Zelephant's '89 4Runner slow-no-dough build.
03-08-2011, 05:45 PM
#1
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Thread Starter
Zelephant's '89 4Runner slow-no-dough build.
I've been on this site for a few years now, I figure it's about time to start a progress thread for my truck. Let me start off by getting up to speed on what I've done for the past 2.5 years I've owned it.
NOTE: When I bought this truck, I knew absolutely nothing working on cars, and neither did anyone in my family. Everything I know I learned from this truck. It's a steep learning curve at times, but also quite an adventure!
This is it the day in October 2008 I bought her for $875. She's a DLX model with a 22RE with an auto and had 178K at the time:
The PO told me one CV was shot and it needed a brake booster. I found out later the radiator, battery, and brake master cylinder were also shot.
LOTS of body rust, but the frame was good:
Picked up a push bar for $15 and added some ebay KC Daylighter knock-offs
The truck had no radio and no rear speakers when I bought it. I installed this Kenwood deck and these Hifonics rear speakers. The PO left a pair of Polk audio speakers in front. I also picked up a vintage Kenwood HAM radio at a Hamfest for $2 (yes two dollars!). I won a 2-meter antenna to go with it in a raffle at the same hamfest. However, I haven't sourced a mic for it yet and it hardly ever gets used.
I then started knocking out the rust with a welder, three sheets of 18ga sheet metal from Lowes, and Evercoat Rage body filler (I was told it's 10x better than Bondo, we'll see). Filler hasn't been applied yet in these pics:
Patching up ALL the rust was a long and tedious process that took the better part of a year. Near the end of the job, I found a set of 3rd gen SR5 alloys with Mastercraft A/Ts with 50% tread for $150:
With the rust gone, it was time for paint. I didn't have money, equipment, or room to spray it, so I used polyurethane boat paint with a roller. I made a separate thread for this project which can be found here:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...thread-210480/
This is the end result:
I had gotten a Flowmaster muffler the previous Christmas, and finally got around to installing it. I liked the novelty of a side pipe at the time, but with sliders about to go on, It's gonna have to get changed soon:
Thread here: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...-build-217927/
Next event in the truck's life was an accident last fall. Still working the bugs out from that one. That was a really miserable day:
Thread: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...-worse-222721/
I got it aligned, replaced the fender and repainted it, replaced the marker light, and that brings us to how the truck sits today:
Up to this point, most of the work has been just getting it the truck back to respectability. Now the custom, fun mods can begin! However, I am a college student on a tight budget, and I try to be at least somewhat responsible with how I spend/save it, which leaves very little mad money. I have a build plan for the next few years laid out as follows:
-freshman/sophomore summer: build rear bumper from box tubing with swing-out tire carrier, ZUK mod with TJ springs, Bilsteins on all four corners.
-sophomore/junior summer: Front bumper, winch, source 4:88 front third.
-junior/senior summer: 32x11.5 KM2s (including spare), install front third and regear and lock rear.
During the winters or whenever I have spare hobby cash, I have a list of small projects to do on the truck:
-Xterra or Frontier roof rack
-Supra seats (hopefully electric)
-bedliner from the rear seat back
-interior panels from the doors back
-triple gauge a-pillar pod
-weld in hood scoop from newer 4Runner or Impreza
I figure it's wiser to set a realistic build plan than to make grand, expensive plans that will never happen. In the more immediate future, though, I got a set of lightly used Trail Gear sliders and a 1" body lift off c-list for $100. I will be moving the exhaust back and installing those on spring break.
That about it. Don't expect a whole lot of updates, but I hope this thread can help and entertain others. Should be a fun ride!
Thanks for reading!
NOTE: When I bought this truck, I knew absolutely nothing working on cars, and neither did anyone in my family. Everything I know I learned from this truck. It's a steep learning curve at times, but also quite an adventure!
This is it the day in October 2008 I bought her for $875. She's a DLX model with a 22RE with an auto and had 178K at the time:
The PO told me one CV was shot and it needed a brake booster. I found out later the radiator, battery, and brake master cylinder were also shot.
LOTS of body rust, but the frame was good:
Picked up a push bar for $15 and added some ebay KC Daylighter knock-offs
The truck had no radio and no rear speakers when I bought it. I installed this Kenwood deck and these Hifonics rear speakers. The PO left a pair of Polk audio speakers in front. I also picked up a vintage Kenwood HAM radio at a Hamfest for $2 (yes two dollars!). I won a 2-meter antenna to go with it in a raffle at the same hamfest. However, I haven't sourced a mic for it yet and it hardly ever gets used.
I then started knocking out the rust with a welder, three sheets of 18ga sheet metal from Lowes, and Evercoat Rage body filler (I was told it's 10x better than Bondo, we'll see). Filler hasn't been applied yet in these pics:
Patching up ALL the rust was a long and tedious process that took the better part of a year. Near the end of the job, I found a set of 3rd gen SR5 alloys with Mastercraft A/Ts with 50% tread for $150:
With the rust gone, it was time for paint. I didn't have money, equipment, or room to spray it, so I used polyurethane boat paint with a roller. I made a separate thread for this project which can be found here:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...thread-210480/
This is the end result:
I had gotten a Flowmaster muffler the previous Christmas, and finally got around to installing it. I liked the novelty of a side pipe at the time, but with sliders about to go on, It's gonna have to get changed soon:
Thread here: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...-build-217927/
Next event in the truck's life was an accident last fall. Still working the bugs out from that one. That was a really miserable day:
Thread: https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...-worse-222721/
I got it aligned, replaced the fender and repainted it, replaced the marker light, and that brings us to how the truck sits today:
Up to this point, most of the work has been just getting it the truck back to respectability. Now the custom, fun mods can begin! However, I am a college student on a tight budget, and I try to be at least somewhat responsible with how I spend/save it, which leaves very little mad money. I have a build plan for the next few years laid out as follows:
-freshman/sophomore summer: build rear bumper from box tubing with swing-out tire carrier, ZUK mod with TJ springs, Bilsteins on all four corners.
-sophomore/junior summer: Front bumper, winch, source 4:88 front third.
-junior/senior summer: 32x11.5 KM2s (including spare), install front third and regear and lock rear.
During the winters or whenever I have spare hobby cash, I have a list of small projects to do on the truck:
-Xterra or Frontier roof rack
-Supra seats (hopefully electric)
-bedliner from the rear seat back
-interior panels from the doors back
-triple gauge a-pillar pod
-weld in hood scoop from newer 4Runner or Impreza
I figure it's wiser to set a realistic build plan than to make grand, expensive plans that will never happen. In the more immediate future, though, I got a set of lightly used Trail Gear sliders and a 1" body lift off c-list for $100. I will be moving the exhaust back and installing those on spring break.
That about it. Don't expect a whole lot of updates, but I hope this thread can help and entertain others. Should be a fun ride!
Thanks for reading!
03-22-2011, 03:30 PM
#4
Registered User
Thread Starter
Thanks for the comments, guys!
I planned to have the sliders and 1" BL on by the end of this week, but the weather hasn't been cooperating, so I think the sliders will have to wait.
In the meantime, I found I picture I took when I had the tailgate panel off. Anybody read Japanese?
A friend suggested it's an ancient Japanese good luck charm, and that's why the truck's still running after 22 years!
I've had a spare recovery hook laying around for a while. I finally bought a breaker bar, so I was finally able to install it. And both hooks MUST be painted, of course!
I also cleaned and started painting the sliders to prepare them for the install. I used a wire brush on the surface rust, and then wiped it down with PB Blaster. Then I hit it with degreaser, and finally, water.
The slider on the right is ready for paint. Don't ask me what the PO did with the bottom leg on the left one.
I finished by painting one side. Tomorrow, I'll flip them and paint the other side.
I started spraying the body mounting bolts with Blaster. Hopefully, the BL will go on on Thursday. My exhaust parts are supposed to show up Friday, so the exhaust will probably get moved back on Saturday. Was hoping to have the Sliders on before classes start again, but it doesn't look likely.
Thanks for reading!
I planned to have the sliders and 1" BL on by the end of this week, but the weather hasn't been cooperating, so I think the sliders will have to wait.
In the meantime, I found I picture I took when I had the tailgate panel off. Anybody read Japanese?
A friend suggested it's an ancient Japanese good luck charm, and that's why the truck's still running after 22 years!
I've had a spare recovery hook laying around for a while. I finally bought a breaker bar, so I was finally able to install it. And both hooks MUST be painted, of course!
I also cleaned and started painting the sliders to prepare them for the install. I used a wire brush on the surface rust, and then wiped it down with PB Blaster. Then I hit it with degreaser, and finally, water.
The slider on the right is ready for paint. Don't ask me what the PO did with the bottom leg on the left one.
I finished by painting one side. Tomorrow, I'll flip them and paint the other side.
I started spraying the body mounting bolts with Blaster. Hopefully, the BL will go on on Thursday. My exhaust parts are supposed to show up Friday, so the exhaust will probably get moved back on Saturday. Was hoping to have the Sliders on before classes start again, but it doesn't look likely.
Thanks for reading!
03-23-2011, 10:48 AM
#7
Registered User
Thread Starter
Thanks! I'm using a J-bend and a and length of straight pipe to tuck the muffler up above the axle, and poke it out the right side behind the tire, like a normal exhaust. Sidepipe's been fun, but the truck's growing out of it. The chrome tip will be going back on, though, everybody knows they add HP!
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04-11-2011, 04:04 PM
#8
Registered User
Thread Starter
Long time no updates. My computer got a massive virus and the hard drive had to be wiped clean. I just got around to uploading my camera software again.
I haven't gotten as much done as I would have liked, but there's been some progress. I moved the exhaust to the rear. All the pipe is 2.25".
It sounds about the same, maybe a bit better and a bit quieter. I haven't been able to set off any car alarms in the parking garage at school since I installed it (decide for yourself if that's a good thing). However, I do have one problem. Since I ran 3' of straight pipe back, the shackle for the LSPV bumps the pipe from time to time, but that's only for commuting. If I wheeled it, it'd bump a lot more.
I'm thinking of just flipping it over on the mounting shaft. Would anything really bad happen if I did that? Could I bend or otherwise modify the rod to make up for it?
I also got the 1" body lift mounted. I had a friend help; it was pretty easy, and it didn't take too long. Only took one pic just 'cause it looked cool at the time.
Unfortunately, the used body lift didn't come with a bumper bracket. I decided to install the rest of it to see if the gap really bothered me. It does. I keep telling myself I'm upgrading the bumper next year and there's no reason to throw money at the old one, but it still bothers me. So if someone has a 1" body lift bumper bracket they want to part with let me know!
That's all the progress. If I'm not studying or working, I'll get the sliders on this week. and now that the body lift is on I can start thinking about fabbing the rear bumper. There's a chance I could order 4Crawler rear bumper mounts by the end of the month.
Thanks for reading!
I haven't gotten as much done as I would have liked, but there's been some progress. I moved the exhaust to the rear. All the pipe is 2.25".
It sounds about the same, maybe a bit better and a bit quieter. I haven't been able to set off any car alarms in the parking garage at school since I installed it (decide for yourself if that's a good thing). However, I do have one problem. Since I ran 3' of straight pipe back, the shackle for the LSPV bumps the pipe from time to time, but that's only for commuting. If I wheeled it, it'd bump a lot more.
I'm thinking of just flipping it over on the mounting shaft. Would anything really bad happen if I did that? Could I bend or otherwise modify the rod to make up for it?
I also got the 1" body lift mounted. I had a friend help; it was pretty easy, and it didn't take too long. Only took one pic just 'cause it looked cool at the time.
Unfortunately, the used body lift didn't come with a bumper bracket. I decided to install the rest of it to see if the gap really bothered me. It does. I keep telling myself I'm upgrading the bumper next year and there's no reason to throw money at the old one, but it still bothers me. So if someone has a 1" body lift bumper bracket they want to part with let me know!
That's all the progress. If I'm not studying or working, I'll get the sliders on this week. and now that the body lift is on I can start thinking about fabbing the rear bumper. There's a chance I could order 4Crawler rear bumper mounts by the end of the month.
Thanks for reading!
Last edited by Zelephant; 04-11-2011 at 04:46 PM.
04-26-2011, 07:21 AM
#9
Registered User
Thread Starter
Sliders went on a while ago, finally got around to posting pics.
Still need to gusset them before I trust them to support the truck, but they're pretty solid right now. In the next week or two, I hope to order rear bumper brackets and start the bumper build.
Still need to gusset them before I trust them to support the truck, but they're pretty solid right now. In the next week or two, I hope to order rear bumper brackets and start the bumper build.
05-11-2011, 05:43 PM
#12
05-12-2011, 07:56 AM
#13
Registered User
Thread Starter
No updates yet, but I did order the 4Crawler rear bumper mounts a few days ago. The plan is buy all the little pieces of hardware I need for the bumper this month and then buy steel next month. The "to get" list for this month looks like this:
-Receiver hitch
-Weld on shackle mounts (eBay)
-shackles
-Reverse lights
-A lift gate strut, to smooth out the motion of the tire carrier (junkyard)
-T pull (to lock it open)
-Jerry can mount
-EMS tire carrier kit
That's my complete list, but if I run out of money, some parts for the swing assembly will be put off for later. I do want to get the main assembly finished next month.
If anyone sees anything I've missed, let me know, but I think the list is pretty complete.
05-19-2011, 02:49 PM
#14
Registered User
Thread Starter
Still buying parts for the rear bumper. 4Crawler mounts are here; shackle mounts are on order. But in the meantime, I did a little side project: mounting my Hi-Lift:
Full info here:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f88/...mounts-235502/
Full info here:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f88/...mounts-235502/
05-19-2011, 06:38 PM
#16
Registered User
Thread Starter
Full info here:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f88/...mounts-235502/
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f88/...mounts-235502/
05-26-2011, 07:44 PM
#17
Registered User
Thread Starter
Shackle mounts are here. Harbor Freight reverse lights are purchased.
I made a trip to the junkyard today and got a lift strut out of an '89 Land Cruiser (for the tire carrier swing arm). I also scored an old Toyota fuse box which will hopefully be converted to an auxiliary fuse box; I already have too many wires on the battery terminal, I want my future electrical accessories wired more cleanly:
I looked darn hard for a center console with cup holders, but came up empty.
I made a trip to the junkyard today and got a lift strut out of an '89 Land Cruiser (for the tire carrier swing arm). I also scored an old Toyota fuse box which will hopefully be converted to an auxiliary fuse box; I already have too many wires on the battery terminal, I want my future electrical accessories wired more cleanly:
I looked darn hard for a center console with cup holders, but came up empty.
Last edited by Zelephant; 05-26-2011 at 07:46 PM.
07-08-2011, 01:12 PM
#18
Registered User
Thread Starter
Wow, it's been a long time since I've updated this thread. I got a new summer job, so since June I've been pulling a lot of 11-hour days and that's kept me very busy.
So going way back, here are some pics from Memorial Day weekend when I took the 4Runner camping at Housatonic Meadows State Park. It was about a 40-mile drive, the longest trip I've taken the truck on and it performed great!
To those interested, I gusseted the sliders, so as promised, here are pics. Nothing special; sliders are sliders:
Finally, I have collected all the bits and pieces for my rear bumper I listed a few posts above:
I'll be able to buy steel next week or the week after, then the fun can really start!
Thanks for reading!
So going way back, here are some pics from Memorial Day weekend when I took the 4Runner camping at Housatonic Meadows State Park. It was about a 40-mile drive, the longest trip I've taken the truck on and it performed great!
To those interested, I gusseted the sliders, so as promised, here are pics. Nothing special; sliders are sliders:
Finally, I have collected all the bits and pieces for my rear bumper I listed a few posts above:
I'll be able to buy steel next week or the week after, then the fun can really start!
Thanks for reading!
07-11-2011, 12:43 AM
#20
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Was wondering about you, hadnt heard from you in awhile. Truck is looking better each time. Glad you got to enjoy it Memorial day.
Will be looking forward to seeing your new rear bumper.
Will be looking forward to seeing your new rear bumper.
