finally started my mods for my expedition truck

[toyrunner95]

ok so i bought my 84 toyota pickup a while ago, and it had a few issues. like the bed, some of the wireing, how things were set up under the hood. just a bunch of stuff.
its taken me 3 years to sort through all that stuff and i think i finally got what i can taken care of. SO ill tell the stroy as i go.

well since im actually making money this year, me being a college student and all, i finally have some spending cash to put into the truck.

this weekend i decided to make an overhead CB mount which was actually really easy. its just a piece of flatbar with bent ends to match the coutour of the roof. i dont have any upholstry so the install is really simple, however i believe that this same idea could be used with the interior still inside. you would just have to be a little more careful. after i bent the bar in a vice i drilled a couple holes in each end to attach it to the roof. as for the CB i welded on a little wing or fin or whatever you want to call it for the bracket to mout to, this placed the flat bar to the right of the dome light and the cb right above the mirror.

the next move was to finish the bed i had made last year. i used a fluxcore welder and i didnt really take the time to pretty up the welds, this year i bought a lincoln 135 gas wirefeed welder and WOW are that thing slick. the welds are almost perfect and alot stronger.

lastly i got to work on new tires. i originally had 35x14.50 super swampers. they are great if you dont mind paying for tires every year. the tread is really soft and has a tendancy to "chunk". so i called up four wheel parts and found some BFG 35x12.50. skinnier yes but they helped my steering greatly. with the 14s i had the turning radius of an aircraft carrier. it was terrible.

speaking of steering i finally got around to finishing my U bolt flip kit. the rear i had done but the front never got finished. so i went about taking all of the u bolts off and painting the plates, something i neglected to do last year due to time constraints. However; when i got the the driver side front i encountered a problem. the u bolt hits my crappy old j arm steering.... situation. so i finished up the passanger side and decided that i am going to put a hysteer kit on it anyway later this year (hopefully) so i will just put on the old u bolt plate for time sake and hassels.

thats it for day one of memorial day weekend, stay tuned for day two!

 

[toyrunner95]

heres the pics

 

[toyrunner95]

and the last two

 

[Willman]

Very nice!

I have always wanted one of those rigs....but in a 4Runner with a 22RE.

Keep up the great work!

:Mechanic:

I would love to see a future mod list for your rig!

:chowtime:

 

[Dirty Harry]

lastly i got to work on new tires. i originally had 35x14.50 super swampers. they are great if you dont mind paying for tires every year. the tread is really soft and has a tendancy to "chunk". so i called up four wheel parts and found some BFG 35x12.50. skinnier yes but they helped my steering greatly. with the 14s i had the turning radius of an aircraft carrier. it was terrible.

Why was the turning radius affected? Were the old tires getting in to the frame before full lock?

speaking of steering i finally got around to finishing my U bolt flip kit. the rear i had done but the front never got finished. so i went about taking all of the u bolts off and painting the plates, something i neglected to do last year due to time constraints. However; when i got the the driver side front i encountered a problem. the u bolt hits my crappy old j arm steering.... situation. so i finished up the passanger side and decided that i am going to put a hysteer kit on it anyway later this year (hopefully) so i will just put on the old u bolt plate for time sake and hassels.

This is a common problem, so don't feel alone. Another great reason to add high steer though! The truck looks like it is coming along great, keep up the good work. :Mechanic:

 

[Kevinj110]

neat :shakin:

 

[toyrunner95]

yeah the 14s were hitting the springs, and now so do the 12.50s however, ive been doing some testing and found that the tie rod is twisted like a pretzel and i cant fix it short of putting in a new one and if im going to do that i might as well swap in the hysteer. im working on getting a hysteer kit and i have the IFS box already. the ultimate goal here is to get a newer truck and use this one as, for lack of a better term "test truck", learn to weld decently, learn how things work, how to fix problems that arise without having to depend on it as a daily driver. also i would get a newer truck, like a 94 or 95 with a 22re as opposed to my 22r, both good motors but i like fuel injection. also the frame is pretty messed up so it would be a better idea so get something a little cleaner to work with. also all the parts and pieces i have now will swap onto the new vehicle.

this brings me to my next point, money, something i lack at the moment. any one want to make donations to the "help joe buy a newer expedition platform!" fund it would be greatly appreciated. :26_16_2:

ps. a mod list would be very long but some of the highlights, snorkle, bed drawers, tire carrier, secondary fuel tank, fix the eletrical systems so they are cleaner (theres alot of jawa sandcrawler jury rigged mods, like 110v house wire for the tail lights) it was definatly a trail rig and the guy didnt care about the truck at all.

 

[p1michaud]

Great start

Well it looks like you are off to a good start. Building rigs takes time so be patient and you should be happy with the result.
Great updates.
Cheers,
P

 

[toyrunner95]

well i got my tail lights done, suprisingly. made 3 runs to schucks, 2 to ace hardware, and one to the gas station. whew. BUT i prevailed against all the odds of nature. i do tihnk that i may have to replace all of them with LEDs however because i used marker lights instead of actual tail lights, this means that the break light isnt brighter its just another light. so on the techinical legal side of things im ok, but for saftey i would like them to be brighter. any suggestions? i will post pics later tonight. i still have to take them.

 

[Kevinj110]

i wouldnt worry about it alot of cars have tail lights that arent brighter just another light heck i know a few cars with a 6 volt single tail light never a problem. Just run it man.

 

[toyrunner95]

yeah i figure i will, the running lights and brake lights are different lights all together, so there is enough change in the light pattern for people to recognize that im stopping

 

[ZooJunkie]

Nice work Joe. I miss my 22re in my 85 PU.

 

[toyrunner95]

i wish i had a 22re, its a 22r, with an ill fated cauburator. still figurating on how im going to get a snorkle to fit an aftermarket carburator. i think i may create a box with a hole and use a vacume hose to connect the two. i dunno yet, i have to get the snorkle first.

 

[big sky trapper]

Are you running a weber??? I seen in a qudra tech jeep cat the other day, from weber a closed airbox adapter to fit a snorkel to weber....might give a look then the rest is pretty easy, the safari kit is pretty plain for these trucks. and you have to fab your own connections anyway. im still running the toy carb and just keep it adj so still have the original airbox which makes thing a little easier and cheaper in the end. heres how mine ended up for now...http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4917&page=4

and the weber linky...http://www.webercarburetors.com/ppw/html/aplication_guide/dgv_snorkle.htm

Have you decided on the bed configuration yet???

 

[toyrunner95]

well the configuration depends on the snorkel, i think on an 84 22r the snorkel is on the passanger side not the driver. BUT i am not sure, not even ARB usa can get me a schematic for the thing, and i talked to them in person. but the guy i talked to was pretty distracted. i would think that its passanger, but if its driver it may take a little more thought.

if any one has a 22R and a snorkel please give me a pic or tell me what side the snorkel is on.