Had some Cash... Now I have a 1st gen 4Runner

Hi All

My Names Travis and I'm new to the site. I was referred here by a couple nuts and I cant stop reading and drooling. Ive been involved in motor-sports for years and have done everything from Rally Cars in the Grand Canyon to Dirt bikes all the way down the Baja Peninsula.

But with all of my "Off Road" experience I have never once owned a crawler or something I can just take out on trails and go exploring in.

Here are some of my past rigs.

06 Taco 2X4




04 Subaru


One of my old KTM's down in Mexico


But its not about them anymore, they have come... gone... and now its on to better things

I just moved from Sunny Southern California to Denver CO. There are no more prerunners and everyone I tell about my Taco stares at me for building a 2WD truck.

So here is the new rig-

Toyota 4Runner

Specs-

Millage-174,000 miles
Trans- 5 Speed Manual
Engine- 22RE
Drivetrain- 4WD







I bought her with a bad head gasket at a great price and took the gamble that it might be an easy fix. This is a gamble that I lost. The previous owner welded the head to the block, drowned her in stop leak and scored up the #4 cylinder pretty bad.

So I sent her over to a recommended shop for a full rebuild





Got the truck back yesterday and shes running great. While she was down we also slapped in a new clutch along with a new radiator.

Now the fun begins :sombrero:

-Travis

Good to see you here Travis! Say Hi to Gabe Pari and Rad1, they are here too! :victory:

Looking way good man, I am in love with 1st Gen 4Runners! Now you need to Zuk mod that thing!

-Jaren

Seems like you got a good deal! I wish there were as many 1st gen 4Runners down south like there are up north.

...everyone I tell about my Taco stares at me for building a 2WD truck.

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I think they might be jealous, that is quite a bit of air under your rig...and I assume you know how to land it :Wow1:.

Love that generation of runner.

nice 'runner, beside the seat and the typical dash crack, very clean. It even still has the front mudflaps! I dig some of your previous rides too. I'm sure you've already found that the 22RE isn't the fastest, but it is reliable as long as you don't load it up with stop leak and neglect the basics. Besides, slower speed means you get to enjoy the scenery a bit more. Have you started to sort out a plan or think about how far you want to go with this one? There's plenty of reliable 1st gen knowledge here, so if you have any questions, don't hesitate.

BTW, if you want to stay involved in motorsports, don't forget Fireguys Racing field a desert truck, and Pikes Peak isn't terribly far off either.

It's a beaut!! Enjoy! Welcome to CO!

Very clean looking 4Runner. Just as well you rebuilt that 22RE, now you don't have to worry about it for another 200-300k miles...

Considering your photos, you might dig the Deathrunner.

Recce01 said:

Good to see you here Travis! Say Hi to Gabe Pari and Rad1, they are here too! :victory:

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Will do Scott.. thanks for pointing me here

corax said:

nice 'runner, beside the seat and the typical dash crack, very clean. It even still has the front mudflaps! I dig some of your previous rides too. I'm sure you've already found that the 22RE isn't the fastest, but it is reliable as long as you don't load it up with stop leak and neglect the basics. Besides, slower speed means you get to enjoy the scenery a bit more. Have you started to sort out a plan or think about how far you want to go with this one? There's plenty of reliable 1st gen knowledge here, so if you have any questions, don't hesitate.

BTW, if you want to stay involved in motorsports, don't forget Fireguys Racing field a desert truck, and Pikes Peak isn't terribly far off either.

Click to expand...

My plan with this rig is quite extensive... :sombrero:

This summer I plan to keep it relatively stock, maybe crank the torsion bars and add a leaf so I can get some 33s under there but nothing too much

I want to see what it can do stock so that when I look back at all the money I wasted I can say "hey... now it goes over big rocks better"

Next winter I plan on ripping off the front end and going Solid Axle with 5.29s and some sort of locker. My man recce01 up top is a hell of a fab guy and has built trucks and rally cars for most the big names in the business so Im going to drop it to him for a month or two and hes going to go insane with his welder, notcher, and bender.

Then I plan to beat the **** of out it and have fun doing so

Travis

Well it was a rather uneventful weekend for me and teh 4Runner. My family was in town and staying with me so I was tied up and not able to get much done

But I did do a few small things...

I took a trip over to Jims used Toyota Truck yard in Denver CO. This guy has so much old yota stuff it was unreal. I think I counted 16 1st gen 4Runners and from what he says he has over 100 2nd Gens

I went there looking for 2 cheap items I needed.

First, I needed a driver side mirror. So $10 later I had one





He had new ones for 15 but I figured Id get one that was just as faded so they would match

I also needed a wiper fluid resivor and motor. So I ventured into this room with a tour guide. He hooked it up and knew just which one I wanted



Here are a couple random shots of Jims 1st Gens





AND IF YOU NEED A NEW HARNESS.....



I also was able to locate a very nicly priced front end on Craigslist so I went and swooped that up. I think it will go ncly with my workbench the next few months.... then I might put it on teh truck over winter



I did have a bit of an issue with gear oil and teh back of my truck

Looks like I bill be pulling out the rear carpet..... which means I will be pulling out a lot more



Travis

Well I was finally able to get the Runner out and see what she can do stock before I start cutting her up.

Here is the trip report if your interested -

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=885685#post885685

All in all I was VERY pleased with how it preformed. I'm still on the Semi bald AT's and the ground was very wet this weekend. I think I'm going to go a bit different route than most others with this build and start by doing a 2nd T Case and a rear diff.

These are both things I will need down the road and will make a huge difference in the way she gets around.

Here are a few pics from this past weekend. Check the thread listed above for more pics










-Travis

kind of amazing what a 4runner can do stock mine did from 50 mph at pismo to most sierra trails with no prob full of camping gear :sombrero:

Awesome! Love seeing pictures of the stock Runner out being wheeled!

awesome, looks good. cant wait to get out to the mountains this summer

Hey Travis nice looking rigs! you have owned all of my favorite cars in the world I am quite jealous. I'm also here in Denver off university if you're ever looking to run a trail or do some wrenching I'd be happy to help. I've got a 1986 4runner Ive been slowly building up on a college budget haha. Welcome to the forums!