And so it begins...4runner revamp!

[MT Tatman]

New kicks for the ol 4runner. Got some nice Toyo tires this time around instead of the BFGs I've always seemed to get in the past for my rigs. We'll see how they do.

 

[MT Tatman]

Got the rig into the hills finally!!! So nice to be back on the road.

 

[RiFF RaFF]

Got the rig into the hills finally!!! So nice to be back on the road.

God's country. Hope you have a very wet and snowy winter.

 

[MT Tatman]

Should I go to a Driveline specialist? Yes. Is a Driveline specialist recommended? Yes. Can I cut and weld? Yes. Will I go to a driveline specialist? No. Will I do it myself? Yes.
4 out of 5 isn't bad. I cut the front driveline in half today.......We'll see if I can make it strait, when I mash it all back together.....
This could be an expensive mistake, but I decided to go for it.

 

[MT Tatman]

Having dogs made a dog ramp a needed item. It folds out to 8' long, and fits nicely in the rig. I will need to use a support board underneath, as one of my dogs is 90lbs.
This took about 3 hours to make, while sipping cold beer. Got all of the supplies at a local reclaimed material store, for $5.60. Not bad.

 

[MT Tatman]

Finished the front driveline today. I eyeballed it with it on the rig, to make it strait, and when I put the meter on it, to see how strait it was.......I was just 10 thousandths of an inch off. I guess I have a good eye!
So it got welded up, and gently tapped to keep it strait as we went along. Looks strait as an arrow to me. No vibrations at town speeds....30mph. I'm pretty stoked about that. Not bad for the Hillbilly Garage. I'll paint it camo in the morning.
Only thing left is my E-brake.....That's looking like a minor pain in the ass.....with the longer distance from frame to axle.

 

[MT Tatman]

Maybe it's time to post this picture of the transformation.... Still not "done", no lockers yet....no "this, no "that", it goes on and on.....
Anyway a sort of Before and after of my rig. Got it at New Years of 2011.

 

[ajohnson]

What did you use for mirrors on the half doors? Looks awesome

 

[MT Tatman]

Stock mirror from my '85 4runner. We got up to around 8,450ft elevation this weekend to camp, and escape the dense smoke from all of the forest fires. I enjoyed Geeking out with my altimeter, angle device. It is surprisingly accurate. Everything worked well, and even with uphill, against the wind driving, where "Cruise control" was 4th gear floored, doing 55 to 60mph, we got 22.5 mpg on this trip. Impressive, if I did the math correctly..........add 10% on speedometer, but subtract 10% on odometer??? Otherwise, the math says 27mpg, and that would be rather impossible with my set up, I believe......