Awesome post Red. Bit of family fun, carnage and ragging on heeps. I love how little I've spent compared to a heep owner. Sure they have a solid axle right off but that means they didn't get to have a customised rig. What is your total cost including the purchase now?

I think I'm about 10k and a good chunk is routine care and repairs. Timing belt, water pump, tie rod ends etc.



I can't wait for my SAS even more! Some of those rocks you are rolling over with ease would have had my rig on its doors and thankful to have spare glass available.

What axle is your buddy using in that tan 4Runner?. Looks nice and wide.
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Thanks Mark. YOu're not too far away from me. Soon yours will be able to do the same thing! i'm waiting anxiously cheering you on man. And yea that starter definitely got a good workout lol. Ruben told me yesterday that he found it was the Ring and pinion so at least it wasnt his transfer case. thats a big relief. i mean still gonna cost a lot but definitely much cheaper.

Ruben Made that bumper custom himself. The guy with the greed rig said that it was used in some war before, i think he said it came from austria. but i am not sure. As for my rear bumper, yea im sure the scrap metal places will buy that lol. IT's alll good. i kicked it in already, its still bent; just not as lifted anymore. it'll all be replaced in no time with an awesome tire carrier bumper.

Hey, my total cost so far is $12,086. Dont know why i keep saying 12.500 but yea. I know there are a couple of receipts in my truck's center console that i still havent counted into this amount but it cant add up to more then 100-150 more then what it is. I'm guessing my total cost is about $12,200 or so. Still not bad for what it's able to endure now. And MUUUUUCH BETTER THEN THOSE HEEP OWNERS THAT HAVE SPENT 75-100k on their rigs at least the ones that were in that group. Those guys were looking at All 3 of our trucks amazed lol Poor Jeep owners. Must make them sooo mad that we got through the stuff they took forever to get through with barely any effort ahaha

But my cost is with everything included. Buying the truck, rebuilding engine(work and parts) interior restoration/customization, roof rack, tires wheels, Newer set of tires and wheels, solid axle, and every single off road modification ive ever put into it. That definitely is not a bad amount to have spent.

Btw you said those rocks we were crawling over would have you on your side. Are you serious? your truck looks like it can probably handle a good amount. I cant wait for you to do your double axle swap! hurry up so i can watch anxiously. lol

 

Yeah when you max out your flex in the front after your SAS mine can't make it. IFS is not that flexy and matched with a more flexy rear makes it more unstable than what you have now.]

I can get through lot's of stuff I just have to pick good lines. My set up as it is now is not as forgiving as yours.

12k for a truck to be proud of is money well spent.

 

Thats great your happy with your rig!! Its awesome how far youve come with it!! And its definetly a j$$p eater!!by the way i like your new avatar pic.

 

Just got an email from CBI offroad. Theyre having a June Sale. $75 off any front or rear bumper.... dang it. I really wanna buy that rear tire carrier plate bumper. But my dad told me yesterday he wanted to experiment and make me my rear bumper. I like the idea but then again I'm kind of scared of my truck being his guinea pig for something he's never done... plus I'm gonna be buying all the material if we go his route. I just don't wanna hurt his feelings if I don't end up liking the bumper tire carrier. But I do know that he has been looking up how other people made their own bumpers and he says it doesn't look too hard to do. I just want it to look clean. I know his welds come out really good but I've never seen him do any fab work other then the awesome bunk bed he made us when we were kids.

Urghhh what to do what to do.

Edit:
I kind of wanna take him up on his offer. I'm sure having him do it will not only make him really happy to know that he helped me out do something to my truck that I really really want but also knowing that he helped me do something that i take interest in will definitely make his day. That will totally give my truck a super kick ass rock crawler look. Plus I know he'll have fun doing it. And it'll give us some father son bonding time. Lol

Ill just take the grinder to his welds to smooth them out if they cone out bumpy it something. I don't think it'll come out bad looking. After all my dad loves geometry and math and working in his job he always works with cuts, shapes and custom fitting. So I'm sure he'll make it level and match both left and right sides pretty identically. I guess its worth a shot. We're just gonna have to figure out how to make the bumper be able to use a tow hitch. Might be able to reuse the old one or something. Idk...

Looks like I'm gonna be ordering a bumper/tire carrier kit soon. But I wanna check out prices for the 1/4 and 3/16 plate metal sheets first. Just to make sure it'll be cheaper to have him do it vs buying the cbi one.

I was thinking of possibly grabbing some big sheets of cardboard from the construction floor at my building or even at the old Staples office store i used to work at. Maybe make a model of a bumper that i want doing that i will have a better idea of how many square feet of metal to buy not to mention i'll have a rough idea of how the bumper will come out.

 

yea 12k is nothing compared to those Jeep owners. i'm thinking with the 2 bumpers/tire carrier, winch and lights that i want i think i will finally be finished with this truck at approx 13.5k-14k. Still wont be too bad As for your rig, yea man you definitely gotta go SFA. When did you plan to start the swaps?

Thanks man, It amazes me how far this truck has come sometimes too. Ive very satisfied with it. It was money well spent and i wouldnt do anything differently if i had to re do it again. Definitely happy i didnt go with a tacoma. i love 1st gen 4runners way too much lol

ps the avatar picture was my favorite picture of the whole bunch. thats why i used it. glad you like it.

 

Thats awesome that your dad is going to help you build a rear tire carrier. Its going to look great on the back of your already BadA$$ looking runner.

I agree with Kornhuskerwizard, looks like a jeep eater all day long. They would run in fear of getting their hoods flexed on. haha

 

Lol that just made my day.

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Yea it looks like this is gonna be a new project for us to take on.

I already spoke with the main Forman on the jobsite of our construction floors and he said I can go ahead and take cardboard but he said just take one of those instead. Its that thick compressed cardboard wood like material. That will defibitely hold its shape much better then cardboard. The sheet is 4'x8' and 1/8 thick. This will be perfect to work with as I've already worked with it before for my restored door panels.


Let the prototype project begin!

 

prototyyyypen!

 

This is the hinge I'm gonna buy. It is pretty heavy duty and im sure it'll definitely be able to hold up my tire, hy-lift and gas tank. http://pages.ebay.com/motors/link/?n...d=281085541941

Same company selling these latches. Might buy 2 just to make me feel safe. I dknt want to feel like my tire carrier will swing open while I'm on the freeway. So I feel like 2 might be nice to have. We'll see.
http://pages.ebay.com/motors/link/?n...d=281099427242

These guys are located in San Diego but
I think for the cheap price I might actually pay for the shipping. Ill spend more on gas to do the round trip. So $7 for s&h ain't too bad.

They do some pretty solid work. The shop is called metal fab works htyp://MetalFabWorks.com

 

That latch is sweet!! Excited to see how the tire carrier turns out. By the way how does it drive down the freeway?? Is it still highway freindly??

 

After I move back to British Columbia down from the arctic. I also need to heal up then get back to work so I can start saving. I hope to get into a full time automotive course in February which skips the first year of an apprenticeship and get a job as a second year apprentice.

Hopefully this means I can strip my parts 4Runner to the frame and start the swap this fall? I expect this build to take awhile as I want to do an engine swap at the same time.


Good luck on the bumper project. Will be fun to watch and possibly copy.

Plate right?

 

Its drives really nice both on the hwy freeway street. I love it more them my old IFS set up. Then again my old front shocks were completely shot. As far as handling goes, the truck does feel taller and with the 4.88 gearing you definitely feel the difference in speed and take off speed. It feels like I doesn't have to strain or work harder. And the best part about it is that I can reach. 80mph with no problem. And having the 3vze v6 behind it all calls for some great power behind it all.

Yes most definitely gonna be plate. that's why I'm picking up that board. So I can make a demo or prototype of the bumper so I know how much of the flat surfaces I'm going to need to round off to the nearest square footage then buy one or 2 big slabs of metal. 1/4 for the frame mounts and 3/16the plate part of the bumper.

Btw I'm sooooo gonna envy uou if you get a fab job. I would imagine that would be really cool to do for a living. Especially if you work on custom rigs.

You plan to do 2 axle swaps and on top of all that work still do an engine swap. Wow that's hardcore.

 

Just caught up on things today Richard. Looking so good man. Glad to see you out and enjoying it! Looks like it's crawlin along great now.

I think it's awesome that you and your dad are going to work on more of the truck together. I know this may sound a bit soft, but I'd take every opportunity you get for that. Those things may turn out to mean more later than the "perfect" hardware now. Just my take though. I think it'll work out and give you a great chance to get your own ideas into it too. Can't wait to see what you guys come up with!

 

Hey! Check this link out. I had it saved on my computer. Not sure if the spindle is the same size as that monster one but.

http://www.emsoffroad.com/store/inde...556b7656217af8

 

im glad yer dad wants to get in on it those hinge points both look to be pretty stout but the cost on the full kits is a bit less than the separate bits

 

That latch kit is also pretty neat Mark. Never heard of that website. It looks as if the other latch he was looking at has a safety latch too. The one on the website dose not but looks better qaulity in my opinion and has all the hardware.

 

I really like the look of the kit. I think when in ready to dive into that project, this will be part of what I buy.

 

Great photos of that last trip! Your truck looks amazing.

 

^^^X2!....Awesome pics of your wheelin trip! I'm glad your Runner performed as good as it looks!!! It's got to be really satisfying after putting in all that work!

I'm really interested to see what you and your dad come up with for a rear bumper/tire carrier. I've contemplated building my rear bumper too... I'm also curious to see what the price of 3/8" and 1/4" plate steel is, I have bought some square tubing for my off road camping trailer project and was in shock of the cost of steel now! Of course I live out in the sticks, and they were the only supplier around, and since he had to order it for me, I'm sure that he marked up the price for a big profit, lol. Hopefully you can find a supplier who charges reasonable prices! Look forward to seeing what you come up with!

Just out of curiosity, do you plan on doing dual t-cases down the road? Or are the 4.88 gears and lockers enough for the type of terrain you're wheelin in?