Sam's 84 Expo Build

Sam Huynh

Village Idiot
UPDATED FEB 2014

Now this is how it looks to date along with my Toyota 4Runner: (Feb 2014)

1984 Toyota Pickup Regular Cab Short Bed

Specs:

Engine:
-rebuilt 22r
-New Timing Chain
-LCE header
-LCE pistons and rods
-Rebuilt Aisin Carb
-Magnaflow Exhaust
-Highflow Cat

Suspension/Axles/Gears:
-Longfield front shafts
-Longfield chromo hub gears
-Stock rebuilt Aisin Hubs
-Lockright front locker
-TG diff armor front and rear
-5.29 gears front and rear
-Single Tcase with 4.7 gears and twin sticks
-Old Man Emu 2.5inch suspension lift
-Trailgear front shackles
-Old Man Emu rear shackles
-Old Man Emu steering stabilizer and shocks

Tires/Wheels:
-33x12.50x15 Good Year Duratrac A/T
-Ion Alloy 15x10 wheels

Body:
-Can-Back Soft top
-Fiberglass bed from Toyotafiberglass
-Bushwacker Extendaflares
-Homemade Sliders
-Addicted Offroad Front Winch Bumper
-Homemade Roofrack

Electronics/Lights/ACC:
-Cobra 29 CB with PA and WX stations
-3ft Firestick antannae
-(1) Blitzpro 15inch single row LED lightbar
-(2) Blitzpro 4inch dual row LED lights
-(2) KC Daylighters (roofrack)
-(2) Hella 500ffs (roofrack)
-(1) HarborFreight backup light
-120v power inverter under driver seat
-Keyless entry and alarm system with remote start
-Alpine headunit w/bluetooth
-10in kicker sub
-Painless wiring dual battery system

Recovery:
-10k lb winch
-60inch highlift
-snatch block
-tow straps
-front tow points


OLD STUFF
Alrighty so Im pretty green when it comes to Toyotas, but ever since buying this pickup the modding bug has bitten me. Since I already had a dedicated offroad rig, I decided to build this one into a mild offroad rig mostly used for camping and sightseeing. Plan is to finish the truck in the next 4 years while I am in college. Then take a 6 month trip to the West coast, Canada, Alaska and back to NC.

So here is the truck the day I bought it:
PICT0151.jpg


I needed a reliable daily driver as my jeep became a dedicated offroad beater. So I found this lil gem online and picked it up a couple days after. Pretty much bone stock with the exception of the old man emu lift kit. All bushings had been replaced, bed is aftermarket fiberglass from toyotafiberglass. Engine is rebuilt and bored out. 5 speed Trans and Tcase are rebuilt. Exhaust had been replaced with a stainless steel system and headers. Basically a very good running reliable truck from 1984.


Now for the EXPO build stuff:

As of a couple weeks ago I decided that instead of trying to use my jeep as a camping and offroad rig, I would use the toyota as the camping rig/daily driver and the jeep as a dedicated trail beater. So plans are as follow:
-bedline the inside of the truck bed
-make and install a soft top for the rear bed
-build a custom rear swingout to hold a spare tire and jerry can
-build sliders to be used as side steps and protect the bed
-build a roof rack with additional aux lighting
-make a set half doors with an exterior removable canvas skin
-add some skid plates to the underside
-install a power inverter and electrical outlet in bed
-dual battery setup
-winch
-um more lights? Cant have too many lights lol
-of course EXPO STICKERS!

Stay tuned for a bunch of goodies and updates.
 
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Sam Huynh

Village Idiot
So today I finished up a set of half doors I have been working on.

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Also got the bed all prepped up and bedlined.
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tanglefoot

ExPoseur
Great truck--love the metallic gray. Also glad you went to the stock 15x6s. I did the same. Also nice 2wd parked behind yours in the lot.

Those half doors look interesting--nice work building them. Wouldn't you rather have lockable, full doors and closing windows for exploring though? Do you have another set?
 

Sam Huynh

Village Idiot
Great truck--love the metallic gray. Also glad you went to the stock 15x6s. I did the same. Also nice 2wd parked behind yours in the lot.

Those half doors look interesting--nice work building them. Wouldn't you rather have lockable, full doors and closing windows for exploring though? Do you have another set?

Yea I have two sets of doors. For daily driving I have a full set of doors that lock. I only made the half doors so that I can swap doors during the summer and when I drive out to the beach.
 

Sam Huynh

Village Idiot
So another update, one that I dont enjoy posting. Yesterday my truck was involved in a collision and sustained a bit of damage to the passenger bedside. Some moron crossed the center line, hopped a median and nailed the car in front of me. It spun around and clipped the side of my bed in the process. Damage is pretty much superficial. Mostly scratches and missing paint from the bedside, The entire side of the bed will have to be refinished. Now the truck is grounded at home until I can get the adjuster to come out here and look at the truck and get it repaired. Took it to a couple body shops and were quoted about 1000 bucks to refinish correctly.
 

Sam Huynh

Village Idiot
So another update. Just got off the phone with the insurance and they will be out here tomorrow to look at the truck and access the damage. Anyhow I decided to do a bit of work on it in the meantime. The old shift boot was all old and nasty so I made a new one. Not my best sewing job but looks 100x better than my old boot. Also completely finished the drivers side half door and mounted the exterior skin.
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JasonRedwood

Explorer
You don't have a pattern for the shifter boot do ya? Mine is completely missing, I want to make.
Great find on the canback!
 

Sam Huynh

Village Idiot
You don't have a pattern for the shifter boot do ya? Mine is completely missing, I want to make.
Great find on the canback!

Unfortunately I did not keep a pattern when I made my boot. I jsut kind of eyeballed it and sewed it together. So a bit of an update, no pics but still a small update. I ordered a rear tire carrier hinge kit so I can start on making a rear tire carrier. I received my backup camera in the mail and purchased some rock lights during cyber Monday. I will update once parts start rolling in and install starts happening. I also picked up a Viair 350C compressor which will be used for my OBA system. Started on a new design for some sliders for the yota also. Still in the designing stage but this is what I have in CAD as of writing.
Slider.png
 
Last edited:

Sam Huynh

Village Idiot
Just installed some lights in the back of the truck for camping. Also added a few courtesy lights under the dash on a switch.

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Sam Huynh

Village Idiot
Finally got around to try to wire some of my things up. I got my fuse block in the mail from amazon. Made a little mount for it in my engine bay, mounted my PA speaker, got some LED offroad lights and mocked up the one for the front bar. Also got my shackles from Wab-fab, however they were missing the nuts so I wont be able to install them until I get those.So here are pics! Also always any comments are welcomed.

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fjatheart

Adventurer
Nice truck and build. What kind/brand of LED's did you go with in the bed and on the front bumper?

I'm originally an NC guy and a UNCW grad. What part of NC are you in?
 

Sam Huynh

Village Idiot
Nice truck and build. What kind/brand of LED's did you go with in the bed and on the front bumper?

I'm originally an NC guy and a UNCW grad. What part of NC are you in?

Im In Charlotte, NC. I currently go to UNCC majoring in Mechanical Engineer.


So its been a long time since Ive done an update on my rig here. Been pretty busy with school and classes. But I finally got the shackles installed a few weeks ago. So she sits leveled now. I also started on a new rear bumper design. Any thoughts?

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