It's been a minute since I've done any build or posts in the forum since I bought my FJ cruiser after my 4th gen was totaled back in 2020. There has been a lot of changes and additions to the fleet since then. I've been MIA on the forum partly since everything is more social media than forum posts and I got married back in 2022. She brought in a 5th gen 2wd and I've had a few additions since then including a 2002 Celica GT-S and a 200 series. I felt the 200 series was like a dream I thought I could never get and was thinking that'd be my wheeling rig but after a year into the ownership, it got me thinking that I did not want to beat up such a nice rig. After the 6th gen was unveiled, I came across someone's Instagram post of their restored evergreen pearl and that got me on the 3rd gen kick again for the past month. Dawned on me that as much as I'd like an 80 series for a rig, that I had a better comfort zone and knowledge base with the 3rd gen platform so I started the search. Now I'm back, hopefully 3rd times a charm and I don't do another build thread.

Pending Mods Update

Funny how this all begins. Here's the update since my last major build back in 2019 with the FJ Cruiser. I picked up a 2002 Celica GTS in May of 2021, after trying to scratch the itch for a high rev 4 cylinder JDM car. I initially wanted a DC2 Integra or DC5 RSX but went with the Celica. Partly because I wanted to be able to drive it around without looking over my shoulder.


Picked her up with only 43k on the clock from the 2nd owner. The person had it since 2003 so practically one owner. Still had the CPO sticker from back then on the windshield.


I had already been accumulating parts prior to picking up the car. I had chatted up the guy for over 6 months before he decided to sell the Celica. I had my detail guy remove the graphics and I sold the wheels the next day. Lucked out that the original wheels came with the car. I put on a set of FEAL coilovers with Swift springs.


Even had a second Toyota motor sports fuel door ready to go with replacement sticker to install.


My last major update was my spare set of Diode Dynamics SS3 Sport fogs. They fit perfectly with the TRD action package bumper. The cut off and brightness has been so good that I haven't felt the need to retrofit the headlights yet.

Then I got married in 2022 and the wife brought a 5th gen into the family. Her car is just a plain SR5 premium with 2wd. I've been spending the better part of the past year updating her suspension/brakes/cat locks, so she's been having to slum it with the Tesla as her DD. She's not into the sedan life, says its too low compared to her 4Runner.


Here's her rig after I updated her suspension with 6112 fronts and Cornfed rear spacers. I might redo the rear at some point. I have a spare set of Dobinson springs I might put back on but it gave the rig way too much rake. I put the TE37s on there for her in black because I didn't want to have them go with the FJ Cruiser. I'll be taking them back when I get her new tires later this year though.

And then last year I had a midlife crisis and bought a 2017 200 series to replace the FJ Cruiser. Then after a year of daily driving it, I realized it was much too nice to beat up on the trail. I decided to make it more of an overland / road trip vehicle vs a trail / rock crawler.


I didn't do much to it. Found some 18" PCD TE37s on marketplace, paid way too much for them. I plan to throw some 34s and do the top hat OEM spacer from the Heritage edition up front. I never wanted a full size rig but I always wanted a Land Cruiser ever since I was in elementary school. The 80 series was my dream rig, but I went with the 200 because all the 80 series I checked out needed so much work beyond what I could do in my own driveway. I also couldn't sell the wife on spending 10-15k on a build that old to start with. That's it for the 5 minute recap for anyone that read it.

Very nice stable.

I first started with a 93' Corolla we picked up from a family friend. That thing had four manual windows and the only thing automatic about it was the transmission. Even the door locks were manual. I really wanted a 4Runner and I finally got a sunfire red 99' SR5 2WD that had about 89k on the clock. I got it from Don McGill back in 2002 during my senior year in high school. A lot of tinkering happened, mostly DIY and learning how to mechanic due to me still being in school. My parents hated the hobby and always thought I should have left the cars alone. They never thought I would end up at this point still wrenching in my 40s.




Most of my parts were either sourced off Yotatech or eBay. The bumpers were painted after a hit and run, they were the original chrome bumpers and I replaced the chrome flares with the SR5 flares. I lucked out with some OEM overstock original black pearl emblems. At the time I only used the Toyota logos and the antenna nut. Too bad those went with the car. I still have the rest of the kit though. I had the OEM 01-02 grill installed when the bumpers were painted. I always hated that they painted the full grill instead of being able to keep parts of the grill black like the factory had it. Interior wise, I had dyed the carpet black, painted the door cards and most of the plastics and dash black. The dash pieces were painted gunmetal similar to the sport trim but then I switched them out with the factory wood pieces. Nothing notable for the performance besides the deck plate mod. I hacked the exhaust many times throughout the 5 years including having the vortex cherry bomb, a flowmaster 40, muffler delete, and eventually went back to factory. I never got to do any of the cool stuff like suspension or wheels though. Ended up trading it in for a new Acura TSX in 2007 but I really wanted an IS300. I could not convince my parents to get me a new used IS300 at the time so I had to get the TSX for a bit.


Now I guess I get to have both and more.

I barely gave my wife any heads up that I was considering going back to the 3rd gen camp. Although by the time I let her know, I had already been hunting for one for the better part of a month. I'm just glad she's understanding because she got into our relationship when I already had the 4th gen, CTR, and IS300. So it's not news to her whenever I come up with these shenanigans. The weekend of 6/8 we were headed to Austin for this fitness competition I was participating in, but it also happened to be around the time I found a decent priced 3rd gen. It was the only week I had available for the front part of the summer to pick up anything far away. Honestly, if the deal hadn't come up I probably would have saved myself a lot of headache lol. So after my comp was done, we left Austin on Sunday to pick up the rental car in Dallas. We left the Tesla at a friends place in Carollton and got underway. Made it to Newton, KS a bit past midnight.

We had a bit of a kerfuffle because she forgot the money in the car back in Texas and I had not realized it til we were half way into the road trip. This basically delayed us about 2 hours since we had to wait for the bank to open up and then travel back north an hour to pick up the car. Keep in mind this was going to be the first time I seeing the car in person since prior to that it was just market place ad and messenger communication. I was super nervous only because I felt like I already made the 6 hour trip and would not have wanted to return empty handed.


Here she was at pick up. The guy left her unlocked parked next to all the other construction vehicles. I took the drive up and down the small country road just to feel her out but I knew what to expect. I checked the LBJs just in case prior to him meeting us up. There was some steering shake from the typical warped rotor. AC needed some work too since it wasn't blowing ice cold and the dash would rumble on the 3rd / 4th setting. I figured it was the typical rats nesting in the fan assembly. Overall the rig was clean for the mileage it had. Matched up with the videos and pictures he had sent me over messenger. He counted the cash and we parted ways around noon. I had a wave of nostalgia hit me, always thought I would not go back after being in a nicer 4th gen / 5th gen / 200 series but maybe it was just me getting old that I wanted to build the rig I never finished.


Off we go with just slightly less than 200k on the clock


Dropping off the rental. I made sure the fuel up often just in case the sending unit was not working properly. I stopped every 180-220 miles. I knew the max range I've gotten in the past was around 260-300 miles based on my fuelly history.


Crossing into Oklahoma around 3 PM



Back in Texas around 7 PM. About 3 hours behind schedule at this point.



This is us fueling up both cars in south Dallas. I was glad Tesla decided to put in chargers at the Fuel City station. Too bad the inside wasn't open for us to use the facilities.


My wife never had gas station tacos before and these are some of the best ones in the area.


My wife got range anxiety so we had to make one last stop at Buccees. I couldn't resist the opportunity to ICE one of the two dozen open chargers they had. Bunch of guys in the Tesla group kept saying I should "box him in". Kept having to say, you mean I have to box myself in or have my wife box me in?


Made it back a little after midnight. A few things I liked about being on the road with the 3rd gen again. I liked being able to fold the back seats flat. The 200 series uses tumble foward seats and the FJ seats don't fold down completely. I was able to tetris all of our stuff in pretty efficiently. The cargo tonneau cover was also nice to have because none of our other vehicles have one. I'm just glad I made it back with the original radiator still intact. That was the only thing I was most anxious about the whole time.


Her current resting spot until I get all the maintenance and upgrades put in.


This was my wife first experiencing the 3rd gen. I kept saying...you know it can go 70-75 right? She would respond...it's so hard, I have to press down so much more than my car (5th gen). She learned that her 5th gen was not as slow as she thought.

Pretty hot day out and I decided to go out there and assess all the issues that were going on with the car after our long drive back. I was still pretty tired but there were some things I wanted to do. I don't plan to keep the front bumper on but for now I wanted to take off those driving lights.



They were held on with many many small washers. I would have likely gone with fender washers for stability. I remember doing something similar to my first rig but in front of the grill of the bumper. Also took off the orange mini LEDs that were just placed within the grill. Raptor lights were not ever my thing.





Got the car ready for a deep clean but from the pictures you would not be able to tell that it needed it. I thought it was weird the car came with the weather tech rear tray but not the front ones.


Removed these while enroute home.


Picked up this from @Inv4drZm and his twin brother who fabs up stuff for the FJ/4Runner community.

Iconic Fabriction 1996-2002 4runner Transmission Cooler Bracket Kit

They made a very nice bracket kit that bolts right in with the right length hoses and you can choose to get the cooler as well. I went with the Hayden 698 and plan to do a full bypass of the factory cooler. Got a good parts pile going too since I have a bunch of parts from both of my last two 3rd gens sitting around the garage. Some of the FJ/4th gen parts can also translate over as well.

Make sure you check trans temps for a while to make sure the single cooler is sufficient. It might be, but it isn't guaranteed - especially hot days on a long climb with the torque converter unlocked (medium speed offroading).

-Charlie

Yeah I mean I wanted the bypass because the radiator is an original 200k radiator. I might not have a choice if I get the Koyo but I might end up just getting another OEM replacement. For now it should be okay. All I drive on is flat asphalt so it's not a big issue. I just wanted to avoid the strawberry milkshake if I happen to drive it to work once in a bluemoon.

The install went fairly okay. The bracket made things a lot easier than it would have been otherwise. Took longer to take the grill off (one of the things I dread doing on the 3rd gen). Side note: I used to run with just 3 to 4 grill clips just because I hated removing them. I broke like 3 of them anyway this first go around but I have a few saved from my last build. The old tubing leading to the transmission did not want to let go either so I razor'd them off. The Iconic Fab kit comes with just enough line so that you can reach the factory transmission tubes if you were to bypass. Plenty if you were to run in series.


The engraving is a nice touch. You won't see it once it's mounted though.


I thought at first someone retrofitted the 4th gen horns but someone corrected me saying the 01-02 came with a different set of horns.


It would be interesting if someone were to fab a mount to the lower part of the car to run two coolers in series. That would allow one to bypass and get adequate cooling while wheeling or climbing mountains.


Don't mind the offset horns. I mean to move them to another location. I just need them to work right now to pass state inspection. I have more pictures of how I routed everything that I'll add to this post later on.

Two less items off my parts pile.