Brilliant's Mod Thread

[Kryptoroxx]

Total Chaos rear links installed today.

yea, I watched you make that carrier. I had my doubts, put you pulled it off!

A couple other guys have done the carrier swap and there is a detailed write up. I have a blue surf hatch and dont know if I'll cannibalize it for parts or paint it to match. I learned some stuff after I bought the surf hatch and will post up the details.

So far so good. If you do cannabolize the tailgate for parts take some pics of the guts on it. I reinforced the tailgate but it would not hurt to have some more in the door. The tire jiggles some off road (not much but I think it can do better. I just ran short on ideas as to how. There isn't much down in the bottom for bracing.

 

[Brilliant]

So far so good. If you do cannabolize the tailgate for parts take some pics of the guts on it. I reinforced the tailgate but it would not hurt to have some more in the door. The tire jiggles some off road (not much but I think it can do better. I just ran short on ideas as to how. There isn't much down in the bottom for bracing.

There inst a lot of beta, and I'm thinking more can do this swap with the right beta on what parts to buy (and what to avoid).

 

[Kryptoroxx]

There inst a lot of beta, and I'm thinking more can do this swap with the right beta on what parts to buy (and what to avoid).

Well we have what to avoid down pat lol.

I think I have a solid design for Diy bracing on the side and using heim joints for hinges works amazingly well.

It's the door that I want to work on later on down the road. In addition I would like to make it look more finished but I will reveal that later. I don't have the time to mess with it currently.

Anyway I am looking foward to another successful body mounted spare carrier. Best of luck and if you get stuck give me a holler and I will try to use my limited knowledge to help.

 

[Brilliant]

Took the 4runner to visit the national parks.


Arches National Park, a dirt road that turned into a 4WD road. We took it back to the main. Not too difficult for the 4runner, but some obstacles required spotting to keep the paint and bumper on. I got to spot, she got to drive.

Monument Valley

Valley of the Gods

Cathedral Valley

 

[A.Wilson013]

Took the 4runner to visit the national parks.


Arches National Park, a dirt road that turned into a 4WD road. We took it back to the main. Not too difficult for the 4runner, but some obstacles required spotting to keep the paint and bumper on. I got to spot, she got to drive.

What an awesome area. I haven't been there since I was a kid in my families RV, but I cannot wait to take my 4Runner down there.

You're lucky that she's willing to drive on such "obstacles". I have a hard enough time convincing my wife to drive on the freeway.

Out of curiosity... How long did it take you guys to get down there? Google maps has it at just under 16 hours, but I find that REAL hard to believe...

 

[SIN-Japan]

Got em in today. Carrier mechanics and the led light works, but is missing the plastic caps on the carrier. I have to source those as I clean it up and add the metal strip build up to it.

Glad you got the parts you were looking for, how much did the shipping run you for the carrier and spoiler?

 

[Brilliant]

What an awesome area. I haven't been there since I was a kid in my families RV, but I cannot wait to take my 4Runner down there.

You're lucky that she's willing to drive on such "obstacles". I have a hard enough time convincing my wife to drive on the freeway.

Out of curiosity... How long did it take you guys to get down there? Google maps has it at just under 16 hours, but I find that REAL hard to believe...

Definitely worth going down. Nov seemed like the right time. Cold enough to keep the rif raf down and still sunny enough.

It's ~16 hours down there. Keep in mind the speed limit in Utah and Idaho is 80. That helps if you don't own a 3rd gen! We did about 70-75 for most of it and think it took 16. We did it afterwoork + a day.

Glad you got the parts you were looking for, how much did the shipping run you for the carrier and spoiler?

Yeah ig sort of worked out, new spoiler at local usps. I want to say ~400 for both and the carrier was the larger part. I found a carrier for next to nothing.its hinges were frozen. That's about the only way it made sense. I freed the hinges after a week of pb blaster soaking.

 

[A.Wilson013]

It's ~16 hours down there. Keep in mind the speed limit in Utah and Idaho is 80. That helps if you don't own a 3rd gen! We did about 70-75 for most of it and think it took 16. We did it afterwoork + a day.

That's funny. When we did our Idaho trip last February we were shocked to see the 80 MPH sign as we crossed the border. I set the cruise at 80 mph for about 5 miles and then realized that I was passing EVERYONE at a rather rapid pace, so I slowed down to about 70. 80mph didn't feel terrible, but I am sure my fuel efficieny was nearing an all time low, especially considering I had the tent on top.

 

[frm_808]

When I cruised down from Boise to Vegas, 80 -85 was what everyone was cruising at. Made that trip rather quickly

 

[MountainBiker]

Love your build! And thanks for all the details of your mods!

82998-12170 is the insert part number if you want to illuminate the locker switch.

Do you have any more details about this? I didn't see if you had to add a bulb to the switch, or where you installed that wire.

 

[Brilliant]

That's funny. When we did our Idaho trip last February we were shocked to see the 80 MPH sign as we crossed the border. I set the cruise at 80 mph for about 5 miles and then realized that I was passing EVERYONE at a rather rapid pace, so I slowed down to about 70. 80mph didn't feel terrible, but I am sure my fuel efficieny was nearing an all time low, especially considering I had the tent on top.

yea, I meant our rigs get horrible mileage at 80, they certainly can do it without an issue. I didnt see any speeders until I got back to on our side of the I-90 pass.

I started thinking about how nice the new Colorado 2.8 diesel's range will be. My first truck was a GM, and swore it was my last.

Love your build! And thanks for all the details of your mods!

Do you have any more details about this? I didn't see if you had to add a bulb to the switch, or where you installed that wire.

Thanks. As to the switch, the bulbs in there. You just need to hook it up to your dimmer switch by splicing another part of the dimmer circuit.

 

[Unner]

That's funny. When we did our Idaho trip last February we were shocked to see the 80 MPH sign as we crossed the border. I set the cruise at 80 mph for about 5 miles and then realized that I was passing EVERYONE at a rather rapid pace, so I slowed down to about 70. 80mph didn't feel terrible, but I am sure my fuel efficieny was nearing an all time low, especially considering I had the tent on top.

That's strange. Here in the south I'm always the slowest one on the interstate running around 70 and the speed limit is 70. Everyone else is running 80-90 mph at least. The fuel efficiency over 70 in mine is atrocious, it's almost like the 3rd gen 4Runner no aerodynamics...

 

[shootmymime]

That's strange. Here in the south I'm always the slowest one on the interstate running around 70 and the speed limit is 70. Everyone else is running 80-90 mph at least. The fuel efficiency over 70 in mine is atrocious, it's almost like the 3rd gen 4Runner no aerodynamics...

It mainly has to do with power, gearing and rpm.


Yeah we could use another gear for higher speed cruising. But you also need more power so it's not constantly downshifting to maintain that speed.


That's how car manufactured are able to get better mileage right now. Lower rpm is the key.

 

[J i m s t e r]

I have the Surf with the 3.0 L 1KZ-TE turbodiesel lump in it, with intercooler.

My commute is 60 miles each way, and I can drive 95% of that at 90 mph (if I was legally allowed to do so, officer )

I would get around 30mpg doing that, officer. Truck is running ~3.5K RPM. I think that's pretty good, in a brick-shaped 20-year old truck on fat, 70-profile energy-sapping tyres with basically an on/off switch for an engine.

At 80 mph the difference would be marginal.

Officer.

I leave at 6AM and it still takes an hour, at 7AM the route is pretty much a car park and you're looking at 2½ hours easy. Life's too short.

 

[Brilliant]

surf hatch

Couple things I didnt know when buying a hatch. There are 3 styles of spoilers, mirrored, diving board, and the small one that Jaos/bertman have replicated. Both the diving board spoiler and the mirrored spoiler are paired with a different hatch then the small spoiler.

The mirrored version has a hole in the sheetmetal for brackets and for the harness to pass through. Something to keep in mind if you want to interchange spoilers.

Also put a coat of paint on the carrier. The hinge isn't frozen any longer after using most of a can of pb blaster. I got this for $30 and didn't know until I got it why it was so cheap.

 

[LittleCaesar]

Like the helmet........

 

[Kryptoroxx]

I would love to get my hands on the tailgate brace for the surf. I'm sure I could mod it to fit mine.

 

[Brilliant]

I would love to get my hands on the tailgate brace for the surf. I'm sure I could mod it to fit mine.

The part the carrier latches into on the door?

 

[J i m s t e r]

There are a few on ebay UK.

Obviously shipping will be painful, but perhaps less than from Japan.

hilux surf wheel carrier | eBay

 

[Brilliant]

There are a few on ebay UK.

Obviously shipping will be painful, but perhaps less than from Japan.

hilux surf wheel carrier | eBay

None of those guys will ship it, talked to them all.