Good to see you're still around! The fleet looks fantastic as always.

I'm jealous of that find, a now running 2 door 4x4 2nd Gen for $1800 is great. The interior looks about perfect also, and she's shining up really well.

I've been wanting to get a 1st/2nd gen project but everyone wants way too much around here it seems. I went to look at a couple partial 3.4 swapped 2nd gens a couple weeks ago but they were not as clean as the pictures led me to believe.

How did the 3rd gen do towing the 2nd gen on the U-Haul dolly? I've got a 4th gen V6 now that I could use to tow, but I'm still hesitant to put the weight of another 4runner behind it.

DAMN, COB!!! "Patches" and I are so Jealous! I would love to be your neighbor! My brothers lived off of Benidorm & Aliso, many years ago. My old girl (1990 2D, built in Japan, in JUL 89)has 523K on the clock, with the 3.Slow. I wish I had a roof rack and spoiler, but one can't have it all! I SO look forward to following your posts!

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Nice find! Wish I could have gotten that! My new 3rd gen sure is nice though

So glad to see your still saving theses rigs.

This is awesome! Where state is the transmission at now?

In the 9 years that I've been a member of this forum, this is probably one of the few times I've ever actually perused the 1st & 2nd Gen section. I've got a 3rd gen. But dude. This was an awesome read. It's not even my build but I feel so excited for you! Sounds like it's been quite the journey finding this thing and tearing it down and building it back up the way you envision. I hope one day I can do the same thing too. But for the meantime I'm gonna keep on driving my 01 until the wheels fall off it.

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Shot COB: I didn't even get through the first post and thought, "I recognize that driveway from a Supra build..."

Sure enough. Great finds and great projects. The revival of the paint is awesome! Our 1st gen's paint is not nearly in as good of shape as your 2nd gen. I did try to wash/clay/polish a small section and it'll look better, but not as deep as your red.

You keep finding these gems: Any odds of a non-roached tailgate for a 1st gen?? I find them, roached out, but still $500.

Awesome! Thanks for the new tread. Cool project. Can't beat that engine / supercharger deal.

Hey Unner! It’s been a long time! I still see your posts on IG, man that MK3 is a beauty. Have you ever considered taking it to Supras In Vegas? A lot of cars get trailered if mileage is a concern.

I believe had the 2-door been any closer to CA that it’d have been gone quickly. Boise ID was far, just far enough that it was out of reach for most CA buyers, but not impossibly far for the right person. Helped that he didn’t actually write “2-door” in the ad. Not sure how big the 4Runner crowd is in Boise, but that rig took 2 months to sell.

It’s hard for me to blame any 4Runner owner for wanting a lot for their rigs, but I see where you’re coming from. Some guys really have an inflated idea of value, or fail to see how major issues could affect the value. It’s miserable when you show up to a purchase and find it misrepresented online. Sorry that happened to you.

The 3rd gen is, of course, not the proper weight for this towing situation, it was certainly overloaded, but it is manageable with caution. This is at least my 4th time towing another 4Runner with a 3rd gen and I wouldn’t entirely recommend it if better options are available. I will venture to say that we have a 4th gen V6 that does a better job towing, used it to tow my 94 Supra on a 2-axle trailer as well as a 16 foot flatbed, it is certainly better suited than the 3rd gen, but still not quite as good as a V8 Tundra or a V8 4th gen would be.

Patches is a beauty! Love the white on a 2-door. Mine is also an 89 baby, born in September. I think I prefer it without the rack to be honest! Something about having a smooth roof with no holes or filler strips looks pretty cool.

523K?! Holy bologna. Impressive. Mine’s not even at half that yet lol. Gotta love the durability of these old Toyotas.

Thanks for checking out my build and I hope to keep you entertained!

You made the right call by a longshot. 3rd gens are the best. Congratulations on the new rig.

Hey Chris in the Super Duty rock crawler!! Dude!! This was your first post in 4 years! I remember seeing your posts every day. Time sure flies. You still have any of your 4Runners?

I still have that shifter trim you gave me all those years ago.

Thanks Jeff! Manual transmission is just sitting in wait.

There’s an issue getting AISIN clutches apparently. Seems they have been on backorder for months. Marlin’s out of HD clutches too.

I got a 3.4 flywheel and was hoping to get a new AISIN CKT-040 clutch to go with it. Those are out of stock, too.

Worst case, I have a 3.0 flywheel with a used clutch.

Thanks for checking it out. It’s a fun way to build a car. Makes for a good story and gives it some character.

I see you are a man of taste, it is always best to have at least one 3rd gen before building a side project 4Runner. Sounds like you’re half way to glory lol. You can drive the 3rd gen all you want, but unless you’ve got bad ball joints, I’ll bet the wheels will stay on it lol.

I built my second 4Runner, an ’87 turbo, while daily driving my 3rd gen. Similar to the 2-door here, it was an immediate teardown, followed by a motor build, manual swap, suspension refresh, etc… a solid 3rd gen makes the dream possible

On a 4Runner forum, no less, lol. My dearly beloved 94 Supra, I miss it dearly. It’s been just over 5 years since the restoration started. Two more weeks until the new turbo is here. Soon it will drive again.

After sticking both 1st and 2nd gen 4Runners together, it’s evident that the 1st gen is a darker red than the 2nd gen’s Cardinal Red. Maybe that’s got something to do with it. Those single stage paints are easy to work with so I’m sure you can get some depth as long as there’s some solid paint left. Meguiar’s products seem to do the trick for me.

$500 for a roached tailgate? Holy cow. I recall the hunt for parts being scarce even 5+ years ago. Haven’t seen one in the junkyard in years now. Sounds like we are officially paying the rarity tax I have a lead on some doors and other misc parts, no tailgates though.


Thanks Cali 4runner. Right? $280 overall is basically free in today’s market. Gonna take some money to fix them up, still worth it though.

New license plates showed up.

Front bumper looks like it took a hit on the lower left section of the valance. Bumper is pushed upward on the left side overall. Don’t know if the valance will straighten out easily, the but the level overall should be easy to adjust.

I have a 92-95 front bumper and debating installing it instead.







Interior is ready to come apart for swap festivities.





Cluster was removed and donated to my 89 Pickup.
https://www.toyota-4runner.org/3765018-post18.html

The original auto transmission used a VSS with a cable to speedometer. The R150F being used for the swap came from a 1993 model with electronic VSS.

I just happened to have a newer SR5 cluster to swap into the 4Runner, and all it will take is to wire in the electronic VSS (3 wires). I also disassembled the odometer to match the mileage, so the mileage reading is still 100% accurate.







Dashboard out







Auto pedal removed, left. Manual pedals, right.




Notice the clutch master cylinder-shaped cutout in the inner insulation

From the other side





First holes drilled, and new pedal bracket installed





Master installed. Here it is in its new home.







Interior view with pedals installed

Scored another 5VZ-FE. This one threw a rod and blew a hole in the block. Heads are probably still good and there’s a lot of useable spare parts. Should be able to make one good engine between the two engines.











Loaded up in the pickup





Unloading using my handy-dandy Uline straddle stacker









Strapped to a pallet along with the supercharger (in white box) for future shenanigans

Back to cluster swap. Plugs are identical for clusters 1990-1995. Some pins are not used on 1990-1991 clusters. 1992-1995 clusters utilize 2 more pins for the electronic VSS. I got some extra 92+ cluster plugs from the junkyard, removed the two extra VSS wires with pin, and inserted them into the factory 1990 harness in the truck.

The electronic VSS uses these wires from the 92+ plug:

Blue wire on far side of plug





Removed whole





Factory 1990 harness has this pin location, but it is unused, so it is left empty. Here’s the 1992+ VSS wire installed into 1990 harness





Next wire is the green/red on the far side of another plug





Removed whole





Factory 1990 harness with empty pinhole





Green/red wire installed into factory 1990 harness





These wires will run directly to the VSS at the tail end of the transfer case. The 3rd VSS wire taps into GAUGE 12V wire. Will post pics upon completion.

Test run with new cluster. Works great so far. Needs green bulbs.





Mileage is spot on and cluster is functional.

Manual transmission tunnel opening is next. This is the tunnel from the parts truck. It’ll be trimmed and reused in this 1990 4Runner. Will allow for factory boot installation and overall factory fitment.










Tracing out the cut line, and marking rivet hole locations





Cardboard template for the cutting of the auto tunnel. The auto tunnel cut is about 1/2” oversized.







Trimming of the new manual transmission tunnel overlay









Overlayed over factory auto tunnel for tracing purposes





Manual hole marked and square grommet holes marked





Cut lines marked

Cutting in process





Drilled out spot welds holding auto shifter mounting/support metal







Hole cut and grommet areas notched





Overlay test fitment. Notice the entirety of the automatic hole and cut sections are now covered.





50/50 view towards front of truck. Bottom of tunnel cut visible. Enough room to rivet new tunnel overlay into place.





50/50 view towards rear of truck. Bottom of tunnel cut visible.





Next step is to drill rivet holes, apply seam sealer, and rivet into final position.