Dirtco's 1999 4Runner Build

[URBAN ASSAULT]

Nice! Welding thicker steel to thin sheet metal is not for the faint of heart. That looks great, will definitely work well as a rub rail, and add some strength to the body.
I've wasted hours dreaming up tube fender ideas for the rear. Challenging, since 1/2 of the rear fender is the door.
Nice work!

 

[4Runner8]

Not gonna lie, I'm really disappointed...

I know its your rig and not mine, but there was something so magical about this rig with its full body and limited cladding/trim... In a way I see no difference between this and a chopped/bobbed/truggy type rig now. I just wish there had been another way, or you had a spare $5k that you could of put into it(new doors ect)...

I know this rig/build is not ment to please me or conform to my ideas or wishes but if I can be brutally honest, I probably won't fallow this build as closely anymore -not to say you will not continue your upper levels of quality craftsmanship and attention to detail, but its no longer "my cup of tea".

I'm just glad you know what your doing.

:wtf:
Opinions are like A$$holes... Everyone has one.

 

[4Runner4TW]

REALLY interested to see the final product! I think its going to look awesome.

 

[Dirtco]

Not gonna lie, I'm really disappointed...

I know its your rig and not mine, but there was something so magical about this rig with its full body and limited cladding/trim... In a way I see no difference between this and a chopped/bobbed/truggy type rig now. I just wish there had been another way, or you had a spare $5k that you could of put into it(new doors ect)...

I know this rig/build is not ment to please me or conform to my ideas or wishes but if I can be brutally honest, I probably won't fallow this build as closely anymore -not to say you will not continue your upper levels of quality craftsmanship and attention to detail, but its no longer "my cup of tea".

I'm just glad you know what your doing.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion, but you might want to wait until it’s all said and done before you make up your mind that it’s not your “cup of tea”; it should look pretty sweet, and be much more functional once I’m done. I’ve gone over my reasoning in the pages before this this so I’m not going to bother going over it yet again.

I do appreciate your respect for my quality of work though, and if it makes you feel better I have a couple friends keeping an eye out for another set of doors (as long as I can get them cheap).

I was just pondering clearancing the rear quarters the exact way you just did, how much extra room would you say you gained by doing that since the door is in the way?

I gained a little over an inch at the door, and more towards the top and rear of the fender. The biggest advantage is the entire fender seam is now extremely smooth, so even if the tire does rub a little at full bump it won’t cut the tire.

Nice! Welding thicker steel to thin sheet metal is not for the faint of heart. That looks great, will definitely work well as a rub rail, and add some strength to the body.
I've wasted hours dreaming up tube fender ideas for the rear. Challenging, since 1/2 of the rear fender is the door.
Nice work!

Thanks Steve! Yeah, it takes some practice. I did switch my welder over to .025 wire for this project and it seems to have helped. I’ve been thinking about it for a while too, I just needed to get in there and make it happen.

 

[4Running Daily]

Did you say somewhere what tire you're going to run?

 

[Volcom]

Did you say somewhere what tire you're going to run?

He's no longer welcome in the expo world with his new tire choice - 36" Iroks :gun4::gun4:

:flipoff::flipoff::flipoff:

 

[1engineer]

[MENTION=67615]Dirtco[/MENTION] I have done similar mods back in the day, ie; welding thin walled tubing to the sheet metal and inner quarter panels and fenders. I didn't use plastic filler though I used the short fiber fiberglass filler for strength. Good job!

 

[sn0wrunner]

I got some doors. Wrong color though.... If you think you'd want to give it a shot painting them we can figure something out. Let me know. They are just the shells. You'd have to swap over glass, inside panels, etc. Or you could use some Dirtco magic and make some half doors with them?

 

[Dirtco]

Did you say somewhere what tire you're going to run?

He's no longer welcome in the expo world with his new tire choice - 36" Iroks :gun4::gun4:

:flipoff::flipoff::flipoff:

Hahaha, that's what you think! I have an expo wiffle ball bat that says otherwise, AND a token 255 KM2 on the back of my 4Runner! No one will stop this exposer!

 

[Dirtco]

I got some doors. Wrong color though.... If you think you'd want to give it a shot painting them we can figure something out. Let me know. They are just the shells. You'd have to swap over glass, inside panels, etc. Or you could use some Dirtco magic and make some half doors with them?

Thanks Jeff!! I'll take you up on that offer! Let me know what you what and I'll find a time to come down and pick them up. I'm not in a hurry, I plan on setting them aside until I can get them painted. The damaged doors might make a good donor for half doors...

 

[Dirtco]

I can't tub the firewall (cough, [MENTION=63060]rickashay[/MENTION] ,cough) without at least one new tire; I thought about ordering just one for mockup, but I have horrible luck with tires going on backorder when I need them. So I broke down and ordered all four, it wasn't in the budget but there was no way to make forward progress without them.

Old and New

 

[C-RAIG]

I've read through this build a few times. I have no doubts this is going to turn out awesome!

 

[4Running Daily]

How the **** am I suppose to keep up with that?

 

[EatonKyleH]

Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuddddeee.

:cheers:

 

[cdrewferd]

Those are going to look sweet. What's the measured height difference?

 

[BigFishAllDay]

I just wanted to say that your rig will always be my cup of tea! :wink2:

And that those are some really big tires for a 3rd gen.

And nice Tacoma.

And I look forward to seeing this thing in person again once you're all done.

And I'm hungry.

That is all.

 

[Park]

So Is there any plans for long travel now? I can't see the front having alot of flex with those stock LCAs

 

[Dirtco]

I've read through this build a few times. I have no doubts this is going to turn out awesome!

Thanks! I have a lot of work ahead of me, but I'm excited to see how it looks and performs on the trail.

I just wanted to say that your rig will always be my cup of tea! :wink2:

And that those are some really big tires for a 3rd gen.

And nice Tacoma.

And I look forward to seeing this thing in person again once you're all done.

And I'm hungry.

That is all.

Thanks Nick!

And yes, they are.

And yes, it is.

And me too!

And you should probably make yourself a sandwich, maybe with some chips and a soda.

So Is there any plans for long travel now? I can't see the front having alot of flex with those stock LCAs

I really, really, want long travel, but it's not cheap. I had to put the tires on my credit card, so those need to be paid off before I even think about any expensive modifications. At this point LT is the next step, but it's a year or two down the road.

I will have the same amount of travel as most of the other people on here, the limit straps will keep the weight of my wheels and tires from overextending the suspension.

I have an extra set of stock LCA's that I can put poly bushings in, and a new set of LR UCA's setting on the shelf in my garage. I also have an extra set of stainless steel brake lines that I bought for the wife's 4Runner and never used. So if I buy some replacement CV boots, and a Safari LTD steering rack, the entire front end will be pretty close to fresh. I will need to check the LBJs and outer tie rod ends, but those were replaced just a season or two ago.

 

[Dirtco]

Those are going to look sweet. What's the measured height difference?

Off the vehicle, the old tires (still mounted on the wheels and at around 25psi) measure 34". Unmounted, the new tires measure a true 36", that could change a little once they are installed on the wheels. I did a ton of research on these, and other tires. A few people said they only measure 35.5", but it's possible they measured on the vehicle.

I was a little concerned about the width, being that they are listed as a 13.5" wide tire, but in person they are not much wider than the tires that I have now. This will really help with fitting them and not running into issue's with the tires rubbing the UCA. They will rub the front of the frame like crazy at full lock, but theres not much I can do about that (unless I modify the steering stops)

 

[JBurt]

Or you could move the tires farther out from the frame