hey im brand new to this place i bought a wrecked 1986 2wd

i cut off the core support welded a new one on (its actually off a 1994 so i can run a 3rd gen grill and get to use the appropriate holes for the grill).


got new fenders, hood, water pump, radiator and all that crap. put blocks in the rear, torsion turn front and plan to do the bj flip asap as i just learned about on here and added some 17's and i decided to go with the 2wd fenders the match the bed lines.


i will be adding a paint job real quick to. i already bought the paint its called tank green kinda olive in color and am already doing paint prep

otherwise i generally always had and still have 4x4 toyotas. as you can see this is my other current project




so bear with me and my dumb questions, so as of now here are my two questions.
Q1 Can you ad spacers when doing the ball joint flip to get a lil lower or would that be kinda ghetto.
and also
Q2 i have some airbags off a semi truck that have about ten inches of up and down movement with link bars from it as well, has anyone run such big airbags in the rear to drag there tail. i dont really want a super dumped truck but kinda like the idea of dumping all the air and throwing a few sparks every now and then. ill get some pics of the airbags tomorrow

 

I had access to some semi bags too but decided it just really wasn't the best idea. I think it would be better just to buy some bags made for trucks. Your 4x4 is nasty though. I'm trying to make room in my shop for one right now.

 

Q1-The BJ flip will always be considered ghetto. The steering might have more bump steer problems if you use spacers too. I know that a Tacoma has bump steer issues with a BJ flip. But that is a rack and pinion.
Q2-Ya I thought of using those huge semi airbags once too. But I soon realized that they are simply too tall for our trucks. I think it would be better to use them in a lifted application.

 

alright cool thanks for the answers i figured the bj flip would be alright but adding spacers will be the wrong thing to do. also ya these airbags are like a foot in diameter so ill hold off on doing the airbag project.

to get my truck any lower in the rear ill have to cut off my bumpstops or c notch but i dont really want to do all the c notch stuff unless im ready to throw in the links and bags. i have some real tiny airbags of a semi truck cab that i could probably use as bump stops so i can eliminate the factory bumps stops and maybe get it another inch lower possibly.


here is another goodie

i still gotta build a front bumper and some rock sliders just avoid getting hung up.

 

the problem with the semi bags is one will raise the back of the truck at a super low psi. you'd need a solid steel bar for a shock to keep it from mushin down under any weight...

the closest thing i've seen on semi's that might work for minitrucks are the "up" bags for tag axles. even then they are like a 3800 pound bag, and major overkill. the cab bags are too small to use as a lift bag, you could try to build em into an air bump stop, but when the frame hits the ground it stops it rather well lol.

also welcome to the forum! i like the later core swap, and the wheeler is sweet!!

 

ya i dont think ill be doing trail dragging for now unless i used those semi bags but thats a no go now, but the cab bags im thinkin will work as good bumpstops just so i can elimate the factory ones since im only an inch away from those right now.

and ya i thought the later core swap was gonna be cool cause i could run a newer grill easy but looking at the one thats on my truck, thats of a 90's, i kinda miss the old 2gen 4x4 grill but whatever

any body have pics of the old school bed tailgates (like the one thats on my truck) that they have eliminated the two gate latches and welded it shut. im thinkin of doing this bc preping and painting those latches will be a pain in the ass

 

so i got around to a little body here is just a couple pics i snapped

this was the problem


started by welding the back side of the tailgate so the front would still look stock


then i welded up the holes

the tailgate had lots of outward dents
and now time for bondo


and cleaned up that ugly plastic bead on the sides

 

i also painted my hood and fenders recently, looks ok i guess.

should i do my front bumper the same color, get it chromed or sand it to raw metal and just clear coat... let me know what you think

oh and everything looks criked thats because nothing is attached in the front i pulled everything off to paint to wrap the clear coat better and i havnt buffed or wet sanded or anything like that yet, it actually has a real good shine that the pic isnt showing

 

Nice work
Some trucks came with the bumper in chrome. Finding a good condition bumper, say in a junkyard, would be a good score. I hear getting things chromed can be expensive. And it's probably better to do it when you have a lot of things to get chromed.
I think painting it the same smooth color would look good. But, as I know from going fast, bugs and stuff will chip your nice work. Something to consider.

 

nice man!

honestly, go chrome... it'll break up the color a little bit and give you some contrast between the fenders, hood, and valance. jmo.

 

so i did a BJ flip today but it doesnt look much different.... but the before and after measurments say i went down 1 3/8 inches. but seriously it is worth it because it took less than an hour to do both sides, i had to buy longer bolts for the BJ since i made 1/2" spacer, so it cost me less than ten bucks to lower a lil more than an inch
before

after

 

Nice. Just subtle enough to look good. Straightening out the bumper gap would make it look even better.

 

i can see the difference.... like i had mentioned. its damn near free drop, and it makes it to where you dont have to crank down on the torsions as much so you still keep a fair amount of rebound.

 

ya for sure but the bumper only has two of the four bolts i still need to pull it off and fully paint it so its just barely on there for now

 

im thinking about getting my bumper chrome plated. has anyone done this and how much did it cost them, im up here in portland oregon anyone around here do this....i was just going to paint it the same color as the truck but it looks to ricer/cartoonish for me hell i could just sand it down to bare metal and clear coat it but it wouldnt match the rims, grill etc but might look good, let me know what you all think or have advice

 

buy a chrome one from grant customs........ or any other reliable collision parts place...

 

ya but grants wants 400 for a front bumper, if i cant get it dipped for cheap ill probably go bare metal with a clear coat, itll look pretty good i think

 

well... i havnt gotten much done on the 2WD but ive been working a little bit on my 4X... and i was able to make a run out to a couple trails in TSF.
here is a couple pics just for kicks........ unfourtunetly airplane hill was closed

 

still not working on my 2wd but made it out to TSF again this weekend in my 4x4.... a couple shots
my favorite is this one its a pic of my anti wrap bar thats working as my driveline slider as well (it will save me a few u joints and yokes...the rocks dont forgive to easily)

 

That looks fun. Knarly trail!