Dirtco's 1999 4Runner Build

[Konkordmusk]

Thanks for the input, I didn't want to gut all four doors to get to the backside of the holes. By using the bolts I was able to keep the doors intact, and save some time. If I had easier access to the back side (or if I was actually going to paint the panels instead of using bedliner) I would have used the copper welding spoon. Thanks for the tip!

Oh I see, I understand! I for some reason, was under the impression that you had gutted the door panel interior. You know best for your rig!

 

[Fishwerks]

Excellent work up to this point. So clean!

 

[Dirtco]

Some better pictures!

 

[cdrewferd]

Looks great Jeremiah!!!! Top notch job on the front fender.

 

[TBuzz]

That looks super!! I really like how the door and fenders color contrast to the body. Makes the clearance look even greater.

 

[Unner]

Not gonna lie, this looks great! I think you showed all the doubters, and obviously have some very good fab skills. Keep it up! It should look super aggressive once it's all done.

 

[C-RAIG]

259,000 views I think 100,000 of them are mine. It is turning out fantastic.

 

[MasonT4R]

This is insanely awesome. In case nobody had pointed it out. :thumb3:

 

[Dirtco]

Man that's mean lookin!! Well done Dirtco. Very solid work.

Looks good.

Excellent work up to this point. So clean!

Looks great Jeremiah!!!! Top notch job on the front fender.

This is insanely awesome. In case nobody had pointed it out. :thumb3:

Thanks guys! It's been a lot of work, but I'm really happy with how it's turning out.

 

[Dirtco]

That looks super!! I really like how the door and fenders color contrast to the body. Makes the clearance look even greater.

I really like how the black contrasts the body color. I can't wait to get it all cleaned up and out in the sunlight!

Not gonna lie, this looks great! I think you showed all the doubters, and obviously have some very good fab skills. Keep it up! It should look super aggressive once it's all done.

Thanks man! I'm not going to lie, I had my doubts too. But after this last round of work I can finally see where it's going, and I like it!

259,000 views I think 100,000 of them are mine. It is turning out fantastic.

Haha, Thanks!

 

[Dirtco]

If you were to do all the fender clearance again, what would you end up charging? WOULD you ever do it again?

Very clean work (as if you've never heard it before!) and I do love the fact that you're keeping the IFS and enjoying it for what it is.

It's amusing how similar our set ups are - I have a 1000 sqft log cabin and a 880 sqft 3 car garage. One spot for the 3rd gen of course!

Looks great!

Thanks! I love my new house. There is an addition off the back side of the house, so it's a little more than 1700 sqft. But, the garage is only 600 and has a single door. It's pretty much a workshop, but it's perfect for working on one vehicle.

Would I do it again? Sure, I love doing this kind of stuff. But it's hard to put a set price on it, as every customer would be different (Limited vs SR5 / basic metal work vs 100% completed / etc). The other big issue is the fact that I have a full-time job, so I could only work on the vehicle one or two days a week. Someone would need to drop the vehicle for at least a month or two to complete the work.

At this point I just want to finish my truck and go wheeling!

 

[Park]

I'm not gonna lie, I miss the limited cladding; it gave it a sort of classiness. I wonder how difficult it would be to fabricate new flares.

Just a thought, It would be really cool to see an SR5-like skinny flair on this truck but have it painted the factory Topaz Metallic. It would just be cool if you could bring that factory look back to the truck.

Please don't think I'm criticizing your work, this truck is epic.
I'm just thinking out loud
eace:

 

[BrianSD_42]

As others have pointed out .... It looks insanely awesome!

Really really clean looking mod. I don't think it looks "chopped up at all"

 

[alexski]

Well it took me pretty much 3 full days to read this and I am super impressed!
One question I have (which might've already been asked) is why not just add another .5 or 1 inch to the body lift? You probably would've still had to cut it up but I would imagine not as much

 

[Dirtco]

I'm not gonna lie, I miss the limited cladding; it gave it a sort of classiness. I wonder how difficult it would be to fabricate new flares.

Just a thought, It would be really cool to see an SR5-like skinny flair on this truck but have it painted the factory Topaz Metallic. It would just be cool if you could bring that factory look back to the truck.

Please don't think I'm criticizing your work, this truck is epic.
I'm just thinking out loud
eace:

That's okay, there's been a few times I've asked myself "What have I done?!"

It's just progression; I always knew the day would come that the flares and cladding would go, it was just a matter of time. There are advantages and disadvantages to both, but the advantages of removing the flairs are well worth the effort. It's a different look, but it should tie in quite nicely with the trailer!

Well it took me pretty much 3 full days to read this and I am super impressed!
One question I have (which might've already been asked) is why not just add another .5 or 1 inch to the body lift? You probably would've still had to cut it up but I would imagine not as much

Haha, yeah it's getting pretty long!

I could have, but everything on the truck was build around the 1" body lift. I'm not a huge fan of body lifts to begin with and the added gaps around all my armor would drive me crazy!

 

[Dirtco]

Well I'm having some major deja vu...

I started tearing into the driver side of the 4Runner (I'm not going to bother posting a whole lot of pictures since it's pretty much the same as what I have already posted).

On a positive note I did manage to get the rest of the tires mounted, I just need to balance them.

And, I continued on with some smaller projects on the passenger side. As you guys know I broke the side mirror off the driver side door. I ordered a TYC replacement and it came in black primer, so I decided to paint and bed line the passenger mirror to match.

All of the paint on the 4Runner was looking a little rough after last summer, so I buffed out all the passenger side panels (except the rear door that I'm still working on).

 

[blcktpgsr]

Dang dude, you're givin' us all crash courses on "how-to" properly clearance for big tires. Even I feel i'm being schooled. lol! Fortunately for me, 35's as big as i would go and i'm set.:tape2:

I remember i followed your method on clearancing when i jumped from 33's.

Looking great so far...one thing i'd do though, is even out the width of the bedlined portion on the front fenders with the rear door/quarter panel. But that's me.op2: always an inspiration!

 

[Mr.Rick]

Dude I'm so stoked to see this thing in action. It impressed the hell out of me in Moab last year. We gonna try to run the full length of the Kokepellis this year?

 

[Dropzone]

You just one upped everyone again:thumb:

 

[Dirtco]

Dang dude, you're givin' us all crash courses on "how-to" properly clearance for big tires. Even I feel i'm being schooled. lol! Fortunately for me, 35's as big as i would go and i'm set.:tape2:

I remember i followed your method on clearancing when i jumped from 33's.

Looking great so far...one thing i'd do though, is even out the width of the bedlined portion on the front fenders with the rear door/quarter panel. But that's me.op2: always an inspiration!

Thanks man! That's why I'm taking so many pictures and documenting everything, I figure it will be useful to someone out there. It's not for the faint of heart, but I now will be able to run up to a 37" tall tire with zero rubbing.

I agree with your comment about the bedlined front fenders, and rear fenders. It's tricky because the front fenders have been opened up more that the rear, I followed the body lines and that led to the front having a smaller section width. I couldn't drop the rear fender down anymore because that's where the flair was and the paint is in rough shape from it rubbing around on it.

It's easy to add more bedliner to the front fender and bring the line up a bit, but I want to get it outside in the sun shine and look at if from a distance before I make up my mind.

BTW - Your 4Runner is looking great!