I recently purchased a 1994 exta-cab. 3.0 5spd 4x4. It was as the factory offered it. I bought it with the intention of a full build-up. It has 124k on it. It Had a bad head gasket . The motor was previously taken apart. And had some missing engine parts. And so the buildup starts . I replaced the motor with a rebuilt gm 4.3 with TPI, and a 700 r4 Trans. It is attached to a gear driven dual crawler case. I will post pics as the buildup has progressed .This is the starting pic of the day I picked it up.

 

I took it home and gave it a bath. Man was it dirty. Not the best picture but its clean now.

 

My buddy gave me the go ahead to use his shop to get this done. 1 week after acquisition, and the motor is outta here. Here's a pic of the oil. 2.5 gallons of milky mixture.


The engine bay cleaned up nicely.

It's now ready for a new heart.

 

With a Chevy engine swap , I needed to install a suspension lift and a body lift.


I had painted the components for the lift several years ago, as I was working on a 1989 4runner. Long story. Took the accumulated parts from it and went to town. I used everything from the 4 runner frame except the frame.

 

Wow man. made some quick work of that thing. Im liking the color choices!! That frame looks amazing. Please post more pics!!

 

Unfortunately, The blue frame was not used as it is a lot shorter than the xcab. It was much cheaper and faster to do the x-cab.

 

Once the3" body lift and the 4 " procomp suspension lift were installed it was time to drop in the engine.


Fits like a glove .

 

The engine was originally out of a 91 Chevy blazer. A trip to the local Trans guru to install the adaptor kit Transmission tails haft was in order. I needed to adapt the 700 r4 Trans to a gear drive transfer case. While I was there, I asked him about rebuilding my 4.3. He told me he had built one for his van, and wasn't sure if he was going to use it or get a new van. Long story short, I bought his long block. He told me it would produce 275 hp. $1600 bucks, I got the Trans rebuilt with a new torque converter and a newly built 4.3. Game on.

My 1994 has no A/C. So a trip to the local scrap yard and I got a set of pulleys and new alternator for $50.00.

A trip to my sandblaster and a fresh powdercoat( Eastwood ) and its looking super. No big cast brackets from the serpentine set up.

 

After the engine was installed , I needed to get a radiator. I called advanced adapters . I spoke to Matt. He was very helpful. I ordered an aluminum radiator with the Trans cooler built in. After I received it and fit it in place, I decided to do a electric fan. I also needed to customize this custom radiator a little more. I moved the top neck from the side to the rear and needed to get some custom brackets to fit the Spall fan.

 

nice pics!

 

I kept the Chevy power steering pump. Had a custom pressure line made and added a cooler to the temp low. After making up some brackets, the install is complete.

 

As you can see it the previous suspension pics, i kept themindependent suspension for now. I added a dual crawler box. The marlin coupler,worked like a dream. I actually added it for two reasons. First was I needed a way to move the transfer case mount back. The original mounts were a ways off. I purchased a All-Pro X-Member to take care of the rear mount and skid plate duty.it also incorporates a parking brake on the t-case. ( not shown) the second was lower gearing for the woods.

 

Once the crossmember was installed, I needed to measure for a driveshaft. Now that that's done, I purchased Pro Comp MX4 shocks to ease the ride. I also added a set of 16x10 weld wheels, and Mickey Thompson Baja Claw 35x13.5- 16 bias plies.

 

I'm finally done with 95 % of the build. I need to add a dual speed sensor. 1 for the Chevy computer to tell it how fast we're going, and 1 for the speedometer . The dash is electronic speedo and the case is cable drive. A few little odds and ends to tie up and on to the next project. Here's a few shots on the trailer as I'm headed to the alignment shop tomorrow .

 

Yes..as I'm reading it, I start liking something you're doing and wonder how it's gonna end up and then I keep scrolling and there it is! Haha, very quickly built from an Internet point of view. I love the colors and those tires, too.

Awesome build!

 

I bought this April 18th. Started tearing into it on the 25th. I worked on it 2 days a week. Plus I made a few other doodads. I made this seat /gun rack for a friend of mine.

I welded rim stiffeners for a FJ cruiser.

And a few sets of gusset end spindles for FJ cruiser/ 4 runner / Tacoma .

I am happy to see my dream come reality. Lots of work, lots of research, lots of money. But it's mine and its built, not bought.