1991 Toyota build....community build

[Herakeles]

finally going to start on my 1991 toyota truck build... asking all who wanna help please come to the website and put in your 2 cents or whatever you can afford I want not to miss anything so why not put it up for the experts( thats you) to help ... anyway any comments would be greatly appreciated... www.overlandproject.com

 

[CA-RJ]

Welcome. I glanced through your blog and you mentioned getting a 3" body lift and 3" lift. I would recommend against the body lift. I'm not sure what size tire you want to run, but you can run 33x10.50's with an Old Man Emu lift or by doing ball joint spacers in the front and replacing the rear leaf springs in the rear. 33's on stock gears will really stink so you will also want to regear and run 4.88's.

If it's taken you where you want to go stock, you might just think about replacing just the shocks, buying some new all-terrains and perhaps adding a locker to the rear end. My 86 has done very nicely with new shocks and 30x9.50 all-terrains. Keeping to the stock tire size also keeps your fuel mileage up.

 

[tanglefoot]

I agree--6 inches is a lot of lift! It will likely make your truck less reliable and you might have some driveline issues to work through, especially if you run tires larger than 33's.

I agree that a winch is really nice to have in remote areas but you may want to take it easy with the bolt-ons like grille guards, side tubes and bumpers. They add weight and they can reduce approach and departure angle and make it more difficult to get over obstacles. I went to Utah with a friend who had a big fancy grill guard on his truck but it kept hitting and dragging on the rocks. We ended up taking it off and throwing it in the bed.

A agree about keeping your tire size moderate. Tires that big just get in the way and over-stress the driveline. As mentioned, you want to maintain your fuel economy--big tires, especially if the axles aren't re-geared, can really reduce your cruising range and make your rig less capable and more clumsy.

 

[NorthernWoodsman]

I have a 94 Toyota myself. I would avoid the 6-inch lift as well. I have OME shocks at all four corners and some aftermarket rear springs that give a small height increase over stock as well as ball joint spacers up front. I'm currently running 33x10.50x15 BFG A/T tires. I'm still running stock 4.10 gears, unfortunately, but it's not as bad as everyone says it'll be. Sure, the trucks a dog on big hills but it was before the tires too. I'm still getting 19mpg on the highway loaded with camping gear, tools and with my camper shell (with Yakima racks) on.

I say go with OME shocks and BJ spacers and some sort of new rear springs. Don't be afraid to run the 33's, but try to regear as soon as possible. I hope to later this year, but money is tight for me so we'll see.

One more thing, if you do the BJ spacers up front be sure to get the correct offset wheels. Some wheels have an offset that puts the wheel to far in which will cause rubbing on the upper A-arm. I'm running stock (86+) SR5 aluminum wheels.

 

[PHXtaco]

(from blog) I just don’t have the heart to give her up...

I know how you feel. I had an `89 that I just hated to give up, many good miles together :smiley_drive:
http://www.aviationarchaeology.com/Truck.htm

but after having my 2004 for over 5 years and 100,000 miles, I can say that the first gen Tacomas are so much nicer in just about every way (stronger front suspension, smother ride, more power, nicer interior, etc). The only thing I miss from the '89 is the drink older in front of the a/c vent that kept my soda cold!

I am not saying don't do it, just saying take a good hard look at what you ultimately want before investing the time and money into a build.

 

[NorCalBorn]

The only thing I miss from the '89 is the drink older in front of the a/c vent that kept my soda cold!

Still my favorite little "thing" about my '95 Runner and why among other reasons I keep it around, works well to keep your coffee hot also.

 

[Herakeles]

Great info....

See I knew posting hear would help... I have started on the dash and interior first... , redoing carpet temp controls and updating the ac unit and fan to the new freon, from r12, will post progress on www.overlandproject.com def want to change the gears and the spacing is a good Idea.. I think I was more in love with the look of big tires than the function... will not go higher than the 33'.... also I was thinking of a new toy, but I just cant give up this one... if I got new... what would I do with her? lol cant let go just yet also Phxtaco I have been doing the same things you have since I can remember all over az mainly... , cant wait to get back there... maybe we can hash some wreck sites sometime

James

Keep the comments coming and post directly on my site if you want to.. (get a notification in e-mail)

 

[Box Rocket]

I'll chime in since I used to have a '93 which is virtually identical to what you're working with, and now have a 1st Gen Tacoma as a point of comparison. If you are truly after an overland vehicle something mild is really what you should be after. Probably no more than 3" lift and 33's and keep the IFS since much of overland travel can be higher speed than the technical rock stuff.

on my '93, I bought it just after the PO had completed a solid axle swap. I'm a big fan of a solid axle unless it's for high speed on corrugated roads. If you want something that will do more technically difficult trails, then I'd consider a SAS and use some good quality springs. I used 5" Alcan springs and Bilstein shocks and it was a great setup with an excellent ride. The truck also had the 22RE, Marlin Crawler dual t-case, 4.88's and 35's. So it could definitely crawl. However, I was impressed with how comfortable it was on more overland type trips, but the higher center of gravity kept my speeds slower than I do now with the Tacoma with just a 3" lift. With 4.88's it handled the tires well and I was getting around 22 mpg which I was very happy with.

I really really like that vintage of Toyota pickup and if I hadn't had to sell mine after losing a job a few years back I'd definitely still have it. It was a great truck. Good luck with it. Here's a couple photos of mine that might give you a few ideas.

 

[Herakeles]

awesome looking truck

This is a great looking truck... thanks for the info... I agree with the sas I would love to have that system but for what I need ... not worth the expense ....I hope when I am through it is half as nice... got the dash ripped apart now , I will post pics soon. here and On the website.... overlandproject.com.... getting the dash pad redone , carpet ... new blower fan and controls along with adding some ports for cb and accessories as well as door panels and seat belts...... just about everything lol

James