Advice on creating a winner

[Ambrose]

I am in dire need of assistance from experienced and knowledgeable individuals.
I have been maintaining a 4runner for over 5 years now and it fantastic little vehicle, her name is Sheila. Sheila is a 2nd gen 4runner, with a 2.4 L 22RE. I have been kicking around the idea of modifying her and making a good off-road vehicle out of her.
As I am no expert I am needing advice on which companies produce the best parts overall i.e.; reliability, performance, and durability.
In addition to this I am open to any and all advice in regards to building a superior 4runner.
In the end I am looking to have her completely rebuilt.
I do realize that this is a very general and open ended question, for that I do apologize. Any and all assistance in this area would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Andy in Pa]

I know this is a very general answer, but my best advice is to decide what type of off roading you want to do, what capabilities you want your Toy to have, then do tons of research on the interwebs on how others have built their Toys. Components that work, gearing, recovery gear...etc... It can be a long list depending on your plans for your rig.

 

[Brique]

Yeah, the first question is what are you going to be dealing with? A mud setup will have different priorities than a rock crawler and much different than a sand runner. Once you have that answered, you can be better equipped to know what's most important.

First steps for most are often better tires and a lift. For lift info specific to your gen, you'll need to look around in that area of the forum. I have the 3rd gen lift thread almost memorized, but know nothing about 2nd gens.

 

[KidVermicious]

Get with a local club and wheel it. When stuff breaks, upgrade it. There's no recipe for a "winner" 4x4, it all depends on you and your preferences. The stuff on your truck isn't as important as how much fun you're having anyway, so go find some dirt and worry about mods later.