I got lucky and got a text from him with a pic of his truck. It's looking damn good. I'll let him post the pic.. It gives me inspiration to complete my 82.

 

Sorry for going off topic, but Yankee i love your tacoma! been waiting to see the 82 come out of storage too!

 

Thanks man.. I have the 82 at a friends house where I got lucky and he fixed all the rust holes including the windshield lip. I'm hoping to bring it home either tomorrow or Monday for sure. Don't worry Hoshposh won't mind us getting off topic. If you want more pics of the Tacoma PM me and I'll show you my set up. My tacoma has the same air shock set up as Hoshposh. My 82 only needs the engine rebuild and back fees paid.

 

You guy's can get as off topic as you'd like I don't mind! I got it lowered! Still waiting for the belltech leafsprings and for a notch but for now this will have to do.


As far as requesting a How To for the air system for airshocks. It is simply a kit Made by air lift.

Gauge comes assembled and so does compressor. All you have to do is mount, run wire from an ignition on fuse, to the gauge, and to the compressor. Then feed air tube from the air shocks T, to the compressor and gauge. It's all included with directions. It's dummy proof! Check it out. It's a heck of a lot nicer if you use the adjustability in your airshocks a lot!
Air Lift Air Shock Controller Kits 25804 - SummitRacing.com

 

Looking killer!

 

Lovin it!

 

Thanks for the link. Next time I'm in Riverside I'm going to have to drive down and see this truck in person. Very nice stance and build of your truck.

 

Thanks Guys. I would have lots more pictures but my Camera has been acting up recently. If you guys are wondering how I did the drop I can explain it very simple...

Front:
#1: Jack up from frame and pull old shocks
#2: Jack up arms and install shorter shocks
#3: Take out control arm bump stops
#4: Loosen torsion bars until hanging but don't pull them yet.
#5: Mark torsion bars from bar to key so you can rekey them properly.
#6: Hammer off Torsion key and realign rotating the drivers clockwise and passengers counterclockwise evenly.
#7: Crank back torsion bars (keep locking nut off key bolt)
#8: Mount wheels and test drive. If drop is off MINORLY jack up and adjust either sides key bolt until perfect. If drop is not low enough Re-Key. If drop is TOO low(if there is such a thing ) Re-Key.
#9: When satisfied with drop, put locking nut back on key bolt and minitruck away.
(I also changed to the thicker 4x4 torsion bars when doing this for a bit stiffer of a ride.)


For the rear:
#1: Jack up and Take off old shocks.
#2: Take off old U-Bolts.
#3: Unscrew nut and Bang out leaf bolt located under the lower shock/ubolt plate.
#4: With leafs on bend the leaf shackles and pull middle leaf and flip bottom leaf.
#5: Put leaf pin back in and trim bottom so it will clear the shock plate.
#6: Put blocks in between axle & leaf (if angled it should be sloping down to the front of the car on the top and sloping up to the rear of the car).
#7: Put in new longer U-bolts and crank down (tim the bottom after mounting if stupid long).
#8: Install new shocks
#9: Minitruck like there's no tomorrow!

Hope this will help someone figure out a gameplan for a drop. I know a few years back with my first truck I would have found it hella useful. Well it's my birthday today and I have the day off so I have to go get suited up for some nice canyon riding on my bike. But if you guys have any questions at all feel free to ask. You can PM me too.

 

Truck came out pimp.... Serious boulevard cruiser status right there...

 

Damn, that bed is loooooong. Did you specifically look for a long bed or did it just end up that way?

 

Low !!!! Crazy for static

 

beauty man im so jealous im going to buy lowering blocks on lunch to day so i can get crankin on my torsions

 

Thanks for all to compliments guys! It has more coming but build will slow down a little but as funds come back. I did specifically look for a longbed so I can haul my bike with the tailgate shut. I had a shortbed last time and I just like the look of the longbed more.

 

Got my grill and headlight bezels sprayed down to get rid of the old faded grey color. Looks a lot better now!

 

Nice truck. I'm with you, I waited until a long bed came along. I plan to drop it too, so thanks for posting the procedure. BTY, which shorter shocks you recommend? I plan to do the 3" blocks, BJ flip, and torsion bar adjustments. I'm painting my grill too, and maybe the bumper if I can rescue it. Saw a picture in the web of a '81 4X4 that was all blacked-out and I liked it. Keep the good work!!

 

Unless its a small moped, you definitely need a long bed to carry a bike.

BTW, there have been quite a few pristine long beds listed on the LA Craigslist these last couple of months for under $2000. Just last month, I went to go see a bone stock 77 with 89k miles and a/c for $1800. Unfortunately, I'm looking for a nice early short bed.

 

The shorter shocks really depend on how low you want to go. I went with toxic shocks which are made for lowered cars. Instead of getting the toyota drop shocks that are 13.35" extended and 9.0" compressed I went with a chevy s10 shock that are 10.5" extended and 7.25" compressed. I lost a little bit of travel overall, but gained an additional 2.75" before bottoming out the shocks which is well worth it to me. The 4x4 front grill's are bad-ass. I have been trying to get my hands on one for some time now but the go super quick at the yards.

Yeah, there is lots of good deals out there right now. I was lucky to pick mine up for how cheap I got it. I saw the earlier HILUX's and thought about it. They all look nice. Keep your eye out, you will find one

 

Truck looks awesome man, how does it ride? Will be obviously smoother with the notch

 

lovin the stance man! more pics!

 

Sweet truck an love the rims...im having trouble finding those tires tho