Every good work, coming along nicely

 

ahh. figures it wasnt that easy lol
the bumper is from CBI as a weld together kit. fyi, price doesnt include tire carrier, just bumper. they can weld it together for you at more $
http://www.cbioffroadfab.com/store/i...2f9ac8cadd598a

 

Chef... Thanks!! It ended being a good one too!

 

Thanks, Never heard of them before. Its actually better that its a weld together kit. Do you know of a good source where I could get the tire rack parts? I eventually would like to put an F150 tank where the spare tire carrier is now..

 

you can buy the tire carrier parts from them as well. CBI has been lazy on updating that page. i think its because the lack of demand.
with the spare out. there is tons of room for a fuel tank!!

 

Just wanted to say I really like your build, you've got some really good fab skills, I look forward to seeing your top when its finished!

 

Thanks for the compliment. This is the first time I really tore in to such a huge project and undertaking.. As far as the top goes.. I have all the major work done with it and may do a mock-up to show you guys how it looks on the runner (i'll save the finish body work until I repaint the truck to factory colors). I think its going to look really nice and its something I haven't seen anyone try yet..

Things to do..

Get gear oil in the dual cases, headgasket replacement, redo the exhaust, tighten all bolts to spec and get truck ready for smog... Then 3.4 Swap!!


I'm happy with the progress so far and got all of expensive stuff out of the way. Now its just all the small things that I still want to do, but before that I want to make it drivable, and before that I need to finish a couple of term papers...

 

OK.. Had a bad case of writers' block, so I haven't worked on my paper yet... However, I was curious to see what my Runner looked like with the top off... I must say it looks purdy...



another angle


With the top off I wanted to mock up my half top to check out the fit and how it actually looked on the truck.. so for those who were curious on the top, here you go.

 

Dude, that looks sick!!!! When you get it done and paint it, its going to look so sweet! Hope you don't mind, but I might have to copy it!, LOL!

 

good job on the top.

 

wow i have never seen those tripple sticks before. i really like that! im going to have to add them to my build plans. your rig is way sweet, adds another point to my 4runner over pickup delema.

 

Thanks everyone for the positive comments... As of now I wont be working on the top until I get ready for paint.. I have to SMOG the truck in August, so I have to get the truck prepped so I can pass, which equals a new head gasket kit, reinstall the exhaust and tightening the bolts up to spec. Then I can start prepping the 3.4 swap.. Things I need for prep is new timing belt, water pump, clutch, V-6 motor mounts for the frame, passenger side exhaust for BAR, cross over pipe after BAR.. Anyone know how strict the Sacramento area BAR personnel are? Or is it case by case ..

 

I was finally able to move the truck for the first time in over 3 months and had to do the obligatory poser flex shots.. I'm not sure of the maximum amount of flex I should get.. Does anyone have an idea of what it should be with the springs and shocks I'm running? (14" shocks with 3"TG/RUFF hybrids in front and 12" shocks and 63" chevy's in the rear)..

 

Nice flex pics! I've seen some yota's with similiar suspension setups and wouldn't be surprised if you could lift the rear tire twice that height, nice work!....looking at your pics kinda makes me wish I'd gotten 35's for my build tho, LOL.

 

So, just yesterday I ordered one of these and hopefully i should get it on Weds.

http://www.sky-manufacturing.com/new...uct.php?id=142

I'll post pics once I get it installed and set up..

I'll finally be able to park on a incline..

 

Here's a follow up on some of the things I've been working on.. I was able to install the transfer case parking painted and installed. Additionally, I was able to weld in a bracket to hold the front portion of parking brake cable in place (cut out the rear torsion bar brackets from the frame).

Here are a couple of pictures. IMO, I believe the SKY parking brake is a better built unit when compare to the All-pro model for a couple of reasons. 1) it has a built in skid plate, and 2) the parking brake rotor bolt holes are threaded (provides a peace of mind that the driveline bolts and nuts will not fall off).





Now with the drivetrain complete, its now time to start on the headgasket repair.

I ordered a kit from engnbldr with new head bolts and all the associated gaskets and seals. Has anyone heard of well the headgaskets are from him or have heard of failures? the whole kit was only 66.00 with free shipping..



Next on my to do's is to start labeling the hoses and start taking pictures of the engine bay. Does anyone have a recommended link on headgasket replacement and what is the biggest priority when having the head looked at?

thanks

 

looking good. nice flex test.

wow that is a cheap headgasket kit. i cant say much about it since i no nothing about it. as far as the head goes. just send it in for the usual. leak test, cracks and if it all checks out decked.

 

this build is awesome! would someone be able to use ifs rotors and calipers for the rear disk brakes?

 

I actually read something not too long ago that someone did use IFS rotors and brakes on the rear. However, I do not know if they are the same type I used or if they were custom made, etc.. so more research is needed.

 

As posted earlier. I'm finished with the driveline part of the build and it is now time to start focusing on the engine and headgasket.

I took pictures of the engine bay and a few close ups of the vacuum gauges and started to removed the valve cover. I was curious to see how it was going to look since the previous PO said the motor was rebuilt about 27K miles ago.. so with that said I took of the cover and much to my surprise, it was really cleat underneath and most likely the PO was telling the truth, the engine was rebuilt. Oh, forgot to mention I did a compression check. With a warm engine, all spark plugs removed, cold injector disabled, and WOT, I checked all cylinders and the compression reading were #1 160, #2 160, #3 165, and #4 162. Not quite to specs, but with a blown gasket, they seem alright.

Ok, back to the valve cover.. This is what I saw when I removed.. Pretty clean, eh?




Also checked the timing chain and the timing chain guides. The chain shows little to no signs of wear and both sides of the timing chain guides are intact and show little to no signs of wear. This, what the PO previously mentioned, is another reason why I feel this is a recently rebuilt motor.



Timing chain guides

Right side


Left side


The cam and valve springs were in good condition and also showed little to no wear.





I'll continue to post more pics of the progress on the head gasket repair.. On a side note, I plan on purchasing the DIY CBI offroad rear bumper for the runner sometime in the next couple of months (thanks Toyo) and have some round tubing tubing bent to match the wheel wells and welded to the front and rear bumpers and to the rocksliders. I want these to be removable, so I plan on using the interlocking tube clamps from TG at the connection points.

Enjoy..