1989 fender bender build

Klock

Klock

New member
Ok Gents, so I just picked up this 1989 Toyota 4Runner that was in a front end collision (reason for the thread name) it is a V6 Manual Transmission with a little over 200K. I would have loved to get a 22RE but this is a complete budget build, I am hoping to have about 3000$ into this build to get it into decent wheeling shape. I've been into Toyota's for along time now since my dad has always been a huge fan and really grew up wheeling First Gen 4runners. I'll throw up some pictures of past Toyota's and of course the 89. I did the Gold Mountain run about a year or so with some of the SoCal members from the board and hope to get out more soon here!

So here is were it all started. My dad back in 1986 after buying his first Toyota Pick up, he said he wanted the Turbo but it was just to much money!



Me at about 12 years old wheeling with my dad in a First Gen. He said he picked it up for about 1000$ and it was in mint shape! Wish that was the case in today's market lol.


My last 4Runner a 3rd gen with a rear Arb locker and full skid plates and sliders. Learned a lot in this rig but I sold it for something newer.




So after I sold my 3rd Gen I bought this 2013 Toyota Tacoma. It was 4WD and had full Icon Suspension on all four corners. But honestly after owning the car for awhile I realized that I needed to get away from the payment and go back to my grass roots with a First Gen 4 Runner. Not to mention this one was way to heavy to wheel and I never really wanted to put a ding or scratch on it.



Alight guys sorry about the rant and non thread pictures but I think it's pretty cool to document the past before the new build. My Goals for the new 4Runner is to just put the front end back together and fix any mechanical issues that may pop up. I will also fabricate up some sliders for it. As for tire size I'm shooting for a 33"-35"

So here are a few pictures of the 1989. I actually pulled the fender and bumper out and drove it home from Lake Forest to Huntington Beach. Everything felt very tight motor-Transmission and suspension wise. The front end tracked completely straight. The interior is super clean also seems like someone really cared for it, previouse owner didn't have it very long before he got hit in it.

Day I brought it home





After pulling on the front end bit and placing a headlight in just so it looks decent.







Some interior shots





So after a trip to the local pick apart I found a donor 4Runner for the inner fender-Head light-Steering arm and a few other pieces for 25$





This weekend I'm picking up a passenger side fender and possibly a front bumper. Hopefully I'll be able to strip down the front end and cut the bent inner fender out and mock up the new one. I still need some parts so if any of you guys have some near the Huntington Beach area please PM me!
 
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Nice runner, even with the smashed front end! You turning into a wheelin' rig like your previous ones or just a daily driver with a small lift?
 
flyinhawaiian01 said:
Nice runner, even with the smashed front end! You turning into a wheelin' rig like your previous ones or just a daily driver with a small lift?
Click to expand...

Thanks [MENTION=118444]flyinhawaiian01[/MENTION] my plan is to find a good medium between a driver/trail rig. In my last TR4 I had 33" tires and a rear ARB Locker and I was pretty happy with that setup.
 
Ok so I made some progress on the TR4 tonight. I pulled all the electrical and battery off of the passenger side inner fender in preparation to cut the bent inner fender well.

Ok so here is a better picture of the damage before it was cut out.


After I pulled the fender-bumper and grill off my you could definitely get I better idea of how pretzeled it was.


After the first cut.


After trimming the inner fender well I trimmed up the donor front end. It mocked up very nicely! I still have some fine tuning before I weld it up. I even threw the fender on it and the bolt holes lines up perfect.




I even threw back in the battery and radiator to drive it down to the steam cleaner's to degrees the motor while I have easy access with the fender well being removable.
 
Lookin good Kenny! I'm going thru the same deal except on the left side. Trying to locate a fender atm. Had a light blue one lined up then the guy tells me he sold the whole truck...damn! I found some on CL so keeping my fingers crossed. Maybe we can run Gold Mtn. when we get 'em all done since that's about the only trail I haven't run. Anyway good luck! :nicethread:
 
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You are bringing that one back to life. Great find on an otherwise clean 4runner. For tire size, look into the 255/85/16 size. It will measure out to a tall 33, but skinny. If you want taller, the new BFG AT has a 34" size for 17" rims. Whatever you choose, keep up the good work!
 
Quatre Coureur said:
Lookin good Kenny! I'm going thru the same deal except on the left side. Trying to locate a fender atm. Had a light blue one lined up then the guy tells me he sold the whole truck...damn! I found some on CL so keeping my fingers crossed. Maybe we can run Gold Mtn. when we get 'em all done since that's about the only trail I haven't run. Anyway good luck! :nicethread:
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Thanks! [MENTION=84642]Quatre Coureur[/MENTION]! I actually got lucky located this inner fender well at Pick-A-Part. I'm having trouble finding some of the smaller parts I need, I guess first gen stuff is very desirable now. I'd love to plan a trip when my T4R is done, after I know exactly how dependable my 4Runner is I would love to plan a Moab Utah camping/wheeling trip also!

austintaco said:
You are bringing that one back to life. Great find on an otherwise clean 4runner. For tire size, look into the 255/85/16 size. It will measure out to a tall 33, but skinny. If you want taller, the new BFG AT has a 34" size for 17" rims. Whatever you choose, keep up the good work!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info [MENTION=22751]austintaco[/MENTION] tires are definitely something I have been really thinking about. Part of my just wants to get some 35" tires and not worry about clearance but then I know I'll have to re-gear. And I believe my rim size is 15"
 
Looks good! I had done the same thing as you except I sold my 2014 Tacoma TRD off-road and got a white 87 4Runner :)

Of course now I drive a white 3rd gen but I am still working on the first gen :)
 
Good thing you bought it.

I saw it in Lake Forest and was thinking of buying it to part it.

Good to see you're fixing it up instead.
 
Chim said:
Looks good! I had done the same thing as you except I sold my 2014 Tacoma TRD off-road and got a white 87 4Runner :)

Of course now I drive a white 3rd gen but I am still working on the first gen :)
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[MENTION=124101]Chim[/MENTION] first gens are just so cool. By all means I loved all my Toyota's but these are so light for wheelin you can't go wrong.

ChildrenOfBodom said:
Good thing you bought it.

I saw it in Lake Forest and was thinking of buying it to part it.

Good to see you're fixing it up instead.
Click to expand...

[MENTION=25058]ChildrenOfBodom[/MENTION] I thought about doing the same thing when I got it and making a couple bucks. But I didn't have anything to go wheelin in for the winter and realized it wasn't in that bad of shape after all.
 
Ok guys so I made some more progress on the TR4 today. After trimming the donor clip and mocking it up I welded up the front end, it turned out really straight. It isn't perfect but hey if I wanted a perfect 4R I wouldn't have bought a wrecked one! The front inner fender is cut and spot welded and in the rear inner fender well I lapped it over each other about a 1/2" because without pulling the motor it would be very difficult to weld and make perfect. I'm just shy of about 1800 bucks (250 of that spent at the DMV) into it now but I need to order the rest of the front end parts that I need since I can't find any local parts.

After I welded the clip on I mounted everything back up and took it to degrees the motor one more time.


Here is were I welded the clip up on the bottom. It was pretty difficult for the fact of I didn't want to get it to hot and warp, plus being really mind full of the A/C condenser/radiator. After I sand and paint you hardly be able to see them.



The fender lined up really well! Also needs to be sanded-primed and painted.



If you have a first Gen you know if you look at the bumpers wrong they could bend! So it was pretty easy to straighten out the wrecked bumper. Looks decent till I build my own.

 
Ok Gents, so from the first time I got this TR4 I knew I wanted to 33" tires on it. Since I plan on using this for a semi DD (daily driver) and want to drive it up to the trails I will be running I wanted to go with a BFG All Terrain since I have run them in the past and never had a issue. So today I pulled the trigger on these 285/70/16 All Terrain KO'S with 60 miles mounted to some TRD rims :frog:





So I did run into on snag that I hadn't thought of when purchasing these. The rims do have a small lip on the front that won't let them get past the front hub, so now I'm debating on filing down the small lip on the rim or if anyone on here knows of a better solution. Here is a picture of the lip.
 
Ok guys got some positive things done on the T4R. Got the front end parts from a member on here (corner light-headlight bucket-grill-turn signal) and got the new TRD rims to fit over the hub :D
 

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Ok so it's a rainy day down here in SoCal so I figured I'd update the thread. I have pretty much got everything dialed on the 4R and have been driving it around town and enjoying it. I still need to do a few things here and there like trim the fenders a bit more and some other odd ball stuff before I take her out for a shake down run. Here are some pictures of how she sits currently.









 
Klock said:
Ok Gents, so from the first time I got this TR4 I knew I wanted to 33" tires on it. Since I plan on using this for a semi DD (daily driver) and want to drive it up to the trails I will be running I wanted to go with a BFG All Terrain since I have run them in the past and never had a issue. So today I pulled the trigger on these 285/70/16 All Terrain KO'S with 60 miles mounted to some TRD rims :frog:











So I did run into on snag that I hadn't thought of when purchasing these. The rims do have a small lip on the front that won't let them get past the front hub, so now I'm debating on filing down the small lip on the rim or if anyone on here knows of a better solution. Here is a picture of the lip.

Click to expand...


I would use a cylinder home and smooth it out shouldn't have a issue. Using a hone will keep it round and smooth it to a polish.
 
How much rubbing/clearance issues do you have with the 33's on the truck?

I have 31's on my '86 T4R and stock suspension with no clearance issues. I lowered the gearing to 4.88 and am considering 33's the next time I buy tires, but I'm not sure about the clearance.

Thanks,
Mike
 
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