xlcaferacer
Adventurer
Where the truck is now.
Vs. what it last looked like:
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Inside:
-Bench seat replaced with SR5 bucket seats; and again with Corbeau Baja RS reclining suspension seats, with custom dog bench in extra cab. Basic stereo upgrade. Not much else.
Outside:
-Trail-Gear sliders
-Budbuilt full ifs skid and single case crossmember
-Me-Built rear bumper with swing out (gone)
-Me-Built front bumper
-Wildernest camper (sadly no longer with me), and then a free fiberglass shell, and then a built out A.R.E. aluminum utility camper shell, now a Me-Built flatbed with an RTT.
Mechanicals:
-minimal suspension lift (1 1/2" ball-joint spacers front with Old Man Emu rear springs)
-1" body lift on the cab
- 35" BFG KM'2s
-stock 22re 4cylinder
-4:88's in the axles with a Detroit Locker in the rear end.
-Single t-case with Trail-Gear 4.7's and twins.
-lots of upkeep parts and service.
The start of the story:
I'll start by saying that this rig is built on a budget with some thought on what I really want to do with my truck. I went through a couple of vehicles to bring me to this vehicle that I call Ruby. This build started out with me acquiring an '84 Toyota pickup with a rebuilt motor and dreams of turning it into a serious trail rig. Well, those ideas changed when I met a lady that would eventually become my wife. The problem with a Toyota pickup at this point came with the fact that she had a son. He's a great kid and I didn't want to leave him out of back country exploration. A Toyota Pickup is not exactly the most family friendly vehicle. So I got rid of it and looked for something cool and a little more family friendly. So being a rational guy that has always looked at reliability and cost of ownership as reasons to buy a vehicle (I have owned several Toyotas because of these reasons) I used this as an excuse to buy something out of the box. So I bought this:
1978 International Scout II. It was claimed to have about 88,000 miles on the ticker, a 4" skyjacker lift, 4:10 gears, and a Detroit Locker in the rear. What a perfect start to a trail rig. It needed tires but that was no big deal as I picked it up for $2,300. I finally had a vehicle with a V-8. It was fun (when it ran), but it was also serving as my daily driver, not so fun! It spent more time in the garage waiting for parts, and me to put them on, than it did on the road. On top of this, the kid wasn't into camping with us or exploring (teenagers, go figure). So after almost 2 years of ownership, a couple thousand more dollars and many weeks in my garage waiting to be fixed, she had to go. I got what I paid and was so glad she was gone!
Now it was time to start looking for what I wanted initially. Craigslist here I come!
I was definitely going back to my roots and started looking for a Toyota pickup. I had to have a 22RE under the hood and actually looked for an IFS front end! I realized that with where I wanted to go and to have a nice ride on the street that IFS was the way to go. Yeah, the front ends only have about 7" of travel but that is O.K. I was looking for something that could spend time on trails like those offered in the San Juan Mtns. of Colorado. Some difficulty with scenic beauty was what I was after.
So after about a month and a half of searching I found a 2 owner, 1989 Toyota extra cab, with a 22RE, 5 speed and 101,000 miles. I had to make it mine! She had a few dents, a minor amount of rust, and a few other minor issues but she came home with me for $3,500. I felt like I won the lottery. Here is the truck that became known as Ruby:
I bought her in the spring of 2011 and I feel like I have done enough to her to validate a build thread. Here is a pic of her in the Wildernest days:
Vs. what it last looked like:
Inside:
-Bench seat replaced with SR5 bucket seats; and again with Corbeau Baja RS reclining suspension seats, with custom dog bench in extra cab. Basic stereo upgrade. Not much else.
Outside:
-Trail-Gear sliders
-Budbuilt full ifs skid and single case crossmember
-Me-Built rear bumper with swing out (gone)
-Me-Built front bumper
-Wildernest camper (sadly no longer with me), and then a free fiberglass shell, and then a built out A.R.E. aluminum utility camper shell, now a Me-Built flatbed with an RTT.
Mechanicals:
-minimal suspension lift (1 1/2" ball-joint spacers front with Old Man Emu rear springs)
-1" body lift on the cab
- 35" BFG KM'2s
-stock 22re 4cylinder
-4:88's in the axles with a Detroit Locker in the rear end.
-Single t-case with Trail-Gear 4.7's and twins.
-lots of upkeep parts and service.
The start of the story:
I'll start by saying that this rig is built on a budget with some thought on what I really want to do with my truck. I went through a couple of vehicles to bring me to this vehicle that I call Ruby. This build started out with me acquiring an '84 Toyota pickup with a rebuilt motor and dreams of turning it into a serious trail rig. Well, those ideas changed when I met a lady that would eventually become my wife. The problem with a Toyota pickup at this point came with the fact that she had a son. He's a great kid and I didn't want to leave him out of back country exploration. A Toyota Pickup is not exactly the most family friendly vehicle. So I got rid of it and looked for something cool and a little more family friendly. So being a rational guy that has always looked at reliability and cost of ownership as reasons to buy a vehicle (I have owned several Toyotas because of these reasons) I used this as an excuse to buy something out of the box. So I bought this:
1978 International Scout II. It was claimed to have about 88,000 miles on the ticker, a 4" skyjacker lift, 4:10 gears, and a Detroit Locker in the rear. What a perfect start to a trail rig. It needed tires but that was no big deal as I picked it up for $2,300. I finally had a vehicle with a V-8. It was fun (when it ran), but it was also serving as my daily driver, not so fun! It spent more time in the garage waiting for parts, and me to put them on, than it did on the road. On top of this, the kid wasn't into camping with us or exploring (teenagers, go figure). So after almost 2 years of ownership, a couple thousand more dollars and many weeks in my garage waiting to be fixed, she had to go. I got what I paid and was so glad she was gone!
Now it was time to start looking for what I wanted initially. Craigslist here I come!
I was definitely going back to my roots and started looking for a Toyota pickup. I had to have a 22RE under the hood and actually looked for an IFS front end! I realized that with where I wanted to go and to have a nice ride on the street that IFS was the way to go. Yeah, the front ends only have about 7" of travel but that is O.K. I was looking for something that could spend time on trails like those offered in the San Juan Mtns. of Colorado. Some difficulty with scenic beauty was what I was after.
So after about a month and a half of searching I found a 2 owner, 1989 Toyota extra cab, with a 22RE, 5 speed and 101,000 miles. I had to make it mine! She had a few dents, a minor amount of rust, and a few other minor issues but she came home with me for $3,500. I felt like I won the lottery. Here is the truck that became known as Ruby:
I bought her in the spring of 2011 and I feel like I have done enough to her to validate a build thread. Here is a pic of her in the Wildernest days:
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