0-100 - 1985 4runner Build Thread

[TheManOutside]

Hello! Welcome to my build thread! This first post will mainly just be a list of the mods I've done, and small photo updates of the truck. I will edit this post as more mods get completed or whatever.


"0-100" (sketchysteering) 1985 T4R


WHAT I'VE DONE
Looks/Body :
Fixed Roof
SUPER COOL STEEL SUNROOF
Most Rust Removed
Soft top (rest in piece, shout out the ass hole that cut it open :flipoff
LED Headlights that may or may not be legal
Super Ghetto Sub and Rear Battery mount (its just strapped in and the subs on the floor whoops)
HEADGASKET KIND OF

Suspension/Tires/Brakes :
Low Profile Front Leaf Spring Hangers
OME Leaf's all around
10" Front Shocks
Blown Rear shocks
33" BFG KO2's
Extended Front Brake Lines
V6 Brake Upgrade

Engine :
I put in a new Knock Sensor that doesn't work I guess
Headgaskets kind of still blown


That's everything as far as I know. I will add more if anything comes to mind. Probably not.

Here is the truck as of today

Here is the truck the day I got it

worst pic of all time, I know I'm a little sorry, not really though

​

 

[TheManOutside]

Let's start off with how I got the truck. I sold my 2wd 1997 4runner (Bofa, RIP I miss you), then bought this 1st gen in July for a little over $1,000. Why was it so cheap, you might ask? Well, a tree fell on it and crushed the whole roof, destroying the sunroof, cracking the windshield, and smashing the passenger side in at least 3 inches. Unfortunately, the best pic I have of this damage is in the last pic in my first post.

Right away I decided to start with the dents and the sunroof. We used a torch to heat up the roof, then hammered it back in place as much as possible.

Looks MUCH better than it did before!

 

[TheManOutside]

Next up I dealt with the giant hole I had as a sunroof. THIS IS A TEMPORARY FIX OK THX

I sealed off the gaps to keep water out, then I attached a steel sheet to the top. At first, I was intending to make it so I could still open the steel sheet like the sunroof, however, that didn't really work out as planned and it ended up like...

...that!

It has held up pretty well so far, and it's been almost 2 months, so I'm not complaining!

I also painted the front cross member...

...my brakes hardly worked, so I installed new rotors, pads, and changed brake fluid, they work great now btw...

...and slapped on a new front bumper and painted my rims!

It looks pretty nice now if I must say so myself!

Oh yeah, I also made this super awesome shift knob cause mine broke in half somehow

 

[TheManOutside]

I HAD to go wheeling before school started for me, and luckily I was able to go! Sadly, I have just about the worst suspension of all time, so it was extremely painful... here are some pics from my trip.

But first, here's how good my leafs are

K now pics

Here's my friends 89 pickup flexing just a tiny bit (his rear left tires only like 3 inches off the ground. pshh)

I didn't even think about attempting that. Not with my current suspension! :laugh:

Unfortunately, I didn't get a lot of pictures. I was too busy getting attacked by my seat belt and roof. I did actually fully flex my truck on one spot though! It was hilarious

 

[TheManOutside]

That's it as of right now. These pics are slightly old, I actually have the truck at a shop right now to get the roof fixed and clean up some of the really bad rust spots! I should be getting it back Saturday. I'm stoked

 

[v_man]

Nice rig !

 

[PlanetExpress]

Nice application of heat and pressure on that roof! cant wait to see what you do with this. I think your leafs springs might be in upside down

 

[TheManOutside]

Nice rig !

Thanks!

Nice application of heat and pressure on that roof! cant wait to see what you do with this. I think your leafs springs might be in upside down

Thanks! I know, my suspension is almost completely worthless. I should be getting new leafs pretty soon though! :guitar3: I'm going with OME leafs all around

 

[PlanetExpress]

I have a little bit of rear sag as well, I was considering a ZUK mod to fix it on the cheap.

 

[TheManOutside]

I have a little bit of rear sag as well, I was considering a ZUK mod to fix it on the cheap.

I was going to do this, I actually got coils and everything, but I decided to return them cause I ended up ordering new leafs. I ordered them about a week ago from rocky-road, but havn't heard from them yet so I have no idea when I'm gonna be getting them.

 

[TheManOutside]

lil update

I finally got my truck back from being painted and the roof dents were taken out. It looks great, but there's A TON of over spray (I just pained my rims and now they're basically ruined), I still have a steel sunroof thing, and the service was complete garbage. Anyway. Here are some super pro photos of my vehicleeeeee

I've always hated the stock steering wheel. It was way too big, felt like I was driving a bus, and the horn didn't work. SO I got a new steering wheel! So far best purchase I've made. $50 can go a long way.

(Crap pic I'm sorry)

Also, the brilliant people who painted my truck also managed to break my side mirrors, so they just flop around now. I decided to go ricer mode and a get one of those panoramic ricer review mirror things. Honestly, this thing works awesome and it was only like $15. It looks ridiculous but it works great so that's cool I guess.

My leaf springs also shipped finally so that should be happening soon! :dance: stoked

 

[PlanetExpress]

jealous of your pristine dash :wow: the paint looks great from the pics! do you have any pics of the work they did on the roof?

 

[TheManOutside]

jealous of your pristine dash :wow: the paint looks great from the pics! do you have any pics of the work they did on the roof?

Thanks! The dash doesn't have any cracks, only a little tear on the top.

It's slightly lower on the left side (where the dents were) but it's not really noticeable. It looks better than before!

 

[TheManOutside]

Things are gonna get serious here pretty soon. I might actually have a build thread worth something :happy:

Anyway! I got a soft top! woo nice here it is

thanks to [MENTION=98007]SMSmitty[/MENTION] for selling his to me

I also finally got my leafs!

I will hopefully be installing them next week, then I can actually do things in my truck! yay

 

[PlanetExpress]

fiending for some updates!!!

 

[ObiRunner97]

Awesome find and great build so far, ive come to really admire the 1st gens recently and im thinking im gonna pull the trigger on an 85 one day. How would you compare it to your 97, ride, handling, etc?

 

[TheManOutside]

fiending for some updates!!!

I actually just got the front end of my OME leafs in yesterday. I didn't have time to do the whole thing, so I'm gonna finish that job up next weekend. I'll post pics later, but right now I got a pretty intense amount of squat going on Oh yeah, my alignment is also broken

Awesome find and great build so far, ive come to really admire the 1st gens recently and im thinking im gonna pull the trigger on an 85 one day. How would you compare it to your 97, ride, handling, etc?

Well, my 85 was pretty garbage when I first picked it up (the leaf springs were completely worn out, for example, so it was an extremely rough ride), however, I'm halfway through putting my new ones on, and I've already seen a huge difference. I'm going to assume it will feel the same as my 97, just not as bouncy. In my opinion, both the 97 and the 85 have very similar handling, the 85 just has a much worse turning radius. The 85 also has a 22re, which is obviously less powerful than the 5VZ-FE, so it's not nearly as fast. The 1st gen also feels a little bit smaller and lighter, but that doesn't impact driving it too much. All in all, I found them to be surprisingly similar.

 

[TheManOutside]

Here's my super sick pre runner lol. This is just with the front OME leafs in. I hate driving it like this, but I didn't have time to finish the whole thing this past weekend, so I'm gonna continue this coming up one. At least the ride isn't too bad now. I can go over speed bumps :lmao:

I didn't do measurements before hand unfortunately, but it gave the front about 3 inches of lift (since my old leafs were upside down). It should settle down to 2-2.5 inches soon. I also got some paint off my rear tire

 

[ObiRunner97]

:usa2:Thanks, I cant wait to get one someday. When you go to the trail after all the new leafs are on, let's see some pictures!

 

[TheManOutside]

:usa2:Thanks, I cant wait to get one someday. When you go to the trail after all the new leafs are on, let's see some pictures!

Will do :thumb: I'm planning to go the weekend after this one coming up. I'm stoked