Building a Trail Rig...

Which should be my new TRAIL RIG?

  • 2nd Generation 4Runner

    Votes: 22 34.9%
  • FJ40 Land Cruiser

    Votes: 41 65.1%

  • Total voters
    63

LINY4Runner

New member
So my 4Runner is only a few months from being completely paid off, and nearing the extent of modifications I intend to push it...I want to build a trail rig now, but I can't decide which truck:

Second Generation 4Runner 22R-E

Short Term:
Half Back'ed and Bobbed 8-12"
3-link Front, 4-link Rear
SAS on Land Cruiser axles (F+R e-lockers)
36-38.5" Tires w/Beadlock wheels
Long Term:
VW 1.9 TDI Swap
Greasecar Veggie Oil Conversion

FJ40 Land Cruiser

Short Term:
Lift
36-38.5" Tires w/Beadlock wheels
Lockers
Long Term:
7M-GTE or 2JZ-GTE swap
Body-off Restoration
3-link Front, 4-link Rear
Land Cruiser axles (F+R e-lockers)

NOTE: These are not pictures of ACTUAL vehicles I'm looking at...just some Google Images action for examples of the direction I want to go.
 
Last edited:
Register to hide this ad
I love the 4runners, but those FJ40's are just so stinking cool. If I had any money right now I would buy a junked one in a heartbeat and fix it up.

FJ40 = car p0rn
 
I had an 72 FJ40 with a Chevy 350 and loved it. They don't call it The Iron Pig for nothing. I moved to DC and it wasn't practical there so I had to sell it.

Try this forum: IH8MUD.com
Do your research before asking questions because some of those guys on there can be TLC Snobs :nerd:
 
Since my 3rd gen is gone now, Im fixing to get myself a 1st gen like Mike's got. Just love those things man.
 
Second Generation 4Runner 22R-E

Short Term:
Half Back'ed and Bobbed 8-12"
3-link Front, 4-link Rear
SAS on Land Cruiser axles (F+R e-lockers)
36-38.5" Tires w/Beadlock wheels
Long Term:
VW 1.9 TDI Swap
Greasecar Veggie Oil Conversion

YES!! Half backed looks sweet on the 2nd gens!! :thumb3:

My buddy has a '77 FJ40 with a chevy 4.3, spring-over with 3" leafs, and 35's. He's lost count of how many times its been rolled. :happens:
 
SAS the 3rd gen you fawkin homo! A waggy 44 3 linked would look right at home under there...


SELL THE FAWKING FIERO So Gay ITS NEVER GOING TO MOVE OTHERWISE
Yes thats right LINY4runner has a GAY FIERO So Gay



In all seriousness Bdub buy a rig and lets get wrenchin and seriously sell that damn Fiero!
 
Coming from someone who has built a 40 from scratch and a 3rd gen runner, here are my ideas...

40- The thing is a giant go-kart. It is so simple and easy to learn your way around the rig. It is so so simple, so that is a great plus when it comes to starting a rig you will be rebuilding. But... gotta make sure you do tons of HW before you buy, lots of things to look for in 40s to know if you have a good one or something that will explode 15 feet down the road. Ih8mud is a great resource. The nice thing with the 40 is that you can bolt on a cage, do a spring over, throw on 35s and you will be able to do lots of stuff with little invested

runner- Lots of aftermarket stuff available as far as SFA kits etc... and you will have a larger more comfortable rig, but again its larger, so if its gonna be a serious crawler that would be a minus next to the 40. Bobbed and cut-up runners looks muy cool, so thats a big plus. 22RE would be a plus as well IMO


lots of food for thought, but if you can find the right 40, then 2 grand worth of mods will get you a whole lot farther than it would on a 2nd gen.
 
SAS the 3rd gen you fawkin homo! A waggy 44 3 linked would look right at home under there...


SELL THE FAWKING FIERO So Gay ITS NEVER GOING TO MOVE OTHERWISE
Yes thats right LINY4runner has a GAY FIERO So Gay



In all seriousness Bdub buy a rig and lets get wrenchin and seriously sell that damn Fiero!

You're a d!ck. I can't believe you signed up to T4R just for that post...you, sir, need a chick hahahaha

Coming from someone who has built a 40 from scratch and a 3rd gen runner, here are my ideas...

40- The thing is a giant go-kart. It is so simple and easy to learn your way around the rig. It is so so simple, so that is a great plus when it comes to starting a rig you will be rebuilding. But... gotta make sure you do tons of HW before you buy, lots of things to look for in 40s to know if you have a good one or something that will explode 15 feet down the road. Ih8mud is a great resource. The nice thing with the 40 is that you can bolt on a cage, do a spring over, throw on 35s and you will be able to do lots of stuff with little invested

runner- Lots of aftermarket stuff available as far as SFA kits etc... and you will have a larger more comfortable rig, but again its larger, so if its gonna be a serious crawler that would be a minus next to the 40. Bobbed and cut-up runners looks muy cool, so thats a big plus. 22RE would be a plus as well IMO


lots of food for thought, but if you can find the right 40, then 2 grand worth of mods will get you a whole lot farther than it would on a 2nd gen.

Good read, thanks! I'm still on the fence, I feel like I'd be more likely to trash a second gen than a classic Land Cruiser, but if I find a less-than-perfect FJ40, it may be the perfect candidate.
 
I've owned both and love both so here is my question what kind of trails are you going to be running in this trail rig? If your doing east coast stuff then the 40 is nice and will do great on tight tree ridden trails because of the short wheelbase. The 2nd gen will climb a lot better if your planning on trails that are crawling based. Granted both can be stretched and I personally like WB of 110+ so that's really easy in both. I would link either rig as the ride and flex will be better. Honestly hard to go wrong either way. the other thing to remember is that it is really hard to beat wheeling with just a cage between you and the sky:hungry: good luck either way.
 
Okay, i think you should go for the second gen and sas it right off the start. 4link the back. Make sure you get one with a 22r. Just a 22r would be sweet because you could run propane. and that 3.0 sucks.

My buddy has a sas second gen on 36's and it wheels really well
 
Haha that thing is sweet but my buddy Mike has a white SAS 1st Gen already...I couldn't do that to him lol

Looks like the FJ40 is gonna win...now to try and find one for around $2500.....
 

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
278,306
Messages
3,554,045
Members
248,016
Latest member
Advally Service

Trending content

Back
Top