Hey Guys,
I've been poking around on the forum, doing some research for my 1998 4Runner Limited. This was actually my first car when I was 16 (in 1998... 15 years, seems like yesterday), and it had been passed down to my middle brother and my youngest brother. Since then, I went down a bit of a different path, sticking to German cars and getting into auto racing. When I moved to NYC for work, I sold my cars (not worth keeping them while I'm in the city) and have been without one since the beginning of 2011.
When I moved out of Manhattan and into Brooklyn (Williamsburg area), I decided it was time for a car again, as I was getting sick of Zipcar. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to restore the truck, as it has taken quite the beating over the past 15 years.
First order of business was redoing the interior. I found a shop in Vienna, VA (the truck was in MD sitting at my parent's house for the past 5 years, rarely being used) called Lim's. They redid the front two seats, added heated seats to both fronts, redid the center console, the rear bench and the steering wheel. Is it showroom quality? Absolutely not. But it's much better than it was, and the steering wheel (tho not great) is no longer disgusting.
Next was getting the audio system back up to snuff, but I won't bore you with the details on that.
About 2 years ago my youngest brother put a full Downey Off-road suspension on the truck. From what I gathered they had a decent reputation, but are now out of business.
Below are some pics of the truck as it stands now:
I want to get rid of the front bumper and brush bar and get something from either Shrockworks or Demello
I'd like to do a new rear bumper too, but it's not a priority
front seats came out ok, stoked we were able to add padding. you could feel the metal bars under your ass before this
rears came out pretty well too
steering isn't perfect, but it feels nice and is much better than before. no more need for a steering wheel cover
nav install (pioneer 940bt)
rear box that houses 2 amps and a JL Audio W6
The big problem I'm running into is I don't know of any good shops in the NYC area. There's a place that I found called RMS Offroad, but I have no idea if they do quality work, nor what their reputation is. I'd also like someone to take a look at the suspension that was installed and give me their thoughts on it. It doesn't look like the car is any higher than stock, and I really don't know what's been installed. Does anyone here know of any good shops in the NY area? I'm willing to drive a bit.
Anyways, just wanted to introduce myself here. It's been a long time since I've owned this truck and I'm excited to get back into it. I certainly have a lot of catching up to do, but I'm sure it's gonna be a fun journey.
I've been poking around on the forum, doing some research for my 1998 4Runner Limited. This was actually my first car when I was 16 (in 1998... 15 years, seems like yesterday), and it had been passed down to my middle brother and my youngest brother. Since then, I went down a bit of a different path, sticking to German cars and getting into auto racing. When I moved to NYC for work, I sold my cars (not worth keeping them while I'm in the city) and have been without one since the beginning of 2011.
When I moved out of Manhattan and into Brooklyn (Williamsburg area), I decided it was time for a car again, as I was getting sick of Zipcar. I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to restore the truck, as it has taken quite the beating over the past 15 years.
First order of business was redoing the interior. I found a shop in Vienna, VA (the truck was in MD sitting at my parent's house for the past 5 years, rarely being used) called Lim's. They redid the front two seats, added heated seats to both fronts, redid the center console, the rear bench and the steering wheel. Is it showroom quality? Absolutely not. But it's much better than it was, and the steering wheel (tho not great) is no longer disgusting.
Next was getting the audio system back up to snuff, but I won't bore you with the details on that.
About 2 years ago my youngest brother put a full Downey Off-road suspension on the truck. From what I gathered they had a decent reputation, but are now out of business.
Below are some pics of the truck as it stands now:
I want to get rid of the front bumper and brush bar and get something from either Shrockworks or Demello
I'd like to do a new rear bumper too, but it's not a priority
front seats came out ok, stoked we were able to add padding. you could feel the metal bars under your ass before this
rears came out pretty well too
steering isn't perfect, but it feels nice and is much better than before. no more need for a steering wheel cover
nav install (pioneer 940bt)
rear box that houses 2 amps and a JL Audio W6
The big problem I'm running into is I don't know of any good shops in the NYC area. There's a place that I found called RMS Offroad, but I have no idea if they do quality work, nor what their reputation is. I'd also like someone to take a look at the suspension that was installed and give me their thoughts on it. It doesn't look like the car is any higher than stock, and I really don't know what's been installed. Does anyone here know of any good shops in the NY area? I'm willing to drive a bit.
Anyways, just wanted to introduce myself here. It's been a long time since I've owned this truck and I'm excited to get back into it. I certainly have a lot of catching up to do, but I'm sure it's gonna be a fun journey.
