Redeth005

Hey everybody. My name is Richard and this is the first thread i ever here on Yotatech. and I just wanted to share my experience with everybody and show you all the fun I'm planning on having throughout the year rebuilding this soon to be Monster.

This is my second Toyota. My I sold my first Toyota pickup and soon regretted it. Then After that I went out and got myself a Cheap ol' 2000 Corolla but im sure everyone can relate that going from a nice lifted 86 Toyota pickup truck to a low ride will never feel the same. I couldnt enjoy driving it mainly cuz you cant see anything over any of the other cars, you have to slow down for EVERY LITTLE SPEED BUMP, DIP, and pot hole! AND I HATED IT! Before I would see those obsticals and give out a big grin as I'd downshift to get some air with them LOL!
So this is what changed my mind to come back to the good ol' Yota scene.

I went out and bought myself an 1989 Toyota 4Runner for $1500. It has IFS suspension and was completely stock. and had a blown head amongst many other things you will see in the pictures i include.

Hope you guys like what you see thoughout all these upgrades. Enjoy, leave feedback, comments suggestions, anything you think can help me out. Thanks You!
Here are all the pictures before i started working on anything.
EXTERIOR PIX






Motor Pix:
As you can see in these next pix the last owner was a total idiot and tried fixing everything with duct tape.
He made a make shift Fan Shroud with pipe sheet metal and all held together with short screws and Air conditioning tape which he then painted over. I immediatly took that off because it wasnt safe. the fan would hit every now and then and it was only a matter of when the fan would tear it off and screw everything up in there. So here they are.




Interior Pix:
Now FYI, Just keep in mind the last owner was a horrible chain smoker who never cleaned this truck EVER! The Interior of this truck really was disgusting. Here's what i mean.

These seats were so warn, had so many cigarette burns, every time i sat in them i felt like someone would blow smoke into my face. Not to mention the sheer smell of the ash tray truck itself.


Ok Now this Driver side carpet. Use your imagination here. Imagine someone with a full ash tray dropping it all over the floor, and accidentally dropping a big gulp of Slurpee or coke-a-cola all over the carpet on top the ashes then drying out leaving a sticky smelly residue. This is it here


Passenger side wasnt so bad:


Back seats weren't too bad:



Middle console had so many burns and ash all over. For me, it was beyond repair. or better yet i chose not to repair it cuz it was just so bad especially on the arm rest area.



As for the back of the truck I honestly have no idea what that white crap is in the back was. All i know is that the entire rear carpet was drenched in water and who knows what else.

Heres a close up of it

Redeth005

The first thing i took upon myself to do was the interior. Mainly because it would make a huge impact on the look of the truck. So i went to my local Pick-ur-Parts in CA. and found me a 1994 automatic SR5 4Runner. I Took out both bucket seats, the whole middle compartment(from the shifters to the arm rest) and also the side steps(which i probably wont end up using because i want sliders now.

Here is is the work in progress:
I went to a local carpet shop and bought some big spare pieces of very short carpet.
then outlined the stock carpet with a permanent marker.

Heres what it looks like after its been traced


And now here it is on my truck




I dont have pictures of when i did the front. But I did the front carpetting the same way i did the back. But before installing that. vaccumed EVERYTHING and washed EVERYTHING, then poured some baking soda all over the floor and left it there so it would suck up the cigarette smell. After doing that i put in the front carpet.
I had to cut the shifter area in the middle compartment a bit bigger because it was off the 94 auto 4runner so i had to make space to be able to shift after this i installed the 1994 4runner seats. I did have to drill some holes and use home depot nuts and screws to bolt the seats down because it only fit on 2 of the stock holes for the seats.
So here are the pix of the front.






Still need to buy the stereo holder so its not just flopping around in there freely.

Redeth005

I bought some glass headlights with Regular bulb sockets so i could change my bulbs rather then the entire fixture whenever the lights blow out. I dont have pix of them just like that but I do have pix of them installed on the truck already.
AND while i was driving around i found these babies for $250. They're 15 rims with 31" 12.50 BFG All terrains and also installed them.

I also went on and fixed the crooked hood that was lifted up slightly.

Anyway here are the updated pix of the exterior of the truck now.

Redeth005

About a week ago i went ahead and opened up a new credit card with 1&1/2 years with no interest. So i decided NOW was the time to start getting everything i needed to the truck done. at least everything major.
So because the last owner had the truck in such bad shape and the heads were blown, gaskets were leaking, powersteering leaking. I decided i wanted to have everything on it fixed. I got heads gasketes power steering pump and so much more things. I didnt want to half A$$ fix my truck by just doing the heads and gaskets and taking a chance that it wont mess up. So i decided I'd rather get everything in the motor that was old, rusty, broken, cracked, or just plain ol needed to be replaced. I spent about $1100 in parts at my Girlfriends uncles store and had my truck towed to a mechanic that is only charging me 600 to take out the motor install everything, repair heads.
So as of right now my truck is in the shop getting the engine pretty much rebuilt.

Ever since i could remember when i had my old toy pickup truck. i always wanted to upgrade from IFS to a Solid front axle. So I have been looking for the past 2 months for an axle. I looked around all over craigslist and other online websites. All over California, Nevada and Arizona and i finally came accross one. and I finally found the deal of a lifetime. I got The Solid axle I was looking for, along with a SAS kit, and 4" leaf spring lift. 2 front leafs are Rough Country, and the rear are Rancho springs. All for $550 and he met me half way since it was from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.

So here is gonna be the next project i begin to work on once i get my truck back from the mechanic. (the rest of the stuff wasnt included in the pictures i took)

rustED

iTrader: (2)

Nice looking 4Runner, I always liked the charcoal gray and black, looks really sharp! Man you scored big time with the front axel and all the suspension lift...your lucky to find a just the front axel around where I live for under $400! Look forward to your build.....Ed

Redeth005

Where do you live at? I was lucky. That guy had just posted it that same day. When u called to ask if he still had the axle he said "wow that was fast" I guess I replied to his post within the hour.

rustED

iTrader: (2)

I live in the Eastern part of Washington state, Yakima, Wa.... Yeah i'd say that's fast! That's the thing about CL you really got to get a jump on the good deals or there gone.... I'm a CL addict, LOL!

Redeth005

Lol its true. I just discovered statewidelist.com it searches the entire state on Craigslist rather then searching by city. That's how I found the las Vegas add for that axle.

Dude I just seen your thread that is freekin awesome. I cant imagine what the power on that thing must feel like. I've been in a 5.0 mustang before and they have torque like crazy. You kinda just sink into the seat. Lol. That thing must feel like a beast when you are trying to rock crawl.

RMP8080

Clean trunk, must be rust free cal vehicle? I too have an 89 4runner that them restoring. Good luck with runner, keep posting updates and pictures. Looking forward to seeing how it turns out....Bill

rustED

iTrader: (2)

Thanks man, yeah that motor has alot of power , I can't wait to get it into the 4runner! Hopefully in a couple weeks it will be ready to drive!

Redeth005

The entire truck is pretty much rust free. The only part that has a bit is on the front vents, in between the hood and your windshield. The hood was misaligned so every tume it'd open it would get caught on that vent and it eventualy bent the vent causing it to chip. And now that rainy season passed now it is rusted. That is one thing I definitely wanna re shape to normal and then repaint.

On and very close the the passenger side rear break light. The last owner must have accidentally rubbed against a wall and has about a 2x3 inch thick scratch. That shouldn't be too hard to clean it up. It's just gonna be hard cuz I don't know anything about paint. So hopefully I get the right color or better yet hopefully I paint it clean and not all ugly and uneven lol

Redeth005

Yea man I really dig the charcoal gray with black accessories too.

I've been debating with his truck since day one whether I should keep the paint job it has now or paint it white because the paint on the whole truck is still in good condition. I just really really like the way a solid white with black everything looks on a car or truck.

Not like alot of 4runners you see now. Those seem to look more like a faded white or creamish color.

I want a nice white truck rollin' with an ARB front bumper, black Sliders, roof rack, a tire rack in the back with black rims and huge 33 or 35" tires. I'm really considering getting a black soft top for it too. But I'm not too sure about that considering the area I live in isn't the best.

I think doing this will look really awesome. A very nice white black contrast. What do you think?

rustED

iTrader: (2)

I like the white/black contrast also, but beings your paint is in such good shape, I'd probably rock the original paint for awhile and get some of the other bigger things on your "wish list" out of the way first. Or better yet I'll trade you the charcoal grey for my faded out red, LOL.

B-yodaful

Looks awesome. I love those old grey runners with black rims

Redeth005

lol thats funny. I know what that faded red looks like. Take at look at my old truck. it was my first toyota. go to my profile and watch the 2 videos and the few pix.

Redeth005

Sweet, My mechanic just called me today to tell me my truck will be ready for pickup by tomorrow or tuesday! I told him I'd pick it up on thursday since that is when i get paid.

After i get this truck back the next thing on the to-do list will be:
1) New catalytic converter, Flowmaster muffler, and 2" piping
2) Buy new parts to replace all the broken pieces and old rusted pieces under the hood also those broken plastic container things that the last owner ducktaped shut.

And in the mean time while the guy who sold me the axle is sending me the high steering arms through the mail, I have to order me some 4.88 Yukon Gears, Detroit lockers, and some new shocks to go along with the 4" leafspring lift that i have waiting for me when i do the SAS.

Any Suggestions on what Shocks will work with my leaf springs? They are Rough county read leaf springs and Rancho front leaf springs and both are for a 4" lift.

Redeth005

Sweet. I finally got insurance on my truck. At least now I don't have to worry about driving around the streets illegally paranoid that I'm gonna get pulled over driving lol

Now all I need is for my truck to be ready for pick up from the mechanic.
Ooo I can't wait. Ha ha

Black_1985_SR5

iTrader: (1)

scribed keep up the good work

Redeth005

Thanks Dude, I can't wait to get it back either. I have a one month operating permit. And within this month I plan on getting everything I possibly can out of the way as far as emissions and passing the CA smog check goes. After that obstical is passed I plan on to finally do my SAS. But I gotta order my 4.88 Yukon gears and Detroit lockers first.
Once all those important necessities are done I wanna either get an Addicted Offroad bumper or an ARB winch bumper, with some Sliders, a rear bumper with a tire holder, internal roll cage, and a Yakima roof rack(maybe)

If all goes as planned this truck is gonna look really sweet when i get everything I want to it done.

Black_1985_SR5

iTrader: (1)

Ahh sucks you live in cali for the emissions otherwise jealous of your sunshine. ARB is over rated and overpriced if you want an expensive bumper just get one made or call up badlands.