Hi everyone. Two weeks ago, my SFA "custom built" 4Runner with a pickup truck frame was stolen. It has been recovered recently with minimal damage and still drives. However, in those 2 weeks I bought a 1987 4Runner (EFI/IFS) and fell in love with how much better the IFS rides. As far as the evergoing debate on durability between the two goes, I never really wheeled hard enough to necessitate a solid axle anyway. Just trails, river crossing, camping, etc.

The Bad: The stock IFS 4Runner sat on the East Coast for a decade and the A-pillars are rusted through. The black one is rust-free and, becasue of the previous body swap modifications, does not require CA smog any more (custom 6-digit VIN). SO... kudos to whom ever catches my drift. The "project" (something I told myself I would never do twice haha) starts in two weeks.

 

Looks like an interesting project.

:wabbit2:

 

The fun begins.

 

So I began the stripping process of Frankenyota 1 last week. Dad picked up a handy power tool. Milwaukee came out with a 1/4 hex impact driver. It performs very well for a light duty impact driver. 85% of all work thus far was performed with the impact driver and I'm still on the first battery.







The body is ready to lift off of the frame now and the "red one" will be put under for surgery sometime this week or next. This is the 3rd Toyota body swap I have completed on my own vehicles, so I'm not exactly going in to this blind

In fact, the only grey areas of my knowledge in the 1st gen 4Runner/2nd gen pickup are the EFI and Hi-Trac IFS, which I am beginning to learn quickly.

Apologies for the lack of contrast in the pictures, I have been limited to my skinny sideyard.

Since the body swap is already second nature to me, I've been reading over build threads written by maltese, chefyota, and today I began reading MountainCop's. All 3 share my original intentions with Franken 1 and I shall continue in that direction following the "completion" of Franken 2. I may be able to get ahold of gently used BFG 33's... supposing finances allow. (DUI's are expensive...won't make that mistake twice).

But, the body swap won't cost more than a jug of coolant and an oil change... so progress will carry on as far as that is concerned. And the builders of the aforementioned threads... if you guys happen to read this please feel free to voice your input!

 

Here is the last picture of Frankenyota 1 that I took prior to the original theft... this is essentially what I'll be working my way BACK up too, with a few modifications to work out the old twacks.





I'm digging the smaller, more modernized tube bumpers and am considering AR black steel wheels or "3 spoke" Tacoma wheels. The 4" diff drop looks good to me, with lift spindles if anyone still makes them. I'm not spacing the ball joints... that sounds like a sacrifice of strength IMO.

 

Took the body off and began listing extra parts for sell. This was a much easier process this time because with the cherry picker and some simple rigging of 2x4s and deck screws, no one had to rough up their back

The stripping process for the "Fire Engine" runner begins soon, unfortunately this upcoming weekend will be taken up by evil forces. I'm thinking next Monday I'll begin.





Me, being the Safety Practicioneer I am:

 

ahhh for some reason when i saw the thread name i thought "hes gonna try to put IFS in his solid axle rig?1?!" i gotta see this lol

 

Can you tell me more about this 6 digit vin...

I wonder if new shocks would have helped the old SFA...

 

As a Kommifornia resident I'm very curious about how the body swap allowed you to bypass smog. Are you able to put your own VIN on the new body and register it under that?

What are the details?

 

i also want to no about this smog bypass. as i am also a california resident and smog sucks!!

 

How to bypass the smog... originally I was "keeping my fingers crossed" when doing the body swap in hopes that this would happen. What I will do is go through the steps of building the original FrankenYota and where the major parts came from... followed by legal actions taken.

1) RUNNING GEAR- came from a vehicle I had purchased in whole and driven for 3 years. A 1984 Toyota XtraCab, 22R, passing smog by the skin of it's teeth.

2) FRAME- 1985 Toyota Standard Cab Shortbed 4x4, bought from a partout truck in Roseville. Front 4 mounts fit a 4Runner, but the additional 8 require removal or replacement (trucks use 12 mounts, 4Runners use 10).

3) BODY- 1987 Toyota 4Runner... part out buy.

What you will notice is that the 3 major components/assemblies listed above all have ONE thing in common... TRACEABLE through VIN or serial numbers. DMV keeps track of vehicles by body VIN number only. If you tell them a FRAME VIN number, their computer system has no idea what it means. The frame VIN number is more or less used for investigations in the event that the vehicle was abandoned, etc.

Believe it or not, there IS a special form available in any CA DMV for registering a special-construction vehicle (SPCNS). In it, it takes the items listed (body, frame, engine) and asks for a description of how you acquired each one and to list and traceable numbers to assure that the parts are not stolen. *Note: It helps if the parts used came from DMV declared - "junked" vehicles (deleted from the system).

If you have a title for the body, tell DMV you're junking the vehicle.
It isn't lying, because you're dismantling the vehicle from its original form. You're killing off the VIN and selling/utilizing the parts.

Drill out VIN plate rivets, but keep plate in your possession. The CHP officer may want to receive the old VIN plate... which is OK.

Contact your nearest CHP station and schedule an appointment with the officer in charge of VIN inspection/re-issue.

Return to DMV and request that a temporary/1 day permit be made to allow you to drive said "Frankenstein" mobile to the CHP appointment. Bring every piece of paperwork you have on each of the 3 parts: ENGINE, BODY, FRAME. All from junked VIN's.. (frame and body anyway).

If all is good at the CHP appointment, a new 6 digit VIN plate will be adhered to your door jamb. EX: CA 123456 I imagine that they all get the "CA".

Then you go BACK to DMV with a form of written approval and new VIN information.

You will then register this new vehicle... BUT WHAT ABOUT INSURANCE?

I've found that some insurance companies out there don't like the idea of Johnny Appleseed building a 4,000lb DeathMachine in their backyard... liability. However, if you explain simply that you had a "VIN number re-issued", the right insurance company will type the vehicle in manually and work with you on finding an estimate. My insurance company "The General" called it a 1974 Toyota RAV4. Literally. And it's not illegal IF the VIn numbers match. THe make and model is irrelevant, bercause its not a Toyota anymore.

When you register at DMV, you will be issued a brand new set of plates. The vehicle will be regisetred as a "SPCNS". SPCNS is listed under MAKE, with no MODEL designation. The YEAR listed? "0000"

Anyway thats about it... you still are liable for following DOT regulations. I was not asked to perform a Vehicle Inspection/Safety test, but I am eligible for fix it tickets if I'm missing a light or seatbelts, etc.

If you have any further questions, perhaps I missed something, feel free to PM me.

If I get pulled over, will there be any issues when I hand over registration?
In my experiences with being pulled over in my "SPCNS"... NO. I did have to explain the situation when insurance caleld it a RAV4 and DMV caleld it an SPCNS, when it "looks" like a 4Runner. I pointed out that all VIN numbers match: door jamb-to-registration-to-insurance and that the RAV 4 was just my insurance company's way of rating my policy/vehicle's worth.

The officer said he understood, shrugged, and then wrote me a warning for forgetting to put my license plate on

 

Honestly I think its the leaf springs... but I'm still holding onto the SFA for a future SAS project

 

Pretty cool, man. Thanks for taking the time to spell it all out!

 

Wow...and I thought Illinois bureacracy was bad lol

 

nice work on the smog action.. thanks for explaining

 

No sweat hombres!

Ya know, I'm all for a cleaner environment, but sometimes I think these politicians try to "play" the environmentalist role with their heads up their chutes. If they weren't so dang picky about the Visual Inspection portion of a smog test... I'd be more inclined to care.

Just because a Weber isn't factory, doesn't mean the truck won't run as clean

 

Well guys, I apologize for the lack of detail in re-assembly. Itsp retty straight forward though, "reverse of disassembly".

I did encounter ONE issue while firing up the EFI motor, it wouldn't run under 1500 RPM. No matter what. After sleeping over it and doing some YotaTech reading, I removed the TPS and cleaned it out. The TPS definetly needed it, but it still wasn't the answer. Turns out there was a large rip on the underside of the rubber intake boot that I hadn't noticed the first time. THe truck runs like new now!

 

As you can see in the above photos, I threw on a new pair of the cheapo WalMart lights just like on the old FrankenYota's Smitty bumper. Postponing the wiring because I really want to construct an auxilary fuse panel for various "4x4 Accessories" and am considering using one of the extra Toyota fuse panels I have for the project.



About a year ago, I picked up this ancient CB from my Uncle... 20 bucks for a ready to go spare. Its an old Realistic from 1975... still works! No weatherband, but the PA jack is there too! I tested it with my home base Realistic radio... circa '73 lol.



And lastly... the wheels that I'm hunting Craigslist for: 96-98 Tacoma alloys. Here is a pic I'm "borrowing" from another member, 1985_4Runner.
These are pictures of his '89 and I love the stance and tire choice that goes with the wheels. I'd do a mild 2" lift. Definetly my "not-too-far-away" goal.

 

Like seeing your build. Sorry to hear you got your truck stolen. Glad to hear you got it back. After all of the work a guy puts into one, then to get it stolen. Frustrating beyond words.

Done 2 body swaps myself. I try to encourage people about it. Seems intimidating at first, but really nothing to it. The California people have it easy for not having to deal with rust, but sure have to work at it on smog. Every part of the country has pros and cons.

IFS works great for the type of wheeling you are going to be doing. Thats about the way I wheel and never had a problem with it.

Your friends red and black 4Runner looks sharp. Looking forward to your progress. Great work.

 

Thanks Terry!

I installed my CB and it turns out the gas station next to my work sells FireStik antennas! So everything is installed and working pretty well.

Also wired in another PA speaker, RadioShack still sells them! YES! Hollerin' at at the ladies from a distance!

Anyway, will take pics of that this weekend... guess I'm at a standstill for progress. Camping for Memorial Weekend... gonna take the Runner and maybe do some wheeling with the 225/75's