Well wanted to introduce myself after lurking around for a few months, hi, and thought I should start a build tread while I was at it.
I plan to use this truck as my DD and have a weekend get away vehicle that I can explore the west with. My job keeps me traveling and more and more I am pulled to those places on a map that have little or no paved roads around. Used to solo backpack a lot when I was younger, now driving in appeals to me! Day hikes from there!
Got my hands on a 97 4x4 SR5 a while back. The truck had 110k on the clock and was in the hands of a Toyota mechanic who said he wanted to keep it as his DD, but decided to sell it instead. He had just replaced timing belt, water pump and put in fresh brakes. Sounded good, drove great.
The only issues I really saw were the under body had some surface rust, and the interior was a little beat up. No Prob. Cleaned the truck up inside with a good detailing and went to town with stainless steel wool on the surface rust.
Used some rustolium cans to get the frame protected and felt good. I have made it to the middle of the truck so far and need to finish off the rear.
Skid plate scrubbed and repainted:
I also did the usual things for a new vehicle, Oil and filter change, new plugs and wires, new O2 sensors, and did the SeaFoam treatment. Wow that was cool, white smoke everywhere!
Removed the running boards and the rear badges, did the deck plate mod, dropped in an AFE filter, and installed a trans cooler. The what to look for when buying a 4runner thread was invaluable! Read that thing like 30 times!
Any how here is the truck as it is now:
More to come!