ncpaladin

Here is the Red Rat.







'87 4Runner SR5 22RE 4cylinder with the 4speed automatic.
around 173000 miles. I bought it off ebay in September 2007. A Tennessee truck from birth. It looks to have been through a few owners, and, as usual, I buy it in an unloved state of condition. So as it eats my wallet, I hope to someday have it right. Maybe in the next 2 or 3 years. It has a iffy paint job done by a previous owner. I have done the following-
Reman. Brake booster and master cylinder
Flushed brake lines
Removed, cleaned (as best as possible), repaired some parts, and reinstalled interior.
Figured out and repaired rear power window.
Removed wheel well stainless trim to find rust. Junked the trim.
Changed out American Eagle aluminum wheels that were on it to FJ Cruiser 17" alloys with the 265/70-17 tires.
New window rubber from Toyota all over.
Repaired power window switches.
Replaced crappy Aiwa CD player with a 2001 model Toyota AM/FM/CD/Cassette unit.
Put Australian Hilux front corner lights on it. The clear section is still the parking lamps. The amber section is wired into the turn signal. Now someone driving beside it can tell when the signal comes on.
New rear light lenses with new bulbs, brake bulb is multi-led type. New lens gaskets (OEM) and new tailight to body gaskets (OEM).
Replaced factory fuel filter due to bad banjo bolt (I friggin' hate banjo bolts!) Now has custom hoses going to a Mallory high performance 5 micron filter mounted to passenger wheel well.


The future...

Have mechanic go through drivetrain to see what condition it is in, and what it needs next.

Replace front calipers and rear wheel cylinders.
Replace rotors and drums (maybe?)
Replace suspension with Downey Off Road 2" lift-
2" lifting new rear leaf springs (has originals with 2"blocks right now.)
26mm torsion bars.
new upper and lower ball jooints.
new poly bushings.
and anything else it needs when it is torn apart...
Replace front fenders due to rust.
Replace rear fender flares due to rust.
Repair front of truck where someone once hit something and didn't line everything up just right.
Replace chrome headlamp doors with argent ones.
Replace rear bumper with a custom one that has a spare carrier.
Rehab. sliding windows (actually have left and right spares from the junk yard, and new OEM rubber for them. They just need blasting and powder coating. Then I'll replace mine with those.)
Have interior reupholstered with a quality fabric. (Looks like the seats went through hell right now.)
Send dash pad to Just Dashes for re-do.
Send junk yard factory leather wheel to Alan Gun Leather for re-do.
Finally full paint and body work.
Color- BMW Imola Red
Trim- Gloss black

I think I'll be broke, dead or both at the end of this project.

Hoopster

It's a beauty. Nice job taking care of it.

MudHippy

One of the sharpest lookin' 87 4Runners I've ever seen.

Assuming you didn't Dr. those pics, just kidding!

You scored on that one for sure. Cleaned up real nice!

mt_goat

Wow, very nice! That doesn't look like an "unloved state of condition" to me (well maybe the seats). Are you going to show it or something?

ncpaladin

Oh, if you only knew...

The repaint and the fact that you just see photos hides much.

Not bad from 20-30 feet away though.

cruisinforburgers

Dig the Ride, where did ya get the aussie corner lights?

Corey

iTrader: (1)

Very nice 1st gen.
I also like the addition of the FJ Cruiser alloy wheels on it.

ncpaladin

Ordered them from an Australian ebay vendor, sports-lights.com. Very friendly and fast to return emails. He airmailed 2 sets to me. I'll probably put the second set on my '85 2wd.

ncpaladin

If anyone is interested, here are some close up pictures of the Australian Hilux corner lamps. The pics are of my spare set not yet installed.

MudHippy

Those are pretty slick.

Too bad they won't fit my 88 pickup. How do I know? I tried puttin' an 87 4runner corner light on it already. Not quite the same, I might be able to make 'em fit though.

I wonder if they got some for an 88 pickup? Might have to find out...sports-lights.com eh?

EDIT: I guess they say they're for 83-88 hilux, I bet I could make 'em fit anyway. They're pretty cheap too, shoot!

TNRabbit

Gorgeous!

stormin94

That thing looks pretty cool.

TORTIS

iTrader: (1)

nice rig. is that a briighside paint job? your not going to keep the running boards are ya?

X-AWDriver

Man,that's one of the straightest,cleanest and reddest 1st gen 4Runners I've seen in a while like maybe back in '87 when they were new. The wheels are a nice touch and even tho' they are 20 years newer they still fit the truck nicely since they aren't an obnoxious style.

ncpaladin

Thanks for the compliments. The running boards were on it when I bought it, they are Toyota boards for the 2nd gen 4Runners, I was told. They will probably go in the future. The question about the lights... I took the corner lights out of my '85 2wd, and they are the same as the '87 4Runner, except they are black instead of argent. The 1987-1988 trucks have a slightly different design on the bottom of the lamps and grill. You could just replace your grill, too. Sports-lights.com also has lamps from Altezza that are listed for the 2wd, my bet is that the amber bulge part is smaller on them because of the 2wd smaller fender flares. Look up "DEPO" auto parts. They are the aftermarket manufacturer of these and a bunch of other lamps. The have color photos of each one. You may be able to order the model you want through Sports-lights. Because these lights are not DOT approved, you probably would not get the US distributer to order a set in. Look up the part number and e-mail Ross at Sports-lights. The FJ Cruiser wheels I had on my '06 Tacoma 4x4. When I bought the 4Runner, I put the OEM 16" alloys back on the Taco, and rolled the American Eagle wheels off the 4Runner and into the shed. The tire diameter is a bit much for the 4Runner- going up and down hills it is straining to do 60MPH indicated. Perhaps 4.56 gears in the future?

jcfb

.....

ncpaladin

Thanks for the page link. I looked at my VIN tag on the firewall, and compared it to the link. I have 4.30 gears in my 4Runner. And after doing the math, it looks like 4.88 gears would work out great with the 265/70-17 tires on there now. Then the question is how much time, money and trouble to change them...

My99

As others have said - that's great looking rig. I dig the running boards (contrary to popular opinion here) They don't look like typical bland oem 1st gen, but rather 3rd gen style. Great work so far!

bob200587

I also like the wheels. They look surprisingly good for being so much newer in style.