Saintnick's 02 Desert Runner

[Saintnick]

Hey guys, I've been on this forum daily for around a year now, posting little but reading pretty much every build guide there is, and I promise you'll see bits and pieces of my truck that were taken from other members
Though I will have some original stuff to come.

A bit of history, this month last year i had a $2000 budget for a car. I was originally looking for a small peppy honda prelude, though my Uncle's 4runner caught my eye. I bought it off him for a complete steal ($1200) and immediately started modifying it to give it some personality.

Day after picking it up:



That weekend I went straight to the airport (where I used to work) and washed the gunk off from the 8hr drive after buying it.The 4runner is a 2002 SR5 with 143k miles, 4x4. Every service record done by the dealer, completely stock. I didn't understand the steal I got on the truck for a good 6 months, because I was young and stupid at the time xD
After watching dirteveryday and reading this forum I slowly began to realize how lucky I am, and that I should really focus on this truck rather than my previous ricer dreams.

Current State:



Current mods:
Pioneer Headunit
265/75/16 Duratracs
Tundra Rims
97' front buper
Satoshi Grille w/ Aircraft landing lights
Yellow skid (don't ask)
Andymod 2.0
Poly front bushings and tie rod ends

Waiting for install:
PA System
Big ass light bar
New rear bumper

This has been a fantastic truck with an amazing community, and though I'm on an extremely small budget (working at In n Out) I still have high hopes.

I'll be posting more throughout the day, with some build pics, this is just the intro so far

Thanks for all the support so far guys!

 

[Saintnick]

My first task at hand was replacing the stereo, so without any prior experience or reading any guides, I jumped in.
I purchased a double din Pioneer headunit that was on a "Mothers Day Sale" (Which mother would want a new headunit idk.)
Reasons for getting this guy include: bt audio, built in amp, cheap price, pretty colors... etc.

Then I proceeded to buy some front speakers that were on sale too. I'm not a big audio guy but I just needed something with a bit more, umph.

Little did I know, my small past with computer wiring would not be ample training for tearing apart the dash and wiring my car. whoops.
After taking a break to watch furious 7, I ended up getting it all splashed together in a single day! (Even though I had expected it to be an hour... tops.)

And for once, it worked on the first try.

(Don't mind the foot in the last photo)

 

[Saintnick]

Fast forward 6 months.

I was at Costco Gas right before a Wind Symphony rehearsal when tragedy strikes. A man in a Chevy Silverado saw that his pump was out of order and very abruptly backed into me, crushing the front bumper.
There was no frame damage, and his insurance paid for everything...

Instead of sending it to a shop, I was never a fan of the 02 bumper, so I bought a 97' 4runner bumper and grille (and rear bumper still waiting for installation) off of a fellow forum member, Dan Kendall.

After some paint, a satoshi grille, and a bit of hammering back into shape, turned out mint.
A friend had some legitimate aircraft landing lights (for the runway) sitting around, so I wired those up to the grille to get some off road floods going. Quality lighting, better than any hellas out there for sure

Again. I'm a first timer at all of this, and normally I dive in head-first and then look at what I'm swimming in, so it makes car projects extra exciting. xD

The only problem was the front turn signals. 97 turn signals don't fit the 02 plug, so i had do do some bulb-swapping retrofitting, no biggie really...

 

[Saintnick]

I bought some tundra rims and 265/75/16 duratracs for a total of $1200. After mounting, balancing, and a much needed alignment.

I've been having minimal rubbing at locked steering and turns over bumps, is chopping the bumper the only way to fix this?
In other words, how can I get more articulation with stock suspension, and no spacers :/

 

[suppra87]

Dude, you've got yourself an amazing 4Runner! Super clean too.

Sucks about getting backed into at the pump. I will shamefully admit that I did exactly that to someone a few years back but resulted in much less damage.

Do you still have your 02 grill? If so, Id happy buy it.

 

[Saintnick]

Dude, you've got yourself an amazing 4Runner! Super clean too.

Sucks about getting backed into at the pump. I will shamefully admit that I did exactly that to someone a few years back but resulted in much less damage.

Do you still have your 02 grill? If so, Id happy buy it.

Thanks!
Well at least you are shameful about backing into someone, the driver of the Silverado wasn't at all....
Yeah I still have the grille if you want it, pm me!

 

[Saintnick]

Went Off Roading last weekend, got some damage on my fashionable yellow skid.
Might have to paint it another neon color...

I'm going to begin work on having better wheel fitment, replacing wheel well bolts with low profile ones.... etc.
Maybe finally mount the 42in light bar on the roof.
Anyways I'll post some stuff, and some pics, and maybe some off roading pics. :noidea:

This was last weekend~, front steering components are killer to get the bolts off.


And the paint on my hood is taking the toll of the desert sun, I'm on the verge of painting it another color. Any ideas for what would look cool and unique?
Ideas so far in order of good to bad:
Black/Sunfire Red 2 tone
Racing Stripe
Sport Hood replacement
Stickerbomb? (idk if that would look hideously teenager or cool)
Painting/street art with clear coat on top
LineX

Please tell me ideas, anything that might look halfway decent and wont peel like hell.

Same thing with the tundra rims, planning on painting them copper or being risky and going pearl white. Something different, not mainstream black.
I guess I just like painting, it's parts I can afford I guess xD

 

[jay00]

great start saintnick, really nice runner man, you are lucky!

 

[jlstick2]

Sport hood!

 

[jlstick2]

Satoshi

I love the look of that Satoshi with the landing lights; very clean!