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Dad might pick this up for me. It needs engine, tranny and all, no major rust. My dad has a rollover 4Runner w/ an engine and everything and my dad has a body shop w/ lifts and all to work on the car and buddies to help him out. I also have the interior and have the service manual for wiring. Think that this project is worth doing? Im up for the challenge. My dad said we have 95 % of the parts from the other 4Runner and it wont take much $ to buy the other plastic parts and stuff. I will start updating it later w/ rims and lift [Note: Im only 14, so im not going to rush this project. I will get my dads worker to do the major stuff and the rest is for me] Please reply with your thoughts and opinions

 

If you already have most of the parts, go for it!

 

id do it man.. by the time your 16 youll have one nice 4runner to put your friends in!

 

Looks like it should be a fun project. One good thing will be that by the time you get done with the truck, you will know how to do just about everything to fix it in the future. Not to mention, if you put it together right, it should last you a long time. I can't think of a better vehicle to have as your first ride.

 

Anyone know where to get good and cheap rims and wheels? Aswell as lift kits? Im planning on putting 33's on it and a 3 inch body lift... think thats enough to go off-road on weekends and a daily driver?

 

You can look around on craigslist, there are usually some good deals on there. I don't know from experience but wabfab and 4crawler seem to be a very reputable source for body lifts from what i've read on here.

 

Thanks,
Anyone have any suggestions on what to put on it in the future?
How big of a lift, how big tires, DIY extras [Want softtop roof thing], Bumpers?

 

My 2 cents for what it's worth:

I would pass on the 33's for now. If I had to do over again with my truck, the first things I would do are lockers and armor. You can run 31's without any lift if you want. That is how mine was from the day I bought it. Now I have a 1 inch BL, 3 inch rear lift springs, and BJ spacers up front. With the BJ spacers I turned the t bars back down as far as I safely could so I didn't acheive any lift but gained articulation instead. The rear springs only fixed a rear end sag the truck had going on so in some respects you could say the truck isn't really lifted that much. My wheeling problems tended to be traction issues, not clearance issues. Now that I have a rear locker I have been doing MUCH harder trails than I would have previously considered. Check these:
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f100...3-08-a-138327/
https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f100...5-07-a-132481/

Mine is the little bitty blue truck generally keeping up with the big boys. I just have to work harder for it and resign myself to getting a tug every so often.

31's on stock gearing is about the limit IMO. There are folks on here running 33's with 4.10's and saying "it's not too bad" but I just can't picture it from my own experience. With 33's you ought to re gear and that is $$$ and if you re gear you ought to put in lockers and that is $$$ and if you put in lockers F&R then you ought to put in a selectable (ARB) up front and that is $$$ and as long as you put in the compressor to run the front ARB you might as well put in a rear ARB and that is $$$. You see where I'm going with this. It can get out of control in a hurry.

I'd say
31's
quality sliders
beefy F&R bumpers (Marlin, All Pro etc)
Budbuilt skid plates
rear lockright

Wheel that for a couple years and you will get the side benefit of learning to drive you rig and not just depending on mods to do it for you. You could even skip the Lockright for 6 months or so just to see the difference of open/locked. Good luck. Sounds like a great project for you and your Dad to work on.

 

Thanks for the help yall. Im excited to see how this baby turns out =D. What color is nice? I hate red 4Runners =[. I can get it painted for free too... any suggestions? Was thinking about a lime or a baby blue

 

Thoughts and opinions? You have a cool Dad!

Here are my thoughts.....go for it.

As for where to go with the project, I would look at NO body lift (IMO they suck). You can crank the torsion bars and add a longer shackle to the rear (Downey makes a nice one) and you have a lift big enough to run 32s and you are out 50 bucks for the shackles.

That way you can really see where you want to go with it and still enjoy yourself. As someone else suggested you should look at lockers as they are hands down the best off-road upgrade you can make. Definitely get one for the rear first then later you can decide if you are willing to throw money at the front end or maybe you would want to consider a SAS at some point down the road so you might not want to waste your dough on the stock front end.

I am jealous. I had to wait until I was 16 when I got a car of my own to start tinkering with stuff. Enjoy yourself, you will remember your first ride forever and I can only imagine getting to build it yourself will make it that much more special...

 

DIY Front Bumber- I don't know if you have a tubing bender, but i did mine with pipe and a cheap pipe bender

 

nice ride, Id like to have it; Looks nicer than my ride right now. AS far as mods I wouldnt go overboard on tires right away especially if this will be a daily driver. 4cylinder is nice, If u have 2 trucks and a shop it sounds like a good project for after school and weekends.

 

ya you do have a cool dad, i wish i had any support from my parents on the whole 4x4 thing.