Hello all. Glad to have joined this awesome forum! Just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Dan. I live in Mendocino County in Northern California. I am a certified welder and fabricator. I love customizing trucks. I currently drive a lifted ’79 Toyota 4wd. I have owned the truck for about a year and a half. In that time I have seriously modified it into a pretty capable trail rig. I know some of you probably are not so enthusiastic about the lifted trucks, but if you could please try to take an objective look I think you might find some things about my rig that you can appreciate. I put a lot of care and consideration into the build up of this truck and I believe the outcome to be pretty aesthetically pleasing (especially for a purpose built vehicle such as this). Some of the mods: *Shortened 23.5" off the long bed (it’s now actually a little shorter than the frame rails) *Cut the body off horizontally just under the headlights and taillights for higher clearance. *Fabricated 2x4” rectangular tube bumpers with diamond plate tops front and rear and wrap around corner protection. *License plates mounted in 2” receiver hitches front and rear. *Fabricated 2x4” rectangular tube rock sliders with diamond plate tops. *Fabricated 1.75” .120 wall DOM tube nerf bars that wrap around the fenders and bolt to the wrap around bumpers and the rock sliders. *Fabricated new long travel shock hoops from 2 inch gusseted square tubing. *Fabricated a single rear crossmember/shock mount where the shocks mount diagonally to the center (to fit shocks that are 32” eye to eye when fully extended). *Fabricated new diamond plate dash, door panels, pedals, and center console. *The new front crossmember/spring hanger setup is kinda hard to describe. It lowers the front spring hangers 2 inches (I am also running 5 inch Skyjacker lift springs in the front). *I re-drilled the spring perches on the axle to move the front axle forward an inch for a better approach angle. *I ground the swaged lip off the top of the steering knuckle ball and pressed it out and re-welded it on top for a 3 inch correction so the 4” drop drag link would still work with the relocated hangers (I also shortened a half an inch off of each end of the drop drag ling to make it work with the axle moved forward). *I am running a H.E.I. style Chevy ignition. I forget the specs on it off the top of my head but it has some serious voltage. I run huge spark plug gaps. It is also a one wire setup and replace a bunch of components form the stock ignition that had several wires. Makes for a nice simple setup. *I also opted for a Chevy one wire alternator to help generate enough power for the ignition and simplify things even further (less wires=better). *I am running a Weber 3236 carb. *There is a back up electric fuel pump under the hood wired to a switch on the dash in case the stock one in the tank ever fails. There is a bunch of stuff I am not thinking of right now I am sure but that gives you an idea of the extensive mods to my truck. So how did I end up here? Well, I have always been into mini trucks. I just never had one. Most people around here lift vehicles. I personally like lifts for 4x4s and lowering 2wd vehicles. I just can’t leave stuff alone. A couple weeks ago a friend gave me an ’89 2wd short bed Toyota pick up. It is really in rough shape. Both front fenders are trashed as well as the bed. The bed is the worst. It is crushed on both sides. The cab is actually almost totally straight though and has very little rust. I figure that’s the most important part (as long as I can find a bed to replace the bedraggled one I’ve got). It runs like a top. I have always liked the look of this body style lowered. I think the lines of this truck really are well suited to slamming it. More so in my opinion than a Tacoma with it’s roundy fenders. It’s just a personal preference but to me this body style is ideal. So right away I started looking into what it would take to lower it. I started by researching on the forums at minitruckin.com and that was what led me here. So far I just flipped the lower ball joints and turned down the torsion bars in the front and in the back I removed the middle leaf spring. I have big plans though. I want to body drop it and notch/z the frame, etc. It should be pretty awesome in the end. I have already found a wealth of information here on this site dedicated to my favorite era of Toyotas (basically all pre ’96 body styles). I figured I better join up as I know I am going to have questions I need to post. There really is no one here locally who even has a mini truck. I have five friends at least with lifted solid axle Toyotas so it is easy to bounce ideas off each other, but for this mini truck endeavor I will be having to rely heavily on info from the net. So that’s where you guys come in. Anyway, I guess this has been quite a long winded introduction so I’ll come to a close here. I am glad to be here and look forward to putting the same level of enthusiasm into my mini truck as I put into my little 4x4. I look forward to learning and sharing my progress with you all.
First off, welcome to TM! Second, we love everything here. Third, holy freakin donky shins! You have done quite alot to that truck! Forth, you were smart, you came loaded with pics. All of us here are pic addicts.
nice work on that wheeler there welcome to the site my next rig will mostlikely be a 4runner wheeler... girlfriend cant drive a 5speed so lol
Amazing, there's a yellow/tan pickup that looks just like yours out here.. 4WD.. but its been sitting there... I need to see if i can buy that truck!!!! Your truck looks great, and yes, you do have a mini truck... it's just... tall
welcome aint nothin wrong with a lifted yota. i have 2, and ones a celica dig the simpleness of your eng bay, most people have no idea how well that pays off, off road. but i also have 3 lowered yota's, and ones a celica anyways welcome n stuff
I love the Pacific NW camo paint job on that wheeler, I agree with 4wd goes up and 2wd goes down. no matter what the make or model is. (Toyota preferred Obvisouly) Welcome to the site, keep us updated on all progress BIG or small
Welcome to the site! I've owned 4 different 4x4's over the years and would love to own another. There are also many lifted trucks on this site as you will soon see. I love the checker plate interior, that is perfect for offroading!
Yes . . . another 4 x 4 owner! Welcome to our family here @ toyotaminis. Theres some awesome stuff tucked, bolted, welded, painted on your truck, great addition to our fast growing family . . . Keep up the good work and well CYA in the forums . . .
Thanks for all the compliments on my truck and all the welcomes. It is great how the 4x4 guys and the lowered mini guys get along on this forum. Unfortunately some people think you need to be into one or the other but I am glad to see there are others out there besides myself who don't feel that way. the_general626: Good eye! I was wondering if anyone would notice that sweet mod! The air horn rocks.
Nice rig! welcome to the board... Ya wouldn't happen to have an extra set of rear fender flares now wouldya?
I don't have any extra rear fender flares. I will check around a bit though. I might be able to come up with some. There are a bunch of 4x4 Toyotas around here. There might be a set left over from a flatbed project or something. I'll ask my friends.
