Hey Yotatech!

Everyone calls me Rowdy. I'm new to posting here, but a fan of many of your posts. I'm posting the build/swap on what I'm calling my "Freedom Ticket".

The backstory of these two trucks.

The maroon '91 I bought from an inspection shop an hour north of where I am now. I've always wanted an old 4Runner to turn into a mountain trek vehicle and I sold my beautiful 2012 Tacoma to buy this truck. I paid $2200 for the Red Raider and soon found out I couldn't get it to pass inspection due to the back frame rusted through at the springs and shocks.

The bright side. Only one owner. A elderly woman with maintenance records and 138k miles on it. The engine bay look likes it's been well taken care of. She also had the tailgate completely overhauled from dents and paint to window motor.

The green '90 I bought from a mechanics shop about an hour west. It sat in the parking lot where one of the techs bought it as a project and made it to taking the timing belt cover off and a few other items. The best part about this truck is that it has virtually ZERO rust that I can find anywhere. I did a ton of inspection with a flashlight and even took trim pieces off to double check.

Green Machine has an engine and transmission that ran before this guy tore into it. I know with a bit of work I will have a rebuilt backup engine AND transmission should I need one. I paid $500 for this one.

This week has been warm so I've been stripping Green Machine down to the bare bones. I've also received more boxes from Rock Auto than I care to recall, but if I'm going to have them apart I might as well replace things like the fuel pump, shocks, thermostat, etc. I have ordered every gasket available through Rock Auto and if I run into a few that weren't available I'm one block away from Autozone.

It's my intention to turn these two trucks into one mechanically sound (and in March all black or gray, haven't decided) 4Runner that will run for another 200k or more.

Wish me luck! Tips and tricks are welcome.


Rowdy out!

 

Welcome, what's the specs? And where's the damn pics??

 

Hey.. sorry about the pics. Not sure why they haven't posted.

 

A few supplies and an ugly bulldog.





Side by side before most of the work started.

 

I'm filming everything in time lapse with the GoPro. Unfortunately the trick with time lapse is showing some progress. I'm uploading the engine removal to YouTube very shortly and I'll post a link.

I found a video on YouTube of a guy lifting the engine, transmission, and transfer case out all at once. Well. We did it. It went a lot smoother than one might hope too.

So as it sits.. Green Machine's interior is 85% removed and the engine and transmission is out. All other mechanical items are out of the engine compartment and today

I spent the morning:
1. Removing all wire clips so I could sling the harness over the fender.
2. Using Simple Green to clean the mess out of the engine compartment.
3. Removed all hoses I cut off at or near the firewall.
4. Used a wire cup to scrub out all the rust and corrosion, especially in the area where the battery was.
5. Cleaned all the electrical connections with the WD-40 connector cleaner, nylon brush, and a rag.

The engine bay isn't quite as clean as a whistle, but it's damned close.

I'll be taping off the wiring connections before it gets dark and once I know they're dry. I'll post some pics then too.

 

A few more supplies.. I have a ton of these pics unfortunately.

 

Welcome. I hope you had lots of Harbor Freight coupons. The maroon Yota looks really nice. I hope you get it where you want it soon.