First Foray into 4Runners - My 1st Gen Build
- Thread starter Summit Cruisers Jr
- Start date
Summit Cruisers Jr
Well-known member
For some reason my iPhone 8’s photos have been deemed too large by the upload process which has also been a slight reason why I’ve been updating less here, but I do have one more rather exciting update.
A like new dash! I scored this and the inclinometer, along with an SR5 gauge cluster, map light, and cloth/suede feeling sun visors that are like brand new. My friend Patrick happened to be out at a local pull yard and somehow a near pristine SR5 was there so he grabbed all he could for me and hooked me up with an incredible price for it knowing the parts were going to a great home.
I also purchased a Hugh’s hand built glovebox insert awhile back and finally installed it. I rarely buy products/fabbed items from other people, but the quality of construction and the tig welds really sold me on this box. Also it fit perfectly and is extremely well thought out. I can’t recommend it enough.
On a semi unrelated note, I just got back from a trip out west (but in the GX) so half of my PTO days are gone. Hopefully I’ll be able to get this truck out for a trip to the mountains later this summer. 10 days off a year has really been a challenging thing.
A like new dash! I scored this and the inclinometer, along with an SR5 gauge cluster, map light, and cloth/suede feeling sun visors that are like brand new. My friend Patrick happened to be out at a local pull yard and somehow a near pristine SR5 was there so he grabbed all he could for me and hooked me up with an incredible price for it knowing the parts were going to a great home.
I also purchased a Hugh’s hand built glovebox insert awhile back and finally installed it. I rarely buy products/fabbed items from other people, but the quality of construction and the tig welds really sold me on this box. Also it fit perfectly and is extremely well thought out. I can’t recommend it enough.
On a semi unrelated note, I just got back from a trip out west (but in the GX) so half of my PTO days are gone. Hopefully I’ll be able to get this truck out for a trip to the mountains later this summer. 10 days off a year has really been a challenging thing.
TheCascadeKid
Observer
Crack free dash. That's a unicorn if I've ever seen one. Good find
Summit Cruisers Jr
Well-known member
A friend and I pulled the top off several weeks ago and then I took it out to a KC Toyota meet where they snagged these sweet pics of it!
I wanted to touch up one of the roll bar mounting flanges as water leaks in when I wash it and I didn’t want it rusting.
I will say that the stainless paint touches up beautifully. I didn’t do a full coat on the rollbar but you’d never know.
With the top off, it’s been super fun and I want to run a soft top all the time now that I’m not daily driving it. I’ve been stripping down all of my canback frame parts and I’ll hopefully have time next week to drop it all off at the powdercoater.
Unfortunately, I have no way of getting my hard top in my backyard to store it, so if anyone has any low profile solutions to hanging it from garage ceiling I’d love to see them. With 80 series swing out production getting closer I need all the room I can get!
I wanted to touch up one of the roll bar mounting flanges as water leaks in when I wash it and I didn’t want it rusting.
I will say that the stainless paint touches up beautifully. I didn’t do a full coat on the rollbar but you’d never know.
With the top off, it’s been super fun and I want to run a soft top all the time now that I’m not daily driving it. I’ve been stripping down all of my canback frame parts and I’ll hopefully have time next week to drop it all off at the powdercoater.
Unfortunately, I have no way of getting my hard top in my backyard to store it, so if anyone has any low profile solutions to hanging it from garage ceiling I’d love to see them. With 80 series swing out production getting closer I need all the room I can get!
Summit Cruisers Jr
Well-known member
bkg
Explorer
potentially could lift the top up perpendicular to the truck for more room... that might limit the "one man job" opportunity a bit.
Hardest part of the solution I used was getting the 2x4 under the topper. Usually, one person lifts from inside, the other slides it between the topper and bed. hook up, pull cords, lock, add tiedowns for extra protection.
Smileyshaun
Observer
Pardon my crude drawing but what if you make a cradle out of angle iron on both sides with some holes drilled in it to put on 4 straps to put hold it together against the bottom of the top that way you only need to lift the top a 1/2” or so to get the contraption under it then pulleys in the ceiling to hoist it up .
Summit Cruisers Jr
Well-known member
Big time slacking on updates here…
i got a little fancier than I probably needed to for the lift, but the tops been secured up in the air since May now. Unfortunately the ceiling wasn’t high enough to get it into a position I could ever back under it but that’s not too big of an issue. I’ve got the weight of the top fully supported by ratchet straps and only use the worm gear winch to raise and lower it.
All of the canback framing got sandblasted and powdercoated. I ordered all new neoprene, stainless hardware, and end caps. A guy locally to me had a local upholstery shop make a new fabric top for his canback so I’m probably going to pull the trigger on one of those early next year. They addressed a lot of the little gripes I had I wth the canback and even figured out a way to secure the rear flap/window to the framing and not the tailgate thus preserving a clean look with the top off instead of having a strip of aluminum with pop rivets double sided taped to the tailgate.
Back in October some friends and myself drove out to little Sahara for some fun in the dunes. Now being the only 22RE truck in the group, I was tempted to take the GX, but it had some things I needed to take care of on it so I drove the 4runner. The dry sand was really slow going this year and with the hardtop off, the body definitely lacked some rigidity so I didn’t feel good about smashing it around too hard, but all in all it was still a great time.
I also was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to purchase a 1 owner 86k mile ‘93 4wd, 5 speed, 22RE xtra cab pick up for a pretty great price so I’ve been working on that a fair bit as it’s only been driven 6k miles since 2006. It’s given me a great opportunity to upgrade parts on the 4runner and reuse the older 4runner parts on it. I did this with the radiator and opted for a very nice 4 core aluminum radiator (overkill I know, but the price was right) but unfortunately it wouldn’t fit with the OEM intake so I bought an HPS intake for an ‘89-95 22re truck (the throttle body points straight out vs down on the earlier ones) and makes fitment a lot easier but I was able to finesse it into place and trim the shroud to fit. I wouldn’t have done it solely for a performance upgrade as I don’t think it did much, but the sound of it definitely enhances the visceral driving experience of this truck and it does seem a little peppier.
I scored some awesome like new Yokohama ATs on 16” Prado wheels for the truck for $100 and a sick camper shell of unknown brand/origins other than that it has statewide aluminum company glass windows in it. Maybe one of y’all can ID this shell? I’ve gone through a couple hours of google images trying to find it with no luck as I originally saw it on marketplace the weekend before heading to little sahara and by the time I got back in town the listing was gone, but then one of my friends realized he works with the guy who had it listed and he had just taken it down with cold feet on selling it. Then he said he’d sell it to me so I ended up being able to get what I thought was long gone!
i got a little fancier than I probably needed to for the lift, but the tops been secured up in the air since May now. Unfortunately the ceiling wasn’t high enough to get it into a position I could ever back under it but that’s not too big of an issue. I’ve got the weight of the top fully supported by ratchet straps and only use the worm gear winch to raise and lower it.
All of the canback framing got sandblasted and powdercoated. I ordered all new neoprene, stainless hardware, and end caps. A guy locally to me had a local upholstery shop make a new fabric top for his canback so I’m probably going to pull the trigger on one of those early next year. They addressed a lot of the little gripes I had I wth the canback and even figured out a way to secure the rear flap/window to the framing and not the tailgate thus preserving a clean look with the top off instead of having a strip of aluminum with pop rivets double sided taped to the tailgate.
Back in October some friends and myself drove out to little Sahara for some fun in the dunes. Now being the only 22RE truck in the group, I was tempted to take the GX, but it had some things I needed to take care of on it so I drove the 4runner. The dry sand was really slow going this year and with the hardtop off, the body definitely lacked some rigidity so I didn’t feel good about smashing it around too hard, but all in all it was still a great time.
I also was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to purchase a 1 owner 86k mile ‘93 4wd, 5 speed, 22RE xtra cab pick up for a pretty great price so I’ve been working on that a fair bit as it’s only been driven 6k miles since 2006. It’s given me a great opportunity to upgrade parts on the 4runner and reuse the older 4runner parts on it. I did this with the radiator and opted for a very nice 4 core aluminum radiator (overkill I know, but the price was right) but unfortunately it wouldn’t fit with the OEM intake so I bought an HPS intake for an ‘89-95 22re truck (the throttle body points straight out vs down on the earlier ones) and makes fitment a lot easier but I was able to finesse it into place and trim the shroud to fit. I wouldn’t have done it solely for a performance upgrade as I don’t think it did much, but the sound of it definitely enhances the visceral driving experience of this truck and it does seem a little peppier.
I scored some awesome like new Yokohama ATs on 16” Prado wheels for the truck for $100 and a sick camper shell of unknown brand/origins other than that it has statewide aluminum company glass windows in it. Maybe one of y’all can ID this shell? I’ve gone through a couple hours of google images trying to find it with no luck as I originally saw it on marketplace the weekend before heading to little sahara and by the time I got back in town the listing was gone, but then one of my friends realized he works with the guy who had it listed and he had just taken it down with cold feet on selling it. Then he said he’d sell it to me so I ended up being able to get what I thought was long gone!
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