Dropzone's 1994 4Runner Expedition/Overland Build

[Chuckles89]

The black looks great!

 

[Dropzone]

Decided to black out the rest of the bumper. Sanded it down with 150 grit and gave it 3-4 coats.
I will do the mirrors aND door handles next week

 

[Dropzone]

As all of you know stock Toyota horns suck big time. Out of the 7-8 Toyotas I have owned this 4Runner's horns were the most anemic, my 89 Tercel's were louder, these sounded like a mouse having his nuts kicked...really squeaky..
So Amazon to the rescue, I found a set of dual horns that were cheap and supposedly 120dbs.
Made a mini harness for each horn. Wierd that they didn't ground through the mounting bracket like most would..oh well

They are a little bigger than the stock horns. The horns sound much louder than stock

This thing is the biggest rock magnet I have ever owned. The windshield looked like it had been hit by a gravel truck when I first picked it up. I have probably picked up 3 or 4 more in the month I have been driving it.
Decided to give an old school bug deflector a shot

 

[Thefishguy77]

As all of you know stock Toyota horns suck big time. Out of the 7-8 Toyotas I have owned this 4Runner's horns were the most anemic, my 89 Tercel's were louder, these sounded like a mouse having his nuts kicked...really squeaky..

So Amazon to the rescue, I found a set of dual horns that were cheap and supposedly 120dbs.

Made a mini harness for each horn. Wierd that they didn't ground through the mounting bracket like most would..oh well



They are a little bigger than the stock horns. The horns sound much louder than stock



This thing is the biggest rock magnet I have ever owned. The windshield looked like it had been hit by a gravel truck when I first picked it up. I have probably picked up 3 or 4 more in the month I have been driving it.

Decided to give an old school bug deflector a shot

Are the horns you got still high pitch just louder or do they have a bit of base in them?

I know what you mean about rock magnet. I drove my 1500 Chevy with the original factory windshield for 240,000 miles. In the last 23,000 I have done 4 new windshields and just ate a rock that fracked right away 2 days ago. My insurance company must be starting to get me. Think I will put a bud deflector on it to see if it makes a difference.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Reluctanse]

As all of you know stock Toyota horns suck big time.

My horn got made fun of camping this weekend, so I'm going to have to do something similar now...

 

[Dropzone]

Are the horns you got still high pitch just louder or do they have a bit of base in them?

I know what you mean about rock magnet. I drove my 1500 Chevy with the original factory windshield for 240,000 miles. In the last 23,000 I have done 4 new windshields and just ate a rock that fracked right away 2 days ago. My insurance company must be starting to get me. Think I will put a bud deflector on it to see if it makes a difference.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

i'd go broke if I had to replace that many windshields, my insurance is high enough, probably wouldn't go through them until my daughter's accident drops off in a year or so...
I had to do batteries in 4 cars in a month a couple of years ago.

The horns have a little bit basier squeek to them. Definitely louder than before, but not as deep as I had hoped for.

My horn got made fun of camping this weekend, so I'm going to have to do something similar now...

stock is pretty squeaky...mine will probably still be laughed at:uzi:
who knows may do a pump driven horn sometime, this was a quick 10 minute project.
getting quick at getting the grill off and on

 

[Dropzone]

4runner had 195,215 on the clock when i dragged it home.
now has 196,230. oil isn't looking to bad a 1000 miles into it

 

[Dropzone]

Blacked out the mirrors and door handles

 

[dbd6604]

What'd you use on the mirrors? Looks great.

 

[Dropzone]

What'd you use on the mirrors? Looks great.

thanks. i sanded them down with 80 grit, 150 than 220 before paint to get a good bonding surface, than cleaned with IPA (alcohol) and used some rustoleum flat black

 

[Dropzone]

The Sony stereo that was in the 4Runner when i bought it was possessed. *Apparently it has an internal memory that had been loaded with some funky form of music that was hard to describe. *Sort of a Rappish Gregorian Chant meets Irish Funeral Dirge music or something..anyway I couldn't figure it out so I picked up a cheap stereo that i had heard good reviews on a couple of forums. It is a Pioneer-MVH-X380BT. *It doesn't have a CD player but having the integrated USB, 3.5 mm jack and Bluetooth made me feel like i am entering the modern age.
https://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-MVH-...TF8&qid=1473547838&sr=8-1&keywords=mvh-x381bt
i did a bunch of online searches and ended up finding one on ebay for $69 shipped (looks like the price has gone up a bit), it was the cheapest i found. besides tires it is one of the few new things that has ended up on Project recycle.
Installation was pretty straight forward. Whoever did the original install wasn't a great installer so I used this link http://www.modifiedlife.com/1994-toyota-4runner-car-radio-wiring-diagram/*and was able to unfubar the wiring and get it sounding pretty good for stock speakers.


I also went ahead and used some of the Blue Sea Aux power ports from the Trekker. *Now I have two USB outlets and an extra 12v Cig plug that are mounted below where the useless little storage cubby. I may fill the holes down the road
The BlueTooth connected to my phone with out a hitch, i will probably move the bluetooth mic at some point.

 

[russman]

Someone's not so good version of trailer wiring. .it will get fixed. ..not that these things can tow much

The afternoon went quicker than I thought so I don't have pics of the flat stock I used to beef up the inside mount

I will need to raise the tire mounting surface when I put the 35's on this thing but it should do the trick

Still need to cut the old license plate mount to cover the holes in the tailgate and repaint the swing out, it is a bit weathered after 25 years.

Hey I'm super curious to learn what you had to do to brace the D-pillar in order to get your tire swing out to work? Do you have any pictures of what you did behind the sheet metal? I want to do this on my 2nd gen, but I'm not sure what kind of support structure to create behind the brackets.

Super awesome and creative work on this truck man!!

 

[Dropzone]

Hey I'm super curious to learn what you had to do to brace the D-pillar in order to get your tire swing out to work? Do you have any pictures of what you did behind the sheet metal? I want to do this on my 2nd gen, but I'm not sure what kind of support structure to create behind the brackets.

Super awesome and creative work on this truck man!!

Thanks I appreciate it.

For the inside mount I used some flat 1.5"wide (maybe 3/16" thick) stock that i bent/pounded to match the hinge point. Sorry no pics of it. it seems to be working pretty good so far.
here is a pic i borrowed from a thread that a guy linked in my YT thread. It will give you an idea of what Toyota used. From what i understand the only way to get it is to cut the corner off the 4Runner. It is a really tight fit getting to the mounting area. I think i left a socket stuck in there

hope that helps

Today's festivities

After a few days of the new stereo i realized the stock POS speakers would not cut it.
So blew $16 on Amazon prime for a set of replacement speakers. For low budget speakers these thing sound awesome, and they were pretty much a direct fit (other than having to add some terminals).
20 minutes later the dash was back together.


The red light on the driver's side door light died a little while ago. It was weird that the housing still had power but no bulb would work (even when swapped from passenger side)
Dug into the box of crap that had been for the Trekker and found some stuff.
added a rock light to use as a courtesy light and replaced door light with a KC LED cyclone light

Passenger Side

Driver's side door open:

 

[Dropzone]

I pulled the roof rack awhile ago because it just seemed too high. *If the weather is decent this week my plan is to just about flush mount it. *By removing the cross rails it will drop down about 3" or so.
By doing that I will lose the 3rd brake light, which is pretty anemic at best, and I just don't really like it... *I like the idea of some sort of brake light mounted up high. *I have way too much crap purchased over the years that never made it onto the Trekker.
Top option is a set of KC LED's (cyclones ?) That are compact and bright.
Bottom option is some 3w clear Amber and Red leds. *They would be brighter but I like the compactness of the KC''s

​What do you guys think?

 

[Reluctanse]

Top option is a set of KC LED's (cyclones ?) That are compact and bright.
Bottom option is some 3w clear Amber and Red leds. *They would be brighter but I like the compactness of the KC''s
​What do you guys think?

I would rock the LED's. Are you thinking to install them right on the rear spoiler?

 

[Dropzone]

I would rock the LED's. Are you thinking to install them right on the rear spoiler?

mounted on the spoiler was my plan.
Someone on YT suggested mounting them above the spare tire, if I go that route it will probably wait until i get the 35's from the 81 put on the truck

 

[HanginInUtah]

Love your ideas, especially with the lighting. Definitely giving me some inspiration!

 

[Dropzone]

Love your ideas, especially with the lighting. Definitely giving me some inspiration!

Thanks, appreciate it:bigok:

 

[Dropzone]

Been keeping on with the miscellaneous electrical upgrades. Mostly because it is easy and I like doing it, plus I keep finding stuff in the garage that can be used. Nice thing is that i have had all the electrical supplies so nothing new has really been bought so it is keeping the budget low
took a little time today to get some of the crap organized

Added another couple of outlets and a meter. Probably never need that many but can charge a couple of phones, run the GPS and dash cam. Eventually all of it will be powered through a Blue Sea Auxillary Fuse Block
Step bits are great for doing through light material like interior panels

I used to take the time to solder connections but went to a wiring Clinic put on by a guy does custom wiring for off road trucks, trailers etc that I met through Gitout.com. Using quality quick connects and heat shrink makes it go much faster and have a reliable connection

screwed up and drilled two holes too low to be used. Ace hardware came though with some interior plugs just the right size.

 

[Dropzone]

I had plans to work on the 4Runner today to figure out what I was gonna do for the extra lights up on the rear air deflector but this guy showed up

After playing for a few hours he decided it was nap time

They grow up way too fast