Convert 1st gen 4runner to a pickup, keeping the hard top
 

EDIT: Just done yesterday, pics are at the end of the thread.

I know this might be a crazy idea but I have it in my head for many weeks now and I don't know if it has already been done.

First of all, I love the look of the 1st gen 4runner with the hard top and I don't want to trade my 4runner for a pickup. But sometimes I need cargo space. I don't like to haul my dirtbike sideways with gas spilling all over my 4runner floor! And I'd also like to be able to haul my small ATV. I don't need the back seats.

I would like to :

1- Seal the back of the cab like a Toyota pickup with a working window.
2- Make a bedliner, remove the rollbar
3- Keep the hard top on the truck as needed.

Does it involes a lot of work or it is possible to make something nice ? I don't weld for now but I will need to get into this stuff. But it does not seem like a huge task.

Am I right or completely :nana: ?

Anyone seen it done? I did not find anything!

Thanks!

take out the roll bar and back seats and create a flat floor or just buy a truck

Id like to make something that would seal off the cab also. I was thinking of taking sheet metal and cutting it to fit and then it would bolt into the factor spots where the hardtop bolted into. I havent seen anyone do it yet though

A guy just told me that he have already seen it done with strong fiberglass and rubber seals.

seems to me that if you create a "backside" for the cab/front seat area and put in a window that you'd basically have it. I don't know about weather proofing it though, that'd probably be tougher. Or we could trade. I'd even throw in my motorcycle ramp!

Ok, talked with Biagax79 from Quebec4x4 who did it on his former 4runner. He basically cut the back of the hard top, used the existing rear window and did this nice job in about 4 hours :

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...9/IMG_1077.jpg

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...9/IMG_1074.jpg

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j1...9/IMG_1075.jpg

I'll do something similar !

i think its a sick idea post up some pics i love chop kinda projects

for some reason this project makes me think of angelina jolie getting a sex change.

alternative perspective:

are you SURE you wouldn't rather TRADE someone with a sweet pickup for your 4runner? i'm sure you could find someone willing to make an equitable deal. the labor you spent finding a good trade would be far less than the labor to build an enclosed cab, and you'd both be happy.

i'd think it's at least worth putting up a new post and see what offers you get. you may get a solid axle extended cab from someone who really wants a removable top.

I really like the pics of the dude from Quebec. Its gotten my mind rolling. . .

well then... maybe you could cut the whole cab roof open, and use the back half of the fiberglass topper as a removable convertible hardtop! now that would be cool! be sure to post pics if you start cuttin!

you aren't nuts for thinking this but i think there's an easier solution, get a pickup.

too many people on this forum (and even more on pirate) bring out the sawzall and the grinder too quickly. coming from the air cooled VW community i can tell you these vehicles are not around forever. if we start chopping the relative few that survive into 20 or 25 year period after the rust, the accidents, etc. we'll exhaust them even faster.

sell the 4runner (or keep it) but get a pickup if that suits your needs better

alfio

I agree...Don't screw up a perfectly nice 4runner....By a trailor

I agree don't hack up the runner and just find a truck. The reason I bought my runner was to have a 4 seater with a removable top. The thought of closing that off...well I'm at a loss for words. I know there was a canopy that was out in the 80-90 that looked like the 4runner top I say buy a truck and find one of those tops best of both worlds. Just my 2 cents. Its your runner do with it what you want but I think the truck would be easier and keep the best resale cause once you cut the 4runner into a truck you are going to run off the 4runner crowd

Yeah, for the time/money you spend hacking up the 4runner, you can find a yota pickup that'll do what you need.

The runner mama bears are comin' out to defend one of their own! Hahaha

Well I don't plan on selling it later so I'll keep it... I know, this is not fun seeing another 1st gen 4runner being chopped but hey, that's only a truck! :D

I removed the seats, secured the wiring in the sides of the bed, removed the roll bar, painted the sides of the bed's interior, next step is to chop it off on saturday! I'll post pics!

There was a 'rear seat delete' option available for the 1st gen 4runners. This would place a metal plate where the existing seats went, extending the bed right to the back of the seats. This would allow you to carry your dirtbike easily. I'm sure you can find one of those plates, and best of all, your truck can be brought back to stock.

The truck is yours; as much as I love mine, that doesn't stop you from chopping yours up (however much I'd be against it). What I would prefer is that the salvageable parts you choose to scrap (e.g. the seats) get re-used.

All the best -- as others have said, these trucks are becoming rare; nothing lasts forever, enjoy it while you can!

Well, I kept everything. If one day I decide to buy another hard top and put the seats,belts, speakers and rollbar back, I'll be able to do everything in a few hours ;)

Another idea, you should leave the back seats, and make an enclosure over them so its like a super-cab truck. havent seen that and that would be sick, maybe, cant really say cause i havent seen one.

i made a cool rack to put in my hitch for my dirtbike. just an idea

To be honest, this is the stupidest thing i've ever heard done.
Why?
1) You're taking something that's perfectly fine, and converting it into something that already exists.
2) You're chopping up a 1st Gen Runner.
3) YOU'RE CHOPPING UP A 1ST GEN 4RUNNER.
4) If you want a truck so bad just trade your runner in for one. I know a ton of truck guys that would kill for a runner, myself included.

All i can say is..wow.. I dont understand.. Cant you just load your dirt bike on there by removing the top? Leave the tailgate down and strap it down real good? If the rollbar gets in the way remove it and remove the rear seats...Store them or sell them on here. That way if for whatever reason you wanna go back to stock..you can..

instead of u slaughtering a yota ill trade ya my new 07 ford ranger sport with 4.10s and a posi track with 4 brand new tires and 4 new pioneer 240w speakers. its black with smoked tail lights

Id have to say I agree here. My first gen Runner will haul anything i ever tried haulin in my 93 P/U. And when im done haulin..I can flip my seats up, put my top back on and have room for my kids again. The only drawback is Winter time. Its kinda cold to pop the top off in the winter no matter how short the trip to haul something. So in that respect I can see the benifit to having some sort of removable system to block the cold air from the front seats. For the most part i dont have an issue with this ,as i will just borrow a friends truck if i need to haul something in the winter. But while driving their truck dont think for a minute my wheels arent turning on a completey modular system so my Runner can be converted to a usable pick up and back to Runner in the winter.

And the Quebec 4runner just filled in a few of the blanks.:safari:

:king:

Ok, just done yesterday. I really like the way it turned out! Kept everything so if I want a 4Runner back, I just need to remove the back of the cab, reinstall the rear seats and put on another hard top.

Next step is to replace the wooden frame with a metal tubing frame, replace the wooden board with metal, adjust everything and fill gaps to the cab with fiberglass and paint!


http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._2212790_n.jpg

http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos...79_63554_n.jpg

http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos...0_571520_n.jpg

http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._7084901_n.jpg

http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._4702366_n.jpg

http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._5338292_n.jpg

http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos...8_104256_n.jpg

http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._3512895_n.jpg

http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos...6_984815_n.jpg

Sad day for 4runner lovers..but it is your truck and as long as your happy with it..that's really all that matters..

Well, that's entirely reversible. So I don't understand why people are making a case when all I need to do to get it back is to put the seats back and another hard top....

well boys another hardtop just went to the afterlife :(. but on the bright side the truck does look nice good job on the switch.

Who cares its his 4runner. Get a life and stop whining that someone did something with there runner.

now you need one of these for where the seats use to be.

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j2...s/DSCN2315.jpg

let's see, i don't know if you missed it but the OP *requested* people's opinion about this "mod."

after receiving a pretty clear response from the board, he nonetheless went on to post pics where he's doing exactly the opposite of what people suggested.

come to think of it, i'm not sure what you are complaining about since both armalite and stangbanger actually offered praise/support on the way to recognizing the same fact you brilliantly summed up as "Who cares its his 4runner."

He knew what he wanted to do and he did it.

props, with some fine tuning and some body work, that will look fantastic!
I would love to have a full electric rear window in my truck :D

now your next problem is finding a new top...
If i was going to buy a 4Runner, i would buy it for the SUV aspect. The ability to carry more than 2 people at a time, with a little extra room in the back from some other stuff.

Chopping up a 4Runner top, just to make it into a truck? Blasphemy. Just go trade in your runner for a truck and get it over with.

It's not like these tops are EASY to find, in fact, it seems like they're becoming a bit rare. And then with some people cutting them up, it makes it worse.

Dude, it's his truck.

nobody complains when guys SAS their 4runners and then rape them on the rocks....

his 4runner is actually pretty nice though. and cutting up a hard top to achieve the same thing as a pickup?
why not just get a pickup in the first place?

So does that mean in 10 more years, I am going to get ragged on because I cut off all my IFS? IFS toyotas are going to be rare then!! :lof:

I like it, its something different, something you dont ever see! People are acting like this one 4runner top that got cut up is going to make the price of all 4runner tops skyrocket!

You know, parts get rare, its life, its time. You do realize that the newest first gen 4runner is still over 20 years old!! 8in front diffs are getting rare too!! But people dont get mad when people take them out of old trucks either, people also dont get mad when people bob thier beds on thier trcuks, and god knows those are rare because of thin sheet metal...but god forbid, this guy cut up HIS top on HIS 4runner, you know that he paid for. That you have no say in whatsoever.

Edit: BTW im not dissin anyone or anything, just saying... :hillbill:

Whats the guys name that does the fiberglass fenders and bedsides??? I cant remember, but why dont we ask him to start production on replica/replacement tops for these, I bet he could make and sell them for a good price!!!

i just think it's dumb.
If you had a decent looking 1st gen 4Runner, would YOU cut the top up?

1) "it's his truck" duh - is anyone saying otherwise?

2) people who SAS their trucks/4runners do it because they can't get that sort of perfomance from another vehicle. this guy could have easily purchased/traded for a truck that would do *exactly* what he wanted

3) "he paid for his truck" duh - is anyone saying otherwise?

4) it's not about things becoming more expensive, money has nothing to do with what people are saying about this. it's about cutting up a perfectly good vehicle for the sake of flexing your builder's muscle when there are many many other vehicle choices that would do exactly what he said he wanted to do (you may have seen them out on the trail, they are called pickups), including his own vehicle (rear seat delete + alternative/temp back window does the same thing without hacking the top).

5) "dude, it's his truck, he paid for it" dude, i got it. nobody is arguing some sort of ridiculous conservationist strategy for toyotas (especially not to this crowd) but there are many examples of people hacking for the sake of hacking (many worst than this case). it's clear that people are reacting here moreso than on other threads because he *invited* people's opinions. personally, i'm not against bobbing, SASing or any of the many other things we all do to our trucks so long as there's a purpose to it.

i know, i know, poor horse :horse:

(dude, it's his horse hahahaha)

Wow, your a real ignorant one aren't you...

quit your bitchin. Nobody cares that you had a minor heartattack since he cut his top up....

I see so many wrecked 4runners with mint tops..cry me a river :)

I guess people should only do mods that you feel there is "purpose" for..