4-Ripcord
New member
Its a good thing that "I told you so" doesn't cost me money, because if it did I would not be able to afford what I am about to do.
Since August 2013, I have come to realize that all the excuses I had for selling my 4runner were stupid. I can understand that I was not able to afford a secondary DD, but I should have tried to save for one instead of selling my rig. I lost a piece of myself that day. Although I was able to pay off a lot of credit card debt when I parted out the mods..
Some of you who I am friends with on Facebook already know that I have been looking for another 4runner recently. But what you do not know is that I have actually been looking for around 5 months.
Well last week I found one, and I'm flying out to get it this weekend.
------
What did I find? Well, I'm pulling a trick out of [MENTION=8329]MillerPKA[/MENTION] 's book. I am going to be rebuilding my former truck. I found a Thundercloud '02 Sport.
Stats:
2002 Thundercloud Gray Sport Edition
4x4
130,000 miles (A tad more than I was hoping for, but this one was well maintained)
Stock, so much so that it still has the running boards and the retractable cargo cover!
Location: Memphis, TN
$7,500
-----
As I mentioned, my plan is to rebuild my original 4runner to a certain extent. The difference this time being that it is definitely NOT my DD and I wont be drilling a hole in my quarter panel to mount my CB Antenna. :ybrick:
The direction of the build will be a bit more road trip/camping focused, while also being better offroad.
-Initial plans are to build a solid foundation:
Sound deaden interior, Aux Fusebox, Tundra brakes, HD rear links, and a major tune-up.. not that it really needs that last part, but I want to make sure its all good.
-From there, I will be going where I left off on my last one. Relocating shock mounts to gain more +/- travel and running 35" tires.
For my original build: Ripcord's 2002 4Runner Sport
That is pretty much it for the important news, keep reading if you care to..
-------------------
Where have I been since?
Well around the time I sold my last 4runner, I was also entering my senior year of my mechanical engineering degree. Most of that year was spent on the UNM Formula SAE team. I was the lead of the Chassis design team.
We ended up getting 11th place of like 80-ish teams at competition.
We are now ranked 5th nationally and 18th worldwide (of like 500 teams)
Following that, I was picked up by Honda as a suspension design engineer and moved to Columbus, Ohio. Been there ever since.
To replace the 4runner, I tried my hand in the Audi club..
B6 A4 Ultrasport
1.8T 6-speed
It was pretty fun, but a 3600 lb car with a 1.8 can only do so much for you..
So while I still had the A4, I also picked up this:
2001 B5 S4
2.7 twin turbo
6-speed
This one is a monster, and has been an absolute blast. I have recently sold the A4.
And that's pretty much it. To replace the A4, I picked up an old saturn wagon as a DD. So I have two projects for now..
Since August 2013, I have come to realize that all the excuses I had for selling my 4runner were stupid. I can understand that I was not able to afford a secondary DD, but I should have tried to save for one instead of selling my rig. I lost a piece of myself that day. Although I was able to pay off a lot of credit card debt when I parted out the mods..
Some of you who I am friends with on Facebook already know that I have been looking for another 4runner recently. But what you do not know is that I have actually been looking for around 5 months.
Well last week I found one, and I'm flying out to get it this weekend.
------
What did I find? Well, I'm pulling a trick out of [MENTION=8329]MillerPKA[/MENTION] 's book. I am going to be rebuilding my former truck. I found a Thundercloud '02 Sport.
Stats:
2002 Thundercloud Gray Sport Edition
4x4
130,000 miles (A tad more than I was hoping for, but this one was well maintained)
Stock, so much so that it still has the running boards and the retractable cargo cover!
Location: Memphis, TN
$7,500
-----
As I mentioned, my plan is to rebuild my original 4runner to a certain extent. The difference this time being that it is definitely NOT my DD and I wont be drilling a hole in my quarter panel to mount my CB Antenna. :ybrick:
The direction of the build will be a bit more road trip/camping focused, while also being better offroad.
-Initial plans are to build a solid foundation:
Sound deaden interior, Aux Fusebox, Tundra brakes, HD rear links, and a major tune-up.. not that it really needs that last part, but I want to make sure its all good.
-From there, I will be going where I left off on my last one. Relocating shock mounts to gain more +/- travel and running 35" tires.
For my original build: Ripcord's 2002 4Runner Sport
That is pretty much it for the important news, keep reading if you care to..
-------------------
Where have I been since?
Well around the time I sold my last 4runner, I was also entering my senior year of my mechanical engineering degree. Most of that year was spent on the UNM Formula SAE team. I was the lead of the Chassis design team.
We ended up getting 11th place of like 80-ish teams at competition.
We are now ranked 5th nationally and 18th worldwide (of like 500 teams)
Following that, I was picked up by Honda as a suspension design engineer and moved to Columbus, Ohio. Been there ever since.
To replace the 4runner, I tried my hand in the Audi club..
B6 A4 Ultrasport
1.8T 6-speed
It was pretty fun, but a 3600 lb car with a 1.8 can only do so much for you..
So while I still had the A4, I also picked up this:
2001 B5 S4
2.7 twin turbo
6-speed
This one is a monster, and has been an absolute blast. I have recently sold the A4.
And that's pretty much it. To replace the A4, I picked up an old saturn wagon as a DD. So I have two projects for now..
