little 1/4 inch rope that various places sell under the rubber parts of windows and such.
oh,,, wet sand everything... makes a big difference on how long this lasts.

now that the tapeing is over..... ugggggggggggggggggggg.

so now spray door jams, hood, fender edges with the primary color..
IT DON'T MATTER,, WHAT EVER COLOR OR CAMO YOU ARE GOING FOR....

DO something like this.. door frame, hood edges, tail gait..

then turn the love of you life loose with 20 to 30 some cans of spray paint of her choice. It was really fun to watch.. pretty awesome, all I really did was to wet sand it and let her go...

yeh,,, she is happy with it..
more to come.. grin.

lol... the final touch.. just to let guys know they just got their but whooped by a girl..

butter flies... yep.. big time..

it is good, she is having fun.. and that is all that matters.

so what do you think? pretty wild huh?

 

it is kind of funny she is running 34 inch tires, welded rear. 4.7 marlin gears in the transfer case. my home brewed,, with help from many sites power assist steering. longs super axles...

You should see the faces on people when she drives up.. then it is funny as hell when first they snubbed her off... then half way down the trail they are looking under it to see why... why did she just whoop their ass... lol...
she loves that shait so much that she WAY pushes it.....so now I am trying to get her a full cage.

 

I love that paint job, my wife has a hankerin' for an FJ40 (Not in the budget right now, but...) and I think it would be sweet if we did something like that to it, if/when, plus I'm sure any 40 we can afford is gonna need a paint job....

I hope you and the wife are doing well, we've got your backs bro!

 

you are the FIRST guy that has said that.

how much do you want to spend, what are you looking for? I can keep an eye out for you here?

you know I really do think that it looks better in the camo then the toyota tan.

 

what should I cover next?

 

There's really no $$$ in the budget right now... Too many stinkin' bills. But a pre-75 FJ40 would be good, so there would be no smog issue here in CA. Ideally I'd like to swap in a Toyota Turbo Diesel so it would get decent gas mileage....

and Next? have you done any interior mods? Hehehe

 

replaced the center console with a ammo box.
took a board, cut, padded and bolted to the top.
I like it because when you are getting tippy you can just lock it shut.
I am not sure of the cal, but it was just taller then the average 50 cal box.
other then that cb, radio, hidden switches. cut extra holes for the additional shifters.

 

Wow, I just read the whole thread! Very inspiring. I love the "home brew" style of build out. You guys have some pretty neat tricks! Great job! I'm proud of you!!

 

I am doing this because I am bored and love toyota's.
have not got out wheeling in some time.
any questions about anything. Man that is ALOT of views for the lack of comments.
for the positive comments. Thanks.

I sure would like to get my garage back, but I have to do the remodle on the house to get the 2000 sq ft of maple flooring out of my garage.

bought a basket ball court and pulled up the flooring.

anyone else have any drive way tech to add to this?

 

Could you give us some detail on those "hidden switches"? Also, what was your address again... Hehehehe Ahh good stuff! I wish I'd done more stuff to my ride so I could contribute.... Mines a commuter compared to yours...

 

Let's talk about springs...Hangers etc.

 

I buy good springs and make my own hangers.
cheap springs don't last long

 

I really like my taller shock towers for the front axle. It gives me the ability to run almost any length shock. I currently have Rancho 12" shocks up there, but I just picked up some 15" and plan to try those out.

on to the photos:
clean up old shock tower:

do some mock-ups:

weld it in place:

Make a shock tower brace:

Flex it out:

on the trail:

 

what did you use for the up right?
looks like square tube with one side cut out.

 

that is right: 2" x 4" square tubing. I drilled all the holes, then cut out the one side.
Using 4" wide square tubing allows for Gabriel Air shocks - which gave a nice ride, but they were not long enough for trail use.

Full write up here:
ShockTowers

oh... to add to the list:
Crossover Steering is amazing! I wish I would have done that upgrade years ago!
My install:
Steering

 

thanks for the input that is great... thanks for joining in.

anybody else? even the small tricks can be a huge time saver.

Like a chunk of rope with a knot and silicone to plug a huge puncture.

I have even used the wind shield washer pump as a fuel pump..... didn't work well but got me home.
post if you want to hear that story.

 

springs and mounts.

I am running all cans.. they are pretty awsome.

for my wife I went with the all pro's they look the same in every way.
I went with the 3.5 inch all pros. they have settled to about 3 inches.
you have to move the forward mount 6 inches.

I looked every where around here for the 18mm or the 11/16th bolts.
none to be had a a fair price so I went with 3/4 inch. over kill I know but they were cheaper.
you do not want to beat the bolt through the bushing so, using a 3/4 inch piece of rebar I had laying around I heated it to HOT. then pushed the bushings over it.
I have had no luck with grease staying in the bushings so I used john deere chain lube. stuff is awsome.

I made my own shackles and frame mounts. bumb stops. I did not use bump stops in the rear, I figure it is to light and if something hits. well it is not like the oil pan.

I just layed the steel down to the stock shackle and beat it untill I had the curved part right.
I also welded (bolt stops in) to make the bolt turn in the bushing vs against the narrow shackle. this has really kept the nuts from walking loose.

rear

I have the expensive braided long steel lines on my wifes I just moved the hard line bracket to the side of the frame, She has more movement lenth available then I do.. and uses STOCK brake lines.

at full but not twisted droop.

adjustable rear proportioning valve mount. I moved it up two holes from here after a test drive. now it is great.

to mount the springs I ordered all new 9/16ths u bolts with the extra long barrel nuts.
there are two lenths. I will have to look it up if there is an interest.
I cut the extra lenth off with a sawsall.

oh... the front shoulder mounted bolts I re used. I got the old one's out by welding a large nut on the outer part of the bolt to give me something real to crank on with a wrench.. this heat from the welding was a huge help.

also cut out part of the cab mount behind the front shackles. they will hit.

front bump stops.

 

drive shafts.

as stated above I spent alot of money on the long travel joint, having the drive shaft made.

then on the first run, don't even know what I hit, I bent it at the joint..
so much for that 400 bucks.
or the cost of a winch, two swampers.. uggggggg.

so. the wife's truck I went with the receiver hitch tube front drive line and replaced the very thin skined rear drive shaft with schedual 40 pipe.. it is about 1/4 inch thick.

rear drive lin is out of balance. we only run the trucks along at about 60 mph.
but she has walked the truck side ways on the drive shaft with out any damage at this time.!!
stock left, 40 on the right.

Yes it LOOKS like the old one will fit down the inside, but it won't..

cut the end off

chisle the skin off of it.

grind the flash weld out of the inside of the pipe. put the joint in and weld it up.

front drive line.
cut the square tube to lenth.
used the small square tube on one end to center the larger tube.
make sure that you line up the ears of the u joint to the flats of the square tube so you can phase the drive shaft later.
I also used three beads of brass weld to make the shaft tighter, or it will rattle bad..

cut a bit off the slip joint. you will not be using any of it!! but leave enough to center and weld.

it will fit right into the end of the tube.

cut the constant velocity end off and weld a 1/2 inch peice of the smaller tube onto it, center this as best you can and weld it on the INSIDE.
then weld the larger tube to the out side. I used small washers to make it slide on there tight and centered.

line it up square not like in the picture. that is not how I welded it on..

the brass beads..

 

hydro.. there are alot of sites out there, alot of very good write up's..

but when drilling the box they all say to drill out the A of toyota..
with a do over I would drill out the first O. the other leaves it right in the radiator support.