hey guys.

yeah, LUMPY...something something something about an insurance discount I do remember as well....something like "X" many hours of classroom and "Y" many hours of supervised driving. we have our LOG to keep track of it all. so far 6.5hrs. he has yet to officially (or legally) give it a shot in his 4runner. that will come soon. lotsa dust to settle here on the home-front before I push our luck doing that one.

his clutch is brand new....so I believe we have a ways to go before it gets worn down.

I believe he has a good feel for it right now. as I have had him out in absolutely terrible conditions and then have done some mediocre highway miles with him. city driving is the most exciting.....and because of where we live out in the boondocs....city driving is quite a bit away from here. highway is even farther away. the kind of 55mph driving he's done is the "highway" that runs from down this way to my work and the other way to my hometown. highway driving is easier, but as we all know, a bit less forgiving.

 

Wow, this is exciting! lol....

Can't wait for your first 'DRIVE BY' video, Joe! And sure, you could do one now... but I'm talking "REGISTERED OCCUPANT DRIVE BY" video, ya feel me? hahaha.

Man, summer seems 8 months away in Feb when you're in school, eh Joe? lol....

Keep kicking rump, ..............

and oh yeah, ........ SUP JERRY?

 

hey Mark.....and all.

somehow I missed your reply. nothing really new to report.

Joe's driving lessons continue without much to talk about. he's been doing fine. driving around the roads where we live can be dangerous for a seasoned driver, let alone a novice. for the most part, the roads are big enough for 1 1/2 cars and it makes for an extremely tight squeeze.

whatever confidence he had from the 1st time he pulled out of the driveway several weeks ago with his 4runner not stalling, was quickly squashed when I offered for him to take it out on the road again. his 4runner has been sitting in the garage all shiny and clean for over a month and that's what I choose to do until the warm and nice weather breaks for good.

anyway, starting off from a stop is his trouble spot. worse yet, is starting on a hill. these are all the trouble areas I anticipated as obvious problems. so it's no surprise. so much different than when I was young and I swiped the family vehicles and took them for rides without anyone knowing it and basically taught myself how to drive a stick, I still think it's hilarious that my mother was a gear-jammin momma and always had a standard transmission vehicle until we bought a brand-new 1980 Plymouth Volare' when I was 11 years old and she would have been 47. I 1st drove a dodge Dart with the shifter on the column and then graduated to Volkswagen bugs and beetles, Ford Fiesta, Mazda GLC, Ford Escort.

anyway...he will live. My goal has been for him to not get too smug or over-confident, as I Know that can be quite dangerous. We did finally just give up the other day as cars were hung up behind us at a stop sign on a hill and did the old fire drill and switched seats. he doesn't want to try it again for a while....but he will...


hope all is well with everyone....things are kinda status-quo here and really itching to get out of the winter doldrums....even though we have been kinda without a true winter with not having any real snow.

 

Great to hear from ya, as always, Jerry! Joe will get it in no time...and once he does, it'll be hard for him to 'buy' an 'Auto', down the road! lol...(was for me, anyway... ALWAYS preferred the 'FEEL' of the stick, having so much more control, etc.... Especially in 4WD, mainly cuz, where I go, I often have LONGGGG inclines in 4Low/1st Gear, lol... Just so much easier on the brakes, too)... But anyway, like you said, ...'he will'!

Glad it's status quo and no STATUS-'OH NO!' lol.

 

Just caught up glad to hear joe is learning to drive. Manual trans can be fun I grew up on a ranch so everything I drove was manual it Was just what it was. Took my drivers test in my old mans 77 ford F350 duelly fun fun had to parellel park the beast don't know who else has ever driven one of those old fords but shifting from first to reverse is like moveing it across the truck the persson giving the test was a female from southern
california she was so amazed that I was driving it let alone taking my test in it my old man laughed when she said that she had never been in or saw somone parellel park somthing that big. Any way sounds like you're doing good with joe. Don't know how much y'all go off road but when I taught my buddies kid to drive stick in my 94 I took him out and just drive on the trails so he would get a feel for how to work it and how to use the gears to slow down when the brakes just make it slide and use the brake and clutch and gas all at once to get what he needed done. Have fun y'all and keep it between the ditches

 

thanks guys....yeh...no off-road anything legally around here. so that sucks.

 

hey jerry, he been gettin any more hours logged?

 

hey babe.

not on his truck. had him out several times with the wife's 4runer and my truck. he does well. did some mall-parking lot driving last weekend...eeek.

 

took joes runner out for the 1st time in a few weeks because i got elected to do some grocery getting among other things. in total put about 80 miles on yesterday.

ran fine, still amazed at that.

getting the itch because of our unseasonably warm weather we are having. finally able to spend time outside and in the garage without numb fingers.

short list of things to do:
ZUK mod......really want to do this soon but not wanting to make it looked jacked-up. have to do some more reading on this because it seems like every thread I see has the added part of putting BJ spacers on the front and cranking the t-bars etc etc etc and needing an alignment. methinks if I get the traditional springs and cut a ring or 2 off of them I may get away with a nice level ride.

need to install Joe's stereo. would be nice.

need to re-visit the cooling system / HVAC controls. as I can hear a gurgling from the presumed heater core and the controls do NOT operate smoothly. so I have to reroute on un-entrap the controls. there is and has been little to no heat. was OK, because this thing didn't get driven in the winter anyways.

need a passenger's side fender.

need to fix and fabricate some of the metal trim on the side of the removable shell.

still looking for a pushbar similar to mine for the front of his. we have a smittybuilt rear bumper just sitting there waiting to be re-done.

not a terrible list.

 

NOPE< ....... go to my zuk thread, Jerry.....

I did 1.5" spacers and relaxed it about 1/4" lol..... and with the 12"x125#ers it's perfectly level! If you torque on those, it's gonna be too tight up there w/out the BJ spacers.... With them, you CAN relax them even a lil bit, allowing a TEENY bit more travel... Besides, you can always adjust them til it's to specs.... Stock, IIRC is 14.5 well to trim in front and 12" in rear(???) I'd have to go over my thread a lil bit, lol.

 

you hurt my brain

 

alrighty...

just ordered two BLACK MAGIC 5''OD x 13'' x 125lb springs to do the ZUK (no-cut method). $72.97 total.

not wanting to do BJ spacers, so hopefully won't make it jacked-up too much. if so, will just get the 11'' ones and sell these.

so stay tuned .....

 

Sounds like fun, lot easier than the springs I'm doing

 

tanx.

gonna post up some pics and measurements (not like the ones you sent me you sick sunnuva....)...to preface the actual install.

 

He he he

 

Sorry, I no meaneded to hurtz yore brainz lol.

COOL! Can't wait to see.... Curious why you're so against the BJ spacers? Also, I went with 12"x125# coils and it was definitely raked.... but NOT so bad that it bothered me deeply, lol.... However, 13"??? I would think it would add even more rake, but maybe not, considering they're wider in OD.... Maybe that makes for more compression/more easily, compared to the tighter OD's like I have in.

??????

lol.

 

I had a choice between 11'' and 13''. 125lb was the rate I had seen over and over as what we wanted. I kinda wanted 11''.....but was going with the searched-consensus of 13''. If they don't fit, we get 11's and either sell the 13's or put them on my truck and do BJ's on mine with 33's in the future.

I just don't want a $70 project to balloon to a $300 project between springs, spacers and alignment and not to mention bigger tires.

 

OK guys...may have a chance to change my order because I forgot to tell them that I wanted the 125lb rate so they sent me an email. If you guys think 11'' then I do it. If they do nothing for the sag, then they go on my truck.

pics:

FRONT: just over 13 3/4''



REAR:right at about 11 1/4''



BUMPSTOP: right at about a 2'' clearance



OVERALL (these pics don't show it well)







EDIT: added this pic. this is a measurement of the space from the top of the upper bumpstop to the bottom

 

Remember the rear wheel wells are cut lower then the fronts. I would extend that body line through the fenderwells, both front and rear and measure from that not the fender trim. Also I remember back before I lifted my truck, I had posted the actual frame measurements per the FSM. Can't remember if they were for the 31" tire option or not.

 

yes....they probably are cut differently.

aesthetically, these are the visual reference points we all use.

My computations:

Bumpstop tip to tip clearance is currently 2'', need 4.5'' to get it "level" looking

TOP bumptop mount to bottom bumpstop mount distance now is 7.5''. want 10'' to "look" level. (this measurement makes me wonder if 11'' would cut it)

the "visual" difference aesthetically is 2.5''.