Introduction, and eventualy upgrade thread......

[Stick Figure]

I would probably miss San Diego, but we weren't living there, we were in the IE, which I will never miss. I know I will miss being close to the trails, and the car events, but that can only get you so far. The rude and ignorant people far outweigh the people that are worth talking to in that area, and the job that moved me out there was something I had been over for a couple years. You also have to remember that I'm not originally from California, and doubt I will ever retire here. Too expensive, too many stupid anti-fun rules, and just too many people overall.

For now I'm going to enjoy my new job, the nicer people, and find some places to explore up here.

 

[Stick Figure]

New Home for the 4Runner

I haven't had much time to work on the 4Runner lately but figured I would prove that I have been busy doing something. Some may have read in other threads that we recently relocated to the bay area. When I started looking around for rental properties and seeing the pricing for a house with any real sort of garage, I decided to go another direction. I found that for the price of small house with a two car garage I could rent a small studio apartment and shop space. I won't pretend it was easy to get everything in order. I talked with a lot of places about what I wanted the space for, and most just didn't really get it. "Why do you need 4 cars?" "We don't want an automotive business in here" or they just had crazy stipulations, asking for a detailed list of EVERY chemical and the amount that would be stored in side. Yes this was after I told them there wasn't no real amount of any chemical that would be stored, etc.

After being kicked out of a storage unit for not getting them insure paper work on two cars fast enough I finally found shop space and could start moving everything in. Since the g/f was still living and working in "SoCal" we didn't have an apartment yet, so we moved EVERYTHING into the shop space.

Fast Forward another month and a half, and we have an apartment about 3 min from the shop (and even closer to my new job), so some of the basic house hold stuff is out, some is still in storage, and some just needs to be sold. The shop is coming together slowly, but figured I would share some pics and hopefully get some more ideas on making it work better for me.

The first few pics are just crappy cell phone pics that were taken randomly over the past couple of weeks...

Washer and dryer are on the list of things that will go on craigslist

Last weekend I picked up the Craftsman stack to be able to move most of the basic hand tools in to.

I'm not doing any really serious automotive work anymore, so I may exchange this for my KRL722 Snap on box from work if I can make good room for it in the shop.

This weekend I started organizing all of those random bolts and bits that had been set put in random boxes, and containers. Picked up some cheap organizers from HF...

and a cabinet off of Craigslist to help out the storage of this stuff...

Made some quick brackets to hold the Akro Mills and HF bins to the doors

These worked well other than I could do 4 on both doors so in the end they got cut down to only 3 per door.

and how the rest of the shop currently sits ...

There is still a lot of clean up and more to share. There is still a good sized office behind the wall the that the HF box/bench is on. There is also a good size space up front, but We have it as just house hold storage right now.

Open to any and all comments or suggestions about what may be a better way to arrange and organize things.

If people are interested in this type of stuff I have a lot more pics of tool storage, and some more of the progress being done.

 

[t4r4life]

dude you got the whole operation going on here!

 

[Stick Figure]

dude you got the whole operation going on here!

I know I tend to get carried away a bit. lol

Other than re-arranging, and sorting, this was last weekends fun:

One quick project I did tackle was getting a spare 3/4hp motor turned into temporary buffer duty.

Spotted an add for a grinder stand on Craigslist for $20. It was new in the box, but they used this HF stock pic

While I would have rather had something vintage, or built something cool, for $20 I figured I couldn't go wrong. When I got it back to the shop and opened it up, I was pleasantly surprised:

A bit better than I expected by the stock pic.

added a couple new holes

and mounted the motor I inherited:

Then I just had to do something about the "instant on" when you plugged it in:

and done:

I originally planned to paint the switch cover red so it would stand out, but my memory failed me and I had no red paint on hand. The motor had the one arbor adapter on it, but I need to order one up for the other side. But at least I'm able to polish some stuff with out converting my grinder over each time.

Hopefully this week will be a bit more productive.

 

[bikerjosh]

Congrats on getting the shop set up. Looking forward to seeing what you do next? Hey, how about a mechancial parking brake that will work on a 3rd gen with v6 transfer case for those of us have converted to disks on all four corners? ok, might not be quite the same potential market as your jewel like swaybar links.:lookout:
josh

 

[hugo2go]

So Jealous!!! Shop is coming out great.

Bump for a cool guy.

 

[Stick Figure]

Congrats on getting the shop set up. Looking forward to seeing what you do next? Hey, how about a mechancial parking brake that will work on a 3rd gen with v6 transfer case for those of us have converted to disks on all four corners? ok, might not be quite the same potential market as your jewel like swaybar links.:lookout:
josh

Well I was actually going to work on a rear disk swap using all "Toyota" parts and would have had to have an e-brake, but I got lazy and just threw new shoes on. Since one side was worthless from being soaked (previous bad axle seal), and the other was worn to paper thin, the new shoes feel like a huge upgrade already so I'm not too worried about it right now.

You could always set your rig up for drifting though

Driftworks Hydraulic Handbrake

What calipers are you running right now?

So Jealous!!! Shop is coming out great.

Bump for a cool guy.

Thanks

 

[bikerjosh]

I'm running non-ebrake eldo calipers.
Regarding the driftbrake, I acutally have a similar wilwood clyinder I was going to try and rig. Drew up some plans based on a design some jeeps used for a 4 wheel disk conversion to create a parking brake of sorts. Just didn't have a way to cut or weld the material.
josh

 

[T4R2014]

Well I was actually going to work on a rear disk swap using all "Toyota" parts and would have had to have an e-brake, but I got lazy and just threw new shoes on. Since one side was worthless from being soaked (previous bad axle seal), and the other was worn to paper thin, the new shoes feel like a huge upgrade already so I'm not too worried about it right now.

You could always set your rig up for drifting though

Driftworks Hydraulic Handbrake

What calipers are you running right now?



Thanks

Are the Toyota parts you are referring to from a Land Cruiser 90 series? I know from a fact that they use the same 8" rear diff as the 3rd Gen T4R so the parts should bolt in. There was a member from Russia a while back that also did this as well. He mysteriously got banned and no one heard from him again unless someone who has any info can chime in.

Btw, nice shop. I'm jealous.

 

[Stick Figure]

I'm running non-ebrake eldo calipers.
Regarding the driftbrake, I acutally have a similar wilwood clyinder I was going to try and rig. Drew up some plans based on a design some jeeps used for a 4 wheel disk conversion to create a parking brake of sorts. Just didn't have a way to cut or weld the material.
josh

If you need to do some cutting and welding, I'm willing to give you a hand. Just remember the consumables for that sort of stuff aren't free to me, so the cost does get passed on to you! lol

Are the Toyota parts you are referring to from a Land Cruiser 90 series? I know from a fact that they use the same 8" rear diff as the 3rd Gen T4R so the parts should bolt in. There was a member from Russia a while back that also did this as well. He mysteriously got banned and no one heard from him again unless someone who has any info can chime in.

Btw, nice shop. I'm jealous.

I was actually looking at the rear calipers from the 4th gen since they would be more readily available. Sourcing stuff from other market vehicles is cool, and all but can cause some pretty serious downtime or spur of the moment massive changes if something does brake. I'm 100% okay with that on some vehicles, but my truck is like my safety blanket, in the 4+ years I've had it, its pretty much always been ready to go when I needed it. Sure there were a few days of down time for scheduled maintenance, but you get what I mean. The other plus to the 4th gen calipers, is that an bracket needed could be offered to others wanting to go the same direction with their own vehicle.

Its not something that's off the table, but its something that isn't a priority right now. I probably need to join the masses and swap some Tundra Calipers up front first. and of course I need to tear down the front of the motor again with 197k I think its about time to pull the original water pump, idlers, and tensioner.

As for the shop, more is coming soon ... have to pay some bills and see what I have left, my table saw extension got pretty hammered during the move up here, so I am going to work on getting a base built to help stabilize/repair that and make the thing easily mobile when need be.

 

[bikerjosh]

If you need to do some cutting and welding, I'm willing to give you a hand. Just remember the consumables for that sort of stuff aren't free to me, so the cost does get passed on to you! lol



That's ok with me.:frog:

 

[Stick Figure]

Finally got off my ass and made a set of rear end links to match the fronts I've been running.

I never actually had an issue with the stock ones on the rear other than them being a little out of geometry for my lift, but I was pleasantly surprised after the install. Its hardly fair to compare 198k stock parts to new, but the truck actually has a good more nimble feeling to it on the road now.

I'll be curious to see how it effects the off road performance of the truck, but before I schedule a trip I'm wanting to do a little bit of maintenance under the hood. I'm starting to hear some extra noise from one of the idler/water pump bearings, and with 199k on those, I figured it was probably past time for replacement.

 

[Stick Figure]

Yep still no real upgrades on the truck ....

I did change daily drivers though ...

G/F sold her accord and took over the Scion tC...

and I picked up ...

an 03 MR2 Spyder. All I can say is I have a whole no respect for those of you with black 4Runners. Cleaning the paint up today was a huge PITA, I can't imagine doing something the 4runners size.

Anyway now that I have a daily again, it is time to pull apart the 4Runner.

 

[4Running Daily]

How do you like those Falkens?

 

[Stick Figure]

How do you like those Falkens?

Sadly I only had them really off road once. It was fairly cold, slightly snowy and wet rocks. I wasn't aired down, and never had an issue. I've run the same trail on BFG AT's in the dry and done just as well.

As far as on road, they are a bit harsh (10 ply) vs the previous BFG's (3 ply). good wet weather traction though and they seem to be wearing well (as in not noticeably wearing away before my eyes).

Overall I'm happy I bought them. I just need to get out there and use them for the reason i bought them for a bit more often.

 

[Stick Figure]

IT PASSED SMOG TODAY! :bravo::


Sorry had to share, I was expecting a big pain in the ass problem but it barely squeaked by on the HC portion. Now I can put off replacing cats for another 2 years. :lmao:

 

[bikerjosh]

Right on, it is always a good day when you can get your rig to pass smog.
:hello:

IT PASSED SMOG TODAY! :bravo::


Sorry had to share, I was expecting a big pain in the ass problem but it barely squeaked by on the HC portion. Now I can put off replacing cats for another 2 years. :lmao:

 

[Stick Figure]

Okay I still haven't done much of anything new for the 4Runner other than drive it and cross the 200k mile mark, but we did take it out for a very easy tourist trip to Yosemite this weekend. No real off roading, but it did make for a handy home for the night.... couple pics of the 4Runner waiting for something more exciting than concrete under its tires.

The rest of my Ansel Adams wannabe shots aren't uploaded yet.

Oh and while I'm updating this .. if any of the previous pics aren't working or are sized way out of control just check them out in the image gallery at Most Designs &raquo Pushing the Limits of Unlimited I had to change hosting a while back and it screwed up a lot of stuff.

 

[BrianSD_42]

Thanks for the end links. They look great and I should install them this week.

Man I miss Yosemite. I am still amazed by how many people who live their whole lives in norCal and never go. I am originally from San Jose and although I don't miss suburbia, I do miss the Sierra Nevad mountains.

 

[Stick Figure]

I read the email that you got them, my service this weekend was less than stellar to be able to send a reply though. Let me know what you think when you get them installed.

I had thought about going a few times and glad we finally did. Its too much on the tourist trap side of things for me to be excited about making it a regular destination, but I would like to go back and at least do some hiking. More importantly now that I broke my "exploration" dry spell since the move up, hopefully I'll be able to plan a few more trips out that way and explore some actual trails and maybe be able to find a bit of seclusion.