3rd Gen Toyota Pickup - Budget Expo Build

lithoov11

New member
I'm looking into doing a bit of a trip as soon as a graduate college and your thread is a real inspiration! Looking forward to see your vehicle progress and a successful trip!
 

flash9588

North American Overland
hey Richard. With your exhaust I would suggest firing a 90 degree elbow on the end and sending that exhaust out the side and make sure that it clears the box. That exhaust is highly corrosive on that pristine toyota tin, and over time you'll notice some serious corrosion happening under the box. Just a thought.
 

DeskToGlory

Adventurer
hey Richard. With your exhaust I would suggest firing a 90 degree elbow on the end and sending that exhaust out the side and make sure that it clears the box. That exhaust is highly corrosive on that pristine toyota tin, and over time you'll notice some serious corrosion happening under the box. Just a thought.

Yeah, once I get a rear bumper on there I'll definitely be rerouting that pipe. I just wanted to throw something on there in the meantime since I'm not 100% sure where the bumper will end up. Thanks!
 

DeskToGlory

Adventurer
Here's a "spy photo" my sister took of the truck after my Dad decided to paint the fenders for us! Apparently he thought the white fenders looked too ghetto and decided to take care of it himself this weekend. Best birthday present ever.
9546796517_debfe71a45_c.jpg
 

rickashay

Explorer
Super cool thread. Pretty inspiring to see you drop out of your norm and make this trip happen with the resources that you have available. I think a lot of people talk about doing stuff like this but never actually execute it. I also have a trip like this on my bucket list, so I'll be tagging along "virtually" the whole way, hoping that my plans don't turn to dust in the wind.

Excellent photos and detailed descriptions on your workings, and turning the ol' 22RE into an expo worthy steed.

Curious though, for the $2500 dropped into the rebuilt 22RE, did you ever consider finder a low mileage 3.4L v6 (5VZ-FE) and doing the swap? Just curious because that motor is readily available, produces quite a bit more power, is dead reliable, and average on fuel. Granted, the whole "swap" scenario might pose more headache than it's worth in your case. Just had me thinking...

If your ever in the Nelson BC area, by chance, let me know and we could possibly meet up and BS over a cold one. Cheers!
 

DeskToGlory

Adventurer
Super cool thread. Pretty inspiring to see you drop out of your norm and make this trip happen with the resources that you have available. I think a lot of people talk about doing stuff like this but never actually execute it. I also have a trip like this on my bucket list, so I'll be tagging along "virtually" the whole way, hoping that my plans don't turn to dust in the wind.

Excellent photos and detailed descriptions on your workings, and turning the ol' 22RE into an expo worthy steed.

Curious though, for the $2500 dropped into the rebuilt 22RE, did you ever consider finder a low mileage 3.4L v6 (5VZ-FE) and doing the swap? Just curious because that motor is readily available, produces quite a bit more power, is dead reliable, and average on fuel. Granted, the whole "swap" scenario might pose more headache than it's worth in your case. Just had me thinking...

If your ever in the Nelson BC area, by chance, let me know and we could possibly meet up and BS over a cold one. Cheers!

Yes, I definitely considered a swap... but I have swapped enough engines/transmissions in the past to know I didn't have enough money or time to execute a swap on this truck with our time restraints. The biggest problem would have been finding an engine that actually had low mileage and right now I'm happy I know exactly what the condition of the engine is. Gotta keep it simple! Plus, I really wanted something I could deal with myself in a small town in the middle of Central America if **** hit the fan.

We are planning on heading east into Alberta before heading south so I'll let you know if we're heading through Nelson. The plan now is to take the Number 1 through Revelstoke since we haven't been that way before, but we do love Nelson! (We're actually considering a move to Nelson after our trip if we can scrounge up some employment!)
 

bimmeryota

Observer
Yes, I definitely considered a swap... but I have swapped enough engines/transmissions in the past to know I didn't have enough money or time to execute a swap on this truck with our time restraints. The biggest problem would have been finding an engine that actually had low mileage and right now I'm happy I know exactly what the condition of the engine is. Gotta keep it simple! Plus, I really wanted something I could deal with myself in a small town in the middle of Central America if **** hit the fan.

We are planning on heading east into Alberta before heading south so I'll let you know if we're heading through Nelson. The plan now is to take the Number 1 through Revelstoke since we haven't been that way before, but we do love Nelson! (We're actually considering a move to Nelson after our trip if we can scrounge up some employment!)

As someone who did a 3.4 swap not quite in the cheap it was totally worth it. It did take a lot of time even though I didn't do the wiring myself. Plus I had never tackled such a job before so I HAD to take my time. I lucked out and found a motor that had only 60k on it.
The 22re is fine with what you're carrying and I know people have carried more. And there is no simpler engine out there than that.
Keep me in the loop once you head south, I may tag along to Baja since you'll be passing through California anyways!
 

DeskToGlory

Adventurer
As someone who did a 3.4 swap not quite in the cheap it was totally worth it. It did take a lot of time even though I didn't do the wiring myself. Plus I had never tackled such a job before so I HAD to take my time. I lucked out and found a motor that had only 60k on it.
The 22re is fine with what you're carrying and I know people have carried more. And there is no simpler engine out there than that.
Keep me in the loop once you head south, I may tag along to Baja since you'll be passing through California anyways!

It was really all about the time. I flew into town on Sunday afternoon, new motor was installed Monday, finished up the loose ends today (Tuesday) and finally taking the truck back to Vancouver tomorrow. Photos will be posted soon!

Hopefully I'll get a chance to check out your ride on the way through California!
 

Clay

Adventurer
Awesome work friend. Your truck is coming along nicely, and don't worry about the 22re too much. I just rebuilt mine too, and it was worth every penny.

I'm thinking about doing OME torsion bars like yours on the front of my 4runner, how do they ride?
 

DeskToGlory

Adventurer
The OME torsion bars are adjusted so the ride height is about 1" over stock. The ride is slightly stiffer than stock, but nothing like stock torsion bars cranked 1".
 

bimmeryota

Observer
It was really all about the time. I flew into town on Sunday afternoon, new motor was installed Monday, finished up the loose ends today (Tuesday) and finally taking the truck back to Vancouver tomorrow. Photos will be posted soon!

Hopefully I'll get a chance to check out your ride on the way through California!

Totally understand and the 22re is a fantastic motor, I just had a 3vz that I didn't think was worth any effort at that point.

I may just join you in to Baja so keep me posted!
 

DeskToGlory

Adventurer
On the road

So here we go, after 3 or 4 weekends of work on the truck it's ready to be driven.

I flew into Powell River on Sunday morning and we had the old engine out and the new 22RE installed and running by Monday afternoon. Tuesday was spent tidying up some minor issues (like installing rear shocks) and I was on the road back to Vancouver on Wednesday morning. A new clutch, flywheel, rad, and hoses were installed at the same time.

The 22RE definitely needs some tuning, but I'll leave it to Disturbed Industries to adjust the valves and tune the beast up.

There are about 10,000 little items that need to be dealt with, but at least it moves under it's own power and has made it a couple hundred km without issue. The 22RE already feels significantly better than the original and the OME suspension is begging for some dirt roads.


9624970674_f163336e7b_c.jpg


I keep looking at the word "Budget" in the thread title. I'm not sure if I said anything about this yet, but this thing isn't necessarily going to be cheap by the time we're on the road. I guess it's all going to depend on what you're comparing it to. By the time it has all the overland goodies installed (RTT, fridge, inverter, solar, dual battery, etc) we're going to be into it for about $8000...
 
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JWP58

Guest
For rigs around here 8k is real cheap.

I think its one of the nicest Pickups I've seen.
 

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