kammando808
New member
I must say this is one lucky runner
Red-Runner getting built
- Thread starter red-runner
- Start date
red-runner
New member
She's back, and better than ever (pics)
My red-runner came home today. She's been sidelined for TEN very long, painful, and expensive weeks. One rebuild and one filthy JDM later, we think this motor will last us a good long time. JDM block, new gaskets, and my original heads (which were already practically brand new). The rebuild went back to the builder...dunno if I'll get refund or replacement. Don't really want to think about it right now.
We did some other things too, while she was down. Headers, tranny cooler, spindle gussets, intake, and used icon 2.5 resi shocks in the rear. Did a hundred miles with some detergent, and Kyle changed the oil and dropped her off this morning. Very Happy to have her home.
Running great. I'm going for a drive.
Front:
Engine:
Intake:
Headers:
Rear:
My red-runner came home today. She's been sidelined for TEN very long, painful, and expensive weeks. One rebuild and one filthy JDM later, we think this motor will last us a good long time. JDM block, new gaskets, and my original heads (which were already practically brand new). The rebuild went back to the builder...dunno if I'll get refund or replacement. Don't really want to think about it right now.
We did some other things too, while she was down. Headers, tranny cooler, spindle gussets, intake, and used icon 2.5 resi shocks in the rear. Did a hundred miles with some detergent, and Kyle changed the oil and dropped her off this morning. Very Happy to have her home.
Running great. I'm going for a drive.
Front:
Engine:
Intake:
Headers:
Rear:
red-runner
New member
Drove around a bit, and I can't believe what a different vehicle this is. This was my first 4Runner, so I just took it for granted that they are kinda slow and gutless. Still not going to win many races, but not slow, not gutless.
Pretty sure the difference is due to fresh engine more than intake and headers. The sound is cool though.
The Icons in the rear are also holy sh*t good (on the road -- haven't been to dirt yet.) The rear has tightened up without becoming too stiff IMO. Much more sporty and confident in the rear vs the "plushness" of the Billys we removed.
Pretty sure the difference is due to fresh engine more than intake and headers. The sound is cool though.
The Icons in the rear are also holy sh*t good (on the road -- haven't been to dirt yet.) The rear has tightened up without becoming too stiff IMO. Much more sporty and confident in the rear vs the "plushness" of the Billys we removed.
BrianSD_42
New member
Glad to hear you are back in business.
Hope to meet up for a fun sometime soon.
Hope to meet up for a fun sometime soon.
red-runner
New member
absolutely!
shootmymime
New member
man that looks good.
motor sounds good.
motor sounds good.
red-runner
New member
Put some miles on the rig today. Drove up into Ramona and did some moderate wheeling on some private property. I'm extremely happy with the suspension upgrade in the rear, and the engine sounds mean with the headers/intake. Probably ought to do something with the exhaust...
Anyway, so far so good with the engine swap. Engine is strong, but still not going to win any races up hill. Turning into a daily driver, just because I'm so happy to have it back in my driveway.
Anyway, so far so good with the engine swap. Engine is strong, but still not going to win any races up hill. Turning into a daily driver, just because I'm so happy to have it back in my driveway.
BrianSD_42
New member
Hey did you know about the meet up today? There were 11 trucks and we met up at Fiesta Island. It was posted in the SoCal section.
red-runner
New member
Dang. I didn't. I need to keep a better eye on that. We were out looking at property anyway, so couldn't have made it, but I definitely want to get in on one of the meetups soon.
red-runner
New member
Cargo Box v.1.0.wrongColor
Built a basic box for the cargo area. Very basic. Kind of a prototype. We'll likely build another one with drawers and properly brown carpet.
Not too bad for a couple hours. Fits very snugly with the tailgate shut. Test drove it through a rutted out dirt lot tonight and it doesn't budge, and didn't make any noise. Happy enough for now.
Built a basic box for the cargo area. Very basic. Kind of a prototype. We'll likely build another one with drawers and properly brown carpet.
Not too bad for a couple hours. Fits very snugly with the tailgate shut. Test drove it through a rutted out dirt lot tonight and it doesn't budge, and didn't make any noise. Happy enough for now.
red-runner
New member
Gas Mileage post engine swap
Have driven through two full tanks of gas on the JDM swap, headers, and intake.
Looks like I'm right at 14 MPG with the rack on top. This is cranking the AC, and I've driven into the local mountains a few times. Probably do a little better if I just drove around town. I can live with 14 MPG and some cold AC.
Have driven through two full tanks of gas on the JDM swap, headers, and intake.
Looks like I'm right at 14 MPG with the rack on top. This is cranking the AC, and I've driven into the local mountains a few times. Probably do a little better if I just drove around town. I can live with 14 MPG and some cold AC.
red-runner
New member
Finally got to use my rig (many pictures)
Now that all the engine swap mess is behind me, and with the new box in the rear, we took the red-runner out to some family property in the mountains this weekend for some light wheeling and some some star-gazing...you know, the reason I got into this thing.
We also got a couple of radios for the trucks, and some handhelds for camp and just in case. Handhelds work better than expected. Won't have the radio installed until this weekend at the earliest.
Some pics:
The gang at the top of the mountain
The ranch below
Custom pinstripes getting up the mountain (they rubbed out fine):
The view from the top:
New Toys:
Now that all the engine swap mess is behind me, and with the new box in the rear, we took the red-runner out to some family property in the mountains this weekend for some light wheeling and some some star-gazing...you know, the reason I got into this thing.
We also got a couple of radios for the trucks, and some handhelds for camp and just in case. Handhelds work better than expected. Won't have the radio installed until this weekend at the earliest.
Some pics:
The gang at the top of the mountain
The ranch below
Custom pinstripes getting up the mountain (they rubbed out fine):
The view from the top:
New Toys:
A.Wilson013
New member
The star pics are unreal... Details on camera setup?
red-runner
New member
Thanks. The camera setup is a Fujifilm X-E1 at prime focus through a Televue TV-85 on a Losmandy equatorial mount. Big reason I built the box for the rear was to prevent that stuff from bouncing around (damaging the gear or me).
MyHigh
New member
Okay so you just spoke a whole lot of something!?, but my god!! Those photos are unreal!
I bet you are very happy with the outcome of the setup, I hope to see more spectacular photos in the future.
About that radio, is it a mobile unit that is basically a base setup in the vehicle and a couple handhelds for exploring from camp? You mentioned they worked great, could you possibly elaborate? It looks like a setup I'd be interested in.
I bet you are very happy with the outcome of the setup, I hope to see more spectacular photos in the future.
About that radio, is it a mobile unit that is basically a base setup in the vehicle and a couple handhelds for exploring from camp? You mentioned they worked great, could you possibly elaborate? It looks like a setup I'd be interested in.
A.Wilson013
New member
Did not expect that for the camera! Nice gear. Work or hobby?
red-runner
New member
Just a hobby. I used to use a modified Canon DSLR, but I really love the Fuji X-platform. Switched over to it entirely.
About the radios:
The mobiles are going into the 4Runner and our Pre-runner. They are 50W VHF Vertex VX-2200 race radios from Rugged Radios. They are pre-programmed with channels used by most the off-roading events/teams/organizations around here (KOH, Baja, rescue, bunch of teams, etc.) We also got a private channel programmed into all of them (my buddies bought same gear), so we can communicate car-to-car without any interference or cross-chatter.
The handhelds are dual-band VHF/UHF at 1 or 5W (I think it may be 4W actually, but the documentation is a little unclear). We plan to keep a handheld in each vehicle just in case. We also got motorcycle push to talk/helmet kits, so we can stay connected on bikes/quads. The handhelds do all the same channels (including the private channel) that the mobiles do, plus they work on all of the UHF/GMRS channels -- including the FRS stuff like motorola talk-abouts.
Rugged had a good sale for 4th of July, so we pulled the trigger last week. Saved about $300 on a project I was planning to do anyway. We've already gotten a lot of use out of the handhelds (my wife takes it on her morning/afternoon dog-walks -- good range even in the neighborhood.)
More info on the comms setup (we cheated off this page): Pirate4x4.Com - The largest off roading and 4x4 website in the world.
2014 Warthog
New member
Heh you're not slowing down much 
Are you going to make the next San Diego 4runner meet at fiesta island? Would love to see your rig in person.
Are you going to make the next San Diego 4runner meet at fiesta island? Would love to see your rig in person.
