Family runner

So there I was minding my own business when I get a text from a good friend asking if I knew anyone looking for a 4runner. A coworker of his has decided it needs too much work($) to keep on the road and after 15 yrs of ownership it was time to part ways......ofcourse being a jeep guy why would I be interested, right? Well for some reason I've always been a little curious of the "yota" product and at one point was going to sling a set of FZJ80 axles under my 91' XJ. After a week of chewing on...

Got the new rubber mounted

255/85R16 KM2's

Bought some 1" thick UHMW poly scraps for $10

and cut out some spacers

Before.....

After.....


Not bad for a 1" spacer!
Sitting a little nose high waiting for winch, bumper, and rear springs

Nice work glad you decided to save the old 4runner from the scrapyard. I was actually going to go see that exact one but the misses said no more toys plus I already have a 98 4runner.

Great work on the tailgate, they all rust in the same area, I have an extra gate at home that's in great shape except for a dent that I plan on repairing this summer.

From the list it looks like you have a good amount of work into it so far, nice to see you have done all the preventative maintnance it should treat you very well now.

Interesting idea with the scrap poly, if you don't mind me asking where did you pick the 1" poly up from? I've been looking for the last month or so at lifts. I'm only looking for 1.5-2" I don't want anything more, I was thinking OME but this poly spacer idea I like. What rear springs are you going with?

Have you went over the frame really good front to back? Particular spot to watch out for is up in behind the gas tank on the inside rail. Found one or two spots on mine I had repaired, I would take a really good look especially if that vehicle was never rustproofed.

Anytime you want to hit a trail let me know, I'm always out on weekends but I'm at the opposite end of town, I'm out near Carleton Place.

Cheers,

Any plastics you might need, poly, lexan, etc, This place is awesome:

http://canusplastics.com/

98AT- the poly i got through a friend of mine who conveniently works beside and deals with Plastec in Stitsville. I've checked the frame over and it looks surprisingly good! It appears to have been rustproofed regularly at least in its early years.
I haven't decided on the rear yet, gonna see how she sits with the winch and bumper weight up front

Aweber- good to know!

If he comes across any other scrap poly I would love to experiment with it. Glad to hear your frame is good I've seen so many 4runners that appear to be in great shape only to find the frames rotted out.

I'm still on the fence myself about what lift to go with, so many options out there but OME seems like a win win, the Sonoran lifts are nice but pricey.

What front bumper are you putting on? Homemade bumper or did you buy an aftermarket? Ive decided on a tube front winch bumper for mine with a hitch mounted tire carrier for the rear.

Pulled the factory bumper off, and cleaned up the ends of the frame

Trimmed a 3"x4"x1/4" chunk of angle down to 3"x3 1/2" and welded it on to give me somewhere to start to build my bumper off of


I'm thinking a mix of round and square tube, and plate, styled something like the Toyota emblem....sorta.....kinda..... gonna try to use up my cut off pile so we'll see what I end up with

If you want to run a mini truck axle under it, a w56 will bolt up to the w59 tranny bellhousing and you can swap diff to the passgersides and have a gear driven case. Find a 4.56 v6 and swap out the 4.10 in the mini. Your golden.

ToyTaco said:

If you want to run a mini truck axle under it, a w56 will bolt up to the w59 tranny bellhousing and you can swap diff to the passgersides and have a gear driven case. Find a 4.56 v6 and swap out the 4.10 in the mini. Your golden.

Click to expand...

Was this post intended for NRTYota?

I just noticed he was talking about the same sort of swap. It was intended for the family runner as a future project. I have the same idea (3rz, w56, duals)for a drivetrain for a future four seater buggie.

Ahhhh, cool. Yeah I have a 95' p/u for parts if/when I ever go down that road. I think the dana44 fits the 3rd gen width better though, no need for mega spacers like with the mini. Did you end up doing anything with the fzj80 axles or still on hold for the buggy project?

got the winch mounted finally, decided to mount it low at frame height. I figured If I built the plate so it was at grille height there'd be too much leverage prying on the front of the frame. I suppose I could plate the frame to deal with it, but sometimes the simplest design is the best, so ill give this set up a try.

And made a license plate bracket, how many times have you cursed that damn Ontario front plate?! Zipped tied to the grille, mangled hanging off the bumper edge, torn off on a trail ride and either lost or shoved between the dash and windshield, etc..... Now I just have to remember to take it off before its buried and put it back when it's time to air up (;

And the bumper so far,

Looks great!

Thanks brother!

I'm thinking of bringing my 4runner back close to stock trim, let me know if you're interested in some LC 7.5 wraps for the rear, I also have the longer travel LC shocks to go with them.Those LC coils flex like crazy,way better than ome.

I'm interested, would you be so kind as to measure from your rear axle centerline up to the wheel arch. Thanks.

Curious how much lift these will give, I need to keep her fairly low so my wife (5'4") can access the baby seat in the back