Isuzu Pup rookie questions

Here is the deal, I recently aquired a 92 Pup long bed to build for myself. I have worked on lots of trucks over the years so I'm not a rookie to the game but I have had no Isuzu experience at all. The second thing is the truck is currently stored away for the winter until I get some customer trucks looked after that are in my shop now. This means I don't have access to the truck to do any measuring or planning which sucks but I can gather info in the meantime at least. I have a few questions for the seasoned Isuzu enthusiasts to help me with some aspects of the build when I do get started on it

Can anyone give me a soild backspace measurement to use when wheel shopping? I'm looking to tuck with a stock width axle and stock front fenders and would like to run an 18x7 or 7.5 inch wheel. The truck will lay frame only, not body, and I will be switching it over to a 5 on 4.5 lug pattern using a toy axle and front hubs.

Has anyone managed to squeeze a 2600# bag up front in theirs? I know I will have to probably pocket the frame a bit but is it possible even then or is their simply not enough room?

My oil pan is almost even with the ground as it sits now(2.6 litre with the 2 piece oil pan) Is their room to section the sump section without having to modify the pickup tube?

Do the drop spindles widen out the track width on the front at all?

Thats all I have for now, any help would be appreciated. Thanx in advance

SpeedyLowz (think) is the resident zu guru. Hit him up for all your needs. Besides he is good peeps to chat with.

There would be plenty of room for a 2600 if you pocket the frame. You might run into problems with the strut rod tho. You can either remove it and triangulate the lower a-arm or modify the front mounting point.

I am not sure about the oil pan I have a 2.3 with a metal pan. my pan was lower than the frame so I just raised the motor up an inch then boxed and sectioned the crossmember under the pan until the frame layed flat. Maybe Speedy has some insight on the 2.6?

The only place that makes drop spindles is Aim. once they are installed they will push the mounting face of the hub out 5/8 of an inch on each side.

As far as the toyota front hubs go, get the body style before the Tacoma. They will push the mounting face of the hubs out about a 1/2 inch each side. The tacoma hubs will be more than that, I think its about 3/4 per side if I remember correctly.

I know on my truck I am running the Aim spindles and pre Tacoma spindles. If i trimmed the inner lip of the front fender they would clear but it would be way tight. Thats why I went with the Amigo fenders. I am running a 18x7 front With the most offset I could get.

In the rear I am running a 20x8 and have no problems with the toyota rear axle. Once a gain from a Pre tacoma.

I dont remember my offsets right now but i have them wrote down in my little black book if you still need them

Later
BJ

Thanx for the info BJ, much appreciated. I had been looking at the AIM spindles already, the price was good and they really seem to be making the effort to turn the image of their company around as well. I have a set of 84-95(pre taco) hubs so I'm set up there, I had not thought about the actual hubs pushing my wheels out over stock though. I may consider doing a fill and drill to my stock hubs to keep my wheels in a bit further and save the toy hubs for future use. I guess alot of it will depend on what offsets I can find when wheel shopping too. The Amigo fender option is pretty much out for me due to the fact they were not offered for sale in Canada which means the odds of a set turning up here is pretty minimal. Its too bad, I dig the way the look on the Pups.

Which toy axle are you running in the rear of your truck, the 55.5 inch one or the 57 inch one? I have both available to me to use on the build. I was figuring on the 55.5 inch one as it would pull me in about an inch per side over the stock Zu rear. It sucks not having the truck handy to check these things everytime I have an idea.

I looked into raising my motor up as bit as you had suggested but it appeared that the trans tunnel was gonna need some work if I did that. Im certainly not afraid to cut if i need to, more just looking to work as smartly as I can to save time. I have a sevice manual ordered for it now, I'm hoping there is some exploded diagrams for the engine that will help out.

One more question that I didnt think of before is will I need to modify my firewall to clear an 18 with a 40 series tire? The truck will be laying frame, not body.

Everyones input is valued, thanx for the help and merry christmas

Im gonna be in the shop all day so I will check to see If i wrote down which rear end I put in mine. My truck has the 5 speed tranny and a 2.3 so I had plenty of room on the tranny tunnel plus if i remember right it was only like an inch and a half that I raised it. I would look at using the stock spindles and toyota rotors. you should be able to layout on an 18 with that combination. You may have to notch the lower and pie cut the upper ball joint but thats what I would suggest. I have seen it done on a few other trucks. You might also be able to just z the frame to get your oil pan clearence and essentialy your drop spindles. Im not bashing the Aim spindles but i would try to mkae the stock ones work. I shaved my entire firewall but i didnt have to tub it. to clear my 18s. my frame lays flat and I have a traditional body drop. If i remember its about 2 and a quarter.

Mine was stock floored to pinches, z'd 2", and set up run 20" wheels with 26" tires and didnt have to tub the firewall. That's one good thing about the pups. Plus I still had heat and a/c.

Well I looked at my little black book yesterday. When running stock Isuzu hubs the Aim spindles push the mounting face of the isuzu hubs out 3/4 of an inch on each side.

When running the 84-95 toyota hubs on a stock isuzu spindle they push the mounting face of the hubs out 17/32.

So on my truck with Aim spindles and toyota hubs The mounting face of the wheel has been pushed out 1 inch and 9/32 per side.

My front wheels are 18x7.5 with a 35mm offset. like I said earlier you could probably trim the fender lip but it would be super tight with the combination I am running. Thats why I am running the Amigo fenders. I can turn almost lock to lock with a 3 inch ride height.

Now onto the rear. My stock Isuzu axle measured 57.5 mounting face to mounting face. The toyota rear I used measured 56.5 mounting face to mounting face. My rear wheels are 20x8.5 with a 36mm offset. And they clear the bed sides no problem.

I forgot to mention my tire size they are 215/35/18 on the front and 245/35/20 on the rear. I hope this helps answer you questions, if not just let me know.

Thanx for all of the detailed information Dan and BJ, that helps me out a bunch.

I'm glad to hear that I wont have to carve into the firewall to get it laid out. I'm not afraid to cut but it will save me time by not having to get into that.

I have done a bit of shopping around for wheels and I came across a set of 18x8's with a +58mm offset on them. Seems like it should be plenty to get them tucked under the truck based on what you guys are saying. I figure if they are too far inboard I can always add longer wheel studs and space them out a bit to get them fitting perfect.

I found a guys profile on here who has pocketed the frame in the front to fit the 2600# bag and it appeared to be a pretty decent fit. I am going to go ahead and order up a pair for the front of mine along with a pair of f9000 sleeves for the rear. I had some free time this week at work so I was able do design up my subframe and rear link setup based on the measurements I collected before the truck got stored away. I'm going to start cutting the tubing up for it this afternoon, I'm pretty excited to get rolling on the parts of the project that I can for now. I will post up pix as I make some progress and I'm sure I will come up with more questions too.

Thanx for all the help everyone, happy nu year too