tbst1337

Hi all,

I have recently purchased a 1993 4Runner with a 3VZE and automatic transmission. It has always been my dream to own one of these cars as they are quite rare where I come from (Switzerland/Austria). I found one in a really good condition that has always been parked in a garage and only been used as a second car to tow horses (sag alarm )

After 2 months of reading on the forum I have decided to start my own thread to have a centralized way to get some feedback from the community.

Topics that I want to tackle / have tackled:

'Performance':
1) get a new muffler to make it sound better
2) do the ISR mod
3) get more ground clearance

Exterior
1) maintain the good state of the car overall as good as possible (salted roads in winter)
2) give it a new color
3) change headlights as I can barely see at night
4) window tinting (potentially)
5) change rims
6) modify the look of the front grill (satoshi / mesh?)
7) smoked backlights - too dangerous after consideration. lights are dark already and 3rd brake light missing
8) change wheels decided to keep old ones on until dead
9) add performance enhancing decals
10) fix sag
11) get clear turn signals

Interior:
1) build in a new radio
2) take out second row seats and make a platform to sleep on
3) build in cruise control
4) install remote opening

I will post updates and questions in the answers on this thread

Looking forward to get all your input


key:
planned
done
currently working on + questions below

tbst1337

Interior 1) build in new radio

I have used this thread to help me with it: https://www.yotatech.com/how-tos/a/t...-stereo-414734

Basic summary of steps i took:
1) Looked for a radio online and bought it. I wanted to have a 1-DIN radio with DAB+, bluetooth, front USB, external mic
2) chose the Pioneer MVH-X580DAB and an external DAB antenna for ~150€

3) removed old stereo unit + the front amplifier

4) cut off old connectors


5) rewired cables to get them fit to the new norms - I have used this source to make sure I wire it correctly: https://www.the12volt.com/installbay...tail/2022.html
6) on the first boot, only the front speakers worked, since the second boot ALL speakers, even the small ones in the back work perfectly fine. no other adaptions needed!
SUCCESS

tbst1337

Exterior 2) give it a new color

This is the car how i bought it (to be fair, there is 4 wheels in the back, so it sagged even more on the pic:




I then got to know a guy who wraps cars in his free time and got a really good deal (for Swiss prices) on wrapping the car in Matte Metallic Midnight Sand:
Before wrapping it, I also got rid of the running boards to make it have seemingly more ground clearance




Hope you like it as well

tbst1337

Hi all, hereafter some current issues I would highly appreciate getting your input on

'Performance':
1) get a new muffler to make it sound better
Smart as I am, I checked the forum before ordering anything (but not my car) - i then went for a Magnaflow glasspack with medium length and 2.25" tube inlet/outlet.
Once the muffler arrived, I realized the tubing size of the exhaust system was different. I then brought it to the local car shop in order to get it fixed with some diameter adaptors.
He mounted it, tried it, and told me that he has to demount it because if i drive with it, the police is gonna seize my car right away because it's hardcore too loud.

He suggested getting a cat back system + free flow cat - but I cant find one except stock! Is there anybody still producing cat backs for the 2nd gen?(if by any chance it would have a Swiss approval already, that would make my day)

2) do the ISR mod
Due to being away on project work, I decided to let the local car shop do it for me. He said he would just take out the inner pieces of the connector and not build a complete new tube from the air intake to the engine. He tried it and said it he wouldnt recommend not doing it since it is attached to a charcoal filter and removing it might give me some flashing error codes. Any recommendations? Is the EU version different to the US version?


Exterior
1) maintain the good state of the car overall as good as possible (salted roads in winter)
What can I use to protect the underbody against corrosion over the winter? We have salted roads

3) change headlights as I can barely see at night
Trying out Philips H4 lamps with +130% .. lets see if that helps anything

6) modify the look of the front grill (satoshi / mesh?)
I cant find anything with regards to making it myself or something to buy. Everything is 3rd gen+
Does anybody know a seller for 2nd gen?

7) smoked backlights
cant find any - any recommendations?

10) fix sag
do the Moog CC255 work on every 2nd gen world-wide? I accidentally ordered CC225 and now I have a spare VW Passat rear coils laying around HAHA I really dont want to f it up again.

Thanks!

coryc85

Welcome to Yotatech, it's neat to see someone from Europe on here. I like the wrap, makes the truck look much better. I don't know much about the 3.0, but lots of info can be found here on it.

tbst1337

thanks cory! i am already reading on the forum since >2 months and got great value out of it.
my questions now mostly concern topics I have not found still valid or in-depth enough information (e.g. current cat-back exhaust system suppliers that are EU or Swiss regulatory approved)

tbst1337

update:

'Performance':
1) get a new muffler to make it sound better
still looking, doesnt seem like there is anything useful out there for me.


Exterior

4) window tinting (potentially)
took out the ones on the rear side doors to make them borderless. got a 95% tint



the rear window was a real bi***. it was hard to get it on, because we didnt have a nice rest for the window being out like that. after putting it together, the automatic lock/unlock of the trunk doesnt work anymore. maybe we got some water over something, it only works manually now




overall i am really happy with the finished product (even though the fixed side windows in the rear kind of have a glare/reflection to it from the factory tint)




7) smoked backlights

still looking for any recommendations - cant find any :/

tbst1337

new update

Exterior:
10) fix sag

finally got the new Moog CC255 springs and installed them yesterday. As some people already mentioned, the springs are a tiny bit shorter than the stock ones.


But they still fixed my rear sag without any spacers. Gained about 4cm / 1.5 inches - makes me really happy
Here is a before and after pic:

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

wow! I really like that color of the wrap!

personally i wouldn't smoke the tail lights, I have been rear ended a few times over the years...why dim a safety device..just my opinion.

I have a recent post in my 4runner thread about some head light upgrade
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f199...l#post52380141

tbst1337

thanks dropzone

just spend the last 2h reading posts in your thread - will definitely steal some of your ideas
also thanks for the headlights tip, i got philips h4 bulbs in the meantime that are already a lot better than what i had before - going for leds once they break.

regarding taillights: I actually got rid of the idea of smoked ones because i was driving behind my gf who was driving the 4runner at night. i could barely see the red lights on a clear night - do you by any chance remember which leds your ordered for the tail lights?

Prafeston

Love that color! And tint makes everything look better!

tbst1337

Had to do something quick yesterday, so I painted the back door 'latch' in matte black.

Process steps were
1) clean + alcohol to get rid of grease residue
2) mask of car wrap, license plate + license plate lighting
3) put on ~4 coats of paint
4) remove mask











now I am also thinking of getting the bumpers done in matte black and remove the already partially rusty chrome. what do you guys think, would it look weird?

CreeperSleeper

I think that would look great!

jakey poo

I'd find some paint to match the wrap and paint the TOYOTA on that part you just painted black.

tbst1337

thanks for the input, but I really like it like that - currently


11) get clear turn signals

today i finally got the correct set of clear signal lights; had to mount them instantly of course:






Ps: this is what they sent me before (bottom one is the correct one)

goose417

Any news? I'd been digging this build.

tbst1337

thank you for reminding me - havent been to active lately :/

here is my update:

1) get a new muffler to make it sound better

• got a muffler from summit racing (after realizing the glasspack was too loud ((="too illegal")))
• content is just like a magnaflow turbo muffler, but only 28$
• sound is ok. better than stock but not world-moving

3) get more ground clearance
installed new moog cc255 which gave it a nice stand. it was a freaking nightmare to get the old springs out at first, because i dont have a high jack.

5) change rims
well they are not really changed, but rather painted black. re-drew the white letters on the tire as well and put a new hubcap on. need to redo the center caps at some point.


6) modify the look of the front grill (satoshi / mesh?)
i have painted the grille and the logo black
what i initially wanted to do, was to make a satoshi grill, but i was scared of destroying the grill like this



4) install remote opening
done
got a nice little fob from china for 30$ installed it with a friend in about 30min



2) take out second row seats and make a platform to sleep on
that was one of my favorit jobs here
took out second row seats
built a platform in the back that looks like a pallet (or panoply - sry dont know the correct english word). i built it in a size so i can always keep it in the trunk, even if the second row seats are in
also, on the sides there are two little compartments for storage


inside of it are some 2 by 4s that extend to a) the first row seats and b) even about 3' further in case i want to have over 6"3' of space (so i can lay down comfortably)



in the 2x4s i drilled some holes in which i bring wooden dowels from the top wood sheets
secured the base in the back with - just in case
installed some dimmable led lights for some nice pizazz



then i bought a combination of air mattress and memory foam topper







7) smoked backlights
too dangerous after consideration. lights are dark already and 3rd brake light missing
sooo.... should i install a 3rd brake light?

3) build in cruise control
not sure how to go about it - any tips?

2) do the ISR mod
i saw that it negatively impacts emissions, and our cars here get checked quite often. is it really a noticable power gain?