[MattJakobs]

Originally Posted by Duckman97

You ever thought about the 17" spit spoke wheels for tundra? Then paint gun metal or black or even leave the stock color

The 5 stars are my favorite Toyota rim so if I don't get the American Racing wheels, I'll keep what I have. I'm having a really hard time coming up with what color scheme to go with though.

[sterbenlicht]

It was cool meeting you the other day and I'm glad most of the regulars came around that day too. Give me a shout anytime you want to come hang out, have questions, or even just need to use the lift or tools.

[MattJakobs]

Originally Posted by sterbenlicht

It was cool meeting you the other day and I'm glad most of the regulars came around that day too. Give me a shout anytime you want to come hang out, have questions, or even just need to use the lift or tools.

Thanks a ton go having me, I'll definitely try and make some more of the meetings. Over my winter break (December 12 to January 12) I'll try and come by whenever I don't work. I've been talking to my dad and we think we're going to go ahead and do the JDM engine swap once the summer comes around.

Also if you ever need an extra set of hands working on yours or anything in the garage, let me know and I'll definitely try and come by and help out.

[MattJakobs]

This was an eventful weekend, my old 4Runner (and my brothers current) had a little incident on Friday. She needed a new CV axle upper ball joint, lower ball joint, and CV axle. Had her up and running the next day and picked her up this morning.









We also failed inspection and needed a new tire. We only did the one that needed replacing to pass since we had to buy all the parts for the other. Next month, we will be buying the other tires. We went with the BF Goodrich's All-Terrain KO2.

[sterbenlicht]

Mark is kind of crazy. He actually fixed that thing in the dark, way out in the driveway, only with hand tools, in the freezing cold. Not a big job, but definitely would have had to wait until morning if it were me haha.

[zcrew]

I was thinking of getting some BFG All-Terrains a while ago but figured I'd wait until the new KO2's came out. They look good. I loved all my previous sets. Outer Banks is some of the best surf I've ever had on the east coast. Good memories camping around there.

[MattJakobs]

Originally Posted by sterbenlicht

Mark is kind of crazy. He actually fixed that thing in the dark, way out in the driveway, only with hand tools, in the freezing cold. Not a big job, but definitely would have had to wait until morning if it were me haha.

Yeah he called me the next morning and said it was mostly done and I could pick it up that afternoon, I was shocked he got it most of the way done already. Sure glad I thoguht to give him a ring. Saw yours too, the wheels look really really good on her.

[MattJakobs]

Originally Posted by zcrew

I was thinking of getting some BFG All-Terrains a while ago but figured I'd wait until the new KO2's came out. They look good. I loved all my previous sets. Outer Banks is some of the best surf I've ever had on the east coast. Good memories camping around there.

I was in the same boat with tires, went ahead and waited. I think they look a lot better in person then they did in the pictures and adds. The Outer Banks is a blast, that's where most of my camping pictures will come from this summer. Living in Virginia Beach, there isn't much of a wave here so the travel to the Banks is a must.

[sterbenlicht]

Originally Posted by MattJakobs

Yeah he called me the next morning and said it was mostly done and I could pick it up that afternoon, I was shocked he got it most of the way done already. Sure glad I thoguht to give him a ring. Saw yours too, the wheels look really really good on her.

Oh I didn't even realize you had stopped by. Yeah the wheels are okay. I just need to throw some beefy tires on it. You must have seen it that morning then which means the rear was totally loaded up with tons of tools and weighed down severely. I got the lift and tires from someone I did some work for. He was happy to have stock suspension and wheels again, and I had been playing around with the idea of lifting mine so it worked out well for both of us.

[MattJakobs]

Originally Posted by sterbenlicht

Oh I didn't even realize you had stopped by. Yeah the wheels are okay. I just need to throw some beefy tires on it. You must have seen it that morning then which means the rear was totally loaded up with tons of tools and weighed down severely. I got the lift and tires from someone I did some work for. He was happy to have stock suspension and wheels again, and I had been playing around with the idea of lifting mine so it worked out well for both of us.

Yeah I just stopped by for the pick up and talked to Mark a little, discussed a little on the timeline of the engine swap. I can't wait till that thing is in so I can start doing some bigger things. Sounds like you got a hell of a deal on the lift then, what are you running?

[sterbenlicht]

Yeah, free is a hell of a deal. I don't even know what the lift is. It's just in-strut spacers on the front and coil spacers on the rear. Then I picked up some 1.25" spidertrax. For someone who wasn't too motivated to install a lift, I'm pretty committed now. The front is about 3.5" and the rear is about 2.75", so I'm probably going to pick the back up with some different springs and throw a body lift on after that.

[MattJakobs]

Originally Posted by sterbenlicht

Yeah, free is a hell of a deal. I don't even know what the lift is. It's just in-strut spacers on the front and coil spacers on the rear. Then I picked up some 1.25" spidertrax. For someone who wasn't too motivated to install a lift, I'm pretty committed now. The front is about 3.5" and the rear is about 2.75", so I'm probably going to pick the back up with some different springs and throw a body lift on after that.

My problem is I keep going back and forth on lifting or not. I would plan on installing it myself to save some money but I know all the possibilities of something going wrong and the premature wearing it can do if installed incorrectly. Maybe coil spacers and new springs eventually because my shocks seem to be in good condition.

[MattJakobs]

Just a couple small things for now. As seen in some previous posts, my center caps for my wheels needed some help. I sanded them down and repainted them with Rustoleum Metallic Aluminium, the color match isn't perfect but it's pretty close.






I have also come up with a few projects to do over my winter break(December 12-January 12). I will be making a rear cargo box, redoing the interior door panels, and Rustoleuming the undercarriage if weather permits. I've looked at a few ideas for a cargo box on here and think I have made my mind up about which one. I need something a little bigger for the summer time months to carry general tools, a tackle box, and surfing supplies(wax, leashes, sun-cure, wet suits). I will also be incorporating an 8" sub in it, something to accent the music but not over power it. The 4Runner still runs okay for around town driving but anything with distance is iffy so there won't be any huge updates until we get a new motor in there. For now, just things to make it more enjoyable to drive and that enhance the overall quality of her.

[MattJakobs]

Switched my roof racks from my old 4Runner to the new one. Looks a lot better and will be useful in the summer carrying around my kayak and surfboards for road trips. I've also been pondering the thought of buying a trailer. I also started a little project of trying to reuphoster the inside of my door panels. It still needs a little work around the edges but overall looks a lot better.

The new old Thule racks
The weather was nice today so while I worked on the car, the lady-friend set my hammock up off the rack and a near by tree. Worked great!

The driverside front door, still needs another fitting but you get the point.

I also repainting my grill and my retro "TEQ" badge I picked up from @MTD . Looking great already and will have pictures up tomorrow. The headlight bulbs were replaced today and will attach pictures of the output tomorrow.

[MattJakobs]

Did some painting today, I finished up my retro "TEQ" badge I got from @MTD and my grill. Also took the brush guard off because it wasn't getting any use just sitting there when I'm in school. The grill needed an overall refresh and instead of buying a new one, figured I'd give it a shot at restoration. I taped off all the chrome since I didn't want the all black look and shot it with 3 coats of primer and black. For the "TEQ" emblem, I painted it with the same stuff I did my center caps with and a navy blue paint made by Bher to match my paint.
Before

Before

Before

Primed

After Grill

After with Emblem