The Cream Pie - A 2005 4wd/LS/5-Speed/SAS Conversion

I finally have had some time to start working on the Tundra again now that im back from offshore. Updates should come more regularly.

First things first, I rolled it out and gave it a good bath to wash off 2-years of grinding dust. It will definitely need a clay bar.


Rolled it back inside and put it on the lift where it will remain for a while.


Yanked the front end and drivetrain to finish up the front frame.


Quickly figured out why the 6.0l was making a noise when i pressed the clutch in. Its getting all new clutch components when it goes back in.


Mocked up the hydro assist ram

 

Badass.

 

Next i cut out some frame plates by hand to help reinforce the frame. I will be boxing in and and fully welding the flimsy ass riveted frame.








Painted it with some steel-it. Its weldable paint for when i add the shock towers later on.


I then started on the engine work. Swapped in the BTR Truck Norris camshaft. Im waiting on new lifters/ARP head studs / gaskets to come in to complete the rebuild. Then it will be put back in the truck.

Only 3x exhaust bolts were broken off in the heads.




Added 10hp


I also ordered a 2nd gen tundra fuel pump assembly as the pump for the 5.7l puts out plenty of psi/gph for the LS. I think the og 1st gen one would have worked as well, but it would have been at the limit. We will see if I can make the 2nd gen assembly fit the 1st gen tundra tank. It looks like it will work.

More to come soon.

 

Also did a little crawling in the dirt squirrel over the weekend.

 

Must be nice to have that kind of rock to play on.

 

We are definitely spoiled with it only being 4.5 hours away.

 

More updates from the last two weeks: Finished boxing in the Tundra's frame all the way back behind the gas tank on both sides. That was a lot of fun. Also all crossmembers are now welded in instead of riveted. Its amazing how much less flex the frame now has.






New 5.7L Tundra fuel pump assembly (right) next to the old 4.0L one. As you can see the sumps and top mounting flanges are identical. The fuel float arms are different and one is obviously shorter. The tundra 5.7L pump puts out 125psi and more GPH than the older pump. Should be much better for the LS (especially if i go supercharger in the future). Even the plug works.


here is my combination of the two. Old top and sump lid with new pump in the bottom. I lengthened the pump wiring and snapped it all together. The fuel level arm fits in the tank without issue.


Radium Engineering makes some slick adapters for the toyota fittings to convert over to AN. Im running -6AN to the corvette filter/regulator then one line to the fuel rail on the intake.

 

The LQ4is rebuilt-ish and resealed and back in the truck, along with a newly resurfaced flywheel, new clutch/TOB/pressure plate/etc. NV4500 also back in.

Converted the hydraulic TOB over to -3AN and ran the line to the stock Tundra master cylinder on the firewall. Russell makes a fitting.


Engine back in with new PSC P-pump on an old set of Goat Built accessory brackets i had on the shelf from the crawler. New el cheapo ebay throttle body, NNBS intake and injectors, fancy thiccc red plug wires, gold paint.


The NP261 t-case had the infamous pump rub problem that i didnt know it had until i was changing out the front output shaft. Here you can see one of the 3 holes it made in the factory magnesium cover.


The shift fork was also ground down pretty good and there was aluminum everywhere inside the case. The top isnt supposed to have a point on it.


So i bought a new case half and a rebuild kit and went to town last night rebuilding the case. First time for one like this and it went pretty smooth. Waiting on the new shift rail to come in and i can get it all back together and in the truck.


Old bearings and shit oil pump before tear down.


I also did a little wiring of the starter circuit and got the truck to turn over using the Tundra key. Now my next step is integrating the Holley Terminator X harness into the tundra wiring so i can reuse things like the fuel pump wires, ignition + wiring, turn signals, fuel level, AC, etc. I want it to all work as normal with the tundra's key turning it all on and starting the truck. Hope to maybe hear it run in the next couple of weeks.

 

I spy a bumpside f100 in one of those pics. I've got a 69 myself.

 

Beautiful bump side. Mine is also a 69.

 

Crown vic front? What motor does it have?

 

Yep. CV front. Mustang S550 IRS. Viking coilovers all the way around. 2JZ to an Ar5 5-speed.

 

Ummm, wow. Hell yeah.

 

Mine is crown vic front, explorer 8.8 axle flipped rear and a 390 under the hood.

Who did you get the coilovers from?

 

Its A LOT of fun and the engine choice makes people happy or extremely mad. Here is a pic with messy wiring.

 

I got them from https://andrewstuningandperformance.com/

 

I love it. Hell I ain't a ford guy, but I love old trucks, only Toyota brand loyal.

 

I've talked to him about the coilovers, need to get a pair ordered.

 

It was just a roller when i got it so i have no heartburn over cutting it all to hell.

 

I would have never guessed it had a 2jz under the hood. I knew it was turboed because of the hole in the fender, I figured it was LS swapped. Pretty quick?

 

It scoots but im having clutch slipping problems at anything north of 5k rpms. Its a bastard of a combo with a r154 2JZ bellhousing on the chevy colorado AR5 and i cant get the throwout bearing spacing correct. Im on my 2nd clutch in less then 500 miles. If i cant figure it out, im going t56 6-speed and biting the pillow from Grannas Racing. Its pricey. Until then ill pretend to be fast and enjoy it.

 

Had a nice weekend working on the Tundra. Rebuilt the 261 t-case and got it installed in the truck. Next up, i started on running the exhaust. I cut up the chevy 3" factory exhaust and ran it down each side with the drivers side going around the t-case. This will open up room for the front driveshaft. Once i ran out of usable pipe, i switched into wiring mode. I found a complete electrical wiring diagram for the 2005 tundra. It helped me identify the key wires to tap into with the Holley Terminator X harness. This way, i can use the key to turn on the ecu, run the fuel pump, and start the truck as per usual. I wanted a factory style install.

I used this IE1 connector (the right side) to tap into the ignition wiring. Pin 5 and 13 are ignition sources with the key on. I used the EWD to identify the rest in this connector. In the future i will use it to run the AC compressor as well.


Holley Terminator X ecu mounted in the glovebox. I cut a hole in the back to route the wires through.


Wiring install under the hood. I used the original Tundra hole in the firewall with a new plate and grommet. I tried to make it as tidy as possible. Only additional wiring i have to put in the engine bay are for electric fans and the AC compressor.



Started on the gauge cluster mods as well. I gutted the factory cluster and added molded pod for my Holley Pro dash to recess into. Some of the wiring you see behind the panel will be used in the dash, ie turn signals, high lights, fuel gauge wiring, etc. The dash has inputs/outputs to display these functions. Once again, the goal here is to look factory-ish.



I also couldnt resist starting the truck and checking out things. Open exhaust is loud, but man does that judo chop of the Truck Norris can sound awesome at idle.
https://youtu.be/uTfnQbbSQ7s

More to happen soon. Still waiting on Fox to send my coilovers and rear smoothie shocks. May start rebuilding and finish welding the front axle this week.

 

A little progress this week. I finished the mount for the digital dash. Just need to wire it up now and see how she looks.

 

All sick rides dude nice work

 

You don't have any good condition 1st gen tacomas sitting around do you?

 

Negative. Sold my 03 last month

 

Finished pretty much all of the interior wiring and integration last night with the Holley dash wiring. Its such a cool piece. Wish i could have fit the bigger 12.3 screen in there.


All kinds of dash layouts to choose from, or i could upload my own background.


Im going to verify all of my inputs/outputs are working through the dash (ie turn signals, fuel sender, high beam indicator) then i will put the dash back together and move on to the exhaust.

 

Are the photos too big? They look huge on my end.

 

pictures look fine on my end