Great job man, but why did you feel the need to hack up the dash???

 

x2...

 

My first car was a 79 mustang cobra turbo, and I remember that scoop well. If I see one at a junkyard, I am taking the scoop for future use.

Nice 4runner. I love that color!

 

Everything in the dash was destroyed or missing from the prev owner. The wiering was so hacked up it was easier to pull the 2wd harness out of the doner r/v. I had the flex-o-lite heater sitting on the shelf but it wouldn't work with the factory ducks so it made sense to remove that part of the dash so the heat wouldn't be blocked by anything. This is still a work in progress one of these days i'm gona get back in there with some sheet metal and build a replacement dash.

 

This is a great build - thanks for sharing and saving the truck!

I also noticed how you went from SR5 cluster to non SR5 cluster

Looking forward to following the build and the springs - are you going to mount the rear wheels center, or push them back a few inches for a longer wheelbase?

 

Well I forgive you if everything was FUBAR!! It looked fine in the pics.

Also, you got real lucky finding a clean, rust free example to start with. Even here in TN they still get a little rust in the bed at this age. Anyways, its an awesome rig, I love 1st gen 4 Runners.

 

yeah the sr5 cluster was toast. the 22re came out of a 88 dolphin r.v so i pulled everthing i could out of it and dropped it into my 4runner. it was all in much better shape
and made it easier to gut out all the a/c and window wiering from the runner harness. basicly i now have an 88 2wd pick up harness, grill and gauge cluster in it.

i'll probably leave the axle where it is. it's already a little longer than a standard cab but shorter than an extra cab

 

It Amazes me what people send to the crusher. I do a lot of metal scrapping, and spend some time at a scrap yard. It makes me sick every time I go there, and see what is being crushed. I have tried to buy a few things from them, but they would have no part of that. Your runner is a sweet looking rig. I just bought me an 84 pickup, and absolutely love it. Thats a good job on the front bumper. Looks really good on there.

 

looks great! much better than mine.

 

Did you notice if the people at the scrap yard drove Jeeps or if the crusher had a "It's a Jeep thing" sticker on it.

There's really only one way the Jeep people can keep a yota down.

 

the saddest part is my dad sold his i.f.s yota to buy a jeep

 

I want to know about that topper. I've never taken the shell of my 85 mainly because it seems like a royal pain in the butt. How difficult is it to collapse/reassemble that topper? Also, does it fit tightly to the body, no wind noise, etc.? I'm assuming you chose the topper over a shell for good reason, but now that you've had some experience with it, I'd like to know your take.

 

the topper is great! It's very easy to fold down, roll up or take off. The wind noise isn't too bad it tends to implode going down the road and not flap. The shell is a pain to remove because of it's weight. I'll never put the shell back on when i reweired the truck i deleted the rear window and all it's b.s anyway. The only down side is it's not rated for cold temps wich isn't a problem here in so. ca.

 

come out and play!

 

toppers are nice but theyre around $500. the hard shell isnt bad at all as long as you have a friend with minimal upper body strength. i can do it alone(it sucks then), but i am 16 lol

 

I'm just lazy, and living in CO means it could be sunny at noon and snowing two hours later. I was just wondering how easy (quick) it is to assemble and take down and how reliable the connections were for keeping the elements at bay. It was just a thought for the future.

 

it seals up about as good as an aftermarket top can. driving rain will find its way in, but i still think the top is worth the $. as far as removal goes just undo the button snaps on the sides, the zippers on the back window, and roll it up to have the safari style or take it off too. ive ridden in winded walrus's a few times and there is very little wind noise. i myself would never think about a hard top again.

 

ocotillo on the 27th?

 

as long as work does'nt interfere......YES!!!!!

 

great work! Imm digging it!