1999 SR5 "Build" Thread

B

brandonlear

New member
Hey guys! So it all started with a dream, annnnd a crashed Volkswagen..



After a couple months with no license, (only 17 at the time of accident, so that got suspended) I bought my first 4Runner. It was a 1999 SR5, rust on the rear bumper and as stock as stock gets. With just over 201,000 miles at the time of purchase, I figured it would last my last two years of high school before I went off to college.



I immediately fell in love with her and knew it was something I'd hang onto until the day she or I died, whichever came first, but as a high school student still very immature, you could only imagine what happened to her. Dents, dirt, mud, neglect all led to well, a dented up 3rd gen. However, still wanting to be "cool", I decided to get rid of the rust and plasti dip the bumpers and get rid of the pitted wheels and plasti dip those as well.



Since this day, I put on a TRD decal.



The next step was painting the brake calipers and Toyota emblem in the wheels' center caps.



Since this picture, I have installed rear auxiliary lights to help with backing up and loading while dark, vent shades, new corner lights, turn signals, HID headlights, straight piped her, and my personal favorite, and LED light bar. This is how she sits as I type this.







Tomorrow my roof rack will be here and installed.

Upcoming:
-Window Tint
-3 inch suspension lift
-body lift
-differential drop
-35's :D

Debating:
-Cragar Soft 8 or comparable wheels
-Aftermarket bumpers

Eventually:
-TRD Supercharger

Any tips, criticism, suggestions, etc. are appreciated and also encouraged. I'm pretty new here and am open to anything you guys have to offer! Thanks!!
 
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<a href="http://s1058.photobucket.com/user/brandonlear/media/D7782F35-20B7-4E16-818E-D471CCDE490F_zpsu6zquwvk.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/t417/brandonlear/D7782F35-20B7-4E16-818E-D471CCDE490F_zpsu6zquwvk.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo D7782F35-20B7-4E16-818E-D471CCDE490F_zpsu6zquwvk.jpg"/></a>

Come on guys! Give me your input! Thinking about going with the ToyTech 3" lift 881 coils in the front and 890 rear coils. Give me your input on tire size and other suggestions. Any suggestions for getting dents out? Any suggestions for a website to get a body lift as well?
 
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Is that a curt roof rack? if it is get the spacer for the middle and you'll be happy you did, i have it and it allows for alot more space. and i think 285/75/16 is a good size for tires, its almost a 33 and you wont have to cut and stuff for tires to fit.
 
hondafmx1000 said:
Is that a curt roof rack? if it is get the spacer for the middle and you'll be happy you did, i have it and it allows for alot more space. and i think 285/75/16 is a good size for tires, its almost a 33 and you wont have to cut and stuff for tires to fit.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your advice. It's not a curt roof rack, however you can get spacers for this one as well. For now it'll stay how it is, but eventually I will end up getting it. I'm on a paycheck to paycheck budget for this project and working fast food while going to college, I don't exactly get the biggest paychecks. I'm going to look at some used tires today and hopefully they'll have something decent. For $10 a piece, I'll take about anything they have. If I go with 305's, will I have to cut or would they be okay?
 
305 you will probably have to cut, mine will rub very seldomly at full turn i have 285 75 16. i understand the whole fast food college budget man! I'm in school full time and I work at starbucks like 25-30 hours a week. It gets me by but I am definitely not living rich! Anyways good luck on your tire hunt, maybe theyll let you try em on your rig before you buy them to see if they fit.
 
Managed to pick up 2 mastercraft courser mxt' with more than 50% tread for $20. Waiting on him to find the other two and I'll snag them as well. Rough country lift will be here tomorrow, rear coils will be here next Tuesday. It's slowly coming together.

Today I also redid my center caps, wheels, bumpers, and emblems with plastidip. Clear coated them as well in hopes they'll last longer and add a little gloss.

I'll be ordering a bull bar, wheel spacers, and another smaller light bar in the upcoming weeks.
 
I really like my Mastercraft AXT tires, they do well not monsters or anything but get the job done. Consider the totalled VW a blessing, not the most relieable cars or cheapest to repair. Looking good so far.
 
<a href="http://s1058.photobucket.com/user/brandonlear/media/ACD69807-3292-4635-97AD-B970B7DF673C_zpsbjcxjlx7.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/t417/brandonlear/ACD69807-3292-4635-97AD-B970B7DF673C_zpsbjcxjlx7.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo ACD69807-3292-4635-97AD-B970B7DF673C_zpsbjcxjlx7.jpg"/></a>

This is the last picture without the lift. After fighting the front control arms, I finally managed to get the front struts in. I broke the rear sway bar links when I took them off, and got new ones on this morning. Here's how she sits now.

<a href="http://s1058.photobucket.com/user/brandonlear/media/D6BB7B86-09F6-4A8A-9A69-9A9CAB0BCB59_zpspqfyulp2.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/t417/brandonlear/D6BB7B86-09F6-4A8A-9A69-9A9CAB0BCB59_zpspqfyulp2.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo D6BB7B86-09F6-4A8A-9A69-9A9CAB0BCB59_zpspqfyulp2.jpg"/></a>

Should be picking up the other two 305's this week otherwise I'll end up with 285's.
 
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I found a black bullbar on eBay for $130 shipped, how do you guys feel about them? I used to hate them, but they're starting to grow on me. Should I get a bullbar or save some money from each paycheck until I have enough for an aftermarket bumper? If I go with the bullbar, I'll also go with KC type LED lights to mount on the front of it and wire it to the same switch as the light bar. Good idea, or any other suggestions? What do you guys think about my "build" so far? anything you recommend for wheeling/overall looks of the rig?
 
<a href="http://s1058.photobucket.com/user/brandonlear/media/C8E76767-7A73-4D00-B6B8-77AE4E73662E_zpskxegwnb4.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/t417/brandonlear/C8E76767-7A73-4D00-B6B8-77AE4E73662E_zpskxegwnb4.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo C8E76767-7A73-4D00-B6B8-77AE4E73662E_zpskxegwnb4.jpg"/></a>

Went with 285/75/16's. Found 4 and got them for $40, and another $40 mounted, balanced, and they took my old tires. I feel as if it looks a lot better. What's next!?
 
Wheel spacers are on the way! Estimated delivery is Friday! Should give it a wider stance and help with rubbing as I rub at full turn very slightly!

Still looking for input on a bull bar.. what do you guys think?
 
I now have the wheel spacers in my possession but have yet to put them on. They are 2 inch wheels spacers. The reason for hesitating to put them on is I've heard they are harder on wheel bearings and ball joints. If this is the case, how long can I expect my ball joints and wheel bearings to last? Also, my front tires have a great deal of positive camber, hoping an alignment will fix this which I will have done Tuesday. Just looking for input on whether I should sell the wheel spacers or install them. Also, bull bar or no bull bar? Last but not least, I am ordering a Nikon D5100 DSLR camera Wednesday in hopes of being able to take some much better photos over summer and whatnot, The iPhone camera just isn't cutting it anymore.
 
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