oldgold3vze

Hello, here is a quick run down of my current daily driver. It's a 1986 4runner SR5 that I picked up from a lady out in the country. It had been sitting for over 7 years baking in the high country Colorado sun. Her husband was told it needed a motor when he bought it in 2003, and he never really tried getting it running. Turns out, it had a security system installed that was interrupting the distributor. So, while it did run, it had low compression, and was not worthy of daily driving. I have to DD this runner, so all my mods will need to be able to be completed in a weekend. Paid $500, score!

These pics are after lots of scrubbing. I took all the carpet out and power washed it. The seats are from another runner I had. The sunroof is broken, but doesn't leak, so I'll deal with that later.









I had a decent 22re that I was able to drop in while I rebuild the motor that was in the runner.

Also, the topper was so sun baked that I went ahead and got a SofTopper for this build. I really like it.

Build plan is as follows, as always, subject to change, haha...


1. Wrap it in metal, sliders, bumpers, and transfercase skid plate, I'll build everything

2. 1.5" Ball Joint spacers and some decent shocks, probably Bilstein or OME

3. 63" chevy springs in the rear, sprung under, same shocks as the front

4. Light Racing Jounce air bump stops all around (I work for SPC, so I feel that I need to have these on my build)

5. Aussie locker in the rear

6. 31 x 10.50 All Terrain tires, probably Falken ATs

7. Rebuild the motor, since the one in it is working fine, and passed emissions this is last on the list.

This is going to be my road tripping, camping, light wheeling, fun to drive truck, so no Solid Axle like all my other builds. I want it to ride real nice, have good road handling, yet look decent and be somewhat of a sleeper.

BigBluePile

iTrader: (3)

Cool! Sounds like a great project!

liveoffroad

great build plan, subscribed.
good to see a fellow first gen in co

racersg

Very nice! Great find.
Good luck.

oldgold3vze

Yeah, Man, I'll be in Colorado for a long time, as long as everything is going as good as it is now. This is my 4th 1st gen 4Runner, so I feel pretty comfortable working on them. Did the motor swap in 12 hours straight!

I also rock a 1980 long bed your typical Toyota crawler build, duals, high steer, lockers, swampers, propane. I was tempted to do a low sprung SAS on this one, but I am really interested in maximizing the IFS for comfort. I might even replace the steering damper with a hydraulic cylinder for hydro assist, we'll see.

Here's the 1980...




I think this weekend I'm going to grab a stick of 1.75" HREW and build a front bumper. I might also gut the tailgate and turn it into a storage compartment for straps, tools, etc.

kornhuskerwizard

$500?! thats nuts. great score. i like the top. i lived in greeley for awhile like 2 blocks from addicted offroad, nice stuff!

andlours

iTrader: (1)

Loving your plans, I'm trying to the same thing with my '86 4Runner. I'll be following this build for sure.

dsal_86Yota

Runner loooks great. Wish I could find a deal on a Runner like that. I miss mine, was great for camping and fishing trips. Still got my 2nd gen truck. Southern Colorado here. Great seeing more Colorado guys with there Toyotas out, means Colorado isnt full of a bunch of over confindent j**p owners haha

oldgold3vze

I wish I had the "before" pics, this thing was obviously stuck in a field and left for dead. I had to put my tires, seats, new topper, and swap in a motor to get it on the road. Shoot, the topper was $300 more than I paid for the truck! There is no $500 ready to roll deal, and if there is it's a family or friend special. I also did a full brake job and all new clutch hydraulics, and rebuilt the sweet automatic locking hubs and wheel bearings. Oh, and I took 3 different exhausts I had to build the 1 for this truck, I wanted it to fit nice and be quiet.

Mudcat

Will be following along as well. I am doing something similar with my 88 Runner I picked up for $400. Drove it home but straight to the garage. lol

oldgold3vze

Made a cap for the gutted tailgate, but camera is outta batteries. Basically, I removed all the window related items and bent up some 18g sheet. For the tailgate release I made a pull handle with some 550 para cord fastened to the latch cables and some really basic cable stops. I'll try and get pics tomorrow. It's at lease 50 lbs lighter, and no rattles!

tinigunner11

iTrader: (1)

i live in johnstown. I'm pretty sure I've seen your '80 around before.
i have an 1986 4runner i picked up in town for $600 with a blown headgasket. cant wait to see your progress on this truck!!! subbed for sure

oldgold3vze

Cool , Man. You might also know my friend Tyler. He is a mechanic for H&R right there by the Hayes market. He's got a built 85 Xtra cab painted green and black, exo cage, no doors, etc. Shoot me a PM if you ever want to hang out, work on trucks or whatever.

liveoffroad

who makes that dashmat? i got one from autozone and it looks like garbage, that one looks pretty nice in there.
also lmk when you're ready to do your 63" chevy swap, i've got a pair for sale!

oldgold3vze

The dash mat is what saved the dash pad, it's un-cracked after sitting is a field for almost 7 years! It's not even stuck down with velcro. The tag says "DashMat". I've gotten quality items from ACCmats.com, floors specifically, and they sell dash pads.

On the Chevy springs, thanks, but I am only doing that swap because I already have them. My yard is like a little yota yard, and most of my projects begin, or end, due to what I already have to work with. Shoot, I'm so budget that I'm not looking forward to buying the u-bolts and spring pads to do the swap!

Boyoda

Nice lookin' runner.
Love the soft top, need to get me one of those.

oldgold3vze

Finally, found an old camera to snap some pics! Here is the update.

Tailgate block off plate.





The pull cord releases it.



New front diff cause of this...



New CV axles, cause I thought that was the problem, oh well.



New 235 75 r15 cooper disciverer AT3 tires.



On 1982 chrome rims.



And 100 ft. of 1.75 " tubing to play with.



To replace this.

NickMiller

I can't wait to see what you come up with for the front bumper!

What are you using to bend the tube?

oldgold3vze

I have a JD Squared model 3 bender with a 180 deg 5.5" CLR die. This bumper will be simple and light with round LED turn signals and a modest stinger. And it will be bolt on so if I want to build a winch bumper later I won't have to cut it off. I'll be building a rear bumper and sliderz, too. This runner should be a real speeper, especially with a 4.7 gear set and an Aussie locker out back.

Oh, I also put on a 1" bore master cylinder for the brakes. Way better stopping power.

tinigunner11

iTrader: (1)

no way! i think i went to hayes like 20 times just to stare at that truck! it was amazing and i think i know of tyler but dont personally know him, but i might i just got all the parts for my truck and am getting it up-n-running, so the PM is mutual.