ryantowry_81

so instead of starting completely from scratch and not getting to wheel this summer i decided to buy a cheap beat down wheeler off CL and make her my own.
here is how she sat the day i brought her home:




first was vaccum the whole thing out cause it sat under atree with no doors on it for a year then went through and changed all fluids, cap and rotor, wires, plugs, new motor mounts, air filter and battery then drained the gas and replaced and she was ready to wheel.

went up with james for a short day trip on the rubicon then got home to find out i had 2 bad trunion bearings, two broken center pins and a t case output had packed off and took out the seal.

fixed that all up before the fordyce work day then she did great.

newest addition was a self bout fathers day present:
Before


After


not a huge difference but the 35's never measured bigger than 34 and the new (to me) 37's measure right at 37.

not to the list of to do's:
-wire rock and offroad lights
-remove the stupid 3" body lift
-tune the carb up and add the cap to help keep it from flooding at angles
-reweld up tunnel and add shifter boots to keep some of the heat out of the cab
-build sliders, bumpers and add winch
-build some tube doors or half doors
-finish bed bob to remount tailgate
-add more tie down points in bed


i know there is not much visual progress yet but stay tuned.

gmack192

Looks like a good start....

Cedge208

That's a great start. I dig the 37's you got

ryantowry_81

Thanks guys. we just moved in about a month and a half ago and i had to recorder a bunch of tools i sold be fore the move including my bender but i got the welder wired Sunday night so as soon as i get the new stand built it is on.

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

If you were closer I would toss in a set of doors
Sucks a lots of tools didn't make it down from Alaska

ryantowry_81

yeah not too bad cause the only tools i sold where ones i could sell for more up there than they cost to replace down here hence $$$$. and they are all replaced now, just didnt need to move them this way.

and i actually have a set of doors i just need to clean them up cause the PO left them in the bed of the truck while sitting under a pine tree for a year so they are super dirty, and i have to push out the drivers door cause his kiddo sat on it and caved it in a little. hopefully i can take care of that soon.


and shipping doors from MARS would be expensive.

Cedge208

LOL

ryantowry_81

hahahaha

ryantowry_81

well not alot of progress but some to report

first dropped the body lift out of it and added new poly cab bushings and got rid of the ghetto sliders.

alot less frame showing now.

then i decided to weld up the bed sides because the PO never finished his bed bob. this is not the cleanest sheet metal work because there was a large gap to fill and both bed sides had had some rock contact and i was not about to spend alot of time straitening it just to bend it up again.


then got out the die grinder and cut off wheels and cut the fenders out as much as possible to give me an idea of how much more i can drop out of the suspension.

here is how she looks as of yesturday:




with the 4th off yesterday i used part of the morning to whip up this:


just got to copy it for the other side, build up some frame plates and get then on there.

also got some plate and a xrc8 to mount on the front and bumpers to build and some dimple dies to try out.

more to come.

83Toyota88

iTrader: (1)

So I assume you mig welded the body on the truck bed? What kind of wire did you use? I will be doing some body work to mine soon. I know a little about welding just looking for some advice.

ryantowry_81

i just used the standard ER70-S6 Mig wire. have to go real low on the voltage and only tack then let cool, tack then let cool.

ryantowry_81

not a whole lot of progress but got a little time in the garage before i leave for chicago for work on monday.

installed a flat pitman arm cause the drop pitman was hitting the leaf under stuff on the driver side.


then built a quick winch mount to mount the XRC8 i bought a while back for this truck. figured it would come in handy for some snow wheeling when i get back in february.


all painted and mounted, just needs to be wired now.


high on my list is to fix this front hanger because the previous owner used some mounts WAY too wide for the springs allowing them to walk side to side.


(nuts are off the spring bolts in the pic cause the bolts are bent, those are getting replaced also)

then pulled the truck out and brought this in to start the build up:


unfortunately it will probably sit this way until i get home in late january early febuary.

calebintn

coming together nicely

ryantowry_81

well i am finally back from the midwest, and for good this time.

not much to report on work wise but i did get to spend some of my OT on her:



-Longfield 30 spline birfs and custom inner shafts w/ chromo hub gears
-detroit for 9.5LC 3rd
-Spartan for 9.5LC third
-9.5" 5.29's with solid spacers and install kits
-Marlin knuckle rebuild kit
-TG bomb proof motor mounts
- and some more parts and pieces for my home made bump stops.

now just need to get on it and get some more tube bent for the truck for bumpers and stuff.

ryantowry_81

well it has been a long time since i got to do any work on this thing.
over this last weekend i started cleaning up a IFS rear housing for it:



starded as a 90 4runner axle, mnan those things have alot of brackets to cut off!
going to weld a strap across the bottom and back for some light reinforcement and get some ruff stuff perches.

also worked on replacing the fenders and swapping in some IFS hubs and V6 calipers:



they are not perfect but alot better than they were.

ryantowry_81

on another note, a couple weeks ago i purchased this trucks replacement.

i found this 99 4runner with a 3rz and auto that just had the motor replaced just needed to be finished hooking everything up:




and a little picture i took with one of my spares for motivation:


plan to use the widened fj 60 front and the FF fj80 rear under the runner and some 37's to make a really good family wheeler. i really needed something with a back seat to haul my girls with me.

hopefully i can clean up the first gen and wheel it some this summer and sell it to fund building the 4runner next fall/winter

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

Hate to see you part ways with your 1st gen but I can totally respect the need for a family wheeler.
I the more I see 3rd Gen 4runners with 35's plus the more I want one.

ryantowry_81

yeah i tried to talk the wife into letting me have two wheeling rigs, one family rig and one more hard core wheeling rig but she was not having it so i had to make a choice:
1) keep the first gen and only seldomly get to go out due to having to leave the kids at home with the wife

or
2) sell the first gen to fund a family runner build, that i cant get as crazy with but be able to get out more and explore more. best of all i will get to have my girls with me and get to share my hobby and love of the outdoors with them.

i chose option 2. option 1 enticed the little boy in me but option 2 won because i am not a little boy first i am a father first and i want to be able to be with my girls as much as i can while they still actually want to hang out with me...lol

on another note i still have some work to do to the first gen so there will be some more updates. I think i am going to work out a deal with a good friend of mine who is deploying in july to buy it but i will keep working on it a little here and there while he is gone so it is primed and ready for when he gets back.

Erick561

iTrader: (7)

Take it from everyone who's regretted selling their first gen; When theres a will theres a way. Keep your first gen in the family. Nice find tho!

ryantowry_81

made a little more progress the other day and welded a little protection on the rear axle while i had it out and bought some ruff stuff perches to save time over building some.real easy when i only work 5 miles away to just go pick them up.

pics:
bent a piece of strap over the ring gear (sorry crappy cell phone pic)

and a piece of strap across the bottom

not too bad for not mig welding in about a year

threw the perches on (i know it is upside down) to get some more motivation


then got completely side tracked.....

I have never liked the front hanger on this truck and i finally got pissed enough i figured i would cut the perches off and french them into the cross bar to lower it some and move the axle forward about an inch. only problem with a long list of fixes is i cant stay concentrated on one for too long.

pics:
perches cut off, i love the air hammer with the chisel blade, made this way easier

where they were

where i want to put them


hopefully i can get this buttoned up pretty quick as i have to leave for work next week for a while.