My '79 Hilux Body Swapped First Gen Tacoma

haha. My plan on this one is to see how many people realize its 4wd IFS up front.

 

i love it. subscribed.

 

New rack is installed. Steering is much better but there is a hard spot when turning the wheel. Its the angle of the u-joint through the firewall. Im going to try and adjusting it again ti see if i can make it better. Also not sure if the pump is actually working or not.

But besides that, i got it up to 70 yesterday and shes smooth. Still have some cosmetic stuff to work on but its almost done...for now. I need to get back on my tundra build.

 

Swapped on another used pump from my RHD build. Bled it and it still whines. I think air is getting in somewhere but no leaks are present. Im going to take it apart and clean the screen a little better (I sprayed it out before i put it on) and swap back to to the Dextron ATF instead of the synthetic ATF +4 that i had on the shelf and used. I really dont want to buy a new pump. ill fuck with it some more today.

On a side note, my 12voltguy.net e-locker harness came in yesterday. As always, its a nice piece. He builds some quality wiring harnesses and switch panels. Cant wait to get it installed to see if the rear end locks up.

Side note 2: The 05 Tundra brakes are amazing. What an upgrade. It will throw you through the windshield if you let it. I recommend it.

 

Bled and bled the steering again and got the pump to a low dull whine. Drove it around and the steering is much better after i clearanced the u-joints. Left it idling for a few minutes then the pump makes an awful sound and basically quits working. I limped it home and started the bleeding process over again. Swapped out the cracked return line and still whines. Looks like im going to get a new pump and resi and call it good.

Also made a few marker light adapter plates since the ones i had were beyond cracked and disintegrated. New gaskets and harnesses were like $50 per pair online so i decided to make my own. Im going to get my bud with a plasma table to draw up the file and make some more.

Started by tracing the light onto some 1/8" aluminum i had on the ground. They arent perfectly square or symmetric. One side is a little larger than the other.


Bought some 3/4" LEDs on Amazon and mounted them in. The two mounting holes are large enough that they go over the plastic square factory mounts to let the lens sit flush against the body.



And connected.


Made a rear one while i was at it.

 

The PS pump in my '99 has whined since I installed it over 14k miles ago. I finally gave up trying to bleed it and stop the whine. Still works and the whine gets less when it warms up. Might try another pump at some point.

 

I think i found the likely source of the whine.

 

Some updates. Fixed the sludge shit as seen above ans now the pump no longer whines. Took it to get it aligned and it drives nice and straight at 70.

Patched up the rust on the floor and seam sealed it.


e-locker wired in and working for those mall crawler days



Installed the OG stainless bumper and a 3rd light on the roll bar.


For now, its done. Going to drive it and enjoy and keep my eye open for some turbo and LT parts.

 

Dont forget to tighten your oil fill cap. Mine came off and rust proofed my engine bay.

 

How is it now days? My wife has an 81 long bed she wants to turn into a long traveled prerunner. Going IFS seems like the only route with the kits available for those trucks. I was planning to go down a similar path to yours bur interested in your opinion!

 

Sorry to bring an old thread back to life, but have questions in regards to post #1.
You mentioned modifying the steering shaft. I was hoping you could elaborate as to the steps taken. Am currently attempting an ’83 body onto a ‘97 taco frame and am having an issue with the shaft from the R&P up to where the column goes thru the firewall.
Any info or forward links you could provide would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks, and have a great day!

 

Unfortunately, the original poster hasn't been on here since 2023.

 

Rad build!

 

Ill tell him to hop on and update the thread..

 

Sorry for the day. I drove it 2-3 days a week. I have thousands of miles on the swap and would drive it anywhere.

 

Let me guess the rack and pinion doesn’t line up with the steering shaft as it drops down through the firewall? I had the same problem and never actually fixed it 100%. I shaved the joints to get it to line up but it’s still kinda notchy when turned but I’m used to it now.

are you using the Tacoma steering column or the 83 column? I used the Tacoma one and used the original hole in the cab from the 83 column. That’s where I messed up. You need to move the to the passenger side a couple inches for the steering shaft to line up with the R&P.