Hey guys, been sitting on this for awhile now. Finally brought her home Today. With a crap load of dirt and debris removed, She's all washed up now. Here's some pics of what I'm starting with:

 

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Dude thats so nice! Ive been looking for a hilux myself

 

That looks awesome. I like the jerry can bracket on the bumper - that would look so perfect on the "Patrol" Hilux. Do you know what was mounted on the front? ie, the brackets and the thing on the driver side bumper

Your '81 is so nice. Really love that truck, I hunted for that thread after seeing it in these pics

 

so nice dude! sad but i seen one of these at the local yard... its been there for a lil bit..

 

Very nice..

 

Thanks

Thanks dude. I still got that vinyl for you, just need to setup a date and time.

Hey Alex, If you don't mind, PM me the name of the yard so I can snag some parts. Thanks

Thanks for the compliments. I'm trying to remove the rear bumper but it turns out, it's welded to the frame. Need to take the sawzall to it. As for the front, the OG owner pulled it behind an RV so its the wiring harness and tow dolly hookup that your looking at. I plan to remove that as well.
As for the 81, She's my daily. Just puts a smile on my face on every commute

Thanks dude. It took me awhile to find this one but they are still out there. Dont give up.

 

nice truck been waiting for teaser pics

 

Great too see pictures after hearing you talk about it long ago! How low is this one gonna sit?

 

Nice new ride you got there! Can't wait to see what you do to it

 

Updates

Since my last post, I ended up having the bench seat reupholstered, removed the gas can, rear bumper and decided it needed to be lower. I started off with the rear by removing 2 leafs and 2 overloads on each side and installed 3" blocks. The rear now sits 4" lower. As for the front, I ended up cutting too much coils(3 turns (the lower sided which touches the lower control arm)). With the sway bar removed and the bump stop perch removed, it still sits on the bump stops. I'll need to find another pair of springs now to get it right.
Oh, I also recently degreased the engine bay. Just need to start replacing parts and begin polishing the crap out of it.

 

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I just love the side by side shot of it with my daily. mmmuhmuhmuhmakes mee hhhaapppyy!

 

nice, love the white walls and dog dishes.

 

looks good. as for newer springs. look into the 350z coils or the mighty max coils too... ive hear variations of either both or eibach lowering coils being used to keep it low but keep a decent spring rate.

 

Not to thread jack but, 350Z coils will fit the Hilux?! What years for the Zs and what kind of drop? I have a set of stock MM springs but may want to go a bit lower and if the Zs are lower than the stock MM ones but have a better spring rate than the Beltech MM springs I would go that route.

 

like i mentioned, ive heard about this info but yet to see comparisons of the springs side to side. the 350z coils i think are specific to the car so off any 350z. this would be a good thing to check out and do some research on.

 

thats some great info right there

I had no idea about 350z springs. After you mentioned that, did a little googling. Looks like the rears SHOULD work. From what I read, its the same ID and OD as well as somewhat same weight ratings as these hilux springs. I also read somewhere that most hondas and volvos run 4" diameter coils. Someone care to do a physical comparison?

 

awesome! sounds like its time to do a junkyard run! best place to find these parts and do comparison.

the 350z springs may also offer a better progressive rate too. this will make getting the ride height and quality down easy.

 

The stock MM springs are a common swap but some say the spring rates a just a hair softer(these are what I'm about to do), supposed to be a 2.5" drop. The springs from Beltech are a bit stiffer but drop like 4+ inches, there's a little bit on them in the "Alternative Coil Spring Setup" thread.

 

small updates

Picked up a new steering wheel for her since my original was so sun rotted. I used an NRG hub adapter for it. Didnt have turn signal cancelling so I made some.
Oh, we also moved back to San Diego, so obviously, I drove it down without any hiccups. Brake lights and turn signals still dont work. Still gotta attack that.