Greetings everyone, My name is Arnold and just recently moved to Tucson. A couple of months ago, I purchased a 1990 Toyota pickup base model 2 wheel drive with a 22R motor hooked to a 4 speed transmission. The truck currently has 74000 original miles on it. I am the third owner of this truck. My plan is to drop in a small Ford V8 motor with a 5 speed transmission along with a 8.8 rear. I want to build a quick, reliable and fun truck that I can drive to Phoenix or anywhere, at any time with confidence. I have contacted several hot rod shops to seek their assistance with the build plans. Once completed, I plan to use this truck as my daily driver. I began searching websites relating to Toyota pickups when I found this website. After reading several postings by members, I found that this would be a perfect place to meet other Toyota truck owners to exchange ideas and hands on experiences that we could all benefit from. I do my own work on my other vehicles and I have the ability to weld and fabricate if needed. The problem is that my neighborhood where I am currently renting a home in does not allow for any automotive work to be performed outside the garage area. Thanks again for allowing me this time to join your website. I look forward to exchanging information other truck owners and maybe one day, meet in person and see our personal builds.
Thank you, jetas. I hope so too. As much as I would love to do this truck in my own garage, my HOA does not share the same passion as I do for the automotive hot rod culture, if you know I mean. With that said, I have to seek the assistance of shops to store my truck and perform the work for me. Thanks again for your reply.
Thank you. I look forward to learning from other Toyota truck owners on their experiences in working on their trucks. I am interested on improving the handling and ride on my truck since I plan to use my truck as a daily driver.
Good tires,( Cooper , the best wearing tires I have ever run), I run these on two of our cars ,ran them on my truck before I built into a show truck ( high speed performance on it now! Than good shocks & good tight fitting sway bars. And get it low to the ground!!
Thank you for the tips. I will put that in my plans. I was looking into beefier torsion bars, shocks and aftermarket control arms. The sway bars you mentioned will be on my to do list. When I bought this truck, it is bone stock and I am only moving up from there. Once I pull the motor and trans out, I will put it up for sale or trade since I will not be needing them. Thanks again for your suggestions.
I run CanDo ( No longer in business) upper & lower tubular a-arms as to do away with the front strut rods as I'm bagged & in order to get the front all the way ( I'm not z'd) down!! There are no stock suspension parts on my truck!
It sounds like you have a nice set up for your front suspension. I am at a hot rod shop talking with the owner about shoehorning a warmed small block Ford into my truck. Although I might get by with the stock rear, I plan to change it out for a 8.8 or 9 inch to be safe. This will be strictly a street truck and my main driver to work.
Do you know of any reputable company or fabricators that make a-arms for these trucks? I would like to do away with the torsion bars too for that cleaner look. Thanks.
Ypu will have to research (use Goggle) as to who as these nowdays, & check forms as to who has used what brands & any problems.
Thank you for the advise. I contacted Art Morrison about their universal IFS setup. Their IFS needs a minimum of 27 inch outside frame width for their IFS to be installed. In addition, I would need to ensure that I have room to weld the top part of the IFS to the frame for the shocks to bolt to. This is a possible option.
Hi Jorge, Thank you for the greeting. I look forward to working on my truck project and meeting other truck owners.
