1996 4Runner 3rz 4x4 Build

Haha, I just thought 'Information Systems' was an intense sounding title. Secret agent quality. Those are badass electives too.

Thanks for the compliment on the truck. I'm very happy with it. Some guy at a vintage car swap-meet I went to on the weekend sold me the pair of emblems for $5 each.. Couldn't say no!
 
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Painted the grille to match the bumper.. Looks way better, in my opinion.
 

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Since you are fishing for feedback I will give it...

Yes, your grill does look better :thumb3:. Now PLEASE remove or paint all gold items from your 4Runner. Especially that pin stripe! Did you mock up the emblems on the front fenders at all? IIRC those emblems came on the front fenders of older rigs. I thought it might seem more appropriate to place them on the fender, but what do I know.

On a more positive note I appreciate your ability to hold out for the rig that you want and not buy the first thing that comes your way. I also like the green, same color as my 1996 Taco. I also like how some of the less optioned 4Runners came with a non-power Tacoma whip style antenna(unless it was modded previously?), pretty sweet.
 
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Thanks for the feedback! The gold pinstripe will go for sure when new paint happens.. I don't really like it either, haha.
As for the emblems, I mocked them up on the front gender, but i couldn't mount them where I wanted due to body curves. I prefer the door now, I think, but the fender would have been my first choice.
 
Scored a roof basket+cargo bag+trailer hitch carrier for an amazing deal.. I've been looking for one for so long! It was nice that the wait finally paid off.
 

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Lift!

I didn't realize my girlfriend was in both photos until now. I don't even remember her being near my truck at the time. Creepy.

ORDERED A LIFT!! At long last I made up my mind: OME 881 front coils with OME Sport Shocks and top plate spacers, and OME 890 coils for the rear. I'm very much undecided on what shocks to run for the rear.. OME shocks are just so expensive... Has anyone had any luck with LC shocks and 890 coils? Is there a suitable model of Bilstein that will work? Any help would be awesome!
 
Lift installed!

Finally got around to installing my lift last night. Assembling the front struts had me nervous as the spring compressor I rented had obviously seen better days. My front struts were the originals and came apart ridiculously easy.. The top plate nut had no pressure on it at all once out of the truck. The rear springs were even worse- my truck was riding on the top cones.

Anyways, got all the old crap out and replaced it with OME 881s, 1/4" top plate spacers and sport shocks for the front. OME 890s and ProComp ES9000 for the rear. I gained 7" in ride height from the worn out stock coils. I still have to install the poly sway bar bushings and get an alignment, but I think the truck looks great. Next step: 16" wheels and 235 85r 16s.

Here's a photo as she sits now with 235 75r 15s.
 

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Wheeling in Mission

Went for a trek up Stave Lake forest service road near Mission BC to scope out some of my old dirt biking trails from when I was younger. Ended up finding some awesome lookouts and with those came good opportunities to take photos of my truck.
 

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Got around to doing my annual rust prevention stuff. Focused on the skid plates- all of which were looking a little rough. I pulled everything off, wire brushed away rust, cleaned everything with acetone, painted on rustproofing and applied an epoxy based paint. I've not used the epoxy paint before, but I'm hoping it adheres well.
 

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The only thing on my truck that really bothered be was the huge dent in the rear bumper left graciously by the previous owner. I decided it was time to do some bondo-ing. Most of the bolts that mount the rear bumper to the truck were pretty corroded so I had to be careful to avoid rounding the heads off.
 

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Beautiful base. I've got a stock 2000 base 4x4 down here in NH, 5 speed. Religiously gets to and from school, no matter how snowy it is. Yours looks VERY clean, and now I've got lift envy. Keep preventing that rust!
 
I have a '99 3RZ 5-speed 4x4, and so does my dad. I hav stock suspension and same rims and tires as you but the tires are 31". I do not have '99 tall coils because in Canada the talls only came on SR5s and Limiteds with the V6 and 16" rims. That will be an upgrade when I need suspension (either 99 talls or OME). They didn't sell 4x2s here, and it seems about 1/3 of the '96-'02 4Runners around are the 3RZ.
Mine is black and I bedlined the front and rear bumpers in black. Still have grey steel rims, and I'm debating blacking out the grille too. I'm in the process now of installing a Thrush Welded muffler and doing some frame and rocker panel repairs (lots of rust due to salt). Surprisingly, the rest of the body is great, and it's also great mechanically, even with 327,000 kms (205,000 miles).
I haven't seen many 3RZs on here, and unless people own one or are a 4Runner/Tacoma enthusiast, they don't seem to have heard of it (unlike the 22R-E, everybody knows what that is).
I might start a build thread. It'll be mostly repairs for now, I'm not doing much for mods at the moment. I will off-road it when I get it back on the road legally, although I usually take it easy because I'm usually alone. Nobody I know wheels, other than a guy with a perpetually broken XJ Cherokee who REALLy took it easy the one time we went out because his gas tank started to leak. My dad does occasionally too, so maybe I'll get together with him in the summer and do a 4Runner day. I have convinced another good friend of mine that Toyotas are great trucks, and he's looking to get a decent 3rd gen t4r and a trailer for his ATV, or an 1986-1995 4x4 manual Toyota pickup
 

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