Squishmitten's 02 Sport Edition Build

[squishmitten]

[MENTION=116387]Unner[/MENTION]
Thank you! I very much appreciate the kind words and advice! The route I have is really a "guideline", I'm expecting myself to get distracted or run into some issues. Also Mt Rushmore was purely to split up a 19 hour drive from Des Moines to Glacier National Park.

I got a bargain on some SPC UCA today! Open box special on eBay arty:

 

[nwebb01]

Do you still have your 02 front skid? The silver one that's for looks only?

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[meeceboy78]

saw you this morning bud. the runner and all the new mods looks fantastic!! nice work.

 

[squishmitten]

I saw that you got the Savage skid plates. Did you ever end up painting them? The pics that I have seen with them on your 4Runner looked like they were still bare metal. It rains so much here that when I got both my sliders and skids, I tried to clean, prime, and add paint ASAP to keep old man rust at bay. I think after two winters, I will at least be cleaning and repainting the sliders, and if I feel real ambitious, by skids too. They have been holding up pretty well. The sliders take a lot of trail debris and rocks with my 3.5" BS wheels and tires kicking all sorts of everything up the side of my 4Runner.

My busy season OT is just getting started. I need to set a plan for a locker and maybe a regear. We'll see how much I can save. I just got a lot of big maintenance out of the way, TB, valve cover seals, and radiator, so maybe I can focus disposable income on fun items now.

I really like the raw steel look on em. I've been planning to clear them for rust prevention but I've been lazy. I'll probably do it next oil change. Definitely lucky to live in a state where it rains like 4-5 times a year, haha. That summer though, it's coming up and I can't wait to get out of here :flame:

Do you still have your 02 front skid? The silver one that's for looks only?

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That actually sold the same day it came off the truck, haha.

saw you this morning bud. the runner and all the new mods looks fantastic!! nice work.

Thanks man! And likewise! I'm very partial to a clean white runner :yo:


As of now I'm waiting to get my SPC's in and I should be getting a bonus check in the next few weeks....something new coming for the front half of the truck

 

[Road Bull]

That's funny about leaving the skids raw. If I let them sit jus about anywhere here, I could probably watch them rust, real-time. Hahaha... If you like the look, then just clear coat and call it good.

 

[TeamPez]

Awesome build so far. I’m also partial to the black 3rd gens. You’ve given me a few new ideas now that I’m caught up on maintenance. Keep the posts coming. Subscribed.

 

[squishmitten]

That's funny about leaving the skids raw. If I let them sit jus about anywhere here, I could probably watch them rust, real-time. Hahaha... If you like the look, then just clear coat and call it good.

Ahhh the beauty of desert living. That's the plan, I just need to get around to it. This whole 70 hour work week plus 2 classes is starting to become a nuisance. My freakin English teacher decided to assign 2 essays and 4 short reflection papers all due this upcoming week....who needs sleep anyways :shrug:

Awesome build so far. I’m also partial to the black 3rd gens. You’ve given me a few new ideas now that I’m caught up on maintenance. Keep the posts coming. Subscribed.

Thank you! More coming soon. SPC's should be here Friday, then some extended travel Kings and hopefully winch soon too! After that I'll be rounding up camping supplies for the big trip, I'm dreading it but I need to bite the bullet and get a Yeti.

 

[Dezert4Runner]

Ahhh the beauty of desert living. That's the plan, I just need to get around to it. This whole 70 hour work week plus 2 classes is starting to become a nuisance. My freakin English teacher decided to assign 2 essays and 4 short reflection papers all due this upcoming week....who needs sleep anyways :shrug:



Thank you! More coming soon. SPC's should be here Friday, then some extended travel Kings and hopefully winch soon too! After that I'll be rounding up camping supplies for the big trip, I'm dreading it but I need to bite the bullet and get a Yeti.

RTIC coolers are just as good performance-wise for a fraction of the price (usually half). Plenty of real world comparisons on YouTube with the RTIC and Yeti and the performance is identical. I just picked up an smaller RTIC a couple weeks ago for my Sedona trip I just came back from and it worked great. They’re having a sale that’s about to end so if you jump on it now you can save even more, so you should check ‘em out!

https://www.rticcoolers.com/shop/coolers/roto-molded/RTIC-45-White

 

[FilthyRunner]

Love the clean build! Super entertaining to scroll through!

 

[squishmitten]

RTIC coolers are just as good performance-wise for a fraction of the price (usually half). Plenty of real world comparisons on YouTube with the RTIC and Yeti and the performance is identical. I just picked up an smaller RTIC a couple weeks ago for my Sedona trip I just came back from and it worked great. They’re having a sale that’s about to end so if you jump on it now you can save even more, so you should check ‘em out!

https://www.rticcoolers.com/shop/coolers/roto-molded/RTIC-45-White

Thanks man! I'll take a look into those, they seem pretty much the same for a fraction of the cost.

Love the clean build! Super entertaining to scroll through!

Thank you! Working OT right now to keep this thing going :typing:

 

[squishmitten]

Couple of things coming up within the next week or two.

My SPC UCA arrived on Friday. I will be ordering Kings for the front in the next few weeks and installing them both at the same time.

I'll be getting the extended travel Kings, likely with the 650lb spring as I'll probably be picking up a Warn M8000 soon as well.

Nothing to update on any trips as of late, today is day 14 of 19 days in a row at work. Add the multitude of papers I have due in English and you've got a recipe for a good quality of living :help:

Haha, here's a random shot of the truck parked at work, that's all it's been doing lately

 

[huntsonora]

Good looking 4Runner!

 

[Flemster]

Beautiful build dude!

 

[squishmitten]

Good looking 4Runner!

Much appreciated!

Beautiful build dude!

Thank you sir! Right back at you, I've read your build thread end to end a few times now, part of the reason I went with 4xInnovations for the rear bumper.


PSA to everyone looking at ordering Kings, get them before April 30th if you can. Starting May 1st, King is increasing their pricing. I've been talking to the guys at Down South Motorsports and the 3rd Gen Kings are going from $992.52 to $1234.05 :crybaby:

 

[squishmitten]

I just placed a very exciting order arty:

 

[Road Bull]

I just placed a very exciting order arty:

I am guessing Kings. What did I Win?

So what dis you order man? My purchase powers will have to live vicariously through other people's acquisitions. Trying to see if i can swing a locker / gears sometime soon, so i have held off buying fun stuff for a bit. LOL.

 

[squishmitten]

I am guessing Kings. What did I Win?

So what dis you order man? My purchase powers will have to live vicariously through other people's acquisitions. Trying to see if i can swing a locker / gears sometime soon, so i have held off buying fun stuff for a bit. LOL.

You would be correct, you win a trip to AZ, paid for by you to come out and help me put em on! Full disclosure it should take about an hour and all you'll really have to do is stand there and drink beers. :rapture:
I had to get an order in before that price gouge on May 1st. Are you going the eLocker router our looking elsewhere? I keep seeing eLockers pop up around here and I'm still unsure if that's the route I wanna take.

 

[Road Bull]

You would be correct, you win a trip to AZ, paid for by you to come out and help me put em on! Full disclosure it should take about an hour and all you'll really have to do is stand there and drink beers. :rapture:
I had to get an order in before that price gouge on May 1st. Are you going the eLocker router our looking elsewhere? I keep seeing eLockers pop up around here and I'm still unsure if that's the route I wanna take.

Hahaha... I'd be down, but that's a bit of a drive. Congrats! What all did you order? It sounds like it was good timing to pull the trigger on that purchase. Your 4Runner build is coming together pretty fast.

I will be going the ARB air locker route when I am able. I will probably just do the rear locker and bump up to 4.88 gears when I do. It's just that it's a pretty expensive upgrade to do all at once. So we'll see when I can swing it.

 

[squishmitten]

Hahaha... I'd be down, but that's a bit of a drive. Congrats! What all did you order? It sounds like it was good timing to pull the trigger on that purchase. Your 4Runner build is coming together pretty fast.

I will be going the ARB air locker route when I am able. I will probably just do the rear locker and bump up to 4.88 gears when I do. It's just that it's a pretty expensive upgrade to do all at once. So we'll see when I can swing it.

Thanks man! I really didn't' expect things to escalate this quickly. :toilet:

I went with the extended travel version with 650lb springs. With the winch coming soon I don't want to deal with anymore sag than I got when I added the front bumper on the 6112's. I cannot wait, based on everything I've heard from other user's about their experience, I'm definitely gonna have to make some time to hit some trails. :bounce:

I'm definitely doing 4.88's when I can, still on the fence about the locker set up. I'm think I'm leaning towards finding an elocker, but I haven't really taken the time to research the pros/cons of each.

 

[squishmitten]

Thursday night, the lady and I bailed on class and went out to check out Butcher Jones. This place is pretty awesome, despite almost being taken out by some ******* flying around blind corners in a side by side with kids in the back seat (some people shouldn't procreate). Didn't get a lot of pics, but it was the last trail run on the 6112's.

My Kings came in Friday. 650lb springs and extended travel. I got my ass kicked installing these, but I managed to get those installed along with the SPC upper control arms. Upper ball joints are not fun.

First impression, they feel WAY better than the 6112's. I gained about an inch of lift without adjusting the preload at all. Even with the stiffer spring, they absorb bumps on the road much smoother. I haven't had a chance to hit any trails at all, but on road it's much more planted, the bumps aren't as jarring and I feel like a bad ass with that blue reflection in my wheel well. :biggrin2:

I worked out a deal with my lady for the old lift kit (she's got a 3rd gen also). She's buying me a Yeti Tundra 65 and I'll be putting the lift kit on for her once we get her some new wheels and tires.

Now to decide what winch to get, I'm leaning towards the Smittybilt X20 10k-S. Feel free to chime in if you've had any experience or suggestions.