Ok guys i've been SLOWLY building a 1987 4runner that i got in Oct. of 2011. I traded my '92 accord straight up for it! and i've been taking pics as i've gone along and always wanted to start a build thread but for whatever reason never did. So now i have almost three years of pics to post so this will be a PIC HEAVY! thread which i know a lot of you love at least i do anyway!

But here's how she looked when i got her minus the black wheels; they were gray but i just rattle canned them black like the next day!

 

notice she's a butt dragger like most 1st gens!

 

SO....My first step was to address the rear sag without putting a lot of money out for a new leaf pack on anything (i was in college at this time and broke!). Fortunately i found yotatech (<----- YES!) and became a member of this community and found out about the ZUK mod (Thanks ZUK!). But i didnt want to cut into the bump stops so i went with the no cut ZUK method and utilized a pair of front tj coils my friend had (hate having jeep parts anywhere near it but o well!)
I also had the benefit of working at a toyota dealership as a lube tech while in school so i had access to everything i would need which was awesome! I also added Skyjacker Nitro 9000's to the back when doing this because the rears were shot!

so here are some before and after pics
before:


After:

 

The next thing I did was add some cheap offload lights. So I went with pro comp 55s

 

Next came time to throw some money at it! Time to upgrade wheels and tires. At this point I would have loved to go with 33s especially because they weren't anymore expensive but I didn't have the cash to regear or put a lift on so I just went with 31inch GY Duratracs on 15x8 crager steelies and I love the way they look and perform!

 

First problem with the 4runner after owning it for 3 months! I'm driving to work one day and I begin to hear a winding noise coming from under the gear box and I think this cant be good! I had hoped that maybe it was just that an input shaft or a throw out bearing had gone bad but upon pulling the tranny I found this!

 

nice, no rust!

 

Not good at all! luckily through working at toyota I was able to get a new tranny, clutch, flywheel machined and rear main seal replaced for less than 1000!

Out with the old


In with the new!

 

After getting the drive train back in order my lovely wife gave me $$$ for my birthday and I was able to get a trail-gear front bumper for it! Really like the look! I also added skyjacker nitro 9000 to the front to match the rear and compensate for the wait of the bumper.

 

You should put that on the showroom floor and see what kind of attention it gets! Looking good!

 

Thanks guys appreciate it!

 

Wow man! Probably one of the nicest and cleanest 1st gen runners I have seen. Great work.

 

Thanks so much!

 

HEre is where the story of the 4runner build takes a bittersweet turn. Upon finishing up 6 yrs. of college the +1 and I packed all of belongings and pointed the Uhaul North 650 miles from Cleveland, TN. to Baltimore Md. Really miss this place. So much good wheeling so close by in TN not so much in MD.

 

After arriving safely in Md. I quickly began selling everything that wasnt bolted down in order to get some more cash for some more mods. So the first thing i did was sell my mountain bike in exchange for a rear trail-gear bumper (thanks wabbit!!) (sorry dont have a good pic of it but you can see it peeking behind the rear-end in this topless shot!)

 

I completed the front bumper by adding in a smitty-built 8000lb winch (i have since replaced the cheap roller fairlead with a Warn Hawse fairlead)Funny story in this install though; i had to shave the grill to get a proper fit and when i did i just barely knicked my a/c pre-cooler and immediately was made aware of the horrible sound of all my Freon escaping into the atmosphere; so about $200 bucks later and a lot of phone calls to various parts stores, i had a new one back in! You live and you learn!

 

Haven't actually needed the winch yet but needless to say it sure does come in handy during hunting season!



Now onto the next mechanical hiccup! I began having an occasional starter problem where I would only hear a click. This was annoying but it only happened every once in awhile so I more or less ignored it. Then it started happening all the time. I quickly began thinking that it was bad contacts but then i came across Rad4runners's post here https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f199.../#post51947533 which helped Me rewire the starter by bypassing the ignition. Thanks RAD!

 

The next project I wanted to get into was building a cargo box/ sleeping platform for the inside. I saw a lot of different ones on expedition portal and on here so i modeled mine after that. I also wanted the sleeping portion to be removable so that my back seats could still function when i needed to use them. I built it out of 3/4 inch plywood and covered it with outdoor carpet. All in all i think i had about $80 worth of materials. It turned out pretty good and is very useful!




Shortly after completing it my wife and I did a Mini-overlanding trip to Assateague Island a cool little place on the eastern shore of Md where they have wild horses that roam freely.



Even had a in-flight movie! before bed! lol

 

Great work! The 31's look bigger than they are - how do you like the Wranglers? I have 32" BFGs that are getting really old. Thinking of 33's next.

What's the next project?

 

Thanks a bunch! Yeah I think maybe having them mounted on 15x8 rims can make them look a bit bigger! But I love the wranglers they look super aggressive but don't have all the road noise that comes with a tire with super aggressive tread. I'd love to go to 33s but would probably have to push it to get it goin! Lol

I think the next immediate project will be a fresh coat of paint. You cant really tell from the pics but the paint is peeling in a couple spots due to a really crappy paint Job that was done on it by the previous owner (think orange peel!) but my only problem now is deciding whether to keep it silver or change it up!? Not really sure, I think desert tan could look cool! We'll see!

Long term goals are to eventually move up to 33s with a small lift, regear to 4.88s, and lock the rear. With one day doing an SAS!