 With the flash of a welding...  With the flash of a welding arc and sparks flowing from a cutting torch and then a grinding disc... |  ...Steve welded the new spring...  ...Steve welded the new spring hangers into place and removed the old ones from the framerail. |  A few turns of the wrench...  A few turns of the wrench... |
 ...and we had a finely hung...  ...and we had a finely hung set of Toyota springs. Rear shock mounts were next. |  From the factory, the rear...  From the factory, the rear shocks mount to the U-bolt plates on the rear axle. While that's a clean mounting method, the U-bolts face down, where they're prone to snagging on rocks and becoming hopelessly boogered up. We used a U-bolt flip kit to point the U-bolts safely skyward. Since we'd displaced the lower shock mounts, we used new mounts on the axle housing. We mocked up the new lower shock mounts to find that the parking brake cable was squarely in line with the passenger's side shock body. To alleviate the interference issue, we simply spaced the shock mount away from the 'housing with two small pieces of flat stock. No more issues. |  Lynn's Toyota featured one...  Lynn's Toyota featured one of the few drawbacks of the '85 model year: a too-narrow rear axlehousing. When Toyota changed its front suspension in '86, the front end's width grew, and the rear 'housing was widened to match the new frontend. Along with the extra width, the axle tubes grew in diameter, making the complete assembly stronger and more desirable. Lynn still has the stock '85 rear 'housing for the time being, and the super-flexy suspension articulated the 35s right into the framerail. This problem was quickly dispensed with by building a custom bumpstop to limit uptravel. The Toy' retains plenty of rear articulation, and the rear tires just barely kiss the framerail under maximum twist. |
 Can your suspension do th...  Can your suspension do this? |  With the new springs and bumpstops...  With the new springs and bumpstops in place under the Toy', we headed for the dirt and rocks. We drove the truck over the ladder-rung expansion cracks that make SoCal's freeways miserable for stiff-riding trail trucks. We were pleasantly rewarded with a comfortable, controlled ride. Is the Toy' now transformed to a Trophy Truck? No, but the ride is a big leap forward in terms of quality. Orbit-Eye springs have also endured race-testing under the SCORE Class 7s Fire Guys Toyota. |  When it comes to shackles,...  When it comes to shackles, longer is not always better. Unnecessary added length would have sent shackle and spring crashing into this boulder. The correct length - not too short or too long - is the way to go. Shackles need to be long enough to allow for full spring compression and droop, but not so long as to easily bend or cause ground or component clearance issues. |
 When we stuffed the driver-side...  When we stuffed the driver-side front tire, we were pleased to discover that the steering parts missed each other during the cycle. The axle moves rearward as it travels upward... |  ...Had the tie rod contacted...  ...Had the tie rod contacted the drag link, we would have had to move the steering box mount forward on the framerail to alleviate the problem. |  Clearance issues? There's...  Clearance issues? There's always the 2-pound sledge to beat the firewall back out of the way, but we'd rather not resort to the BFH (big freakin' hammer) if we don't have to. Even at full stuff, the 35-inch meats clear the firewall. This is another bit of payoff. |
 |  The trails await. It's time...  The trails await. It's time to stop typing and start 'wheeling. | |