"You're wasting your time, just sell it and buy another."
I've heard that all too much. But there's one thing KBB can't put a price on. A salvaged vehicle? Alright, maybe two things. While I'm well aware of my 4Runner's private party and trade in values... I wouldn't let it go for three times that much. That's the thing: there is no option for sentimental value.
Just my luck when I walk outside and see my pride sitting there, covered in dirt. They're right, though, I did buy the wrong one. This was the same truck that titled me first winner of the Castrol Edge: Unlock Your Performance contest.
But, am I about to sell my perfectly good 4Runner? After all it's been through? Well, after 3 years of forums, modding, and drooling over awesome builds, it was time to say goodbye to my 2WD Automatic 4Runner.
This would not be an easy task, not emotionally or physically. What kind of a person would I be? My 4Runner never let me down, not even when I decided to jump it on worn stock suspension or when I thought it'd be a good idea to drive through a stream past the hydrolocked Ford Ranger that hadn't been so lucky. 200,000 miles meant nothing to this thing. It would kill me to look at a different VIN and try to call it my own. And yes, I do know my 4Runner's VIN by heart.
The answer was simple: it couldn't be done. The pathetic amount of money I would receive from selling it, regardless of all the work I had put into it, would bring me right back to when I was 16 and looking for a cheap used car.
Somewhere, in the deep faint past of forum threads where posters stopped going online ages ago, there was a glimmer of hope. I had seen it done before... the elusive 2WD to 4WD conversion. Ah, but information was scarce. Every thread I ever posted about the subject would end badly. Easy enough for everyone on the forums to tell me to sell it; they already had 4WD. To make matters worse, I had a four-banger, and everyone else had V6's. This meant that I'd have to be the first for this project, at least, online.
I remember reading the comments on my Castrol Edge video. I don't know what came over me, but during the shoot, I told Matt Farah that I could go anywhere the 4WD guys go with my 2WD. Obviously, not true, and the comments everyone posted really made sure I wouldn't forget that.
Well, $2,450 and a tow truck later, I was about to slap everyone who doubted me in the face. I wanted to show them all that I could do it. I wanted my 4Runner to do what I told the camera it could do.
I bought a wrecked 4Runner, a 2000 4x4 5-speed. I could use the parts I needed and part the rest of the truck out. I was in full motion now, there was nothing going to stop me. A buddy of mine owns Japanese Car Specialties, a local shop. He was fine with lending me his lifts. I drove both 4Runners down there and went to work.
Three solid weeks, many cuts, curse words, and sleepless nights went by, and now I've got my dream 4Runner. Finally, no more glorified station wagon. Now it's aching for all the 4WD-oriented mods that it could never have before.
Check out the full conversion, loaded with pictures:
http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/61636-cobs-4runner-timeline-pic-heavy-41.html#post908338
I am angry at myself for even thinking of selling it. This thing was born to be mine and only mine, and I would have let it down by selling it to some idiot who wouldn't maintain it correctly (have you realized that I'm obsessed yet?).
I just wanted to share my story, and you should share yours in the comments below: ever embarked on a difficult, barely-feasible build on a car that by all outsiders' accounts wasn't "worth it"?
Thank you for reading.
