Standards of a Rebuild

[Cartzo]

So if you were to restore a 1st gen runner what would your standards be to start with? Low miles or little rust? Or would you just start with the first thing you could find? I'm trying to decide whether to restore my current 87 or start with something with a little less miles and in better condition to start with. My problem is my runner just seems like a piece of sh** and I don't want to put my money into something that keeps breaking down.

Mine has 220k miles. It has rust on the fenders and doors. Bumpers are completely rusted out. I have been focusing on the engine trying to make it run good. The oil seems really dirty, but it has no leaks. If you want more pics let me know. I mostly just want to know what you guys would start with.

 

[Cartzo]

One more. Learning how to resize

 

[KidVermicious]

Honestly, it depends on how much you want to take on. Every part on these trucks is still available, so it's a question of time and money invested in fixing the one you've got, or more money to buy one already fixed.

I don't believe that there's any such thing as one of these 1st gens that can't be saved. My '85 I just bought has worse rust than yours, a motor that needed the head replaced, springs that are borderline unsafe to be driving on, and a myriad of little electrical issues that will need addressed come spring. And I probably haven't found all it's gremlins yet anyway. That's not stopping me, because I want this truck in good shape and I want to know that I did it.

Anything wrong with your truck mechanically can be repaired. Anything missing or broken cosmetically can be replaced. Miles aren't scary, you can roll those back by servicing your motor and trans and getting your maintenance up to date - I drove a 260,000 mile truck up and down the Pacific coast two years ago without a worry. Defrag is taking his 1st gen to the bottom of South America and back. Screw miles. I vote you hang onto it and roll up your sleeves. You're gonna love a truck that you rebuilt a lot more than a truck that somebody else rebuilt and you bought, you know?

Your truck is not a piece of junk. Ignore the rust for now and get it in sound mechanical condition, then focus on appearance later. I'm local to you, feel free to hit me up for advice or to get in on our club wrenching parties.

We're collecting local 4Runner owners here, sign up and say hi: Utah DesertRunners T4R ... the place is currently dominated by 3rd gen goons, so I could use a little 1st gen help.

 

[Cartzo]

That makes complete sense. Thank you Kid. Maybe I will hold on to it and see what I can do to it. I'm not too worried about the engine because sometime down the road I'd like to put a V8 in it's more the transmission. I will definitely need to replace that before an engine. 1st gear won't hold so I have to keep pressure on the shifter or else it will pop out of gear if I'm coasting. If I am accelerating it will stay in gear. But thanks for the input. Maybe it's time to start a slow moving build thread

 

[SilentYoda3]

Honestly, it depends on how much you want to take on. Every part on these trucks is still available, so it's a question of time and money invested in fixing the one you've got, or more money to buy one already fixed.

I don't believe that there's any such thing as one of these 1st gens that can't be saved. My '85 I just bought has worse rust than yours, a motor that needed the head replaced, springs that are borderline unsafe to be driving on, and a myriad of little electrical issues that will need addressed come spring. And I probably haven't found all it's gremlins yet anyway. That's not stopping me, because I want this truck in good shape and I want to know that I did it.

Anything wrong with your truck mechanically can be repaired. Anything missing or broken cosmetically can be replaced. Miles aren't scary, you can roll those back by servicing your motor and trans and getting your maintenance up to date - I drove a 260,000 mile truck up and down the Pacific coast two years ago without a worry. Defrag is taking his 1st gen to the bottom of South America and back. Screw miles. I vote you hang onto it and roll up your sleeves. You're gonna love a truck that you rebuilt a lot more than a truck that somebody else rebuilt and you bought, you know?

Your truck is not a piece of junk. Ignore the rust for now and get it in sound mechanical condition, then focus on appearance later. I'm local to you, feel free to hit me up for advice or to get in on our club wrenching parties.

We're collecting local 4Runner owners here, sign up and say hi: Utah DesertRunners T4R ... the place is currently dominated by 3rd gen goons, so I could use a little 1st gen help.

I would just like to second this. Doing the work yourself helps you to know the ins and outs of YOUR truck. It's the best thing out there, because then you know who did it, how it was done, how to fix it (again if need be), and they it was done right the first time.

That being said, personally I'm fairly picky. I don't do interior work, so the interior of something i buy needs to be perfect, or easily fixed as i don't do upholstery. That being said, it could have rust on a front 1/4 panel, I dont care, those are easy to replace. Now for the rear 1/4 panel, a little harder, something I can do but don't like to if I don't have to. I can fix anything mechanical, so a blown motor or tranny doesn't scare me. That's where I live and it's my bread and butter. I've pulled engines apart and trannys apart and fixed them, so it doesn't scare me.

Overall though, I believe it's personal preference. I don't do interior fixes, and I shy away from exterior rust, just something I don't like to deal with. But if you're up to it then by all means fix it up! Make it yours. KidV knows a lot, use him as a resource and this forum too.

:cheers:

 

[KidVermicious]

That makes complete sense. Thank you Kid. Maybe I will hold on to it and see what I can do to it. I'm not too worried about the engine because sometime down the road I'd like to put a V8 in it's more the transmission. I will definitely need to replace that before an engine. 1st gear won't hold so I have to keep pressure on the shifter or else it will pop out of gear if I'm coasting. If I am accelerating it will stay in gear. But thanks for the input. Maybe it's time to start a slow moving build thread

Assuming that's not just the bushings, W56's are cheap to pick up. Although if you're planning a swap to a V8, I'd look into a burlier transmission.

 

[Cartzo]

Assuming that's not just the bushings, W56's are cheap to pick up. Although if you're planning a swap to a V8, I'd look into a burlier transmission.

I see. I have much to learn so when the time comes I'll have to look into transmissions and engines that are compatible. My next big thing on the to do list is a solid axle swap and suspension lift.

 

[Cartzo]

I would just like to second this. Doing the work yourself helps you to know the ins and outs of YOUR truck. It's the best thing out there, because then you know who did it, how it was done, how to fix it (again if need be), and they it was done right the first time.

That being said, personally I'm fairly picky. I don't do interior work, so the interior of something i buy needs to be perfect, or easily fixed as i don't do upholstery. That being said, it could have rust on a front 1/4 panel, I dont care, those are easy to replace. Now for the rear 1/4 panel, a little harder, something I can do but don't like to if I don't have to. I can fix anything mechanical, so a blown motor or tranny doesn't scare me. That's where I live and it's my bread and butter. I've pulled engines apart and trannys apart and fixed them, so it doesn't scare me.

Overall though, I believe it's personal preference. I don't do interior fixes, and I shy away from exterior rust, just something I don't like to deal with. But if you're up to it then by all means fix it up! Make it yours. KidV knows a lot, use him as a resource and this forum too.

:cheers:

I know what you mean. I hate having things go wrong due to a previous owner fixing it the easy way. I have had many problems like that on my motorcycles. I am the second owner of my current runner and the guy before kept it pretty much stock to commute with and stuff. I also hate dealing with rust but it is nice to have a body you can beat the snot out of.

 

[tor-redneck]

i wish i would haven taken picks of my 85 when i took it off of the hill it sat on for 8 years uncovered. i spent about a week cutting out rust and welding in new, bandoing , and then rattle cannen. 4 moths later the motor blew up. do what i did. get as much of the rust out as u can. make it look good and be weather proof. your motor will go soon. mine went at about 300k with help from a river crossing. when you fianally need to rebuild it dont make the same mistake i made. i did the motor myself, minus boring and what have ya. it cost about 1100. i wish now i would have just invested in the 3.4 swap but plan to sell my new 22re soon. have fun! ps. if u can find a decent 85 with the str8 axl and 22re it would be nice. i know the sas are common but im not sure how much of a pain in the ass it is. this spring i intend on taken my body off and sand blasten it to get all the remaining rust out. gona paint the frame while im there...

 

[Night_Wolf84]

Honestly, it depends on how much you want to take on. Every part on these trucks is still available, so it's a question of time and money invested in fixing the one you've got, or more money to buy one already fixed.

I don't believe that there's any such thing as one of these 1st gens that can't be saved. My '85 I just bought has worse rust than yours, a motor that needed the head replaced, springs that are borderline unsafe to be driving on, and a myriad of little electrical issues that will need addressed come spring. And I probably haven't found all it's gremlins yet anyway. That's not stopping me, because I want this truck in good shape and I want to know that I did it.

Anything wrong with your truck mechanically can be repaired. Anything missing or broken cosmetically can be replaced. Miles aren't scary, you can roll those back by servicing your motor and trans and getting your maintenance up to date - I drove a 260,000 mile truck up and down the Pacific coast two years ago without a worry. Defrag is taking his 1st gen to the bottom of South America and back. Screw miles. I vote you hang onto it and roll up your sleeves. You're gonna love a truck that you rebuilt a lot more than a truck that somebody else rebuilt and you bought, you know?

Your truck is not a piece of junk. Ignore the rust for now and get it in sound mechanical condition, then focus on appearance later. I'm local to you, feel free to hit me up for advice or to get in on our club wrenching parties.

I agree.
Mine was more rusty than I thought after tearing into the rust repairs. Discovered a hole in the driver's fender well near the foot rest, driver's side rear fender well and underneath the driver's side rear seat.
Did all the repairs myself and couldn't be happier. Cut out all the rust till I hit clean metal, welded in a patch, threw down fiberglass resin (interior patch) + fiberglass "kitty hair" putty (outside), coated them all with POR-15, then finally coated the entire floor with POR-15 truck bed liner.

However, maybe you know Kid, but I haven't found anyone who makes replacement floor pans for the 4runners.

 

[tundrayetti]

You can do this with the right motivation. My head cracked back in August. Now, I'm good at wrenching but, I had never rebuilt an engine before. I have a friend that HAS rebuilt engines and he offered to help me if I decided to rebuild. I soon decided that I wanted to rebuild vice buying a long-block, because I wanted the experience. I didn't save much money AT ALL. And my shit doesn't have a warranty. BUT, I did it MYSELF with a little help from my buddy when it came to replacing piston rings, bearings, etc. NOTHING was more gratifying than putting her on the road for the first time a week ago (took my time on this. About to transfer to Kuwait and also had a baby in October).

I've been driving her a week now, with a fat smile on my face. Because I did it MYSELF!

You can do this as well with the right resources (KidV and his crew). Come up with a plan to rebuild your tranny since you said that should be first. Find a good resource nearby, price some parts, and like someone else said, roll up your sleeves and get to work!

One thing is for sure.....you can't finish a job until you start it.

Good luck