1987 Toyota 4x4 Truck - Success In Motion - Mandatory Prerunner

In any industry, you are only as good as your work and reputation. Our industry is no different. It seems as if every other day someone with an ambitious idea and a dream sets off to open an off-road shop of their own, looking to build the next fly truck for off-road. In December of 1998, an ambitious Jeremy Johnson of Santee, California, joined the ranks of aftermarket off-road fabricators by opening WeldTec Designs. He knew that if he was to succeed, this union iron-worker needed to have some type of display vehicle that would showcase his talents. With this in mind, he graciously sacrificed his own '87 Toyota 4x4 for the cause.

Since his fabrication shop addresses mostly metal fabrication, custom suspensions, prerunner bumpers, and rollcages, his intention was to leave the factory Toyota 22R-E four-cylinder engine and the five-speed transmission stock, yet completely rebuild the suspension and the exterior components. Since the stock ride was harsh, to put it mildly, Jeremy decided to create a long-travel frontend that would give him the best of both worlds - a smooth, cushioned ride as well as substantial wheel travel to tackle anything the desert terrain could throw at it. Using 4130 chrome-moly tubing, he fabricated a custom motor cage with shock towers incorporated into it as well as custom A-arms, which were widened a whopping 5 inches on each side. A set of 12-inch King Racing coilover shocks is used to damp the terrain and to provide that sought-after smooth ride. When all was said and done, the front suspension was widened a total of 2 inches, and the wheel travel was in the neighborhood of 15 inches.

The rear of the truck is equally as impressive. Beginning with the 57-inch National Spring leaf springs with custom doglegged shackles, Jeremy saw an opportunity to add a set of custom-fabricated shock hoops, which pierces through the bed and holds a set of 14-inch King Racing coilover shocks, which helps to complete the 18 inches of rear wheel travel.

With the suspension system modified with increased wheelbase and wheel travel, Jeremy installed a pair of Glassworks Unlimited Ivan Stewart-style fiberglass fenders up front to maximize the tire clearance. For the rear sides, he used a set of '89-'94 fiberglass Glassworks Unlimited bed sides. Once he had fabricated the custom front and rear bumpers and the rear tire carrier for his rolling showroom, All-Pro Paint & Body in San Diego applied a fresh coat of PPG Yellow paint with a clearcoat to attract everyone's attention.

With his creation complete, Jeremy was still not satisfied, so he proceeded to add a few more goodies into the mix. The 22-gallon Fuel Safe fuel cell was situated in the bed, the factory gears were replaced with 4:88 Genuine Gears with a Detroit Locker rearend, and to round things out, a full in-cab rollcage was fabricated.

After seeing this truck in action, we can attest to the fact that Jeremy is on the road to success with his talent and great fabrication skills. Not to mention, he has a truck with a suspension that not only looks impressive, but performs just as well. If you would like to see more of his work, just look up his shop on the World Wide Web at www.weldtecdesigns.com and tell him we sent ya.