Been a while since I posted anything in here. Just got the new VHF radio mounted in the truck, and got an old CB that I modified to the 10m ham band that needs to go in. Tire carrier is still going strong.

I had a tire separation on the BFG AT's so I had to put the spare set off the Tundra on the truck. I did take the Outlaw II's and clean them up. And I picked up 1 31x10.50 15 GY Duratrac. I am going to pick one up as the cash becomes available until I get the set of 4. I decided the price difference of the 32's, lower performance with stock gears, and speedo being off, was not worth it to go with 32's again. I decided to keep the new tires on the 15's since the back spacing is 3.75. It widens the stance of the truck just a bit. Id eventually like to get a matching spare rim and tire, but in the mean time I will get a spare tire cover.

I also have a very large battery that will become part of a rear mount dual battery setup. This will power everything in the truck when the ignition is off, and will allow a self jump by flipping a switch. It will also give me a good power source for the 800w inverter install, and the electric compressor. Still hoping to have the soft top on by spring, and will be working on getting an HF radio in the truck with a screwdriver antenna. I like getting deep into the back woods, and like having a way to get a call for help if needed. And I also volunteer and work with the city and organizations to provide backup emergency communications, and help with search and rescue. So more or less a utility vehicle for all around use.

I have also started to notice the rear starting to sag a bit again. I am really thinking about doing an air bag assist in the rear.

Thanks for all the nice comments, its pretty much a poor mans build, a little at a time.

I will take some pictures in the morning.

 

Got the one tire mounted up, and the other 3 are on order. Once the tires are on and the alignment is done, I will start the work on the dual battery/Power Inverter setup. Then it is on to the drive train and fuel tank lift.

 

Duratrac's are on and so far I really like them. Great ride, so far pretty quite.





Control head for the Kenwood TK-790 VHF commercial Radio, and have a TK-890 ready to go in. Will be a Dual band VHF/UHF single control head. Also have an old CB that I modified to the 10m band in the truck now.



Comet 2x4sr-nmo Dual band "Search and Rescue" dual band antenna on a trunk lip mount on the left side of the tailgate. My 48" firestick 5/8 wave CB antenna modified to the 10m ham bands.

Next up dual remote battery setup. This will isolate the starting battery with the key off, so anything running in the truck will be running on a large group 29 commercial deep cycle/starting battery in the back. It will connect them in parallel when running to charge both of the battery's. it will also allow me to have a manual self jump start by hitting a switch. I am also looking to build a new center console for it really soon.

 

Let us know how the Duratracs work in rain/mud/snow!

 

love the build man! you got a deal on it too! looking at trading my truck for one but its an auto so it might play out?

 

Although I have not had a lot of miles on these Duratrac's I have been impressed. They all balanced very well with very little wieght needed. They are surprisingly quite even at 65 mph. The stability of the truck, handling and ride quality are leaps and bounds above the 2 sets that were on the truck. Wet weather conditions seem to do well, but I can elaborate on that in the next couple of days as this Noreaster bears down on us.

I was hoping for some snow, but the last little flurry we had nothing would stick, maybe we will get some more in the next couple of days.

I will try to get into a little mud on Thursday to test them out.

 

My hat is off to you for your generosity.

Great project also. I owned a '86 4Runner and loved the top off option. It is so sexy and fun to drive.

 

Snow huh?



Road into the complex was a solid sheet of ice, several days after the initial storm of the season, we had about 3 inches on that one, and several days of an hour or so above freezing and then a refreeze.









Second storm of the season, dumped about 9 inches of snow, this one had people all over the place.







So After action report, the Duratrac's have been amazing! Snow and ice is wonderful, water is wonderful, and they have done very well in the mud. I have haven't hit any deep mud holes, but been in some very sloppy mud where tractors normally sink in and it has done well.

 

Well the Duratrac's do very well in the sand also. Made a topless beach run last weekend with my Dad following in his 4x4 Tundra. Early in the season, further up the beach you go the deeper the sand would get. The roads over the dunes were much higher than last year, since they have not been smashed down by all the tourists yet.

Couple of things that I have done, built a Bikini top, replaced the glass run on the passenger door that was bad. Ordered a battery hold down from Toyota, and installed that.

Let this be a place marker for a lot of work over the next couple of weeks. I have the last pieces on the way for the dual remote battery setup. Have the glass run to do on the drivers side. Custom made battery, ground, and starter cable for the starting battery. Bud built transfer case cross member with 2" drivetrain lift, new steering wheel. Tomorrow I am going to do a gas tank lift and some misc work. I have a trailer wiring harness off an F-150 with a 4 way and 7 way plug going on. 1200w power inverter with a remote plug and controls, and a custom center console.

 

Ok so a bunch of work later, and a trip to the beach, I realize there is a bunch of work to still do. This is a quick run of what has been done lately.



Got a clutter cutter center console that was given to me, well it was too long so a saw blade and some plastic epoxy later and I had a nice viable center console with cup holders!

New Grant steering wheel, much more comfortable than the thin one.







2" drivetrain lift Bud Built cross member turned out to be a bit much. The exhaust would hit the horse collar. Had to run some 1/2 spaces until I get the exhaust redone. But still have tons of ground clearance. Fuel tank was lifted 2". Still need to work up a skid plate for the tank.











Upgraded battery cables, Battery Isolator, and large fuses for dual battery setup. 4AWG used throughout, was going to go with 2 awg, but the 4 awg ws free so I could not pass it up. Battery cables are OEM USA made 4awg, that was a take off on a damaged E350 van positive and ground cables. The factor ground cable was moved off the battery and attached to the firewall. The terminals are Napa Industrial terminals that are soldered, and heat shrink. The ring terminals are all high quality, crimped, soldered and shrink tubed. I was able to isolate the front battery and start the truck off the rear battery without any issues. So I do not think the voltage drop is going to matter. The battery is in a battery box currently, tie strapped to the roll bar. Soon to be replaced with SLA batteries in a custom holder where the spare tire was.



Here was the truck after a deep water crossing, drop is kind of scared me since water splashed over the hood. I have now decided that a PCM relocation and hidden snorkel is in order. I need to work on the rear springs since they are sagging, but camping and beach runs will be common. So after my trailer harness is on, and the power inverter is working I am planning on building the on board air, and I will be putting on some Air Bag helper springs to level it out, and work on getting the replacement leaf springs.

The 2 inch drivetrain lift made all the difference in the shifting, and transfer case operation. Makes the truck much more pleasurable to drive offroad. Many more mods to come, and hopefully some pictures of the truck in action.

 

pretty sweet build thread op! i know the beach youre talking about. ive been there a few times. theres a guy in a 2nd gen 4Runner that drives around and pulls people out. I stayed at a house up there with my folks last year. no paved roads all sand I like how you made that tire carrier too. How did you lift the fuel tank?

 

I cut off the front bracket and moved the tank to the holes they use for the trucks. I cut 2 inches out of the rear bracket and welded it back together.

 

Well after a long trip to Upstate NY to meet a fellow Yota Tech member, I am now the proud owner of a 3RZ, with wiring harness, and W59 For a bell housing. This is going to be a while, I am going to do a tear down on the engine, just to check some clearances and some cleanup. Have a bunch of parts I need to acquire then the fun can begin.

 

Well here is the 3RZ, a lot of cleaning up the NY rust. Waiting on a bunch of parts to come in to get the valves adjusted, put the finishing touches on the oil pan, and get the engine to sealed up.

 

Looking forward to see how this turns out and what all is involved.

 

Where in New York did you go?? Just curious because I happen to be in the overtaxed state of New York.

Awesome stuff you're doing to the old girl. 1st gens are my fav no doubt.

 

About 1 Hour north of Newburgh. It was a bit of a drive but well worth it. Beautiful up there, just too bad all the city politicians making all the crazy laws. And the cost of living is crazy. I will stay in south VA where the weather sucks, but we have no emission testing, and where the Safe Act, would have been a War Act lol.

Got a bunch done, my parts came in from Toyota. I got all the valves adjusted and the exhaust cam torqued down. Oil cooler oring, throttle body and water pump gasket. The exhaust has been remounted. I was going to go with a header, but its going to have to wait until the engine is in.

T100 oil dipstick is in, and oil pickup. I have a clearance issue, so i have more fabrication on the oil pan than i thought i would. But i have enough metal to make it work, and to build some baffles. The only thing left on the base engine is to get the valve cover gasket set, some bolts for the water pump, and finishing the oil pan. Then i can move onto the PS pump, maf, custom intake, clutch, flywheel, starter, evap system, 02 sensors, slave cylinder, and compressor clutch.

Its the nickel and dime stuff that kills you!

 

Just north of the big, rotten apple is some beautiful wilderness to be sure. The cost of living is more reasonable in Western New York. The cost of housing here is relatively cheap, it's the taxes that kill you as well as the DMV fees, etc... This state would be far better off if New York City would leave the state, build a wall around it and become the 51st state of the union -- the State of the City of New York -- where all our tax dollars go for all their welfare cases, where most of the bleeding heart liberal politicians are, where all the special interests are for the big state government and where the UNSAFE Act was born...(OK, it actually was Albany with most of the dirtbags from the City pushing for it).

The only group that the Unsafe Act is going to affect is the taxpaying, law abiding citizens and not the gang banging criminals who aren't going to limit their extended magazines to seven rounds in their unregistered stolen guns as they commit crime!! Ok, rant over...

Awesome grocery list you have there....and it's always the nickel and dime stuff that gets you. Can't wait to hear how that truck rolls with the new 3.4 installed...good stuff man.

 

After a long day I made some progress. Ran into some clearance issues I was not expecting, and did not run into much where I was expecting them. The oil pan fit like a glove, with only millimeters to spare, I really lucked out on the pan. The pan did hit the steering stabilizer, so I will have to build a bracket to drop it an inch. One unexpected problem was my Budbuilt cross member, I have the 2" drivetrain lift cross member. Since the 3rz is canted, it rotated my transfer case, and it was hitting the cross member, so I had to build some spacers, and get some bolts. So I will be rolling around without my skid plate until I get the right type of bolts. I was also going to use my AC compressor and change the clutch, well mine is too long and hits the motor mount, so I will have to get a new compressor for it.

Still have a lot to do, but the drive train is buttoned up, going to do some more hoses, clutch lines, down pipe, and wiring. Hope to fire it up for a short time tomorrow, then move on to fabricating the exhaust.



Doint 2.25" exhaust, with a Magnaflow Heavy Metal Cat Converter, and Magnaflow stainless muffler. Also have new down pipe, all new tubing, new Aisin Clutch and slave cylinder, new Luke flywheel. New Denso O2 sensors. Cant wait to get this thing on the road.

 

any one know what ever happened to this build????