The Volunteer 1985 22REC Build

[robert.levi]

DISCLAIMER: I'm starting this thread on multiple forums to gather as much information as possible so I apologize if you've already seen this.


Hey bros, just picked up this 1985 4Runner 22REC with 130k on the original engine.

A little history behind it: I scoured the internet every night towards the end of my tour in Afghanistan looking for a great 4Runner. I saw the posting for this truck - which I thought was perfect - and contacted the owner but was deterred by the $6500 price tag. Also, it was in Mobile, AL, while I was in Nashville, TN.

But by the time I got home I still hadn't found what I was looking for and the truck was still listed on CL. So I sacked up and decided to take a leap of faith. I flew down to New Orleans, where the owner met me. The truck was definitely in great shape, but with a little wear and tear here and there. Most importantly though, it had been garage kept with absolutely no rust on the frame or body, except for a dime size bubble in the paint below the gas cap (of course).

I bought it for $5700, which I now believe was a high. I followed the owner home to Mobile to notarize the bill of sale (his mother was the official owner) and then I turned north and held her at a steady ~65mph for about 10 hrs. Absolutely no problems to speak of up to this point, except I had to have a new AC compressor installed for R134 (prior owner disclosed this), which was out of my scope of mechanic ability.

The previous owner added the visor, which he drilled into the frame (!) and added the original Toyota decals (although I believe that particular design was originally intended for the Pickups). He also added the running boards. On the inside (which is in awesome condition save a single rip in the driver's seat), he added some pioneer speaker in the rear, so I presume he cut into those panels. Otherwise she's bone stock.

I'm ready to start sinking some money in to the her, but I'm looking for guidance on which direction to take her. Originally, my plan was to build up a respectable expedition vehicle that I can use for a daily driver (the 22RE's MPG was a major buying point for me). My initial concern was all-bolt on additions, no permanent cutting/welding. I'm pretty much ready to pull the trigger on the Old Man Emu 2.5" heavy lift, but I'm getting caught up in finding the right front/rear bumpers. Pretty much all of my options involve at least cutting brackets, if not major welds to the frame. Part of me wants to say, "F- it, lets get crazy and make the beast how I want her." But part of me also says, "Whoa, If I put in a little bit of work and got her to a 'Restored' condition I could probably sell her for at least $8500 in CA (where I'm moving to in a 9 months)." And then I could buy another, cheaper 4Runner that I felt more comfortable cutting into. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS?

So at this point these are the upgrades I'm considering most:
-OME 2.5" Heavy Lift
-33x10.5" or 285/75/16 (~32.8x11.2") Tires (leaning towards Toyo Open Country M/T)
-16" wheels
-Yukon 4.88 gears
-Marlin V6 IFS performance brake combo
-Custom front bumper (either CBI DIY or Badlands Baja/Basher)
-Custom rear swing out bumper. (Probably Badlands swing out).
-Softopper/bikini top

A few questions:

For those running the OME suspension, have you had to add Hysteer/adujustable drop drag link/custom pitman arm? Do you find any rubbing with 33's? I've been researching this for a hot minute and haven't found any definitive answer (including one from ARB).

Any advice is welcomed. Thanks guys -RL

 

[KidVermicious]

I'm running an OME light duty lift on my '85. The OME is much flexier than the stock suspension and I've had to trim and pound the front fender wells and I still rub with my 255/85 KM2s. I would stay at 265s or plan on shoving your front axle forward a touch. I've had no trouble so far with the stock push-pull steering, but I'm planning on going crossover anyway so I can push my own axle forward an inch without having to build a custom draglink. I don't think there's room for the standard high-steer with just the OME lift, so you'll need to come up with something custom or leave it stock. I have just such a custom setup in the works, and if I ever finish farting around with my motor I'll get some details in my build thread .

If you don't mind me asking, what are you talking about when you say "expedition vehicle"? I think you may be going about this build all wrong, but tell us more about what you want the truck to do. What kind of wheeling have you done? What kind of wheeling do you want to do? What other trucks have you owned, and what didn't you like about them?

 

[robert.levi]

Thanks for the comments, I really appreciate y'all putting in the time to share your thoughts. I previously owned a F150 XLT 5.4 V8 2008 with a mostly cosmetic 6" Rough Country lift and ran 35x12.5 Toyos M/T. Before my deployment I came to the conclusion that I didn't need $20k+ in a truck that was getting near 10mpg. After seeing the Taliban run the f- out of 1980's Hiluxs I knew I needed a Toyota. I fell in love with the 1st Gen 4Runners for their versatility and compatibility with my lifestyle.

Right now, this is my daily driver, which the 22RE is great for since it's getting around 20mpg. As a daily driver I didn't want to get too crazy with the suspension, seeing in particular I don't rock crawl and I'm not looking for maximum articulation. But I use it regularly on fire trails/dirt roads during work. I also hope to start using it toward long range expeditions, beginning in the western US, maybe up to Alaska, and eventually all the way down to the southern tip of South America and then back. That's why I'm pushing this towards an expedition style vehicle and I've been focusing on the OME with 33x10.5's. But to be honest from what I'm finding the OME suspension is great standalone, but when you consider the steering components it seems as though going to crossover is the best option and if I'm going to start cutting and welding might as well go with a 4" or 5" lift. But as a daily driver and someone who does not wheel recreationally too often I can't sacrifice my road driving ability too much. So this is how I see it:

Option 1 (stock): upgrade to OME soft suspension and larger wheels only. Try to correct everything to bone stock. Plan on selling in one to two years and just buy a beaten up 4runner and then do what I really want.

Option 2 (expedition): upgrade to the OME heavy lift, upgrade front and rear armor, drop in 4.88s, V6 IFS premium brakes, maybe some engine mods.

Option 3: get crazy with it and start cutting and welding, starting with a 4-5" lift and following on from there. Only probably with this becomes now Im looking at moving the axle forward, changing the driveshaft, etc etc. Down the rabbit hole I go.

So that's what I'm thinking. Opinions?

 

[KidVermicious]

For an overlander build, I'd stick with the OME, but I'd go 265/65r16 or 31s instead of 33s. If you're not running huge lift or planning on heavy rock crawling, the stock steering will be fine. The difference between the light duty and heavy duty OME springs is just an add-a-leaf, so I'd order light duty and then see if you need a touch more.

If you foresee goopy muddy tracks, a locker of some sort wouldn't hurt.

Whether you add bumpers and winch and tire carrier and all that is a weight vs. functionality question - these trucks get all over Africa and South America just fine in stock condition, but if you're going to be on the road for a while and far far from home, winches are a great security blanket, and a rear tire carrier can also mount extra gas cans or a cooler and free up space in the back of the truck. That's really a personal call, but every pound you add to the truck in the form of armor and such is another pound of gear you can't carry...

 

[maco33]

That truck is super sexy as it is, i'd leave it stock.

 

[85_4Runner]

Well this is a surprise! I was searching the forum for builds of '85 models and pulled up a thread on my own truck.

Apparently the OP lost interest in the truck pretty quickly, for one reason or another, because he was on here just after buying it in 2013, and I bought it exactly one year later - but not from him!

All the discussion of possible mods seems a bit premature to me, as the truck first has several needs in terms of deferred maintenance, typical of a 30 year old vehicle. It's not ready to be a DD yet.

I haven't had time to do much with it yet, but have been gradually doing a little at a time. The first things I did, soon after I bought it, were some cosmetic details. I hated the visor and the running boards so I yanked those off pretty quickly. Unfortunately the PO who installed that completely unnecessary visor drilled a bunch of holes right through the sheetmetal to do it, as mentioned. The truck is at the body shop right now to get the holes fixed.

Once I get the mechanical issues with the truck sorted, the basic mods I hope to do will be:

- rock sliders
- OME suspension
- 4.88 gears
- 235/85R16 BFGs
- suitable rear bumper

As far as lift is concerned, I want to keep it to a minimum. I'm more interested in increasing flex/droop than ride height. These first-gen trucks have a narrow track width and I'm not planning to change that.

Cheers,
Bruce

 

[BigRyan1986]

Well this is a surprise! I was searching the forum for builds of '85 models and pulled up a thread on my own truck.

Apparently the OP lost interest in the truck pretty quickly, for one reason or another, because he was on here just after buying it in 2013, and I bought it exactly one year later - but not from him!

All the discussion of possible mods seems a bit premature to me, as the truck first has several needs in terms of deferred maintenance, typical of a 30 year old vehicle. It's not ready to be a DD yet.

I haven't had time to do much with it yet, but have been gradually doing a little at a time. The first things I did, soon after I bought it, were some cosmetic details. I hated the visor and the running boards so I yanked those off pretty quickly. Unfortunately the PO who installed that completely unnecessary visor drilled a bunch of holes right through the sheetmetal to do it, as mentioned. The truck is at the body shop right now to get the holes fixed.

Once I get the mechanical issues with the truck sorted, the basic mods I hope to do will be:

- rock sliders
- OME suspension
- 4.88 gears
- 235/85R16 BFGs
- suitable rear bumper

As far as lift is concerned, I want to keep it to a minimum. I'm more interested in increasing flex/droop than ride height. These first-gen trucks have a narrow track width and I'm not planning to change that.

Cheers,
Bruce

Thats funny. Small world. Good luck with your build nice rig though

 

[Chuckles89]

Welcome! I remember your truck being on craigslist for a while (last year). Glad you took the visor and running boards off! I hated those lol.

Good luck on getting her back in shape!

 

[Chuckles89]

Oh yeah, your mod wishlist looks awesome! You will love those tires! Make sure to get them while they last. I've heard rumors of BFG slowly discountinuing the KO.

 

[85_4Runner]

Actually I have a set of tires in that size already, which were on a different vehicle that I'll be selling soon. So just planning to re-use them on the 4Runner. But I figure I'm going to need to re-gear along with that.

Yeah the accessories had to go, and I also had to remove one other special one-off mod to this truck...somebody had outlined the windows of the factory rims with red paint. It was a decent color match for the body color, but still, I wasn't feeling it. It looked like wheel lipstick to me, LOL.

Looking forward to fixing her up as time and money permit. This little truck is growing on me for sure.

Thanks all for the comments.

 

[MT Tatman]

For how you use it, I wouldn't change anything unless it's broken. Maybe get some durable BFG 31x10.5 tires. Its a fully capable rig for what you plan on doing. Winch might be handy to add.

 

[Nervo19]

It's funny you found the abbreviated "build thread." I think at this point we are all passing around the same 15 1st gens. Yours looks so much better without the visor and running boards. I passed on a 4Runner with a visor a long time ago. How many screws held it to the roof? If you don't mind can we see close up pictures of where it was mounted when you get it back?

 

[85_4Runner]

It's funny you found the abbreviated "build thread." I think at this point we are all passing around the same 15 1st gens.

I think that sounds about right! There don't seem to be many 1st gens still on the road, but of course they're antiques now. I don't mind though; I'm excited about getting mine fixed up and wheeling it. I had been interested for years in finding a clean, original '85 mini-truck.

When I get it back from the body shop, I won't be able to take pictures of the holes any more. But I can go by there tomorrow and see if they've started on it yet. If not, I can snap a few pics. Basically there are a couple holes drilled in the front-center of the roof and also near the tops of the A-pillars. So was this visor thing a pretty common accessory back in the day? Who supplied them? And who asked that question, anyway? (Hmm...it's a pretty capable rig, it just needs a big ol' external visor...)

The reason they may not have started the work at the shop yet is that I had also asked them to replace all the window gaskets/run channels/etc. for the doors. But it seems the vent window gaskets are NLA from Toyota. So we're kind of stumped. Does anybody know of a source for those?

 

[KidVermicious]

I think that sounds about right! There don't seem to be many 1st gens still on the road, but of course they're antiques now. I don't mind though; I'm excited about getting mine fixed up and wheeling it. I had been interested for years in finding a clean, original '85 mini-truck.

When I get it back from the body shop, I won't be able to take pictures of the holes any more. But I can go by there tomorrow and see if they've started on it yet. If not, I can snap a few pics. Basically there are a couple holes drilled in the front-center of the roof and also near the tops of the A-pillars. So was this visor thing a pretty common accessory back in the day? Who supplied them? And who asked that question, anyway? (Hmm...it's a pretty capable rig, it just needs a big ol' external visor...)

The reason they may not have started the work at the shop yet is that I had also asked them to replace all the window gaskets/run channels/etc. for the doors. But it seems the vent window gaskets are NLA from Toyota. So we're kind of stumped. Does anybody know of a source for those?

Slacker still makes those visors, for anybody looking for the classic look.

As for what they're for, who the hell knows? Just like anything you can buy for a truck today, 95% of them got bought and installed because somebody wanted some bling.

 

[Nervo19]

I remember that there were not a lot of accessories for 1st gens. I guess it's hard to improve on perfection. The J.C. Whitney catalog pretty much had the visors, made by Lund, running boards and Kayline soft tops. I had a soft top and it only cost about $350.

Lund still makes visors for other cars BTW.

 

[85_4Runner]

Interesting that you mentioned JC Whitney...I have felt like I was on sort of a mission to undo the "JC Whitnification" of this truck. Hahaha
To each his own...the good part was that these minor cosmetic mods were pretty easy to reverse. Addressing the mechanical needs is going to take more effort.