Containerized
Adventurer
Well, spent some time in the shop today and I think it's safe to say things are really coming along. Still probably two months away from having the truck done (target is completion August 1), but I thought those following this build might want to see an update.
We changed the profile of the bumper to make it stick out a little more in the front. This allows more protection for the headlamp housings. Part of why we haven't had the plates waterjetted yet is we want to continue to play with this cardboard mock-up and make sure everything fits perfectly before we commit to any welding that might need to be undone.
There's still a little sheetmetal work to be done to make the 80 lamps look like they belong there. But, when it's done, they'll look completely factory. We're even going to recut the hood so the shut line is even with where the 80 Series corner marker meets the clear headlamp lens.
We cut up a salvaged 80 Series grille that will be blended into the new (waterjetted) grille, so the inside edge of the headlamps will have a nice "seam" on which to meet the grille.
The lower two openings in the grille will hold two-row XMITTERs (flood pattern). Should be plenty of light, and they'll be hidden behind the grille.
I've gotten a few questions about the tailgate modification. The truth is, it's pretty straightforward. To make the Tacoma stock tailgate release hardware fit, you'll need to mount the Toyota logo about 3/4" below where it would be "centered" on a late 1970's Hilux tailgate. But the curvature of the two tailgates is extremely similar, if not identical, so if you've cut carefully, you can tack it right into place. Some bodywork and paint, and it'll look like it was there all along.
I'd originally wanted to stay with near-stock sizes, but the temptation to move to the 255/85R16 KM2's finally caught up with me.
A photo taken while fitting the ICON Stage 4 stuff:
We've played around with different paintjob ideas. I am not a big fan of vinyl - I've done it on race cars in the past, and even had some of the vinyl graphics under clearcoat on my last Porsche (997 GT3), but it never looks quite as "clean" or "factory" as paint with two layers of clear. This is a paintbooth 16ga aluminum test panel shot with a white base and then three different mixes of orange to imitate the look of the 1982 Toyota OE vinyl set. The panel was then hit with a layer of clear, re-prepped, and hit with a second coat of clear. It passes the "fingernail test" (can just *barely* feel an edge where the color meets the white). Sometime in July, the front fenders, hood, front doors, tailgate, bed will be disassembled, prepped and shot this way. Should be pretty cool and complete the retro effect.
The original scheme we'll imitate with the final paintwork (but modernize a bit with the shades of orange, and modify to fit this truck's lines):
We changed the profile of the bumper to make it stick out a little more in the front. This allows more protection for the headlamp housings. Part of why we haven't had the plates waterjetted yet is we want to continue to play with this cardboard mock-up and make sure everything fits perfectly before we commit to any welding that might need to be undone.
There's still a little sheetmetal work to be done to make the 80 lamps look like they belong there. But, when it's done, they'll look completely factory. We're even going to recut the hood so the shut line is even with where the 80 Series corner marker meets the clear headlamp lens.
We cut up a salvaged 80 Series grille that will be blended into the new (waterjetted) grille, so the inside edge of the headlamps will have a nice "seam" on which to meet the grille.
The lower two openings in the grille will hold two-row XMITTERs (flood pattern). Should be plenty of light, and they'll be hidden behind the grille.
I've gotten a few questions about the tailgate modification. The truth is, it's pretty straightforward. To make the Tacoma stock tailgate release hardware fit, you'll need to mount the Toyota logo about 3/4" below where it would be "centered" on a late 1970's Hilux tailgate. But the curvature of the two tailgates is extremely similar, if not identical, so if you've cut carefully, you can tack it right into place. Some bodywork and paint, and it'll look like it was there all along.
I'd originally wanted to stay with near-stock sizes, but the temptation to move to the 255/85R16 KM2's finally caught up with me.
A photo taken while fitting the ICON Stage 4 stuff:
We've played around with different paintjob ideas. I am not a big fan of vinyl - I've done it on race cars in the past, and even had some of the vinyl graphics under clearcoat on my last Porsche (997 GT3), but it never looks quite as "clean" or "factory" as paint with two layers of clear. This is a paintbooth 16ga aluminum test panel shot with a white base and then three different mixes of orange to imitate the look of the 1982 Toyota OE vinyl set. The panel was then hit with a layer of clear, re-prepped, and hit with a second coat of clear. It passes the "fingernail test" (can just *barely* feel an edge where the color meets the white). Sometime in July, the front fenders, hood, front doors, tailgate, bed will be disassembled, prepped and shot this way. Should be pretty cool and complete the retro effect.
The original scheme we'll imitate with the final paintwork (but modernize a bit with the shades of orange, and modify to fit this truck's lines):
Last edited:
Cannot wait for more pics! Well done sir.
