1st Gen in Upstate NY

[harry comes]

Hey everyone. I've been lurking on here for a while and figured it's time to post up and say hi. Ive been a long time Toyota fan ever since I bought my 1990 4x4 pickup brand new in highschool. Since then I've had a 2003 4runner V8 Sport, 2007 FJ, and a 2007 Tundra 5.7 4x4.

I've been dying to get a 1st Gen 4runner just to fix up and bomb around in, but in upstate NY, there wasn't much that wasn't rusted/worn completely out. I got a fair deal on a 1988 V6 SR5 5-speed with 206,000. My wife calls it the P.O.S. She's a little rough, but it's been fun working on. The rear wheel wells were rusted and had a bunch of bondo in the passenger's rear. The frame is in good shape and she runs(ran) good. All the power windows cruise, etc work and the heater/ac work great. I've put 2,000 miles on it and the head gasket started leaking coolant. I was planning on rebuilding the motor just not this soon.

Here's a list of what I've done to it so far.

Fixed the wheel wells with body filler until I can save up for Fiberglass quarters

Gave it a Interlux roller paint job and added some Ivan Stewart racing stripes

Painted the front bumper and grille satin black, saw-zawed off bent rear bumper

New stereo with a pair of 6" speakers mounted to roll bar

Added keyless entry with rear window up/down

new shocks front and rear

replaced universal joints in rear driveshaft along with pinion seal.

I found some Cragar Soft 8 Wheels for $40 on craigslist and mounted some new General Grabbers on them.

I've got new OME Dakar rear leafs and greaseable shackles ready to go in.

It's been a fun project since I don't need it as a daily driver.

Sorry for the bad cell phone photos.

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[BucknutBob]

Wow, what a start--looks worlds better already! Nice work. Keep us posted on the progress (might wanna put some of the build money into a nice point-n-click camera-LOL!). Like the comment about the wife's nickname for it--how many guys have had to deal with that with their toys?! Best of luck, and welcome to the forum!

 

[Nervo19]

It looks good. I'm assuming you used Brightside by Interlux. How many coats did you use? Did you ever cut and polish it? It looks great from here. Love the retro stripe package. How did you fill that big ol' hole below the fender? Mine had similar damage beneath the gravel guard and I used layers fiberglass mat.

 

[harry comes]

It looks good. I'm assuming you used Brightside by Interlux. How many coats did you use? Did you ever cut and polish it? It looks great from here. Love the retro stripe package. How did you fill that big ol' hole below the fender? Mine had similar damage beneath the gravel guard and I used layers fiberglass mat.

Yes, I used Brightside Blue Glo White, 4 coats, light sanding in between coats.. It's got some orange peel in it, but not too bad. I used fiberglass mat to fill in the big holes. I used some metal flat stock in areas to get the body lines close underneath the matting. It was my 1st time using body filler, it isn't perfect, but if it lasts a year or so I'll be happy.

Besides the usual crack in the dash pad, the interior is in really good shape. No tears in the seats and it has all the original interior trim.

 

[CAN-03runner]

Nice! I like it. Now it needs a supercharger to match the paint job and the go fast strippes.

 

[balkanboy]

Looks great man.
Keep up the good work, love the stripes.

 

[Nervo19]

Thanks for the reply. We'd all probably love to see interior shots. I have a white 1st gen too. I fixed the rust in the same areas as yours. I think fiberglass mat will last a pretty long time. The main thing is to keep the bondo less than 1/4 inch thick because thicker will eventually crack.