Build "Loosey" the '85 Pickup

Speediturtle

Speediturtle

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 1, 2022
Member Number
5245
Messages
52
Loc
Nevada
Mostly starting this to track my progress.

I always planned to turn my '96 Tacoma into a crawler but had a lot of good memories in it and didn't want to turn it into a tin can.

So the search began. I was looking for something cheap, manual, pickup. After about a year of searching, I found this. The price was right and it ran which was a plus.
I bought the truck for $2,800 in 2021. It was rough, ran but didnt drive, and needed a LOT of work but it seemed like a good starting point.

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I brought it home and started by cleaning it out. The bed was full of junk and the inside was a mess. I think I vacuumed like 5lbs of dog hair form the cab alone.
About a week later I bought a house so the project went on the back burner for a few months.

Then I took of the diamond plate bumper and sold it. Promptly realized I didnt have a lifting point anymore so I built a quick and cheap bumper.
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From there I fabbed up mounts for the chevy 63's in the rear and used some LROR shackles I had. I installed a disc brake conversion and reused some 1st gen Tacoma calipers and rotors. Decided on 14" bilsteins and made a shock hoop that went through the bed (this ended up going through a few iterations).
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I also added some trail gear sliders.

Front end got hi-steer, toyota IFS steering box, 14" bilsteins, Trail gear high flow steering pump, Tacoma brakes and rotors, and a fancy square driveshaft (I'm sure I'm missing some stuff).
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Hacktastic :flipoff2:

Then I mounted some cheap suspension seats from summit and installed a 4xinnovations cage. I added a dash bar and harness bar as well.
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Got it running again and took it to the Rubicon for a shakedown
 
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The trip went great with little to no issues (or so I thought). Wheeled to spider, spent the night and wheeled out.
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Got home and did a quick look over and everything, and I meand EVERYTHING came loose. Motor mounts, drive shafts, shackles, you name it. So I went about loctiting and retightening what I could and dubbed her "Loosey"

Next on the to-do list was
New clutch
Weld the rear end
Install a T-case E-brake

I welded the rear end but waited on the clutch because it was still working (foreshadowing)
 
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Next trip was a life-long goal. I got to take my dad on the Rubicon for the first time and in a rig that I built!

We went in on the Loon side at night and had a great time until my truck died near phonebooth. I limped it off of the trail and we set up camp for the night. After some troubleshooting, I found a broken spark plug in cylinder 2. Im dumb and didnt have any spares so I started hiking back to the chalet and ended up bumping into a guy who gave me a whole new pack and a beer. (if your on here, thanks man!) Reinstalled and we headed back.

I learned my lesson and stocked up on some miscellaneous spares.

Next trip was Rubicon from the tahoe side with a co-worker and some other friends. Other than spares no real work was done to the crawler. We met at the staging area at 8pm and wheeled down to the springs. In the morning, We realized Id snapped all of the knuckle studs on my driver side and 2 on my passenger side. Whoops.

After breaking all of our drill bits and easy outs we decided to see if we could get some help on the RTF property.
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It was the week before the Jamboree so the RTF property had tons of people (lucky day to break stuff I guess). A few guys took me under their wing and worked some trail magic.

3/4 knuckle studs replaced and I was on my way. I reinstalled everything and we began the slow and careful drive back up and out.
All was going great until Cadillac. I had be slipping my clutch a lot to ease the impacts on the front end. Welp, about half way up Cadillac, the clutch (with 385,000 miles one it) finally gave up in a plume of smoke. I started rolling backwards and pushed my entire weight into my brakes which sent me into a slide. M buddy hopped out of his rig and threw the biggest boulder I've seen a human lift right under my tire, stopping everything. Definitely saved my ass big time.

We ended up using two rigs to tow me all the way back and got home at like 4am. Bummer.
 
I felt super bad for ruining the trip and vowed to not be unprepared.

I went out and bought a new clutch, six shooters, chromo birfs, and 4.7's for the T-case. I also ended up switching the front leafs with some stock 1st gen tacoma rears I got from a buddy.

Since then Ive taken it to Hammers, Moonrocks, and the Rubicon a few times without any issues

 
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And now for how it currently sits.

I bought a tube bender and figured bumpers were a good learning project. Basically copied the trail gear bumper on the front and threw in a badlands winch that I got on Black Friday. Its not perfect but it came out pretty good for my first time using a bender.
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Rear frame rails got boxed in with some 2x2 .25 wall. I added some winch points and bent up the wrap arounds.
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I also just purchased a GotPropane kit and a new front main seal which should be getting installed soon.
 
Replaced the water pump and front main seal in an effort to stop some leaks.

Noticed my steering cooler must have got familiar with the fan when I still had stock engine mounts.

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So I ordered a new one and got that put in as well.

Now the fun begins. I started with the Got Propane install. Instructions said to utilize the bottom portion of the stock carb. Took my carb off and fiddled with it for entirely too long before realizing it was a weber :homer:

Asked around and a friend of a friend had three stock carbs he gave me for free as long as I took his other toyota parts…score.

I mounted the mixer and now Im just staring at the jumbled mess of vacuum lines.
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I read on the old forum that this kit really only needs 3 vacuum lines but Im not sure whats important. Im guessing the two lines that go the distributor need to stay but what else?

Should I just chuck everything else and cap the old ports?
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Disregard. Of course I find this after I post. NOOB.

Including link for reference
www.pirate4x4.com

Questions on 22R Propane conversion

So I'm elbow deep into converting my '83 22R to propane with Cary's kit (got propane). His instruction sheet is more pictures than instruction. The conversion is pretty simple I know, but my 22R is a bit new to me so some of the stuff I'm not sure is emissions or not, or if I need it or not...
www.pirate4x4.com www.pirate4x4.com
 
Well I drank a bunch of idiot juice while installing the Got Propane kit but it's finally in and it runs great! The truck idles way smoother now. I cant wait to play with it.
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I ended up having to remove my homebrewed fuse panel to fit the regulator and decided to clean up my wiring a little and install one of the auxbeam 8 gang switches and fuse box.
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Like most people, I really hate wiring but this kit made it super easy.

Heading to the Rubicon this weekend for a shakedown.
 
Rubicon was HOT this weekend. Despite the heat, the truck ran great. I didn't notice any significant power changes, but was able to lug it really low in the rpm's which was cool. I really need a front locker but I'm kind of reluctant to put any money into toyota axles. The new plan is to look for a deal on an 05+ D60 and a 14B and build those out. I'll tube swap the D60 and run leafs for a while until I can save up the dough to install the 2UZ I have. Will probably 3link the front during the UZ swap.

For now, the truck is a great trail rig. Just want to start doing some harder wheeling and not have to worry about breaking.
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Toyota axles can be strong. Don't doubt them even if you're wanting to go with tons.
You could do some test runs out in Spanish Springs before heading to Rubicon or Fordyce.
 
RunningProblem said:
Toyota axles can be strong. Don't doubt them even if you're wanting to go with tons.
You could do some test runs out in Spanish Springs before heading to Rubicon or Fordyce.
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I agree. I put the last set of yota axles I had through their paces. Only ever broke one birf. I just dont think they'll jive with the 2uz once that's in. I figured I could build tons and run them in the meantime until I have the time/energy to do the uz swap.
 
Another problem-free trip to the Rubicon... for me at least.

What was supposed to be a chill day trip to Spider and back turned into a little more than that.
After getting to Spider, eating lunch, and swimming for a bit we decided to turn back in order to set up camp at Loon. My buddy heard a pop and radioed me saying he had not forward or reverse. We deduced that something in the T-case had let go.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed his upper frame-side link had torn off the frame. I think this tilted his axle backwards and caused the t-case to bind and ultimately break some of the internals.

Luckily we had some friends/family at cantina that agreed to come help tow him out. In the meantime I got to work welding the link mount on the best I could using his Bun trail welder. Those things are awesome, I definitely need to pick one up.

The tow out only took 2 hours which was pretty rowdy. Ultimately, the like mount held and everyone went home healthy which is a win in my book.

Only took one photo before the carnage.
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How did I miss this build lol, similar to mine, propane and all.

Are you the one they talked about on the Snail Trail Podcast that sheered Trunnion Bearing Eliminators, or maybe it was just the studs?

The newer mixer looks bigger than the one I have.

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Diablo169 said:
How did I miss this build lol, similar to mine, propane and all.

Are you the one they talked about on the Snail Trail Podcast that sheered Trunnion Bearing Eliminators, or maybe it was just the studs?

The newer mixer looks bigger than the one I have.
Click to expand...
Which episode did they talk about that on?

I loaned out a high steer arm to a dude on aug 14th at buck island with that exact problem :laughing:
 
Arickvan said:
Which episode did they talk about that on?

I loaned out a high steer arm to a dude on aug 14th at buck island with that exact problem :laughing:
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I don't remember the episode, but it was before one of the Jamboree's. I guess Tyler was on a trip to get spare parts from RTF for another rig when he came across a Toyota with two sheered knuckles. Sounded familiar when I was reading your post lol.
 
Diablo169 said:
How did I miss this build lol, similar to mine, propane and all.

Are you the one they talked about on the Snail Trail Podcast that sheered Trunnion Bearing Eliminators, or maybe it was just the studs?

The newer mixer looks bigger than the one I have.
Click to expand...
I don't think it was me. I only sheared the knuckle studs, not the trunnion eliminators. I don't remember running into those guys when that happened.

It might be bigger, I think I remember reading something about them changing who they got the mixers from a while ago. I also mounted it like a dumbass so it probably takes up a little more room than it should.
 
Decided to do a last minute trip this weekend. We wanted to try the Wentworth side because I had never done it and we thought there might be a chance of snow on the slabs. Turned out to be no snow but we decided to continue going with the plan.

I guess I didnt realize that the Wentworth side was just a really long dirt road. Kinda sucked being the only leaf spring guy in the group but it was a beautiful day so that made up for it. Lots of deep puddles.

We got to postpile and my friend went up pretty easy. I tried a similar line but was about a foot too far to the right. The truck got super bound up and the rear driveline decided to get into the holiday spirit early and turn into a candy cane. The ears broke on the T-case side the the driveline dropped. No real damage to anything else thankfully. I removed it and had my buddy pull me out of the spot I was in and up to the turnout for the bypass. Had a quick lunch then drove out in front wheel drive.

Fun way to end the season and an easy recovery, just bummed we didn't get to actually crawl more that day.
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