Trying to find a good bezel that isnt cut up is hard to find. We have been into the single digits but havent gotten into the negative numbers yet. They are coming. I hear you on wanting some 50 degree days. That will feel like a heat wave after -20. Winter is my least favorite season. Makes you want to hibernate. Your runner is looking great.

 

Dang Ed. Really hoping ya'll stay warm over there. I hear Washington was super bad with the snow recently. Have a great Christmas dude. Wishing you get some of our warm Ca weather out there so you can get back to the projects.

 

Thanks Terry. Yeah I'm definitely ready for spring, I can deal with the snow, just don't care for the real frigid temperature we've had lately. It's warmed up to the mid 30's for now so I can deal with that, lol. Thanks Richard, I'll take whatever warm weather that you Cali guys can spare, lol. Hope you and your family had a nice Holiday!

I did a little work on my center console project, (nothing picture worthy) I have a week off of work around New Years, hope to have some more done on the console with pics then.

 

^^^I was looking at some old pics, here's a couple of my 4runner when I first bought it.










^^^here's a few poser pics I took after work tonight, I can't wait to redo the rear suspension, I'm really happy with the front, right now the rear travel is lacking, not to bad though for stock rear springs, longer shackles, Zuk mod (using Jeep TJ front coils, gained about 3" of lift) and 2" lift blocks that were in there when I bought the 4runner...hopefully I can redo the rear suspension this summer, probably go with TG 5" lift.

I'm going to try to get some work done on the center console this week.

 

My Uncle and Aunt came by yesterday. I've been needing a replacement carb for my 83' Toyota pickup. My Uncle gave me 2 Aisin carbs and a Holley 2bll carb and adapter plate, so hopefully I can get one of them to work and get my 83 drivable again. He also gave me a Craftsman 240V stick welder. It's an older one, but the friend that he got it from said that it was barely ever used, I'm sure I'll get some use out of it!

I also got a little more done on my center console project.


^^^Here is a mock up pick of the storage console, still needs to be welded up.


^^^here it is compared to the stock storage console, I made it taller so it should make for a more comfortable armrest, it should have twice the space, the empty flat area in the front is where my cup holders will go, I'm still in the design stage on those.



^^^here's my new to me welder

 

Always liked going back into peoples threads and seeing where they started at. Yours has come along ways and the work you have done. Great job!!!

 

Thanks Terry. There's so many more things I want to do on it (rear suspension, front & rear bumpers, sliders, spare tire carrier for the back, roof rack , just to name a few) but money is usually the limiting factor. I started doing this storage console just to have something to tinker around on that didn't cost much, all the scrap 14 gauge sheet metal I'm using is left over from my off road trailer build. Hopefully I'll get the console figured out, I keep changing it, lol.

 

^^^got it tacked together today



^^^made the lid for it.



^^^tomorrow I will make the brackets to attached the base to the floor in the stock mounting locations.





^^^here it is mocked into place, it's about 3" taller than the factory console, feels a lot more comfortable for an armrest. The factory storage console inside dimensions of the storage compartment were aprox: 10-1/2"Long x 4"Wide x 5-1/4" Deep. The one I'm building measures 14"L x 5-1/2" W x 8-1/4"D...I could have made it longer, but am wanting to build a cupholder in front, that is still in the design stages, lol.

 

On Wednesday I went out to start my 4runner and the battery was dead, so I swapped it out for one that was in my 83' Toyota. I didn't really think much about it, figured it was a weak battery because some of the cells were dry earlier, I had to add water to them awhile back, plus I don't really know how old this battery is. Today it happened again, went out to start it and it was dead, I know this battery was good, I'm assuming my alternator is going out, I got a spare one I'll put on tomorrow, but it made it easy to convince my wife that I needed a new Optima Red Top for the runner!

***EDIT*** man I just did a quick search and found out that the yellow top is better for winching... I knew one of them was better, don't know why I was thinking it was the red top! I'm not currently running a winch, but will eventually, after I build a new front bumper, dang should of done a search first!

 

Don't get a red top they are junk in fact all of the optimas are hit or miss these days id save some money and go to costco my dads last kirkland battery lasted 9.5 years was almost gonna shell out $200+ for an Interstate but wound up paying $185 for two giant costco batteries $85 each + tax

 

Nice work on that center console!

Hard to beat a free welder!

Sears platinum batteries were just on sale (have heard good things, no personal experience) . Might be worth looking into

 

Rattle has my second... As far as doing a little research on the Optima. I just don't like to talk and I'm not mechanical engineer... Obviously, lol. But, from around 10 different web sites and with 20 different articles, I decided steer away from Optima. When you were getting into that price range, whatever you get should be rated and reviewed and proven as one of the best. Recently, the Interstate-AGM is claiming to, by far, have the longest lasting, most load-carrying battery.

I chose the DIEHARD-AGM 890CA Deep cycle battery. ... I called first and then walked into Sears, already having a membership to the club(free)...., and a guy they're told me set with my membership it was down to $186... I am extremely happy with the strawberry... Maybe not the winch, all of the lights, 76 inches of LED lighting, including my rock lights as well and interior lights, have all been left on for hours its still started while showing on my digital voltmeter/psi that I was still at 12.25 volts...

I am definitely going to look into the costco battery. I have honestly never heard that. Always love having more info for people. I know that Odyssey, probably one of the most respected extreme batteries in the world, makes all the AGM batteries for the die hard series.... I always had Duralast gold from autozone, and honestly I've never had a problem with them. The one that I just took out has around 7 years on it and a lot of sitting around a lot of hard work... There's absolutely nothing wrong with that to this day. In fact, they refused 2 float me another one at a prorated price because it was still reading 12.25 volts.....

After speaking with all of the store owners that I know and reading up from quite a few hard core wheelers and expeditioning blokes..... and not forgetting to mention, plenty of people that I know who work in service departments at dealerships... They all give me either a waffling hand, as in "so so", or, as with most cases, just a straight out "Don't go there"..... I don't have enough scientific info to tell you that it's not a good battery. It was always considered one up to some point. I would just encourage you to do a bit of research on something that you're going to spend over 200 dollars on. The Sears diehard Platinum AGM I believe you can grab for under 200 bucks out the door. If you do get many of these batteries, they are not as tall... Make sure you ask Sears to give you one of those spacers. I have one in there for a couple pretty hard core Wheeling trips... It is absolutely perfect shape, and it allows you to keep the battery exactly level with where our factory series is supposed to be so that you can put your mount over it, on to the core support. The with wasn't exactly the same for me either, because the AGM series does not come and the 75 series or whatever it is that we need. All I can say is that you can rock my whole truck shaking it by the battery. Lol.

PS: autozone now has a Duralast platinum... If it's anywhere near as reliable as my girl ass cold, I gotta say that could be a candidate for those who cannot afford to spend $200 or more.

 

Hey guys, guess I should have been more specific in my last post, I already got the red top Optima, I didn't really have the $$$ to pay cash, so I ended up charging it on my Les Schwab account, we'll see how it holds up, I haven't ever had a problem with Les Schwab honoring their warranties. Thanks for your input though, If I don't like the Optima, I can always stick it in my 83' and get something else for the 4runner, lol.


Thanks rattlewagon. I worked on welding up some of the seams today, still have a ways to go on it, and the grinding them all smooth. I haven't worked on it as much, I've been working on my 83' pickup trying to de-smog it and simplify all the vacuum lines, I'm in the process of swapping a 2 barrel carb on it, hopefully I can get that done this week so I can start DD it again, then I'll get back on finishing up the console.


Yeah, can't wait to get some use out of the welder, I need an out door 220v outlet, but that's not a big deal, it'll come in handy finishing up my trailer build this spring/summer!

 

I think Optima batteries are great. I have a Yellow Top and it has not failed to operate my winch or start my 4Runner when I forgot to plug it in at -40C.

It has been through very extreme temperatures, bounced around when my bracket loosened off. Covered in mud and grease. All sorts of bad things to do to something you want to keep working. It's going strong still nearly 2 years after purchase.

I'll buy Optima again.

 

I went optima 2 years ago and never looked back. I have the Yellowtop in my truck and the red top in my car. I power over 1500watts of atereo system I. My car. And my truck with a 300watt amp and all the offroad lights and still do great. They've never failed me and I would definitely buy again if I had to.

 

Thanks guys for the testimonies I feel a little better now, just wish I would have gotten the yellow top instead of the red top, but I think once I get a winch installed on my 4runner, then I'll get the yellow top and just put the red top in my pickup, I don't plan on running a winch on it. Thanks again, glad you guys have had good experience with the Optima's.

 

A friend at work told me his father-in-law got some 35"x12.50 MT's (not sure of the brand yet) for his Cherokee, and they didn't fit, he didn't have enough lift, anyway he was looking to trade for some 33's, they're supposed to be aprox 90% tread left, that is about the same condition my tires are in. I "ve been wishing that I'd gone with 35's ever since I did my SAS, thought I'd have to wait till I wore out my 33's, hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to get ahold of him and take a look at them and make a deal!

 

Good luck I hope you get them!

 

I own three Optima battery's, the one in my dd from 2008. Plus my 82 broke a timing chain and after many winch pulls getting it back to the pavement and then sitting for almost 7 months while i rebuilt the engine it fired right up. My expreance with Optima battery's red or yellow has been nothing but A+.

 

Thanks Red Wagon, I'm pretty stoked, I ended up trading the guy straight across, still had to pay my share of the dismount/remount and rebalancing fees ($102!) but other than that I'm pretty happy with them, I'll post up some pics as soon as I get them resized on photobucket!


That's really good to hear, I'm feeling better about purchasing the Optima after hearing all your guys' feedback. The other positive thing about Optima's that I like that no one mentioned is the fact that they are sealed, no worries with leaks etc. On one of my previous 83' Toyota pickups I used to have I had to replace the battery tray and patch the fenderwell where the battery had leaked over the years and ate a big hole through the inner fender!


Pics of my new to me shoes soon!