Swim

Flickr Photos are down, I'll be going back through this thread in the next few days and replacing them

Current State.....






1994 Toyota 4Runner - 3vze, 5 Speed Swap, 4x4

Mods:

White = Current Mods
Red = Mods need to be done
Blue = Mods in progress
Yellow = New mods!

Engine:
Custom built 3VZE
-bored .20
-forged pistons
-full floater forged rods
-modified crank
-oversize stainless steel valves
-custom ground cams
-fully ported and polished.
-6mm throttle body
K&N Drop in Filter
Underhood snorkel
ISR Mod
Flowmaster super 44
Super tucked exhaust system (no more dragging)
Optima Yellow Top
Custom Built 5speed R150F swap
Kevlar Clutch


Suspension/Drivetrain:

Front:
Aisin Manual Hubs
1.5" balljoint spacers
Total Chaos Idler Arm
Stock 4.88 gears
Front Diff Breather Extension
Fox 2.0 emulsion shocks with custom fabbed mounts
New CV joints<---- I'm lazy
Ball Joints, Upper and Lower
Steering Stabilizer

Rear:
Stock 4.88 Gears
Detroit Locker
Old Man Emu Springs
Rear Diff Breather Extension
Panhard drop bracket
Fox 2.0 Emulsion shocks, relocated shock brackets <---- Shocks are in my hands, working on the install
9 gallon water tank for on-board shower



Rims/Tires:
33x12.50 Firestone Destination MT's
15x8 Streetlock rims


Exterior:
Custom Built Front Bumper
Yakima roof rack
Yakima Rocket Box (repaired from the "garage incident x2")
Bedlined undercarriage
On board heated shower system

Interior:
Wet Okle Seat Covers (heated!!!) <---- Waiting for group buy
New Carpet Kit <---- On hold until move is complete
Maglite Mod
Dog Divider
Alpine Head Unit
Alpine Type R 6.5's
Rock Shift Knob
Sirius Satellite Radio
Rhino Lined Dog area





The Process.....
Well, I've been talking about this build around the forums, I guess since she's finally up and running, there's no time like the present to start posting photos....

A month or so before the snow was flying up here I was browsing cragislist, and came across a 1994 4Runner for a price of 1600. I grabbed my buddy and we went to go check it out.
The truck was flawless, exterior was perfect, no rust ANYWHERE, interior was in great shape. Only downer was the motor.... Somewhere along the line this lady let her boyfriend talk her into having the engine rebuilt because it was approaching 100K on the odometer. She took it to a half brained mechanic, who apparently had no idea what he was doing, hardly worked on it... and ended up being forced to give it back to her from the cops.
After that whole ordeal, she just wanted it "gone" and would take "any" offer if I could get it out that day.... $400 later... the 4Runner entered my life.

Here she is the very first day she was towed into the shop.


Note the carpet is out and on top of the roof. I removed it, took it to a spray and wash car wash to remove all smells, stains, and other "fluids." The seats were uncovered, then the covers were washed. All foam was replaced on the fronts.

After diving into the engine, and discovering that there were more parts missing than worth my time to replace.... I ordered a beefed up 3vze. Yes, I could've done a swap for the 3.4, but that's not where I wanted to go with this car. And yes, I actually do like the 3vze. So how do you beef up a 3vze? Well, go take a look at D.O.A engines... I didn't order from them, but I had the shop I ordered from build it to the same specs.

2 weeks later and I got this off a Boeing 767.....

(Not the truck.... the engine)


Shipping pallet looked to be in pretty good shape for a 6000 mile commute...

My buddy Josh helping me unload it.


Where it sat waiting for the old engine to be removed


Speaking of which.....

Here goes the old engine




Had to take the head off to get to the top tranny bolt.


A few beers later...... Now off to clean up the bay a bit.

Out at the junk yard, I scored a set of Asin Hubs.... Cleaned them up, painted them.... and


Tada.

Swim

Now, I'm waiting for my fuel injectors... they're at Witch Hunter getting rebuilt. In the meantime... here are some photos when I pulled it out the other day.






(while it still had the Auto)

And.... that's before I got this....

Thanks Roger!!!

Got the front's on.... and the backs too... I just haven't gotten photos of it yet.

Swim

Bought some rims... time to clean them up. Not bad for $80....

shakes_24

Looks like its going to be a sweet ride keep us posted

BigBluePile

iTrader: (3)

Nice build!

bobby_duce

that thing looks clean! i like what your doing so far! keep the pictures coming.

sethb

Oh man, I'm excited for your 4Runner. What made you go with spacers for the rear instead of taller springs? I actually grew up in Anchorage, went to East. Now I live at the opposite end of the west coast because of the Navy. You get an auto start for that thing yet?

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

Sweet build. Having all the parts shipped up there gets expensive, i built my '84 when stationed at Ft. Rich

So about the assault vehicle part, you gonna build this to float across Muskeg?

Swim

Thanks everyone! It's sure a lot of fun to build one to keep. Normally I buy them, fix them, and sell em. This one is for me.

Seth - I went with the spacers due to price. The lift that is on it now is a temporary deal. It will most likely find a new home in a few months as I will be doing a long travel kit (Total Chaos, JD fab, ESB, or Blazeland) When I do that, I'll be replacing the rear coils for something else (not sure yet which route)

OC - The AAV is kinda a on-going joke. I had a different 4runner with a TG front bumper that took out a moose. The bumper was beat to hell, the truck wasn't much better.... but the moose didn't walk away. So, the girl bought me a Alaskan Assault Vehicle sticker... and told me to build something to withstand a moose attack.

Swimmerboy2112

iTrader: (2)

Very nice! Us swimmers have great taste when it comes to building rigs! lol

JAvendan

oh, nice and have fun.

i lived in adak when i was 9 through 12... that was 31 years ago - lol.

my pops was stationed there.

joel

Swim

Swimmer - I have gone through every page of your build. Very nice!! It's amazing to watch the transformation.

JAvendan - I've taken photos down at Adak. Pretty rundown these days. But, that's what I look for.


Does everyone think the Marlin Crawler bumper would look good on a truck with minimal lift like this? I'm debating that one, or just buying a light bar until I can build a bumper.

rattlewagon

a light bar isnt going to hold up to a moose. haha.

Swim

Well... I got news today that I'll be moving back to California in September.... Soooo this changes things. Long Travel here I come....

Swimmerboy2112

iTrader: (2)

Much appreciated man!

Swim

Speaking of moose..... bad day for these folks (and the moose)

Swim

I received a package from USPS.... More details to come... I'll I'm going to say is HOLY CRAP!!!

Swim

Thank you Witch Hunter! 4 day turn-around INCLUDING shipping!!


Install time!!




Installed in 15 minutes. Ignore the zipties... I need a new shroud



Bad news.... no alignment possible. I need wheel bearings and an idler arm.....


Soooooo $133 later..... I installed them. No photos taken.... my hands were greasy....

Off to the alignment shop in the AM, then off to get an Autostart.

Swim

Well, she's up and driving. Put the first 200 miles on her in the last couple days. She runs awesome. I'm getting some exhaust work done this week... not really sure which route I'll be going... but it's looking more and more like flowmaster. Oil change this weekend as specified by the engine builder.

bobby_duce

^^ i like my flowmaster.

looks like your getting alot done fast!