[Inv4drZm]

How it looks now:







Prologue:

My family owns a small herd of Toyota's. The vehicle I grew up riding in was a 2nd Gen 4Runner, and my parents currently have a 14' Tundra and 03' Sequoia, while my twin brother has a voodoo blue 07' FJ with Icon Stage 1 & full armor he recently inherited for a steal from my parents. He and I drove the FJ to high school on occasion but mainly a 00' Dodge 1500.

Now he and I go to the same college, but were starting to need separate vehicles. I've always been extremely interested in cars, so it was an easy decision for me to decide on which one, right? It had to be one I could mod and daily drive dirt roads/snow. Researching consisted of watching Autotrader/Cars.com/Craigslist incessantly every day. I first started by looking at some WS6 Firebirds. But 2wd would suck in the snow. Then to Suburu WRX's. They look cool, make boost noises and are AWD, but reliability didn't seem the best as most looked modded/raced/rebuilt. Lexus has a nice looking 4dr IS350 with 306 hp I test drove and almost bought, but I live on 2 miles of dirt roads; it seemed way too nice for me! After making spreadsheets with mod lists for just about every vehicle in my budget for sale within a 250mi radius, including M3's, SVT Lightnings, TrailBlazer SS's, GTO's, RX-7's, MazdaSpeed3/6's, Evo's, 240SX's I was thoroughly confused!(And so were my parents!) How does this explain the picture in your lower peripheral vision, you ask?

Back in highschool, I thought a 4th gen 4Runner looked pretty hot for an SUV. (Better than the FJ! ) Especially lifted ones I saw on these forums. Why didn't I consider these earlier? They checked all my boxes except the go-fast, irresponsible, drift machine box. Narrowing my search to low mileage 4th gen V8's and 3rd gens, they all had numerous door dings and scratches/other issues. I looked obsessively for a whole summer, and finally a nice craigslist ad popped up by owner for a 2005 4Runner Sport Natural White V8 with 115,000mi at a decent price too. But it was almost 4hrs away in Oklahoma. My dad and I called the owner and talked, and drove down the next day to finalize the deal. The 4Runner didn't have a spec of dirt underneath, but had a few more paint dings than I had anticipated, although still in the best condition I had seen in my search.(I'm way to picky apparently!!)

I ended up driving 4hrs home as a happy new 4Runner owner with big plans and an even more broke college-student-budget!

Hopping in to go home; I'm overly-enthusiastic for a long drive!



Fast forward a couple months, and I've decided I should start the "Build Thread" with goals to record my progress and hopefully take pictures of it out in the wild. I'm really not certain what path to take with this build, but hopefully I can help others mod their vehicles on my way. My two dream cars would be a long travel 5.7L swapped speedway blue Taco or a Supra . The 4Runner will just have to hold me over until I can afford one or both. But it should be a pretty sweet ride up until that point! Stay tuned!


Current Mod List

Performance:

Dirty Deeds 20" SS Exhaust
Doug Thorley Long Tube Headers
Homemade 2.5" Equal Length X Pipe
Homemade 2.5" Magnaflow Dual Muffler Section
HCF Delete
AFE Drop-in Filter
AFE CAI
Sprint Booster
Functional Hood Scoop
Rear Spoiler Added
Stoptech Cryo Rotors
Stoptech Pads

Drivetrain:

ECGS Dana 60 Rear Axle +6" Width 4.88 Gears ARB Locker
Front ARB Locker
Custom Machined High-angle CV Cups

Comms:

Cobra Hand-held CB Radio
2ft Firestik
Diamond K400 Hatch Mount

Suspension:

Camburg 1.25" Uniball UCA
Icon 2.5" RR+CDC Coilovers w/ 700# Coils
Wheeler's Front SuperBumps
Total Chaos +2" Standard LT Kit w/ Heim UCA
King 2.5" RR+CDC Coilovers w/ 600# Coils
Bajakits CV Axles
Taco Tab Alignment Cam Delete Kit
Wheeler's Diff Drop

Icon 2.5" RR Rear
Metaltech HD Long Travel Rear Coils
Wheeler's Rear SuperBumps
Front Range Offroad Upper/Lower Links

4Crawler 1.5" BL

Wheels/Tires

315/70R17 Hankook Dynapro MT
37" BFG KM3
SCS 17" SR8 Matte Dark Bronze

Armor:

Homemade Front Bumper w/ Warn Evo 10-S Winch
Modified DIY 4x4Labs Rear Bumper Kit
RCI Front Skid
Homemade Transmission, T-case, Fuel Skids
Stubb's HD-SKO Sliders
All Pro Lower Link Skid
TC Spindle Gussets (not installed)
Relentless Fab BMC Plate (not installed)
Ceramic Coated Paint
Homemade Aluminum Inner Fender Liners

Other:

Poly Bushing Rebuilt Front Control Arms
Full Sound Deadening
Desert Does It Seat Jackers
Indel-B 31L Fridge
Switch-Pros Panel
Sparky Gauge Cluster White LED Conversion
XPEL Protected Gauge Cluster Lens
Diode Dynamics Interior LEDs
Cheap LED Pods and Bar In Bumper
LED Headlight Projectors, 06' Conversion.
Rocksteady Motorsports Windshield Washer Tank
Factory Roof Rack Delete
ARB Dual Compressor System
Homemade Aluminum Drawer System
FJ Fender Liner Conversion

Shopping List

PSC Steering Fluid Reservoir
Marlin LT
Rear King 14" Coilovers

Long-Term:

Seats
Boost
Crawlbox/T-Case
Relocate Fuel Tank
Double-triangulated 4-link rear suspension
Internal Roll Cage/Bar

[Firedaddy1327]

Congrats on your purchase. Welcome to the 4runner family. I bought my '04 new, have had it and modded it the past 11 years,and never regretted the purchase a day yet. Have fun with your build.

[Inv4drZm]

Originally Posted by Firedaddy1327

Have fun with your build.

Thanks! I decided I wanted to try detailing my car this weekend, and I went all-out.

The Steps:

Watch Junkman2000's videos on Youtube!
Full Pressure-wash
Soapy Mitt Wash
Chemical Guys Clay Bar
Chemical Guys V36 applied with Porter Cable 7424XP DA Polisher/Orange Pad
Chemical Guys V38 also applied with DA Polisher/Red Pad
Meguiar's Sealant 2.0 #21 also applied with DA Polisher/Red Pad

Took me 6 hours straight yesterday, and 4.5 hours today to finish up! But it was well worth it!

Tips:
Work in the shade, in a garage, or when it is cool out.
Wait for a calm day if possible. (Not in Kansas)
Some of these products smell like bubblegum or raspberries. So don't skip lunch...

The Results:

Before:


After:


Before:



After:



The blemishes were from the previous owner, just don't ask how that blue streak got on there.

Before:




After:













The phone camera can't do the 4Runner enough justice. The paint before was all cloudy and had spider-web swirls all over. Not to mention a few of the scuffs and scratches. Now they're all gone and replaced with a beautiful shine! And new stickers!

[Wavesport]

Nice work, that paint looks fabulous.

[ARunner]

While perhaps not the most exciting, likely the best choice of the lot you had in mind. Congrats. Looks very clean.

[Yson07SR5]

Nice work! I need to do exactly this to mine, it looks like the P/O let his kid drop the sponge between every scrub...

[Inv4drZm]

A couple weeks ago, I installed Dirty Deeds Industries 20" stainless steel exhaust and made a video. There's only a handful of good exhaust videos for the V8 4Runners that I've found. If I can figure out a better microphone setup I might post a better interior sound clip.

Also, should I:

Cut off the rear resonator up high so I don't bash it wheeling?
Cut it off and turn it to the side with a TRD exhaust tip?
Leave it how it is?

I wouldn't mind extra noise as long as it doesn't add to the little drone there currently is.

[t-man]

Originally Posted by Inv4drZm

My two dream cars would be a long travel 5.7L swapped speedway blue Taco or a Supra . The 4Runner will just have to hold me over until I can afford one or both. But it should be a pretty sweet ride up until that point! Stay tuned!

Dude! I want a 5.7 swapped 4Runner!!!
Welcome, glad to have you here!

[S p a r k y]

That looks great! wish you were closer I would pay for you to do mine! I remember when mine looked exactly like that.

[Inv4drZm]

Thanks for all the compliments! The nice thing about it, once you buy the DA polisher and learn to use it, its relatively cheap and quick to detail your paint afterwards if needed. After a clay bar, I can skip straight to the polishing step then apply sealant/wax quickly. I don't need to buff out any imperfections as long as I don't get new ones!

[Jabberjaw]

Have fun ...and I gotcher co-pilot!!

https://youtu.be/sY278K4ljWs

[Inv4drZm]

Originally Posted by Jabberjaw

Have fun ...and I gotcher co-pilot!!

https://youtu.be/sY278K4ljWs

Makes me laugh every time!

[KrabbyKakes]

Hey I had the same dilemma as you! I really want a "sport" SUV because the BMW X5 I found was really really really really fun to drive. Too bad it would've cost a couple grand a month just in maintenance! So then i came here and rediscovered 4Runners with plans to mod my own (once I get it ha!). Great minds think alike it seems...

[Inv4drZm]

I have made progress in my sound deadening project, but first a quick rant:

I was driving down the mile of dirt road we live on and passed a truck which threw a rock which hit my windshield very loudly. When I assessed the damage, I first noticed an inch-long scratch taken out of my hood, which led to a small crack at the base of my windshield that I'm pretty sure wasn't there before.



Anyway, onto the sound deadening. A thanks goes to HokieRunner's thread and some others that I followed.

Products used:
Fatmat RattleTrap - 150sqft - Used all
1/8" Closed Cell Foam - 100sqft - Used 40sqft
Trademark Soundproofing MLV - 100sqft - Used 70sqft

Started with the rear doors









This weekend I started and finished the whole interior; all I have left is the rear hatch and front doors. I wasn't originally planning to do above the headliner this weekend, but I was already 80% there so...







Next, the floor. I added a bit more after taking these pics







Next, the MLV. It was late when I finished this.







I also stuffed some MLV in front of the sunroof while the headliner was down and took the opportunity to vacuum every nook and cranny, as well as shampoo the carpet while it was out. I made sure I didn't have to do this again!

Casualties

• 17hrs of my time
• The four rear headliner clips were easier to shatter than risk damage to headliner. I will need to buy some.
• A couple clips/standoffs broke on the upper rear panels, but they still fit fine.
• Rear hatch weatherstripping needs reglued.
• Front map light section needs new front tabs, or replaced (a PITA to pull out!).
• Of all things that don't fit after this, it was the stupid plastic seat foot covers! I might need to mod them.
• My exhaust sounds quieter
• Too many cuts and scrapes to my poor hands.

Rewards

• My engine sounds louder (less exhaust noise)
• Other differences yet to be determined

Preview on next mods



Got the 5100's in. (They sent a diesel magazine with them, haha)


Thanks, that is all.

[Inv4drZm]

Slowly gathering parts. Bought some Camburg 1.25" Uniball UCA's over black friday. The Total Chaos UCA's were tempting as my brother's FJ has had them w/ no problems for a year now, but their uniball replacement seems to be rather expensive.

Everything is covered with ice today: