Steve's 81 Toyota "angelo" build

[864runner]

Good work Steve! If you need any help this weekend let me know and if I get some free time this weekend I'll come down.

 

[sixstringsteve]

I'll have help Friday night/Saturday morning, but you're always welcome to swing by. And if you need any help I'd be happy to work on it at my place.

 

[lewis]

I'm going to try Rick's method. I've got the 7" wheel on my 4.5" grinder, that may do the trick. only problem: disc is rated at 8600 RPM, and my grinder operates at 10,000 RPM. Maybe if I keep a load on it it'll go slower than 10k. Rick, have you had any problems with discs coming apart?

I promise pics from either the hospital or of the truck once this ordeal is over.

I have used the 7" blades for years. I have had to have used up a couple hundred of them. It really hurts if when they come apart but just got be a man. Only have had to have a few stitches. It sure burns up the grinders though.

 

[zukijames]

harbor freight has 7 inch grinders pretty cheap.. and if it breaks .. take it back.. again and again lol

 

[sixstringsteve]

I wonder if a 7 inch grinder would give me more cutting depth. I would think the head would get in the way and not give me much more clearance. I'll take a better look next time I'm down there.

 

[sixstringsteve]

I've been grinding my brains out the last 3 days. Frame rails are finally clean.

Time to mock up some mounts for this and get it installed tonight.

 

[pELYgroso]

Hey man, I have a cutting torch you can borrow in if you still need it. It's a little portable one in a case with a handle. I can only cut for a couple hours with it until it runs out, but I've had the same tanks for awhile now doing small stuff here and there and there's still a bunch of gas left! Also great for throwing in the truck to take to pic a part to cut off parts that you don't want to mess with too much til they're back in the garage. Let me know if you need it!

 

[sixstringsteve]

Hey man, I have a cutting torch you can borrow in if you still need it. It's a little portable one in a case with a handle. I can only cut for a couple hours with it until it runs out, but I've had the same tanks for awhile now doing small stuff here and there and there's still a bunch of gas left! Also great for throwing in the truck to take to pic a part to cut off parts that you don't want to mess with too much til they're back in the garage. Let me know if you need it!

Cool, thanks Tyler, I need to get me one of those. I think I'm done with all the cutting, but I will definitely hit you up if I run into any more snags. Great idea to take it to the pick n pull.

 

[sixstringsteve]

All I got done tonight was grinding, and building a bracket to hold my t-case mount. I'm pretty proud of my design. It's easy to make and super stout. Should be a lot stronger than what I had before.

 

[sixstringsteve]

I had a friend wondering about how well the little 110 migs do. While I haven't mastered it, and there's a lot still to learn, I am very happy when my welds look like this:

 

[sixstringsteve]

And the painted bracket. Tomorrow night I should get the other one done, and have the entire tranny mounted. I'm excited for that. I worked really slow tonight, but I"m happy with the quality of the mount, so I don't mind.

 

[pELYgroso]

wow, those welds look great! I'll have to play with mine to get it dialed in!

 

[sixstringsteve]

thanks man. Come on over sometime and we'll tweak it till it looks right. These are at "D" heat setting and "3" speed. 1/8" welded to 1/4"

I've also been spraying my metal with PAM before welding. it helps the spatter keep from sticking. It smells like crap, but it's a lot easier to keep it looking nice.

 

[sixstringsteve]

I know I had a couple buddies tell me they wanted me to notify them when I was doing the steering so they could come check it out and learn with me. Well, tomorrow is steering day. I'll be doing the IFS box, installing power steering pump and cooler, and hydro-assist. Unfortunately I won't be able to test it, but I'll get it on. Maybe next week it'll be running, but I still think that's wishful thinking.

Anyway, anyone who wants to learn about steering with me is welcome to swing by.

 

[864runner]

I'll probably swing by Steve. I might want those sliders. I've been debating it.

 

[sixstringsteve]

sweet, it'd be great to have ya over. I'll hook ya up and sell them cheap.

 

[sixstringsteve]

I finally feel like I've made progress, and I'm really proud of my work. I don't feel like I cut any corners on this mount.

From the rear diff looking towards the front.

Flat belly baby.

Now it's time to go clean the garage.

 

[864runner]

Looking good! good luck on cleaning up that garage LOL

 

[sixstringsteve]

a HUGE thank you to Brandon and Eric for helping out yesterday. Brandon helped me realize I need 3 brackets/pulleys from the junkyard to convert to PS, and he's going to pick them up for me (you da man). Eric helped me have the confidence to hack up my body mount/rad core support, got my grease gun working again, and got the hydro assist all figured out. Unfortunately I didn't even get the steering box mounted, but it's close. I'm guessing it'll be mounted on Monday night.

Since the 1st gens have a shorter frame in the front, I felt it necessary to move the box as far forward as possible. This required me to hack off the body mount and cut a huge hole in the radiator support. This is probably a bit extreme, but I wanted the option to move my front axle forward one more inch in the future if needed.

Any further forward and my hydraulic lines would be sticking out farther than my hanger. I'm definitely going to want some kind of bumper to protect this steering box.

 

[sixstringsteve]

So, here's the list of things I still need to do:

I'm starting to feel overwhelmed, but I still think I can pull this off by the 10th. Here's what still needs to be done before then. This is more for a checklist for me to make sure I remembered everything.

Steering
- IFS Box mount - 80% done
- Steering Shaft Lengthened
- Hydro-assist
- PS pump mountend - 10% done

Exterior
- build Gas tank mounts
- new bed mounts
- front pass side brake
- Fix and re-torque pass-side hub - done
- Have driveshafts made
- New Exhaust

Interior
- clearance horseshoe collar
- tranny/tcase flat belly mount - done
- Tranny tunnel install
- Replace back of cab
- Seat/floor install
- Fender Tub
- Put Dash back together

Not absolute necessities
- Heater/Defroster modification/install (not necessary for the 10th)
- Hook up ebrake (not a priority before 9/10/10)
- shock mounts (not necessary before the 10th)

fluids:
- trany
- t-cases
- Gas
- Radiator/Heater
- Brake
- Steering