Thanks so much guys! Anymore input is always appreciated! SC4Runner, I will get right on that!!! Just hold your breath! Godzilla, I will work on that tomorrow! Good idea!

I'll agree on the paint, for an offroad rig, it's just a waste of money. Deal with any rust, then move on to more important things.

me, i'd sell it to the wabbit for twice what i paid for it! :hillbill:

I agree with this list with minor changes:

1. Engine/mechanical in perfect running order - can't wheel it if you can't drive it
2. Lift and tires - stupid to do one w/o the other
3. Armor
4. Gears/lockers - preferably w/ #2 or shortly thereafter
5. Dual cases
6. After that it don't matter

I don't know about anyone else, but I don't have the cash or time to do all these in rapid order, therefore, I would be wheeling the truck in between mods. Since it probably won't be wheeled much stock, the armor can wait until after the lift IMO, but it is important to get it on there, once I have the lift and tires on I will be wheeling it all the time and therefore need the armor. Really, the more I look at it, gears/lockers/lift/tires all basically have to be done at the same time, but if I had to wait, I would no doubt be out burning the clutch with 4.10's until I could afford lockers and gears.

This is a better list, but since it is still in development, it is kinda an imagined list:

1. Engine/mechanical in perfect running order - can't wheel it if you can't drive it
2. Lift and tires - stupid to do one w/o the other
3. Armor
4. Dual Trannies!
5. After that it don't matter

Aggressive rubber. ARB Lockers front and rear. Bumpers. Winch. Enjoy. Seriously. Build the rig like this until it cannot go where you want to go and then lift/larger tires/gears. Tube doors and a bikini top also make for enjoyable mods.

bikini top, ARB Lockers front and rear, cool front and rear bumpers with winch, half doors, ARB cooler ('cause it's just cool to have one), rhino the interior, get cool seats, and drop a 3.4 in it. That's what I would want to do

Unless you are really going rock crawling, you can hold off on tcase gears. I hear stories every day from guys who installed them and wish they hadn't.
But you WILL want to change axle gearing when you go with 33s or bigger.
I ran a 3 1/2" Skyjacker lift, Rancho shocks, 4.88s and 33s, TRD LSD front and rear, and that's it. Aside from a K&N, I never modified it any more than that, and I never needed to. The only time ANYONE in ANY rig could go somewhere I couldn't was in deep deep mud or really tall sand dunes where horsepower does indeed prevail. Otherwise, with sway bar disconnected, finesse and skill and a capable rig that actually works wins every time. Plus, mine Never Broke Down. That's a bigger bonus than most people realise!

^^^
those wheels take me back :great:

I definitely wouldn't go bigger then 31's until you regear the diffs.

If you had asked me 13yrs ago, I suppose I might have had different answers, but after having mine all this time, I think I would go this way:

LCE street performer head (still on sale right now I think), big bore throttle body, headers, 2 1/4 exhaust. If you redo the motor go for the big pistons (94mm). The only real weakness in an '85 is the hp IMO. Even with decent gears there just isn't enough going on under the hood especially if you are locked up in the rear and trying to go through something like sand and if you go to Utah much you'll understand why so many people have "silt happens" bumperstickers. Sometimes finesse requires wheel spin and there's nothing like a little extra hp and torque to make that happen.
If it is not going to go hardcore offroad, don't waste the time and money to do the crossover steering. It is time consuming and expensive. It works great, but you only really need it for more aggressive stuff. The first time you break your j-arm you can decide that maybe it's time to move on to the fancy stuff. If you aren't going hard, or high, go with a drop drag link, decent lift springs and SOFT shocks.
As for gears, search and see what best matches for more highway oriented driving. 4:88 seems to be the preference for 33's. As for a locker, get something selectable so you don't wind up like this:
http://www.cutler4ever.com/images/whatsnew/4runner3.jpg
Detroit locker, he dropped it down into second while going around a corner and gave it a little gas.
There are so many guys that change their minds on their rigs that little used parts are always available if you decide to go with different setups. Start cheap, then go big once you've driven it around a while and have an idea what you really want to do with it. Guess that's about all I have to say for now.
Just an opinion.

Or buy the detroit and remember that you are driving a truck not a race car. I originally applied to the do it cheap then upgrade, but I think that you lose to much money that way. I say fix the engine, etc, wheel it stock until you really figure out what you want to do, then upgrade to match that.

well first i might paint it like so...
http://www.mobilesucks.net/072404/DSCF0108.JPG

then add little exo cage...
http://www.pirate4x4.com/glenn2/exocage/exo10k.jpg

and after some slight fender trimming, i'd wheel it like...
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b4...r76/frothy.jpg

:hillbill:

Thanks for all the info guys! There are some GREAT opinions here! I do know 1st generation 4runners. This is my 5th....just my first solid axle. How do you post pictures on here? You don't have to be a contributing member do you?? I will post a pic of the beast. Eventually of course, I want to post a before and after!

No offense Fahrenheit 451, but I'd say it takes a little extra hooliganism then just a poorly timed gear shift to do that to a truck. I've got a lot of miles in a truck with a lockrite in the back and you have to be pretty determined to have it bite you like that, especially on dry pavement.

My 2 cents.

Well, he did say there were some engine mods and his son did it so hooliganism is still quite possible. :bigok:
Still, I would prefer a selectable locker. It is probably the third lifter 4runner with a locker I've heard of getting tossed around like that on dry pavement including one in a parking lot. Soft lifted springs, a few extra ponies under the hood...it gets easy to get stupid sometimes.

X2...it's not a race car..and the locker won't engage unless one wheel spins slower than the other...this guy looks like he hit the skinny...