2001 Beach Runner SR5 Slow Build

[BoarderDave]

So here it is.. My 2001 Beach Runner affectionately named "Charissa."

Bought it 8/17/2014 with 147k miles on it from the original owner. UPDATE: Sold the vehicle to a good new home 10/09/2018
Purchased it here in Southern CA where it's lived it's whole life so far. The PO took pretty good care of it. She was not mechanical, so she had local shops she took it to for all of its service intervals and anytime anything was strange with it. It was her kid traveler vehicle, so she always wanted it to be safe and sound for their drives; if anything was acting funky, she took it in right away. She had the timing belt changed at the 100K mark. She included an envelope of a majority of the service records and receipts, the owner's manuals, and even the original dealer sticker that came with it when she picked it up.

Details:
2001 4Runner SR5
Thundercloud exterior / Grey interior
2WD, automatic, TRAC, ECT, standard stuff. No fogs, no sunroof, no tow hitch. Only options she got for it were the wheel/tire combo and the running boards.
Couple minor dents in the fenders from what was claimed as shopping cart/parking lot damages whilst shopping. Couple minor dents I found in the back bumper.
Overall though; she runs great. No issues found. Runs smooth.
Only thing needing repair is the broken power antenna mast.

Plans:
LED lighting inside and out (and under hood)
HID retrofit projector headlights
2-3" lift of sorts (still debating on how to achieve it the best)
General Grabber AT2 tires
Rear bumper with spare swing-out and tow hitch
Front bumper with LED bar and recovery points
Roof rack
Rear cargo storage compartments
Intake and exhaust
Stereo headunit and updated speakers
WeatherTech floor mats
Neoprene seat covers

Overall, I'm mostly going to use this thing as a beach runner to get me to and from the surf spots. I'll also be taking it on some light camping trips, snowboarding trips, and wherever else I need to be. :yo:

This will probably be a slow transitional "build" as I just work through things one step at a time. I highly doubt I'll be chunking major money at it all the time.
I appreciate any comments, recommendations, opinions, and all of that jazz as I post in here. Feel free to pipe up and let me know what you think.

Thanks. Now... Enough of this chatter.. on to the pics!

Photos from the for sale ad:

Edit 6/18/18 - Current Photo for Initial Post

 

[BoarderDave]

First things first.. Had to get it CA Smogged Check. Passed fine.

But then on to the REAL work.. T4R decals.

Then LED Dome lights.

Then I cleaned it up to check the paint and all that. Not too shabby..

Then I ditched the Running boards. I'm 6'4" tall, I don't need help stepping into this thing. hah.

Also don't want the Southern CA sun killing my seats and dash.. so I had to pick up a nice CoverCraft folding sunshade. I love these things. Worth every penny.

Then I noticed I had no parking lights. Pulled the bulbs and they were both burnt out. So I replaced them with LED's of course.

 

[BoarderDave]

After a few nights of driving, I realized I needed real LED reverse bulbs.. Not a fan of the stockers.

And the grinding antenna was super annoying.. so that was high on my list to replace.
Pulled the motor out and got all the pieces out, then installed the new one. Good to go!

That was the first two months of ownership of it. That brings us to present day.
I'll keep you all updated as I move on to the next things on the list as money is available.
Thanks for reading.

 

[MattJakobs]

Excited to see another beach styled build. Have a feeling our builds will look very similar.

 

[BoarderDave]

Excited to see another beach styled build. Have a feeling our builds will look very similar.

Thanks for the kind words. Yeah, I was just looking through your thread the other day thinking the same. I love the ease of these things. Even though mine is still stock, it's still already lent itself to some fun little beach runs.
Thing holds my 6'2" thruster perfectly.. Plus my surf bucket with all my towels and wetsuit and all that. I've very happy with it so far.

 

[MattJakobs]

Thanks for the kind words. Yeah, I was just looking through your thread the other day thinking the same. I love the ease of these things. Even though mine is still stock, it's still already lent itself to some fun little beach runs.
Thing holds my 6'2" thruster perfectly.. Plus my surf bucket with all my towels and wetsuit and all that. I've very happy with it so far.

The fold down seats definitely come in handy, I think we have the same surf bucket... Orange Home Depot? And I just uploaded a couple pictures of our last trip(October 4-5) on my thread. Who says east coast doesn't get good?

 

[paddlenbike]

Clean 4Runner; thundercloud gray is my favorite color.

Looking forward to more updates.

 

[BoarderDave]

Clean 4Runner; thundercloud gray is my favorite color.



Looking forward to more updates.

Thanks! Yeah I'm really stoked on this color too. I was looking for any silvers when I was on the hunt, but now that I bought this one I'm really glad I ended up with Thundercloud.

As for any updates.. Haven't done much recently. Already spent my monthly car allowance budget on the LEDs and antenna.. Hah.
That being said, the other day I snipped the DRL wire to disable my DRLs, which I'm very happy about.
And I have a new PCV to install today (just doing simple maint. items.. )

 

[BoarderDave]

So, still nothing really major. Like I mentioned about the PCV, I installed that guy; at the same time I also pulled the MAF sensor out and sprayed that with cleaner. It was looking pretty dirty, so I'm glad I did that.
Then I continued with my love of LED bulb replacements.. Apparently both my license plate bulbs were burnt out. hah. I was going to take before pictures.. but neither of them lit up!
So.. that being said.. here's the new ones.

 

[MattJakobs]

So, still nothing really major. Like I mentioned about the PCV, I installed that guy; at the same time I also pulled the MAF sensor out and sprayed that with cleaner. It was looking pretty dirty, so I'm glad I did that.
Then I continued with my love of LED bulb replacements.. Apparently both my license plate bulbs were burnt out. hah. I was going to take before pictures.. but neither of them lit up!
So.. that being said.. here's the new ones.

Where did you find your LED's for the license plate? Both mine are out as well and need them for inspection this month. Also if you have the link for the dome lights and amber corners?
Thanks.

 

[BoarderDave]

Where did you find your LED's for the license plate? Both mine are out as well and need them for inspection this month. Also if you have the link for the dome lights and amber corners?
Thanks.

Hey bud, you'll probably have to look elsewhere for the license plate bulbs if you need em that quickly. I had no need to get them right away.. so I actually ordered from a China place (because they were only $0.99 with free shipping), and it took a couple weeks to arrive. Bought em here though.
The corner lights were from here. Those arrived quickly.
The Dome lights also came quickly and were from here.
:thumb:

 

[Living The Dream]

This is gonna be a cool runner and it is a great looking color. I look forward to see what you end up doing with it.

 

[BoarderDave]

Just a small maintenance update..
Rolled it into a Firestone Auto Care location at 148,999 miles for lifetime alignment and tire rotation and balance.

They also checked the brakes for me to make sure they had ample life left. Everything checks out.
The alignment tracks a lot straighter now (the steering wheel used to be turned slightly left to go straight and it used to drive me crazy).

Picked it back up at 149,001.. So didn't get my 149,000 picture. Oh well. It'll be more important for me to get my 150k pic when that happens. hah.

All in all, these ~2,000 miles I have owned the vehicle have been FANTASTIC. I am in love with this thing. I enjoy driving it every day, gets good gas mileage, holds all my fun hobby equipment and drives smoothly and comfortably. Couldn't ask for more out of a daily driver.

:yo:

 

[KANO]

CLEAN!!!!!!! Look forward to seeing it develop! Nice buy :thumb3:

 

[MattJakobs]

Glad to see she's still doing good, any big plans for her anytime soon?

 

[BoarderDave]

CLEAN!!!!!!! Look forward to seeing it develop! Nice buy :thumb3:

Thanks! I'm looking forward to developing it as well. hah.

Glad to see she's still doing good, any big plans for her anytime soon?

Thanks bud.
Anytime SOON... no. No funding right now. I still have my Chevy 4x4 Tahoe (motor swapped, lifted, etc, etc..) that I'm probably going to sell. Once that is gone, my next priority is to get my wife a vehicle (her 2000 Chevy Blazer is starting to fall apart). THEN once she has a reliable rig.. I can begin to throw some money at my Toyota. For now.. it's all tied up in the Tahoe and funding the purchase of my wife's vehicle.
Hoping to kick off 2015 by having those two things done and being ready to have some fun with the Runner.

Until then.. just minor mods (lighting) and maintenance items whilst I drive and enjoy it. :bounce:

 

[BoarderDave]

No real update... but she's just about to turn 150,000 miles old. Tonight.
In honor of that.. I decided to just take a little drive and stop for some new photographs. hah. :yo:

:thumb:

 

[BoarderDave]

Just a little creature comfort upgrade. Got tired of my no nothing stock radio.. so I got a new Pioneer double-din setup. FH-X720BT. Bluetooth capable, iPhone/iPod control, phone sync for calls and everything, plus all colors are adjustable to match whatever color my gauges are. I'm so stoked on it.

Pulling the stock radio..

New one is in.

Mounted the microphone for the hands-free calling feature here on the side of the steering column. That way it's not too visibly invasive, but still gets great reception whilst driving.

 

[PhdNPrerunners]

I really like your build so far! I miss living in California so much! Good choice on a radio, I had one of those in my old tacoma. The only complaint I have about it is that it was really bright at night.

 

[Unner]

Nice build so far! I wish I would have thought about that location when I mounted my microphone. I might go move mine now. It's currently mounted on the center of the steering column. I like that yours is out of sight.