Here she is.

1985 4Runner SFA 22RE 4x4
174k original miles

I'm in the process of selling my Tacoma and making this bad boy my daily driver for a while - until I'm able to get a motorcycle or another alternative.
I thought I'd go ahead and post my own build-up thread now that I finally have the 1st gen I've been wanting.

My goal is to get it where I want it mechanically and then start working on restoring the little things.

Here's what I've done so far:

Mechanical
Steering knuckles (torn apart, replaced worn out parts, re-packed)
Front brake job (new pads, rotors turned and pins drilled and re-tapped)
Rear brake job (new shoes, cleaned, adjusted)
E-brake cable (replaced and adjusted)
Thermostat (replaced)

Mods
Fender wells trimmed (previous owner)
Bed-lined exterior
Front axle moved forward 2"
Detroit's front and rear
Re-geared 4.88's
Diff armor front and rear
35x12.50 BFG M/T KM2's
Pro-Comp Steelies
Gutted interior, pulled flooring

The list of future mods is too long to post but the main ones are:

Diagnose driver-side lean (replace factory suspension?)
New front corner and bumper lenses
New exhaust (haven't decided on muffler yet)
Corbeau Moab Seats
Marlin Crawler front and rear bumpers
New headlights, add foglights
Pioneer headunit with new speakers (haven't decided yet)
Convert stock tan interior to grey
The list goes on......

I'll admit - it's extremely hard going from the Tacoma to the Runner.
In the end, though, it will be better for me financially and plus I'll have a sweet rig to take camping and wheeling that I'm not worried about scratching!

I know, I know....pics....

























Sweet YotaTech sticker!



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Save money eh?

 

Thats teh sexors

 

Nice rig!!!!

 

Very cool..that truck seems very familar. Did you buy it from a YT, TTORA or Pirate member? can't find the thread I was thinking of

I think you have a good list to start off with. When doing the brakes I would have considered upgrading to V-6 calipers/IFS rotors, but understand this is a budget saver.

I like the tunnel mount speaker, interesting

gonna subscribe to this one

I used to think the same think about my '05 Tacoma. My '81 is becoming my DD. I need to hook the speakers back up. Nice thing about your 4Runner is that you won't feel bad. Taking out a quarter panel on my taco is what prompted buying my Trekker.

 

Thanks!

Bought it from ADH8796, is this the thread you're thinking of?

It does extremely well for it's age.
It's got a slow rear main and crank seal leak but as long as I keep an eye on the oil level I think those will last a while before causing a problem.

Biggest thing for me to figure out is the lean to the driver-side.
I'm thinking it's just old suspension parts.

Very hard to find stock spec leaf springs....anybody have any good ideas where to start with those?

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ncie rig as everyone has been saying, i remember when he was putting it up for sale. Time to update the sig huh?

Also, Id get some kind of bracket fabbed up for that LSPV mount on your rear axle. The rear brakes will not be working prperly until that thing is straight up and down.

 

35s on stock suspension, nice!

 

Looks sick. I like the low stance with the big tires. Makes me laugh thinkin about 5" + lifts and 35s when all it takes is the

 

my guess is that it is 20+ years of only having a person in the driver's seat...my old bugs did the same thing, DS lean. I did look at a GEO once that was for sale that was very pronounced DS lean--the 300 pound guy that answered the door was the reason for that one
when i did the lift on my '81 there was supposed to be a spacer under the DS front spring...still need to put it in...not sure if they was supposed to be one stock or not...

and that was the one I was thinking of, but remember it from TTORA..

 

Well - nothing new on it yet.
The rear main leak looks to be getting worse but it's still just barely dripping.

Also - I diagnosed why the front pulls so hard to the right when I brake.
The front axle is slightly crooked.

The driver side is at about 27.75" from the firewall and the passenger side is at about 26.5".
I need to get that fixed before I do much driving - I don't want my brand new KM2's to wear down too fast.

Other than that - I'm gonna get some clear corners and turn signals and look for some 6x9" speaker boxes and go from there.
Took the doors off today, can't wait to take her for a spin tonight when it cools off.



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truck looks sweet! i have an 87 4runner thats fully rhino lined too, but its stock suspension and 32s haha

the stuff holds up to a lot of abuse

 

check for a tweeked frame, do the shackles line up correctly?
-has the passenger side of the axle slipped on the spring?

1.25" is not slightly crooked IMO..

 

Keeping an eye on this...Like the rig!!!

 

The axle was moved forward to accomodate the 37's with no lift.
My guess is when it was moved he wasn't able to get it perfectly straight since he was doing it all by himself.

I had my guys at Toyota look at it and they never mentioned anything about the frame.
They're usually extremely thorough so I'm hoping they would have said something about it.

Looking at the spring on the axle it looks to be seated correctly.

Driver side


Passenger side


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so whats up with the pic of the front axle in the first post...the tires in the back are MTR's and the front springs aren't negatively arched like the are in the pics you just posted??? and you never said anything about 37's..lol

 

When Anthony had it he had the 37" MTR's on it.

Not sure about the springs but I'm guessing it's just the angle of the pic?

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This thing sure makes it's way around... glad it's stayed in good hands so far!

Good luck with it.

 

Na, the springs really look like they are bending the wrong way, in both images. Could be right...something may have slipped. Measure, adjust, even out, tighten up. Sounds easy doesn't it. I hope it is.

 

Center pins still there in the spring and axle?
Those springs are hammered.
Some O.E. Toyota springs would be an upgrade and sit flatter.