jc's progressive expedition build

[Jc12]

It didn't take long after purchasing my first 4runner to realize i was hooked. I started out in a stock 99 limited.. took the natural route and modded it out (aggressively). After about a year i was ready to move on and thought i wanted a more commute friendly vehicles. I bought an 08 civic si and drove it for no more than 3 months before ditching more another 3rd gen. My second pick up was a 97 supercharged 4runner for a steal of a deal. I picked this up and took a very similar route to my original one but with a little less money involved. I held onto the second one for about 9 months before selling to a friend. This time around i didn't my 4runner to move into another vehicle but rather another 4runner just with lower miles. This all leads me to my current 2001 sr5 with 170km (105 miles). Purchased from the original owners who's cousin was a toyota tech and serviced the vehicle its entire life.

My plan for this rig is to turn it into a near stock looking 4runner with a boquet of aftermarket goodies under the hood and inside the cabin. I am a big explorer and spend a lot of time camping, biking, fishing etc etc. These 4runner fit my lifestyle perfectly and have the looks to boot. I've accomplished a lot in the past 3 months so will throw in a bunch of pictures with a small blurb about what was done and then try my best to keep it up to date.

Hope you enjoy and maybe I inspire an idea or two

 

[Jc12]

Here is how she sat the day i bought her

And this is what i said goodbye to in order to fund some of the cost

I immediately ditched the front grill guard and swapped out the broken antenna for a taco whip along with a new double din stereo and back up camera

<a href="http://s1188.photobucket.com/user/jeffconnell12/media/t4r/2C83C578-3B92-4DC0-8261-8F4C34F4C169_zpsr5vjmjgs.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/z419/jeffconnell12/t4r/2C83C578-3B92-4DC0-8261-8F4C34F4C169_zpsr5vjmjgs.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 2C83C578-3B92-4DC0-8261-8F4C34F4C169_zpsr5vjmjgs.jpg"/></a>

 

[Jc12]

next thing needed was a small utility trailer. I have aspirations of building a bad ass expedition trailer but for now just need something to haul around some coolers and gear. I picked up this little gem for $100 and got to work

adding some spacers

slapped some new paint and wheels on it and put her to use

 

[Jc12]

Next i moved on to the necessary lift. I settled with tacoma bilstein 5100, stock springs (2nd perch) with (i believe) 5/8" top out spacers. In the rear i did OME 906 with 10mm trim packers and air bags. Around this time i upgraded to some 32" toyos and rear wheel spacers (1.25")

 

[Jc12]

after a few camping trips i realized there was one mod missing in my life.. dual batteries. I picked up an AGM deep cycle group 24 which was about the same dimensions as my stock battery. It took some thinking to make it work but i was able to cram them both in their and for now have the coolant resi relocated to behind the grill. I opted for the tmax kit and love the gauge. I ran 4 gauge wire and only had to extend the factory ground wires to make it work (apart from all the wiring for the aux battery).

 

[Jc12]

around this time i decided to pick up an air compressor to keep my tank full and to aid in blowing up air mattresses etc when camping. My LEDs also arrived so i figured i'd make a weekend out of it and get it all installed. The dome interiors are much whiter than they appear and the cluster lights are in fact blue. For the rest of the bulbs (climate control etc) i used hyper white and it turned out amazing.

 

[Dirtyfingers]

Excellent start! Keep going! Nice truck man!

 

[derpiful]

I'm with Dirtyfingers, you have an awesome start! I really like this, a stock look with a bunch of hidden goodies!

 

[3rzrunner]

:iagree:

How are you liking the airbags with 906's? i'm thinking of picking up a set of the firestones...

look into the JAOS/Burtman rear spoiler if you have the $$'s. IMO I think it goes with your style of build.


cool idea, the "sleeper" look.

 

[Jc12]

thanks guys!

3rz the airbags are a great investment. I picked them up online for $80 and they took no more than 30 minutes to install. I routed the lines up into the rear bumper cover and drilled a small hole for the valve. They are definitely bouncy when inflated to around 15psi but i rarely need that and ride fine/unnoticeable around 5psi. I have a rear tire carrier which i plan on modifying to carry a jerry can, spare and air tank so i think they will come in handy down the road.

 

[Jc12]

Got a good chunk of work done today. I had teetered back and forth with the idea of painting the rims and finally made a decision and went for it today. I absolutely love it.. took the truck from a slightly unassertive rig to a more intimidating, unique truck. I was also sick of shining flashlights under the hood and behind the hatch when i dropped something so i took my roll of LEDs and went to work. After all was set and done i decided to touch up some of the trim and finally installed the rear factory spoiler i picked up from the forums!

prior to paint

 

[gmv4k]

Looking good!

Quick question about installing the rear spoiler. Did you have to drill holes in the rear hatch? I'm guessing you used rivets to install the spoiler. Do you think the rivets are strong enough?

Any tips would be great, I need to do this when the weather clears up. I'm thinking I'll be using a lot of silicon.

 

[Jc12]

Thanks! The mounts have three holes, I only drilled out two for each mount and riveted them in. I think it is more than enough to hold it in place. Once the holes were drilled I pumped in some silicone then slid the rivets in.