New Trail Rig Build (86 Xtra Cab Flatbed) Lots of Pics!

[amgraham]

I've been trying to find a rig to build to get my dad out on the trails with me. He doesn't like to drive a manual so that made it difficult but we finally found a 1986 Xtra Cab with the limited edition "lightweight bed". Here's what it looked like when bought:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01402.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01403.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01404.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01405.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01406.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01407.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01408.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01409.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01410.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01411.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01412.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01413.jpg

We got it cheap because of the rust plus it had a dead battery, a miss in the motor, and a blown rad. hose. It's a one owner truck though and I drove it home stopping once to add water. After a tune up with all NGK stuff and a new rad hose it runs pretty good (I still need to adjust the valves though).

[amgraham]

It didn't take me long to decide that it wasn't worth messing with this bed so out came the sawzall and torch:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01414.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01415.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01416.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01417.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01418.jpg

There it sat for a few weeks while I got some other projects out of the way. I cut up the old bed and also got rid of that old light bar the front bumper ends and brackets. Took all that stuff to the metal recyclers (got $23 for it :D ). Also, I'm thinking about selling my 88 DD so I swapped my Taco wheels and 31s off of that with the stockers that were on the red truck. Here's what it looked like Friday:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01882.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01883.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01884.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01885.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01886.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01887.jpg

[amgraham]

I had been hedging on getting a sandblaster to clean all the rust scale off the frame and see what was left. Friday I finally got one of those cheap Harbor Freight deals and about 150lb of media and had at it. Fortunately everything is pretty solid with the exception of the spare tire crossmember. After I got it cleaned up and started priming I decided to fab up the new "bumper" so I could go ahead and eliminate that crossmember and paint everything.

Cleaned up and fabbing up the bumper with receiver and shackle mounts:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01888.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01889.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01890.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01891.jpg

Welded in the bumper, cut out the old rotted crossmember, and bobbed the frame 4.5":

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01892.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01893.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01894.jpg

All painted up and purty:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01895.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01896.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01897.jpg


Next is the flatbed build. I'll hopefully be able to start on that this week.

[locknload]

Nice man, I'm jealous. I've always wondered how an auto would work if you geared the hell out of it. Keep the progress pics coming.

[BeaterToyota]

we finally found a 1986 Xtra Cab with the limited edition "lightweight bed".

That's not limited edition. That's a standard feature from '79-'88. :rolleyes:

[BeaterToyota]

Nice work on the rear crossmember. And those Taco wheels look good. I wanna get some for my '94 daily driver.

[amgraham]

Thanks guys. It has the 4.30s so I'm waiting to see how those do with the 31s. I think it'll be fine for now.

Yeah Jason, every first and second gen I've had had at least some rust bubbles on the bed. You'll like the Taco wheels man. You can get them fairly cheap if you're patient and they are really tough. I have the same ones on the runner and, well, just check out the rock rash when you see it :P .

[Littletoy]

If your starting the flatbed this week then dropping my truck off next week won't present a problem will it? http://smilies.vidahost.com/contrib/ruinkai/biglaugh.gif

[amgraham]

If your starting the flatbed this week then dropping my truck off next week won't present a problem will it? http://smilies.vidahost.com/contrib/ruinkai/biglaugh.gif

Haha, not at all ;)

[amgraham]

I had a little time to mess with the truck Friday before it rained. I wish I had been able to get more done but oh well.. I ran it up on the wall to check the flex (or lack thereof). Then I was able to cut my crossbars and mounts for the bed and wired up the taillights to see if they worked (I realized I'm going to have to run separate turnsignals because these taillights feed back through the turn signal circuit.. No biggie.). Anyway, here's a few pics:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01906.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01907.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01908.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01909.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01910.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC01911.jpg

[amgraham]

Well, I made a lot of progress this weekend. My bandsaw is super slow so I wired and installed other stuff while things were cutting. I installed a JVC CD deck, CB, aux. fuse box and circuit breaker. Also, I got a converter for the tailights and they work fine now. I got the better part of the structure of the bed built but am running low on steel. Hopefully I have enough to finish the railings and let it ride so we can wheel this truck this weekend. We'll see as I work on it a little more over the next couple days. Anyway, everyone loves pics...

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02050.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02051.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02052.jpg
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http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02054.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02055.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02056.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02057.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02058.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02059.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02060.jpg

[bradrob82]

looking good man!

[dcFJ]

Looks great Anthony! Really looking forward to seeing it this weekend if you guys can get it out on the trails. You've been pretty busy!!!

[amgraham]

Woah.. I never did post the semi-finished pics.. Here's the rest of the updates:

Finished the main structure of the bed:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02061.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02062.jpg

Needed a floor to get inspected so wood was the easiest for now. Made that, installed LED taillights, tag lights, CB antenna and have left it like that for awhile:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02310.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02309.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02308.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02307.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02306.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02305.jpg

[amgraham]

Dad and I decided that I should add another bar to make the bed a little deeper and more useful. So, that was my project today. I think it turned out rather nice:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02595.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02596.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02598.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02599.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02600.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02601.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02602.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02603.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02604.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02605.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02606.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02607.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02608.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02609.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02610.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02611.jpg

Once I can figure out a good way to cleanly cut the wheelwells and such out this will be going in to replace the wood and the sides will be lined with expanded metal:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02612.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h146/amgraham83/1986%20Toyota%20Pickup/DSC02613.jpg

[dtrailtaco]

very nice man you do some good work.

[BeaterToyota]

Looks good Anthony.

For mounting/supporting the floor of the bed and the wheel wells, I would suggest running some tubing front-to-back right above the frame rails. You can sort of see it in some of the pics of mine...

http://pics.montypics.com/beatertoyota/2004-04-23/1082759451_04350013.jpg

http://pics.montypics.com/beatertoyota/2003-11-11/1068600057_04350006.jpg

http://pics.montypics.com/beatertoyota/2004-04-23/1082760757_101_0135.jpg

[amgraham]

Yeah Jason, I thought about that but with the 2 inch tubing I didn't have enough room to run over the frame rail, so I did the middle. I think once I put that diamond plate in (it's 3/16"), weld together the wheelwells, and add some little angle iron mounting points around the perimeter it's gonna be bomb proof. It's all 3/16" wall tubing too, which is why I got away with so few supports around the sides. It's gonna be awesome when finally done (and probably weigh 500 lbs :rolleyes: ).

Thanks guys!

Oh, and what's up with the forum pruning? Shouldn't these builds and stuff stay visible for reference? I had to use the search to find this thread...

[BeaterToyota]

I think once I put that diamond plate in (it's 3/16"), weld together the wheelwells, and add some little angle iron mounting points around the perimeter it's gonna be bomb proof. It's all 3/16" wall tubing too...
Wow, 3/16" for everything!! My tubing is 1.5" square, with 1/8" wall. And I think the plate I used is about 1/16", whatever guage that is. Yeah, you'll be fine without running additional supports. Mine weighs almost exactly 200 lbs, so just a bit less than the factory bed and tailgate.

Oh, and what's up with the forum pruning? Shouldn't these builds and stuff stay visible for reference? I had to use the search to find this thread...
I was asking that yesterday. I'm working to figure that out. But in the meantime, instead of using the search, use the drop down list under "Display Options" at the bottom of each folder and select "From The: Beginning."

[amgraham]

I was asking that yesterday. I'm working to figure that out. But in the meantime, instead of using the search, use the drop down list under "Display Options" at the bottom of each folder and select "From The: Beginning."

Ah ha! Thanks.. That makes it easier.

Yeah, this truck seems like it's gonna end up a street beater that rarely hauls anything so a heavy bed is a benefit. The more weight it has back there the better it rides (it was really bouncy and annoying at first). The best it's ever rode was when I was loaded down with that stock bed and all.

I'll be sure to update when I do more to it.