retro decal ideas/input

[Lightfall]

Hi guys, I am working on building up my 97 sr5 in anthracite metallic. I will have deep dish silver finish 6 spoke wheels with 33" BFG T/A whitewalls and spacers with a 3" front 4" rear lift, red mudflaps, and black bumpers with yellow bumper mount round fog lights and shaved emblems /smoked plate covers, with a nice satoshi grille with the fj40 emblem.

To round off the "baja/jdm" look I wanted to do some vinyl work, which I guess I will do myself. I really like some of the old school livery that I see on a lot of the older baja and dakar style trucks. Has anyone seen anything like this done? Any input?

I understand a lot of people don't like this sort of look, as it is flashy and loud and not very normal looking etc etc etc. However, I love the retro look. Thoughts? I mocked up some crappy photoshops from an image of an anthracite runner I found on google images. I am not sure what colors or what design to do. I am also thinking about doing that stripe down the middle of the hood in matte black.

 

[rossmkh]

I vote for no paintjob. I think your 4runner looks too good without it! But if you're set on changing up the paint, I vote for the 1st picture. :jump:

 

[NCrunner2012]

The last one is classic. Idk about on a 3rd gen, but hey it's your rig.

 

[Lightfall]

I think buying the vinyl to do this design would only be $50-$75. I was wondering if that red orange and bold yellow would be better than maybe a darker and more muted color pallette like maroon/ burnt sienna/gold, which might be like a modern interpretation of the retro stylings that we're used a lot in the 80s etc.

 

[SCRunner12]

Those colors look at home on the white, but not the anthracite. I would go with a dark gray and black instead. Not as flashy, but they will blend better with the stock color. I'm not really a fan of those configurations though to be honest. Do something like the 1st gen 4runners. Bigfish had the idea before and did some photoshopping of it. I wish I had a SR5 because I would have done it a long time ago. http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/68346-i-found-one-2001-sport-ed-trd-scd-40.html

 

[Dezert4Runner]

Those colors will never look right on Anthracite. It really only works on white/ black/ primary colors. If you like that old school desert racing styling, I'd say do a wavy checkered flag down the truck. Maybe black & gray checkers so it's not as loud.

Here's a couple from the google images bank:

 

[Stick Figure]

I agree with SCRunner12 color choices ... basically take your classic paint scheme and look at it in a black and white photo and use those colors. It will make the anthracite color work with the graphics better. otherwise the I think the anthracite is too bold on its own.

 

[Lightfall]

That copy of the first gen pattern looks really cool actually, I think I might do that. You are right about the colors, I will need whatever I go with to have a similar tone/hue as the anthracite to flow best. Though it is hard to tell with these things as often some of the most nonsensical things end up looking really cool, as seems to be the case with many race style cars and trucks. I might try and find some dark tone desaturated maroon sienna and gold vinyl supplies that look "tinted" to approximate the overall feel of the anthracite.

That or wrap the entire truck in matte white and add the crazy red orange yellow haha

 

[Lightfall]

I already have red mudflaps (I am making jaos copies, I am a sucker for that crap) and I have all of my skid plates refinished in safety red as well, so I think I can carry some amount of tint through the graphics work, it just has to be just below the level of "garish" to work. Here is a desaturated mock up and a total black and white one, but I don't know if the latter would work with red flaps.

 

[Brilliant]

Horrible, This Idea - YouTube

 

[Lightfall]

Ha, at the very least you have to admit this would be cool. Besides, imagine what race tracks, rally roads, Baha runs and the like would look like without some of the crazy designs people come up with. I am convinced there is a sensible and aesthetically pleasing way to do this such that the great decal embellishing 80's masters would approve. That is the look I want, oem as if toyota was still doing this crap like it didn't go out of style 22 years ago.

 

[KHoffRunner]

At first I said holy hell but once I started looking at it I kinda like it. I'm a fan of old school stuff. The last picture seems the most practical although I like them all.

 

[Lightfall]

Hahaha, khoffrunner, that is exactly what I thought when I came up with the idea in the first place. I have refined it a little, I took a picture in my garage of my newly refinished wheels with new tires mounted to simulate it a little better, though I also like the idea of running it off the back edge of the front fender as with the factory decal first gens. (I should say it would be nice to get the truck to "match" my newly epoxied/urethaned red gloss garage floor)...

 

[jdmaccord6]

Have you thought about graphics from maybe a 1st gen 4runner?
Something along the lines of the stripes, but in the color combo you are looking for?

 

[Millerad1651]

Where did you get those wheels? I really like those.

 

[Lightfall]

Where did you get those wheels? I really like those.

Thank you, they are a "barn find" in a way. They were boxed up SEC allow wheels from 1998, never used and in pretty good shape. I just had them re-clear coated and now they look amazing, and purchased them from a fellow forum member, ryhi. He pretty much consistently has the coolest wheels and he always seems to have more cool sets on his truck. They are usually jdm wheels.

Also that other design is cool too, might be best for me to emulate a previous factory design. It is tricky though because it usually plays off the lines of the car, and that indented swoop on our rear quarter panels definitely can't be ignored.

 

[KHoffRunner]

I hope you do this I think it'd give it a cool unique look.