Project "Snapping Turtle": 1KZ-TE into a 2nd Gen 4Runner

OSV

Adventurer
i've run both 35"(34.5" actually) and true 37" tires with 5.29 r&p, and the latter is pretty close to a perfect factory ratio match... i'm not sure that i'd want 33" with a 5.29.

i have that short sky pitman arm on my '86 4runner, along with the trail gear aftermarket axle housing... both it and the steering box are moved all the way forward... box nearly touching the front body crossmember, and the axle housing on it's furthest hole.

the turning ratio is comparable to a mack truck, but i think that the axle housing is what really caused it... the short arm just made turning the wheel more difficult, even with hydro assist steering.
 

djtc

Adventurer
my truck with the w56 transmission +tdi + 4.56 gears and 33x10.5 revs really high on the highway but its great in town. Im thinking of dropping down to 4.10...or step up to a 35" but I like the skinnies.

Also depends on how rev happy your diesel is. I know my older turbo diesel (AAZ) liked the higher rpms.
 

4Rescue

Expedition Leader
Yeah, I REALLY wish that there were more 33x10.50" or even 9.50" tires out there cause I'm sold on the "tall/skinny" tread profile for my terrain/weather and usage. I've got an Auto trans (my first in MANY years... gonna take some serious getting used to) and 4:10's in this truck so I'm thinking that 33's/255's will be really good for DD and long trips and 35's would be doable for play-time or a trip with more trail work to be done and less highway miles to cover (plenty of those right out he back-door here in OR).

Cheers

Dave
 

djtc

Adventurer
I had the general grabbers at2 on my previous vehicle and although they were great in the winter, they sucked in the mud!
 

Clay

Adventurer
Oh, I totally agree! They suck in the mud, but are good everywhere else. Are they worse than BFG A/T's though?
 

Bryan_FRO

Supporting Sponsor
Well Clay it's "going", just not all too quickly, but I haven't given up or faded off into the aether like can (sadly) happen with projects sometimes...

Been a wild month in general, I ended up getting some mutant Upper Resp. Infection that knocked me flat on my back (and has a ton of kids with resp. problems in the local ICU's about town) like I was a pack a day smoker. I gotta say, having a "chest cold" in sunny, 80*+ weather is... annoying. As is trying to work in dusty weather when you're hacking and coughing up a lung... SO, now that I've over-shared, and we've gotten that bit of graphic descriptive awfulness out of the way.

We managed to get the axle completely re-built and hoping to have it in the truck in short order next week so we can have it rolling/move-able. I've just got eh bodies of the Asin hubs on the axle right now (not the best picture), but I've got them apart and I'm re-furbing/re-painting them so they'll look brand-new. I'm still trying to decide if I'm gonna go red/black like the mini-trucks or do them in gold/black like the LC's

Here's the axle all pretty and ready to rumble:

- mid 80's FJ60 vented Rotors (thanks to everyone who led me down that path, it worked out PERFECTLY considering it's being built at a big time LC shop... didn't even have to order anything, just walked to a shelf and grabbed what we needed. That is so nice!!!)
- FJ80 TRE's (So much better then the stock mini-truck bits)
- A nice big thick walled DOM tie-rod (I'm sure I'll find a way to bend it one day, but it's gonna take some real work)
- Diff-armor plate on the pumpkin and a NICE, thick truss on the long side.
- re-cycled V6 calipers from the "soon to be discarded" IFS front end.
- Spider Trax wheel spacers

After the axle, the real fun begins as we start to stuff the engine in (should be soon after the axle goes in to help sus out ride height/a level stance, just got to try and guestimate how much settling the front springs will have to them) and tackle the wiring. I'm looking into ordering a pre-made 3" stainless Exhaust for it to save time and have parts ready to go as needed.

I've also decided to get the "base" truck rolling/driving so I can work out any bugs, and then do the "extra bits" like lights and all the other kit over a bit more time as I decide on what exactly I want to run. I'm spending money like I'm a richer man already, and I've changed my mind so many times in the last few months that I'm getting that irrational fear of ordering anything lest I run across a 'better"/different option (silly, I know but them's the facts)... A good example is the lights: I've got my heart and mind set on an LED light bar, but I keep seeing all kind of alternatives to the well known "superbright LED" or the "TOTL" Rigid ind. units that people seem to be very happy with and the prices have been very enticing. With the money I'm throwing at this truck, every penny counts and if I can get a decent part for a significantly lower price I'm likely to make that compromise even if it's not quite as well made as the top End units (although I have heard nothing but good things about the knock-off Flea-bay kits so I'm interested to see how they stack up against the well know high-end brands), and, in the interest of my typically over-sharing nature... I'm a bit Scotch when I can rationalize it aye HAHAHAHA. I also need to work out if I can find a way to make a Frontrunner flat rack fit the roof tracks of a 2nd Gen 4Runner, or a good alternative (I'm def. set on a flat "basketless" style rack and the Frontrunner is exactly what I've been picturing, but they don't have a 2nd Gen 4Runner option). I'm also trying to design the bumpers and decide whether I will use my current rims on my 1st Gen, or if I want to find some steelies and run those (which then leads to me hem-ing and haw-ing about whether to go flat silver or black on whatever I run). I still really like my current rims, but I kinda think some old-school, LC style steelies would look awesome on this "very utilitarian" type build (and remind me of my HJ70 and many of the 70's back in OZ).

These are the rims on my 1st Gen:


These are the rims I'm thinking of as the 1st alternative (2nd would be the more modern take-off steelies with the holes in them like a lot of guys run).


Any opinions/advice on anything is, as always, greatly appreciated. Everyone who's read this thread and offered advice or given me ideas (like yourself Clay) has been great and it's why I'm really only putting my build up on this site. Good folks make for a good "community" makes for a good place to bounce ideas around aye.

So, as I say, it's "going". I am however very excited to be able to share more progress here very soon...

Cheers

Dave

Dave,
Awesome build thus far. I actually work for Front Runner and we have custom racks for your vehicle. Whenever your ready feel free to contact us by phone or email and we can get you fitted properly.

Bryan
 

Toy-Cra-Ze

New member
I love my 33x10.5 it just sucks with 4.10 gears right now. Next ones I get I would like to et the toyo m/t or the new r/t. Bfg just redesigned there a/t also


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

4Rescue

Expedition Leader
Ah tires... Yeah, not always the most "fun" subject for me. Too many "overly wide" tires for my taste, not enough "tall x skinny" sizes. If I wanted a 12.5+" Tire I could have my choice of any of the taller heights I wanted, but not a 10.5 or narrower tire...

Having found that I have those 16" rims, I think as of now the plan is to go with a 255/85/R16 Maxxis Bighorn MT. I like that they;re a bit more agressive then a regualr AT but still look like they'll have great wet-road grip with all the siping etc. I also have to look into a few of the Swamper Radials as they come in some sizes I'm interested in, but I don;t really think I want to run the SSR's (even though they're a 35x10.50 tire which would be great) for DD duties...

Otherwise I will likely be back to the BFG's... No, they're not too hot in the mud, and no they're not the "best" tires around, but they do really well in the wet/slippery conditions I see most often here in the NW and they do really well in the snow heading up into the mountains. However the primary reason I've fallen for the BFG AT's is that they wear like iron and have never left me stranded, unlike some tires I've run (Toyo AT's are a no go for me because of this very issue, and the cost). I've abused them both here in the US and in Australia and I've come out of trails that chewed up one set of tires on a previous run expecting that I'd have gouged a tire or something but the BFG's showed no real serious signs of abuse/damage and rolled home without a hiccup (on one run in particular, I ended up with 2-3 golf-ball sized rocks that cut through and ended up IN my tires which were not badly worn at all, jsut didn;t ahve the same level of tread/casing that the BFG's do). I know there are better, more modern tread designs out there, and teh BFG's toughness comes at the price of weight, but I also very much KNOW the BFG's and how they behave in any kind of terrain I can throw at them too. The NW alone has a very broad range of terrains and I've traveled out east and down south with my current BFG's. I know when they'll let go, I know when they'll grip, and if you're honest about what they are and don't push them like they were a full blown MT or Crawler or "Comp." tire, they do very well off-road IMO. If they release a 255/85/16 AT KO2 before I buy tires, I'm gonna have a serious look at them as well cause I think that they've made some good improvements and some of the "new" AT's that are getting such good reviews often have a very "BFG like" tread with a better side-wall design which is what I think the new KO2's look to have now as well. I dare say the BFG has, under/on various rigs, been put through more miles of use then most any 2 tires combined (with some exception) and there's a reason they've stayed popular over the years...

I will say though, that I'm sad the general Grabber AT2's don't come in the sizes I want/need, but I have seen them pull off some amazing feats on the trail and every review I read has so much good to say about them that I wish they were a viable option for me but, such is life in the USDM...

Otherwise, haven't had much progress on the truck this last 2 weeks... My grandmother passed away at 108 years old on the 22nd of September (a day before her birthday but we're gonna give it to her aye) she my Dad and I are the last of our family on my Dad's side so it's been tough for he and I and we've all been kinda mopy and had all kinds of family stuff going on. I did however get working on my new (well re-frub'd) trailer and getting those 16" rims sand-blasted and ready to paint... now I just have to settle on what COLOR I'm gonna paint them.


Dave,
Awesome build thus far. I actually work for Front Runner and we have custom racks for your vehicle. Whenever your ready feel free to contact us by phone or email and we can get you fitted properly.

Bryan
Wow, that is SO awesome... Thanks Bryan, I have had my heart/mind set on a FR rack but was getting bummed thinking I may have to "settle" for something that I wasn't as sure about. As soon as I get ready to order my rack I'll get in touch. I really appreciate you checking out the build thread and dropping me a line aye. May not be a "big" something, but anything I can cross off my build-list is a WIN in my book ;) Thanks mate.

I have been trying to register on the toyotadiesel forum and it's say that registration is closed. Who can I contact about registering?
Man I don't know... I noticed the same thing when I was locked out of my account and thought I'd ahve to make a new one, but I got back in so I never tried to contact anyone. DieselToyz, the engine swap company, runs the boards, so maybe you could drop them a line and see if it's still possible to register for the boards over there. FYI it's a real "slow going" board aye. It's full of good info (and some bad) but it takes time to get a responce on questions etc.

Cheers

Dave
 
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NorthernWoodsman

Adventurer/tinkerer
Hey Dave- was just in Victoria, BC with family and spotted a 1st gen. Tacoma on some suspiciously skinny tires. Went in for a closer look and saw that they were 235/85/16 BFG A/T's....never even heard of these before (maybe because I've never owned 16" wheels). Very tall, and very skinny. And looked dang sweet on that truck too!
 

the kid

Juke Box Hero
as far as the maxxis bighorn goes, may i suggest you go with another tire... i am currently running them and to date i have had 4 that are or have been out of round, had to replace three of them. they are wearing very fast, and i am not impressed at all. -i know i am changing my tune on the tires, but my first set i had served me very well, and i got a long life out of them. -i have had mine for only 10months and have worn through half the tread already. with only a couple wheeling trips on them. the rest has been DD driving. -ive put about 10k mi on them so far. all in all i am not impressed and will be going with MTRs. at least they should be round. for you a tire id recommend is the cooper st maxx its a great mix of MT/AT, and they come in tall skinny like you want. everyone i know who has run them loves them and has had no issues with them
 

4Rescue

Expedition Leader
Good timing "The Kid" (I kinda feel like a jerk calling you that mate :p )

Well guys, I'm sure most think I've lost my mind and my nerve and decided to drop off the face of the earth never to complete the truck or be heard from again... CLOSE!!!! (but we all know I talk WAY too much for that to be entirely true) :D . No, I've had a ton of family drama, Grandmother died at 108 years old (RIP you wonderful woman), my other Grandparents are both getting to the point where life's about to take a major turn and the wife and I are moving to a new place (which is gonna be AWESOME). BUT, I assure you that the project is still alive and I'll give yall a teaser until next week...



No more IFS makes Dave a happy boy indeed!!! Still a LONG way from finished, but... I'm just gonna be excited to see the 2nd Gen Chassis sitting there on 4 OME leafs and a built up SFA under the front of her aye. I've also gotten a few toys, a nice inverter and "wall sockets" one pair for up front, one for the cargo area, some cool Molle compatible W/P Canvas seat-covers. In addition, my Cousin, who among other things like building hot-rods, does custom clear film protection for all the "big money" car dealers and drivers in town sat down with me to do some design ideas for a wrap on the truck. I've been kind of toying with the idea of doing some "Kryptek" Highlander or Mandrake but I don't know if I want to go that far into the "Tacticool"/"I own firearms :ar15: " realm of things as I've seen it draw some unwanted attention sometimes... but I've also toyed with the idea of doing a Topo of some area that's special to me like the Alsea River Valley or something (like ARB did on their 4th gen 4Runner) or I may just do it Desert Tan with a hood black-out. I'm WAY far away from doing that yet.

Per the tire hunt, as of writing this, my fingers are crossed for the new BFG ATKO2's to come out in a "flavor of my taste"... IMO they've done an outstanding job of the redesign and the "full size range" is said to be available around the first of the year so... My fingers are crossed real tight

Cheers

Dave
 
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