Well I have been a long time lurker and classified browser, now that I have a mini truck I guess it is time to contribute my lack of knowledge. I traded my 1993 stock FZJ80 with factory lockers..

For an 88 4runner that has had a 3.4 swapped into it.

That is how I got it, leaks, broken, and bent parts and all. I had to change out the power steering box (keeping the other to rebuild and tap for hydro assist), pulled out the 1.5 ball joint spacers (traded for triple drilled flanges), replaced the half axles with O'reillys lifetime cvs, changed out the bent idler arm with the Duralast one SDORI says is the best which is also only $50, replaced the front calipers with rebuilt ones because they were not releasing the pistons as well, put 31x10.50 on some stock alloys since it is only stock gearing, and snapped off some lug studs on the passenger front axle which i had to replace, and finally I replaced the stock spark plugs with bosch 4 prong plugs. This is all I can think of right now, and here are some pics of the rig as it sits now.


Not too much different, but many hours have been invested. I also cut a piece to fix a significant rust hole i had on the top of the tailgate which explains my red stripe on the back. I also have an 84 front axle that will hopefully soon go in. currently the rig has the stock 340h trans, but I have a 340f, two transfer cases, marlin's adapter and 23 spline input for my dual setup.

Axle, in pieces..

One day soon..

I need marlin's adapter for the v-6 auto and i am going to use frontrange's crossmember/skid plate.

I still have the 35 inch truxus mts on steel rims that were on it, but do not want to tear them up because of the mileage i put on them as a dd. The front bumper is Addicted Offroad's winch bumper and will some day be the home of my Warn 8274-50. There will be some fabbing required of the bumper and grill.

I have some aesthetic plans to alleviate the risk of causing tetanus when working on the rig. I have fenders (new), side markers, and light bezels on the way. I am going to paint the grill and the bezels black and plan on painting the rig OD or primer grey or something, not sure yet. I also bought a set of H4 housings from Ebay and am starting to piece together my harness upgrade also.

That is where it is now and I am scavenging funds for getting the new tranny and the dual cases in. I will be calling on the expertise of the site in the coming months.

 

Wow! Now thats an introduction! Very cool 4Runner man, im going to be watching this one for sure to see how it turns out in the coming months!

 

You didn't trade that Cruiser sraight up did you? You got cash also right?

Also, Lack of Knowledge? Sounds like you know quite a bit!!

 

It was the the cruiser for the 4runner plus the 84 axle, 340f transmission, 2 transfercases, marlin dual adapter, marlin 23-spline input, bumper supports for the TG rear bumper, a set of stock rims, and then a little money on top. I think I did fine. I wanted a rig that was partially built, but also have some money to put into the rig. 80's are really expensive to build (at least the way I wanted to build it).

 

hello myles! the 4runner looks great man. i can't wait to see it in person. i think you did alright in your trade, you've got a lot of work ahead of you, but certainly the previous owner has made a lot of headway for you. thanks for finally getting this on the forum. i'll be excited to live vicariously through your build, so make sure to take lots of pics!

 

oh, and i'm subscribing to this one.

 

I got my new light bezels in the mail, and also my H4 housings. Do not have the upgraded harnesses finished so I just installed the bezels. They are not chrome like the old ones, but they will be painted black anyway. I only had one of the original plastic clips that held the grill on (poor design anyway) so I cut some of the tabs off and just used a license plat mounting kit in the original holes. Broke one of them, but I have three more that are holding secure. I like this because when I modify the grill for the 8274 I will be able to make sure it is secure.

Plastic things in the stock holes








Not bad, it will definitely do and it was only $2.29 so I am content.

 

nice idea man on the license plate plastic inserts. there is a cheap mods thread on here that you should post that up on.

have you found any fenders yet or are you going to keep those and just cut out the rust? i can't remember what you said.

 

this is that thread...

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f123...ap-mods-62861/

 

Ordered a set of new fenders from a guy in NC, hope they are hear by Monday.

 

dude, so what's the 411? what have you been up to on this thing?

 

I have been watching it get covered with snow because I don't have a garage. I got the new fenders, pretty svelt (sp) I might say, the new to me side marker lights, now just need the stones to play in the snow and put it all on. I am going to put some more paint on the fenders before I put them on though. If I hadn't lost the person that would wrench on this with me I would be done already.

 

excuses... i told you i'd still wrench on it, you just gotta move to idaho.

 

Well the break is over. I was waiting on parts and they are here for the most part. I pulled the old fenders off and only had beat them with a hammer and chisel a couple times. The rust aided in the removal.


After this I had to figure how I was going to mount my cb. The aftermarket fender did not have a hole cut for the antenna so i planned on using a 3 way splitter to make my cb antenna run am/fm/cb. the mount I went with was a hood/trunk/fender mount. it is designed to mount between body panels so there is no hardware or holes exposed.


I had to drill another hole to run my coax, but I found a pre-made 18' segment that had a removable nut so you don't have to drill out an inch diameter hole. All I has to do was a 3/8" hole and put a rubber grommet around the wire so the metal did not rub through. the brand of the wire was K40 and I got it at a local truck stop.


After all that I had the joyous task of mounting the fenders. I was told that even through they are aftermarket, they would fit real nice. The driver side was not so bad. It was bent a little and scratched up in transit but it only requires a little persuasion. The pass side was the bane of my existence. I started to come down with tourette's syndrome. It still is not perfect, and the contour does not match the door, but it will do. The side marker mounting holes had to be beaten into the correct spot.




My final thoughts on this, other then frustration are after market is not as good as promised (poor fit and thinner gauge metal) and I either want too locate my blinkers into the side markers, or find a different style light. We will see. I want to try to mount HID off road lights in the area the turn signals are now.

 

so how about an update?