SCRunner's Build Thread
- Thread starter SCRunner12
- Start date
SCRunner12
New member
Yeah I was a little unsure at first, but they grew on me. Once I saw them in person I had to have them. I'll have them on before this summer so we can do some wheeling up near Pinecrest and I won't have to worry about destroying the side of my 4runner.
I couldn't justify it either, but with the discount it came out to be $288 with tax. I figured my other choice was 4xinnovations and shipping would bring the total close to that. Also Jerry is an awesome guy and fabricator so I wanted to support the local business.
I'm probably not going to make it to Moab. It's 14 hours from me and my fiance and daughter have no interest in going. I might try to swing it, but I think we are trying to go to Hawaii this summer so that would require all of my extra trip money.
t4r4life
Elite Member
moab!!!!!!!
SCRunner12
New member
I wish, at least you won't be riding around in a purple Jeep now that Felipe is painting it.
Do it!!! They are very beefy in real life and the welds are nice. I'm probably a month out till my sliders are made then he should be taking 4runner orders.
Stockwell45
New member
Hold on a second...when is this Moab trip and why haven't I heard about it?? lol
And this summer wheeling around Pinecrest is gonna be awesome...the Niagra Rim trail is a ton of fun
PhdNPrerunners
New member
Just went through your whole build, 4runner has come out great! Defiantly a big fan of the color 
SCRunner12
New member
Just went through your whole build, 4runner has come out great! Defiantly a big fan of the color
Thanks! I'm a big fan as well. :frog:
4/7/2012
I haven't done much to the 4runner in the last month or so. I'm probably about 2-3 weeks out from getting my sliders. I'm really looking forward to getting those on.
I did get one mod done recently. I've been thinking about getting a sub for a while. Nothing too big or loud. My original plan was a 10", but I remembered I had a Rockford Fosgate 12" sub and Audiobahn amp in my old Corolla I sold to my brother. They were left in the car by the previous owner and recently my brother bought a new car. So I asked if I could buy them off him. He gave me my favorite price, FREE. I was sold. So I talked to my friend who works in the Best Buy audio install and he got me in today. I'm very happy with the outcome.
The sub fits just under my cargo cover and allows me to keep my tool kit easily in the back.
He placed the amp on the seat back, which isn't ideal, but will work for now.
SCRunner12
New member
5/25/2012
I haven't updated this thread in a while as I haven't really done much. I will getting my sliders welded on in a few weeks and looking forward to that. They've been made for the past 4 weeks or so, but my schedule hasn't allowed me to get them welded on yet.
Finished Product
Onto a big update. Ever since I bought my 4runner I have wanted to get rid of the Topaz bumpers and cladding. I felt they never really looked all that great with the red and I was going for more of a red and black theme. I was planning on waiting till I could get them done professionally, but I'm a bit impatient at times. I decided to experiment with the rear bumper first since it is the most forgiving.
I used 3 coats of Plasti-Dip and 3 coats of Duplicolor Gloss Black. It actually came out pretty good. Not professional by any means, but respectable.
3 coats of Plasti-Dip
3 coats of Gloss Black
The Finished Product
After being happy with the results I moved onto the rest of the Topaz. It is a giant pain to tape all of cladding and flares off. I ended up overlapping the tape over the edge of the flares and cladding then taking a razor blade I would cut off the excess leaving a nice clean line around the flares and cladding. It was much easier and less time consuming. I repeated the same painting steps as the rear bumper 3/3.
All Taped Up
Nice Clean Line
All done and waiting for it to dry
The Finished Product (My daughter decided to help me out and was really good at peeling off the tape)
Front View
My thoughts after completion:
I love the look of my 4runner now and the black is just what I was looking for. Painting all of the bumpers and cladding is a giant pain in a$$. All the taping, prep and actual spraying sucks. Also I had some spots that need to be repainted because it peeled when the tape was taken off. O well.
I haven't updated this thread in a while as I haven't really done much. I will getting my sliders welded on in a few weeks and looking forward to that. They've been made for the past 4 weeks or so, but my schedule hasn't allowed me to get them welded on yet.
Finished Product
Onto a big update. Ever since I bought my 4runner I have wanted to get rid of the Topaz bumpers and cladding. I felt they never really looked all that great with the red and I was going for more of a red and black theme. I was planning on waiting till I could get them done professionally, but I'm a bit impatient at times. I decided to experiment with the rear bumper first since it is the most forgiving.
I used 3 coats of Plasti-Dip and 3 coats of Duplicolor Gloss Black. It actually came out pretty good. Not professional by any means, but respectable.
3 coats of Plasti-Dip
3 coats of Gloss Black
The Finished Product
After being happy with the results I moved onto the rest of the Topaz. It is a giant pain to tape all of cladding and flares off. I ended up overlapping the tape over the edge of the flares and cladding then taking a razor blade I would cut off the excess leaving a nice clean line around the flares and cladding. It was much easier and less time consuming. I repeated the same painting steps as the rear bumper 3/3.
All Taped Up
Nice Clean Line
All done and waiting for it to dry
The Finished Product (My daughter decided to help me out and was really good at peeling off the tape)
Front View
My thoughts after completion:
I love the look of my 4runner now and the black is just what I was looking for. Painting all of the bumpers and cladding is a giant pain in a$$. All the taping, prep and actual spraying sucks. Also I had some spots that need to be repainted because it peeled when the tape was taken off. O well.
NorcalChris
New member
The truck looks really damn good. Like the pic with the your kids head poppin' up from the drivers window...
Hows the plastidip removal go when its painted over, any idea?
Hows the plastidip removal go when its painted over, any idea?
4ever4running
New member
I love the red and black theme, it looks much better than the red and silver combo IMO. After seeing how your bumpers came out, I think I am going to have to paint mine to complete my white and black transformation.
1985taylor1925
Senior Member
The cladding and flares look good black. I think with that change your wheels would match well if they were aluminum colored now. I saw the 2nd gen tacoma in the background . . . you should swap wheels to see how those look on the runner!
SantaCruzRunner
Senior Member
Damn it robert now i want to do mine!! looks great man, could use some tips for when i do mine!
SantaCruzRunner
Senior Member
hahahahaa!
SCRunner12
New member
Wow, thanks. I honestly never thought I'd make it onto someones wallpaper.
Thanks and she was cracking me up. She was pushing me out of the way to pull the tape off. I'm not entirely sure about removing the plasti-dip. I will find out though as I need to redo one of the fender flares. I will let you know once I'm done how it goes.
Yeah the topaz was ok, but it never really flowed with the vehicle and created too many color schemes going on. Thanks!
Honestly I'm not a huge fan of silver wheels. On some 4runners it looks good like Fightmans, but I like dark colored wheels a lot more. Plus at some point I'll be getting new rims to replace the LX450's.
Haha, I've been drooling over the pic of the sliders, but just haven't had the time to get them welded on. Also Jerry was gone for a week in Moab, so I had to wait longer. I can't wait to see them in person.
Yeah it definitely looks a lot better with the black. I'd like to say I'd help, but it's such a pain in the a$$, I'll pass. It just takes forever with all the coats and prep. Definitely worth it though.
If I did it again I probably would have not used Plasti-Dip. It's great to have the option to remove the paint, but it's not the most durable material. Some of the paint along the edges wants to peel and I'm not sure what the long term status will be. I would have sanded everything down and primered them painted. It would have been more permanent, but probably more durable. We'll see though. Luckily the front and rear bumpers came out good and the cladding is in pieces so redoing one section isn't as bad.
Zing!!! Yeah I wanted it to look clean so I took the extra time to clean it all up. There are some spots that are a little messed up, but overall not too shabby.
