Alright.. Bear with me, I'm still trying to learn the navigations to this site.
So in the interest of getting the network building and subsequently assisting in the truck build, I'm going to try and put together a build thread for you guys.
Here goes:
Delivery day.

 

I'm still trying to peg exactly why I bought the truck.. As far as I can tell I did it because it's neat, and the frame is in ridiculously good shape for a Wisconsin truck.
Thing is transportation situation dictates that it'll be my daily for a bit.. So my first objective is to get it back on the road.
Otherwise I haven't decided fully which direction to go with the build. In my opinion it's a definite swap candidate, and I am thinking its getting lowered for sure.
The only thing I know 100% truth and fact is that I'm keeping the patina...

 

I like those wheels. Does it run?

 

Good luck with your project.
I love the 1st gen hilux trucks.

 

Yup 1st gens are awesome. Love it! good luck with the build!

 

Yeah she's a runner!
The history is about as wild as a Craigslist story gets, but supposedly it was original owner until his daughter took it to college.. She had a guy in St. Louis that was all about maintenance and took care of it pretty well through the mid nineties.. Then a few hundred miles after the engine was rebuilt it was just a golf course maintenance vehicle until the hillbillies I bought it from snatched it up.. They drive it as is until the wheel cylinder let out and unloaded it for a bike project.
Thanks for the well wishes guys. I'm just working on cleaning the frame up for a fresh anti-rust coating and replacing brake components as I go..
But here begins some of my knowledge searching..
Doesn't anyone know a good source for oem brake components.. Ive found and replaced one wheel cylinder, the shoes are on the way, bu for the life of me I can't find anything out about hardware.. Everyone just tells me to swap the axle and go disc for supportability.

 

Anyone ever had any experience with this stuff?

POR-15 Rust Preventive Coating

 

You can still get brake parts from Rock Auto, but a lot is starting to dry up. There's some good threads on here about converting to disc in the front. I went with rotors and spindles from a 76, and swapped in a booster from a Geo Metro.

 

Yep, its great stuff. tons of rally people use it and it puts up with their beatings.

 

Yea youre going to have to frankenstein the brakes. Probably wont find any OEM parts.

 

Yea I would go with disc brakes in the front.
disc brakes from a 75-78 hilux is a direct swap.
79-83 spindles will work too but you will have to flip them left and right so the steering rod is at the back.
You need to swap the brake master and rear proportioning valve from the same era trucks
No brake hardware is available for the drum brakes for the 1st gen hilux.
You will find a lot of parts for the 1st gen hilux trucks are hard to find, thats why
most of us that have 1st gens owners are part hoarders:]

 

Great..

Well.. I guess I'm headed to the picking yard.

 

Ok..
Well I have one more lead one somebody that might know a thing or two about locating oem parts..
Thanks much for the info on front end brake swaps.. I'm told that early supra stiff should fit as well. If anyone knows years or has links to existing threads that'd be an awesome thing to have.. Every time I start down the rabbit hole I usually end up just checking out how awesome some of these builds are.
Another thing that I'm digging around for is swapping the axle.. Which I know there's Intel on here, and I'm on the search.. But again a direction to go in would be greatthanks for the feedback on the por-15.. That's good to know, and makes it a solid three for three on people speaking highly of it.. I'll be getting some soon here as the frame is just about ready.
Otherwise just thanks for the support and well wishes on the build again guys, I knew coming into the forums here it'd be a valuable resource. So far you've only managed to prove me right.

 

And again...
No difference between 4x2 and 4x4 on these front spindles?

 

I dont think theyre anywhere near the same

 

Hmm..
Well.. I'll have to make some more calls about that.. One was specifically listed as a 4x2 and the other I don't think mentioned it..
Either way, I've got spindles on order from junkyards across America..

 

So.. This has really been turning into an epic journey, as I imagined..
Things are plugging along, but at almost a snail's pace, so allow me to figure out how to get all of August 5th to now on here as I can figure out the navigation... I seem to lose just about everything I try to post on a single update (anyone heard about the forum update jeff mentioned in May? My primary computing device is my phone).. So, this is about to light up piece by piece...

 

Let's start where this phone starts...

As I said in the last post, main computing device is my phone.. And this one is something that happened in the process of my truck project thus far. Damned little truck is a fighter.. I just wish it didn't need to fight me.

 

In the above^ we've got some pictures:

Immediately after lifting the bed to begin fixing the crossmember, which for an upper Midwest truck with a rotted out crossmember, the frame was in great shape.


The piece I put in for the crossmember, 2" x4" x1.25" wall A36 steel tubing... Yeah, its over kill, and yeah it doesn't include the bend that was in the original crossmember, but.. It was free..


A picture of Mom's hi-lux that's legit out of the 70's, I had either forgotten or never known that her truck back when was dammed close to this one I bought until the day mine was dropped off and I was celebrating my new toy.


The next two show the results of the shocks being mounted and the rear section of the frame coated with por15 (which, that stuff is amazing)..

 

More gems from along the way..

More pictures.. Of some awesomeness