I've had my grandpa's little yellow truck for a few years now. Doing small upgrades here and there, but I'm looking for something bigger. I feel like I'm ready to start a major overhaul on the entire truck; however, I don't know what exactly I want yet. Maybe a little help on this?

So far this is what I have in mind:

Custom frame, built from scratch idk?
New interior, starting from scratch or customizing what i have idk?
HID head lights for sure
Synchronizing headlights and brights probably
Train horn lol idk?
Super smooth suspension (no bags through) ideas? stock height
LED tail lights?
Motor/trans/diff swap? no clue what to put in there?

Any ideas on all of this?

 

There are many possibilities, I would spend some time in all the build threads to see what you like and dont like. There is alot of information on here and is pretty easy to find.

 

Yeah that's exactly what I've been doing. I've been checking another forum out too. This is a really clean frame a guy made for his 73 hilux. I'm thinking I might start here. What size metal should I use lol?

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv192/burnzya/73 hilux/P1020035.jpg

 

thanks for the comps! lol

my frame is all 2x3x.120 tube

 

lol I just asked you on your build thread, the same question. I didn't think you were gonna check this thread out. Sweet man I'm going to go check the steel yard soon. How many feet do you think I need? 30 ft?

 

i have 60' of 2x3 in my frame including the k member, link x-member, and the x-member behind the axle.

i must warn though, it's very labor intensive. if i could go back in time i would have kept the 4 banger and stock frame, and be driving it instead of looking at it sit lol

 

See I've definitely thought about that a lot as well. I want to be driving it around quite often.

If I do a motor swap I don't think I want a huge power plant that's going to be guzzling gad. On the other hand, I would like a little more juice than the 18rc. I'm thinking a turbocharged 22re. Nothing super racey, but definitely after market parts for strength, performance, weight, reliability and efficiency.

As far as the frame goes, about how much more weight is the custom frame than the OEM frame? I think it looks super bad@$$ and is well worth doing.

One major thing that I plan of doing differently than you is the suspension. I'm not really looking at slamming my truck. I might lower it about an inch or two from stock, but I just like a smooth steady ride. I was thinking coil over shocks all the way around, 4-link in the rear. I still have some research to do though, before I make my final decision.

 

Make a custom frame on the side, build it how you want.
Find a parts truck so you can transfer body parts.
Find a good deal on a engine, rebuild it and throw it in.
Get it running good.

Now you have 2 trucks.

 

You and me both...and I didn't even build my frame. People don't understand what a bitch it is to work with a new frame let alone drive with one. Pull everything off the stock one, rework it, traditional the body drop, get everything back together and drive it. I won't even own another SFBD truck as far I know right now.

 

There is absolutely no reason at all to do what Bernie did without being layed out on the ground. The stock toyota frame i believe is boxed fairly well from the factory for strength, just finish that job and get to work on building custom mounts for your mild drop and coilover setup. You could ride a 4/6 drop on a toyota with a coilover suspension and mini notch and ride like a dream.

 

Do a 2RZ or 3RZ swap. Think thats wat im guna do in the future wen i get my hands on another toyota

 

What's so bad about a custom frame? I just think it's super sexy lol.

 

That sounds pretty good to me man. How should I set up the rear end? A 4-link with coilovers?

 

Just for future reference, if you see a picture of something you did or seen before without credits I'm sorry. I just blow through forums all over the web sometimes to look for ideas.





hiluxlow had this rear suspension setup and I really like the way it looks. Would something like it be more, less or equal to a 4-link as far as ride quality goes? I was thinking doing something a lot like this but with coilovers.

 

I am trying to tackle some wiring issues. First and foremost, I want to tackle my fusible link issue. The fusible link to the headlights was melted so I figured instead of rewiring fusible link every time I have a problem, why not install an inline fuse holder and just replace the normal fuses that we all know and love. Anyways, I have three main questions about doing this.

#1 What amperage does my fusible link melt at?

#2 What fuse size (how many amps) should I run to each of the two links that are being replaced? Should they be different? (I think so)

This is what I have gathered:

There are two fusible links, one goes to a white 12 gauge wire and the other goes to a red 14 gauge wire. The 12 gauge wire powers the whole truck minus the headlights. And you guessed it, the 14 gauge wire powers the headlights.

The alternator by definition in my manual puts out about 40 amps.

The fusible link is about a 14 gauge. I read on another site that since it is a metric based vehicle that the link could be 3mm fusible link. Not too sure about that.

No fuse in my truck is greater than 20 amps. I have four 20 amp fuses and three 15 amp fuses that are all connected to the 12 gauge white wire.

#3 Do I only need to send 20 amps down the white 12 gauge wire since no fuse on that line is greater that 20 amps? Or do I need to send more that 20 amps since it is supplying four 20 amp fuses and three 15 amp fuses? (I'm thinking the latter)

My headlights are supposed to operate with 37.5/50 watts (depending on high or low). I have no clue how many amps I should be sending through to the headlights.