MudWaspSR5

Regarding my crawl through cab project, I got a set of pristine 4Runner rear seats from my local pick-n-pull last year for $40. They are the same fabric and color too. The seat base folds up / forward in this generation and then the back folds down, i.e; down into the box. I've seen it done on another thread years ago and it looked so awesome I've always wanted to do it. You basically cut out a 3 sided rectangle in front of the rear wheel wells, but just behind the most forward bed mounts. Oddly, there are two sets of bed mounts on each side within ~ 10" of each other so this mod deletes the forward most set. You then cut the bed 52.25" across, up ~9" to the front and on up to remove this big "L" which includes the front face of the bed. You then weld in the steel box which is 6" deep to accommodate the full thickness of the seat back. This box portion has no front wall, just the base and three sides which weld and or bolt into the truck bed base just in front of the second cross support which extends to the second set of bed / frame mounts. A body lift of 1.5 to 2" is needed for the box to not hit the cross members underneath, rear drive shaft, etc. You could in fact do it stock without a lift but I'm lifting to fit 33" tires and to make space for the 5VZ swap. In doing the recessed box, the stock gas tank must also be ditched for a custom fab aluminum tank (rectangle in shape) to be located laterally behind or in between the wheel wells where the spare is located.

I've already done careful measurements and the new tank can actually be up to ~22 gallons. I plan on sizing it for 18 to 20. I also have a nice topper shell that has the extra 6" height / 24 rear hatch that I'm cutting the front out of and will use a rubber accordion boot that seals the truck cab to the camper shell (cost is about $50 on Amazon for the boot). Being that I have a raised topper I could actually mount the seats in the bed without the drop box, but then you cant use the full bed if ever needed without seat removal and the line of sight for rear passengers eyes may be too high because the bed base is already at least 4 or 5 inches taller than the cab floor, hence why the drop box is something many people do who have done this mod before.

I've thought long and hard about all this for several years as many people say why not just get a 4Runner instead but I really love my old truck and want to keep the bed. With the standard bed I still get at least 2 extra feet of room that the 4Runner doesn't have and when needed it can easily carry things the 4Runner can't..(plywood for example). That and the topper can be removed at will like the original 4Runners which can be cool on trails. I'm also trying to find a local fabricator to discuss the possibility of making a single suicide door on the drivers side only for easier rear seat ingress/egress. I know it's feasible of course but will be a challenge that requires a professional automotive fabricator experienced with door mods and how to internally reinforce both the A & B pillars and roof-line. It would really make the truck one of a kind if I can get it done and I aim tuh!