LOL! Thanks bud! It's always good to hear that someone read through this mess and enjoyed it. I will continue posting til I, or the truck die. And lets be real I'll probably die first. 😆

 

So a friend of mine offered to paint my truck so I have to get it ready. It will be so nice to have it be all one color! I started on the rusty drivers side mirror.



everything was so bad I had to just cut everything off.



Drill out the bolt.



Fitting the new metal.



Sneaky way to get the bolt in the new hole.




I don't have anymore in between pics, but I welded the new bolts in place and did a little finishing work and paint. Turned out ok and definitely good enough for this old truck.



I have a few more spots to fix then its spray time!

And a bonus pic of the truck at work. I've been driving it lately when its too cold for the motorcycle since I sold my car.



-CBO

 

Look what I bought.



In an effort to soften this ride and also why not be different than your everyday sas'd toyota, I am trying out these slider boxes. I slapped some paint on em and started working on the install.



That's where I got stuck. The bolts that came with these are 9/16" and the bushings in the springs take a 3/4" bolt I believe. That's what trailgear uses right? My caliper said it was .715" not .75" soooo...? I went to 2 hardware stores looking for a metal sleeve bushing with no luck. So I bought some online. Waiting on those now. I hope these are exactly what I needed!

 

I worked on this all day Saturday. Here is full droop.




Adding in some gussets.






Here's the difference in height.




I wanted it to lower a bit so this is perfect. I have some videos of it driving on YouTube I will link. Only one side done and i can tell a difference in ride quality.

 

Here is the video of the test run:
This looks like its gonna be a problem.



So last night I ordered some parts. Trail gears kit is $75 but an ebay seller has em for $43.



Trail gears flat pitman is $130!
This pitman arm is from an FJ80 landcruiser. It's not flat, but I believe its an inch or more less drop than what I have so I will be able to turn the steering box more vertical thus allowing it to go forward more. Let's get this baby dialed!

-CBO

 

I got most of the drivers side box welded on and went for a drive.



The next photo I edited it as if I had the new fenders on and it almost makes it look like it sits level.



So I bet if I put the overload leaf on the back packs it will look great. I can't wait to paint it! Just gotta fix some more sheet metal first!

 

Yesterday we took the top off and the whole family went out for a cruise. Somehow that was the first time we've ever done that.



I discovered the drivers side leaf was contacting the slider box just driving around town. I cut about 1/4" off the front bracing and it still hits. You can see the scuffed paint in the photo.



So I guess I gotta keep trimming and driving until the paint stays on. Happy Easter everyone!

 

I finished clearancing the slider boxes. Test drove it. Then decided to flex it a bit. Had the jack maxed out and had more to go.









I might put in a 4" bumpstop so it can go up one more inch. But she's sexy and flexy. Can't wait to wheel it again.

 

Nice work with the slider boxes. Cool to see something different.

 

Thanks man! I agree. Not your every day tg sas anymore.

 

So the installation of the slider boxes and ditching the poorly mounted shackles did help the ride. However, these springs must just be super stiff. The ride is still not where I feel like it should be. I remembered ordering the standard version not the HD version of trail gears springs. How long does it take to break in a pair of leaf springs anyways? I am considering cutting the 3rd leaf down off either on the front or both ends in an attempt to soften them up. But I'd hate to jump to do that only to have them soften up later. I also don't want to be riding on the bump stops because that's counter productive! haha. Here is where I'm considering cutting:



I am open to hear your thoughts and opinions! My tires are also pretty stiff. They are 10 ply sidewall and I have a hard time airing down enough on the trails to get good contact. I don't like them very much. I wish I could sell them on the wheels and have enough to buy brand new 6 ply tires for a set of aluminum wheels that I have had laying around forever.

-CBO

 

New fenders made a huuuge difference. 😍





Just having some issues getting the corner lamps to screw on. I'll be offroad again in 2 weeks!

 

Finally doing the ol quick disconnect door mod. I did this 8 years ago to my 88 pickup and it's about time the 4runner had em!



All that oil is from my jeep not the 4runner. 😅

Only other thing I want to get done before the offroad trip in a week is troubleshoot that front elocker. Reeaally hoping I can figure that out. 🤞

 

Nice!! Where did you get them from?

 

Rock auto maybe? I can't remember! Haha, they were out of stock during covid and I waited a long time to be able to order them I do remember that. Then they sat in my garage for 6 months or so.

 

I've been holding out hoping to find some old originals, they were all over marketplace BEFORE I bought my 4R, but of course now they're all gone!

 

Love the progress you have made on the 4Runner! It’s looking great! I really like those slider boxes. I actually saw them in person the other day here on a build someone did by me.

I ended up making a new build up thread for my 3.slow…. I am missing my 1st gen 22re!!!! Bad.

 

Duuuude. You're back! That's awesome. I'm gonna find that thread!

 

Went to the good ol tuttle creek for a wheelin campin trip to test these slider boxes out.





It was a perfect day and having the top and doors off was a blast. We were puttin around all day with a lexus on 35's and a rear locker. Open front and it did really well. I was impressed. Everything went well until he sank into a mud pit he didn't realize was that deep.




It took a while and I was worried my truck might even break something trying to pull him out but eventually we got him unstuck. 😅






The front e-locker worked flawlessly. It was so nice to have it at the push of a button and functioning properly!
Next item on the 4runner is paint!!



P.s. these magnetic koozies are a must have!!

 

This 4runner is now FOR SALE!!! Asking price is $8k because I haven't painted it yet. Lucky for you all the information on this is well documented here!