Its a good thing that "I told you so" doesn't cost me money, because if it did I would not be able to afford what I am about to do.

Since August 2013, I have come to realize that all the excuses I had for selling my 4runner were stupid. I can understand that I was not able to afford a secondary DD, but I should have tried to save for one instead of selling my rig. I lost a piece of myself that day. Although I was able to pay off a lot of credit card debt when I parted out the mods..

Some of you who I am friends with on Facebook already know that I have been looking for another 4runner recently. But what you do not know is that I have actually been looking for around 5 months.

Well last week I found one, and I'm flying out to get it this weekend.

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What did I find? Well, I'm pulling a trick out of @MillerPKA 's book. I am going to be rebuilding my former truck. I found a Thundercloud '02 Sport.

Stats:
2002 Thundercloud Gray Sport Edition
4x4
130,000 miles (A tad more than I was hoping for, but this one was well maintained)
Stock, so much so that it still has the running boards and the retractable cargo cover!
Location: Memphis, TN
$7,500

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As I mentioned, my plan is to rebuild my original 4runner to a certain extent. The difference this time being that it is definitely NOT my DD and I wont be drilling a hole in my quarter panel to mount my CB Antenna.

The direction of the build will be a bit more road trip/camping focused, while also being better offroad.
-Initial plans are to build a solid foundation:
Sound deaden interior, Aux Fusebox, Tundra brakes, HD rear links, and a major tune-up.. not that it really needs that last part, but I want to make sure its all good.
-From there, I will be going where I left off on my last one. Relocating shock mounts to gain more +/- travel and running 35" tires.

For my original build: Ripcord's 2002 4Runner Sport







That is pretty much it for the important news, keep reading if you care to..

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Where have I been since?

Well around the time I sold my last 4runner, I was also entering my senior year of my mechanical engineering degree. Most of that year was spent on the UNM Formula SAE team. I was the lead of the Chassis design team.

We ended up getting 11th place of like 80-ish teams at competition.
We are now ranked 5th nationally and 18th worldwide (of like 500 teams)

Following that, I was picked up by Honda as a suspension design engineer and moved to Columbus, Ohio. Been there ever since.



To replace the 4runner, I tried my hand in the Audi club..
B6 A4 Ultrasport
1.8T 6-speed



It was pretty fun, but a 3600 lb car with a 1.8 can only do so much for you..

So while I still had the A4, I also picked up this:
2001 B5 S4
2.7 twin turbo
6-speed

This one is a monster, and has been an absolute blast. I have recently sold the A4.



And that's pretty much it. To replace the A4, I picked up an old saturn wagon as a DD. So I have two projects for now..

These kinds of posts make my eyes rain. Welcome back, now all we need to do is get @neliconcept , @rocks lide and a few more and it will be like a high school reunion in here.

Glad you're keeping the thundercloud. That was the only other color I was going to consider, but I feel like some MVPs own jersey numbers, some MVP members own colors. And you, sir, are Thundercloud. And admit it, the addiction to posting here was definitely a factor in rejoining

Looking forward to what's ahead!

Glad to see you're back. I loved your 4runner. Gave me ideas for mine. Ready to see what you do to the new one.

Both vehicles are going to be amazing. Better get that k04 upgrade for the s4. Crazy fast. A good friend in NY did a v8 swap from an s6 in an s4. The sounds are magical.

F*** yes. Finally. I still hate you for getting rid of the last one.

Nice! Glad to see you're coming back. I missed your first time around, but I'm here for the second one! I wish my school had a decent Formula SAE program, they look super cool, but they haven't had one here for years...

And my all time favorite rig is being resurrected! Glad to have you back and so much closer now too.

Welcome back!

Thanks bud, very well put. I was leaning towards sunfire red, but I just couldnt go there.

And yes, I did miss posting. I was still on the forums lurking quite often.

Thanks! Glad to be back.

K04s are definitely coming, these K03s with 150k miles are a ticking time bomb..

I still hate me too

It was an amazing program, Baja would have been a fun one too.

Wow thanks! Im super excited to get out and explore around here with a proper truck.

If you need a hand on anything, let me know. Looking forward to seeing your rig around the 614!

Welcome back, your truck was an inspiration for me to start modding.

Let this be a lesson to all who think about selling their truck. I had my truck 16 years in Feb & I'm never selling it!

welcome home son...

Welcome back, it's about damn time!

Welcome back! Good move to the S4 as well!

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I'm looking forward to this. Your last build was amazing.