KCcarguy's Build Thread

[KCcarguy]

Looks good! Do you have photos at night with the amber covers on? Always wondered what that would look like.

Oops....just noticed I never responded. Sorry Danny!

 

[Jhalko]

Oops....just noticed I never responded. Sorry Danny!

Interesting, do they look that yellow in person or is it the picture? My amber lights actually are amber (orange). I have the amber specific led spot for my lowers.

 

[TravelWest01]

Great post, lots of good information. Those covers on the Duallys seem to work well, may try them out. Might put red covers on rear duallys for fog/snowstorm days in the Sierra.

 

[balistikboy]

Interesting, do they look that yellow in person or is it the picture? My amber lights actually are amber (orange). I have the amber specific led spot for my lowers.

I have the amber lens covers for my D2 dually's and they do look yellow not amber. I was disappointed when I first got them.

 

[Captain Texas]

I drove the 4runner around for about 6 months generally pretty happy with things. I also had a chance to do a little off-roading while turkey hunting in Kansas. The lift and tires made a HUGE difference getting in and out of corn fields and driving around on gravel roads. Crappy cell pic:

View attachment 118532

Then, I decided to sell my beloved 2005 M3. I bought her in 2007 when I finished grad school and spent a lot of time/effort keeping her immaculate. She had 29,000 miles when I sold her to a very lucky gentleman in Tennessee. I spent most of the proceeds paying off the last of my student loans, but decided to take some of the money to focus on the 4runner.

View attachment 118533

M3 or 4Runner.... damn thats a hard decision!

 

[KCcarguy]

M3 or 4Runner.... damn thats a hard decision!

Ha. Yeah, sometimes I miss it. Truthfully I've had a lot more fun with the 4runner. Got tired of stressing about keeping the M3 in perfect shape and couldn't really drive it hard on the street anyway. It was fun while it lasted though. :lookout:

 

[KCcarguy]

Teaser :becky:

 

[fo' runnin']

Where's the updates?!?!

 

[KCcarguy]

Well, it was a long (and somewhat painful project), but my rear bumper build is complete....I plan to do swingarms over the winter, but myself and my friend that did the fabbing need a break!

It all started when, after getting the ovelanding bug, I decided to change direction with my build. I needed to add some more utilitarian upgrades. I wanted a steel bumper with tire/ fuel-can carriers to free-up space on the roof for a RTT in the future. The goal of the design was to build a bumper that mimicked the general shape of the factory TE piece. I realize, this does reduce rear quarter panel protection vs other designs; but I really like the curved angle of the TE fenders and wanted to preserve that.

We measured the OEM bumper cover and widened the shape slightly so, eventually, we can place spindles for swingarms on the top surface. Although it does sacrifice departure angles vs some other aftermarket designs, I left the front-to-rear length of the bumper the same as factory (but a flatter surface) to provide a large flat work surface when the hatch was open.

I'm happy with the results, but if I were to do it again I would just order a CBI bumper. After doing a build I can understand why they charge what they do....It took a ridiculous amount of time, material, and patience. My bumper is nice, but can't compare to the quality I could have got with a CBI.

My buddy Jeremy finishing the grinding and drilling before paint


Pre-paint (and upside-down), showing the mounting points


Mounting it up


View underneath mounted (can still mount spare)


All finished with panels on!

 

[KCcarguy]

I also took care of some odds-and-ends:

-Got a new tailight mounted up courtesy of [MENTION=89562]bimrunner[/MENTION] ! :cheers:


-Replaced the damaged rear lower links with MetalTech offset links.


-Added some new Toytec Heavy Duty rear coils to compensate for the weight of the rear bumper and camping gear. These handle and ride great BTW!


-Cranked the front coils up to a full 3" lift

-And a big one: Added a FTS snorkel. I painted it with Rustoleum Satin Black before install, and I really like the look. It's a quality piece and the look is really growing on me.

 

[GabrielM]

Nice truck! The bumper is really nice and I never really liked the snorkel on the 5th gen. 4Runner but yours and the plasti-dip looks pretty good!

 

[JMG73072]

Good work man, balls of steel to fab your own bumper and cut in the snorkel yourself! Truck looks really good man.

 

[KCcarguy]

Good work man, balls of steel to fab your own bumper and cut in the snorkel yourself! Truck looks really good man.

Thanks John! Pretty happy with everything. I need to get better pics up.

 

[KCcarguy]

A couple weekends ago [MENTION=105493]fo' runnin'[/MENTION], [MENTION=65827]MasonT4R[/MENTION], [MENTION=84479]Petromaniac[/MENTION], and I went on a multi-day run in Arkansas. We covered 80+ miles of trail across some beautiful country. Despite some mishaps involving a 4' deep mudhole (check [MENTION=65827]MasonT4R[/MENTION] 's thread for that whole story), we had a great time.

 

[shaneotool]

Nice!
What part of Arkansas were you in?

I'm down in Hot Springs. There are several forest roads around the Ouachita mountains that I need to get out there and check out.

 

[KCcarguy]

Nice!
What part of Arkansas were you in?

I'm down in Hot Springs. There are several forest roads around the Ouachita mountains that I need to get out there and check out.

We started in the Russellville area. Man, you are so lucky to live there. The number of trails available is crazy!

 

[thebwlife]

We started in the Russellville area. Man, you are so lucky to live there. The number of trails available is crazy!

My entire family lives in Russelville, both parents graduated college at AR tech in town,

 

[KCcarguy]

My entire family lives in Russelville, both parents graduated college at AR tech in town,

Well, there's a good excuse to go visit! :driving:

 

[KCcarguy]

Here are a couple pics of me and [MENTION=84479]Petromaniac[/MENTION] from our last trip to Arkansas. Courtesy of [MENTION=105493]fo' runnin'[/MENTION].

 

[KCcarguy]