Box Rocket 1980 Hilux

I apparently never posted anything about the rear bumper that I worked on with my son for this truck. We started this a few months ago but it got put on the back burner for a while. We finished it up over the weekend. I try to come up with designs that are not a copy of something already out there. This bumper is like that and is pretty different from any others I've seen for the 1st gen trucks. It was a "make it up as you go" kind of project but in the end my son digs it and it's a good strong bumper, and more fabrication practice for my son.

Holiday bumper by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Holiday bumper by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Holiday bumper by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Holiday bumper by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Rear bumper by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Rear bumper by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Rear bumper by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Rear bumper by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Rear bumper by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Rear bumper by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Rear bumper by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Rear bumper by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Rear bumper by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Rear bumper by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

 

Kid laid some pretty good beads ,and I dig the design

 

Very cool project

 

I just found this thread today. Great build, and great job including your boys. I have a 15yo son that I'd love to build something with, we'll see. I'm gonna sub to this, will you let us know when you start the build thread for your flatbed so we can follow along there too?

 

Thanks for following along. There's already a build thread on the flatbed. We've made some progress. Still have quite a bit we're wanting to do.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/box-rocket-1985-reg-cab-pickup.599639/#post-20609453

 

I ended up using the old U bolts and some plate for clamps, just a thought. This is going to be a fun build, kinda miss my 82 now- but the 85 has helped me get over it....

 

@Box Rocket , WOW, I was thinking about my first 4x4 Toyota Truck. I bought it new in 1980. So I started looking around on TW and found the Hilux section. Fantastic build on this truck. Looks really good, and you and your son working together is awesome. My Dad never did anything like this with any of his 4 sons. I started wrenching with my older brother when I was 15, and I've been working on my vehicles ever since. Amazing how the flat bed found it's way back home. Really enjoyed reading through this entire build, thanks for taking the time to post this.

 

Thanks for the kind words and for taking a look.

 

Haven't updated this thread in a while. Some good changes since my last post. The truck now has a 3RZ, W59, dual transfer cases and 37's. It will be getting a Tacoma 8.4 rear axle with a lockright as soon as we finish building it. Then we're rebuild the front axle with a high pinion 80 series e-locker diff. A few other things we did was relocating the rear shackle hangers for a better shackle angle and added some longer shackles to bring the rear end up just a bit. Lots of electrical work and interior refresh with new OEM carpet. We also needed to upgrade the shocks from the worn out Doetsch Tech shocks. I had a set of Slinky spec Icon 2.5 remote reservoir CDC shocks from my 80 series Land Cruiser that we decided to use. Had to build custom shock mounts since the Land Cruiser shocks use pin ends on the front shocks and also a pin on the top of the rear shocks. But they turned out good I think.

Here's a dump of photos of some of the work.
3rz swap by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

all the old stuff.
Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

New grill and LED Headlights.
Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Slinky shocks
Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Tacoma 8.4 rear axle waiting to be built.
Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

 

supertacular sickness!.....

 

dam, that's a lot of work, but it does look good. I had a 1980 Toyota 4x4 with I think the 22R engine 4 speed. Tough as a tank, and would go just about anywhere.

 

Here's some pics of the latest round of mods.

Got the front shock mounts built for the Slinky 2.5 remote res shocks.
Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Then we had to figure out how we wanted to set up the bed to use space well and not take up all the space with the big 37" spare. We made a small bolt in "chock" and added a ring to the roll bar with a HD strap to hold the spare vertically.
Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Bolted in a weatherproof box next to the spare. This is a military surplus medical supply box (aluminum). Sprayed it with Raptor liner, added a hinge to the lid and a lock to keep people honest.
Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

We modified the lower rollbar mounting plate to have a small "basket" to hold a fuel can. The back of the fuel can basket is a mount for the base of the hilift.
Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Just needed a bracket for the other end of the hilift.
Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Added a bunch of tie down tracks to use with the massive C130 cargo plane tie down rings.
Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Ready to rock.
Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

Made the drive to Idaho with no issue and is really comfortable on the highway.
Untitled by Adam Tolman, on Flickr

 

As one who used to drive and 85 SR5 this just makes me giggle inside! Great work,

Can I ask about those C130 tie down rings… Govment auctions or eBay type purchases?

Thanks and keep up the great work.

 

I got the tie down rings from a friend in the Air Force. He had them when he left the military and wasn't going to use them and sold them to me.