Class 7 Toyota advice

[sigmatero]

For those of you that know Toyotas well... if you could start out with a chassis what would it be for a 4WD Class 7 truck? Assume the stock truck will have the motor, driveline, and most suspension components replaced. Is it better to go with an earlier Toyota (lighter) or a later one for <possibly> more strength? Which model, etc.?

Thanks.

Joa

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[Eric Tadeja]

i assume you are talking about 7open, but in my way of thinking i would rather build something that weights a little mroe then something that is lighter and i have to worry about breaking
so my choice would be the later one but you also way wantto lookat frame designs and see if there is a year that is different that might give you an advantage in travel

[jesusgatos]

7 Open? Well, the 86-95.5 2WD frames are identical to the older straight-axle frames, so I'm not sure if the IFS 4WD frame is actually any stronger. The 95.5-04 Prerunner/4WD Tacoma frame is only boxed to the rear spring hanger (it's open C-channel from there back). But that really shouldn't matter, since you'll pretty much strip whatever you start with down to just the bare framerails anyway. Are you going to use a steel cab? I'd just pick whatever body-style you like.

[Devin J]

I'd go with the 89-94 vintage Toyota. The aftermarket for these is HUGE, more so than the tacoma. Suspension kits , engine, cab, etc. the only drawback is being the engine choices. 22RE of course is excellent , but always a little underpowered....but of course that can be fixed. Then you have the 3.0L , they had issues. Head gasket failures due to a porous block casting is the #1 problem. Do a little research , and check out the 3.4L swap from a Tacoma - I plan on doing this very same thing when my 3.0v6 grenades. Another advantage for this year span of toyota is the frame, they have the strongest among all of the mini trucks. When the Tacoma was manufactured the frame was not fully boxed, one person I know of that's building a Tacoma boxed his from the cab back. It sounds like this is the way to go.

For info links , your first one should be www.trailslesstraveled.com .
tons of excellent and helpful info there , and of course the best website ever.....RDC!!

[Devin J]

Looks like Jesse beat me to it while I was typing!

[jesusgatos]

There's almost nothing left of a stock vehicle in a competitive 7 truck, so the aftermarket support probably isn't too important. Whatever model you choose, I'd try to find one of the 4.0L V6's from a new Tacoma/4Runner.

[sigmatero]

Good advice, thanks for the tips on the frame differences.

If I went glass instead of metal for the cab then what is the most common route? Are there "plans" for the tubing layout or is the market small enough that folks just have to figure out the layout on their own? Or do you do the layout in a steel cab and then cut the cab away to leave the frame for attaching the fiberglass? Who sells the fiberglass cab shells?

Or is it even an advantage to go with fiberglass- how much weight savings does it buy you (vs the time, expense, and difficulty)? Though I imagine it's easier to repair.

Thanks again. I learned a lot when I went to the Baja 500 this year but I didn't want to pester folks with a lot of newbie questions since most teams seemed pretty busy.

Joa

[stuETM]

I am almost certain that your cab has to be stock metal with working doors, That is the rule for 7s and 7sx i will look up the rule for the 7 open. In that case you cannot take out the existing metal cab and replace it with fiberglass.

[racer951]

I am almost certain that your cab has to be stock metal with working doors, That is the rule for 7s and 7sx i will look up the rule for the 7 open. In that case you cannot take out the existing metal cab and replace it with fiberglass.

Negative. Denunzio and Karakas both run fiberglass bodies (same mold).

[sigmatero]

I picked up a rule book while I was in Mexico (even got to say hi to Sal Fish) and it says, "Body must maintain the original shape, size, configuration and appearance, but may be made of any material." I was just wondering if it was worth it for the weight, etc.

Joa