TheeMikeB Build Thread

[TheeMikeB]

Well it’s been about 4 years in the making and I owe a tremendous amount of my build to this site and its members. When I started out on this site I had one goal in mind and that was to build a 4Runner capable enough to wheel the Rubicon. Last week that goal was achieved and I decided that since I drew so much inspiration from other build threads on here, that I would give back and post up mine in hopes to inspire others out there.

My story to getting in a 3rd gen begins with a series of bad vehicle decisions including letting go of my baby; an 01 Thundercloud Grey Tundra V8 that I had since day one, it was setup Pre-runner style since I am originally from SoCal and was a river and desert rat. So I loaded bikes in her in the winter and towed my boat in the summer. It had tons of mods including SAW front coils, exhaust and it was paid off… uggghh That is and will forever be the one that got away.

Then I moved up to Nor Cal and decided I wanted a 4wd V8 for the snow, so traded in my Tundra and got a 07 Limited 4th gen V8… ummm hello super high car payment! That got old real quick, especially since I was taking BART to work every day and that thing basically sat in either my driveway or the BART parking lot. I think I put about 10K miles on it in 2 years. So I decided to ditch the car payment and sell that and get something I could pay cash for and have money left over for mods. Because in the back of my head I knew that someday I wanted to wheel the Rubicon.

So having lead with that… I ended up with this 100% stock 3rd gen back in Oct 09. 2001 4Runner SR5, 113K miles and I think I paid about $7500.

When I first got her:

How she sits today:

 

[TheeMikeB]

My first mod was the “poor man lift” and removed those heinous running boards.

BAM massive clearance increase! Lol

 

[TheeMikeB]

Like most others out there, I was at a crossroads with lift and tires. I needed tires and therefore had to decide on my lift. I spent countless hours on this site reading and searching in order to decide what the best solution was for me. At the time this was my DD but I knew that it wouldn’t always be and that since my ultimate goal was the Rubicon I decided to never compromise off road ability for on road ability.
After reading the stickies and all the ‘what size tires’ and ‘what’s the biggest I can put on there without rubbing’ threads. I decided on a 285/75/16 size tire and the brand I picked was the MAXXIS Bighorn MT.
As for my lift, I pieced it together and went with: OME 883 with 9004 Shocks from Toytec, I got some used LX470 8.25/8.75 wraps from iH8mud, Tokico Trekmaster Shocks from Autoparts warehouse, and an adjustable panhard bar from Sonoran Steel.
I didn’t get any install pictures of my lift install but I have some of the before and afters:

Before stock on 265/75/16s

Front OME883/9004s installed rear still stock:

Front and Rear

Front Closeup:

Rear Closeup:

From the back:

From the front:

The next day I picked up my 285/75/16 MAXXIS Bighorn MTs and got an alignment:

Front Closeup

Rear Closeup

From the back:

From the Front:

 

[Climber]

Man it looks great!! nice job with the lift and tires! just a couple things tho, Any rubbing with those 285s? and it may be just me but how are you measurements on all four corners? the front right and rear left look a bit lower compared to the other corners but it may just be me. Either way it looks great :rockon:

 

[TheeMikeB]

Man it looks great!! nice job with the lift and tires! just a couple things tho, Any rubbing with those 285s? and it may be just me but how are you measurements on all four corners? the front right and rear left look a bit lower compared to the other corners but it may just be me. Either way it looks great :rockon:

I did have some rubbing on the rear, it used to rub the stock rear bumper when stuffed and some on the gas filler nozzle inside the rear fender. The new CBI rear bumper fixed the bumper contact and the wheel spacers helped the nozzle contact.

I also had some in the front, still do sometimes but I have yet to pound in the pinch welds in the inside fender.

As for the measurements I would need to check, those pics are a few years old and the lift has settled some since then. Typically the driver sides sit a bit higher due to longer springs to compensate for driver weight and the fuel tank. Not sure which pic specifically you are referring to though. When I get some time I'll post my current measurements.

 

[Climber]

I did have some rubbing on the rear, it used to rub the stock rear bumper when stuffed and some on the gas filler nozzle inside the rear fender. The new CBI rear bumper fixed the bumper contact and the wheel spacers helped the nozzle contact.

I also had some in the front, still do sometimes but I have yet to pound in the pinch welds in the inside fender.

As for the measurements I would need to check, those pics are a few years old and the lift has settled some since then. Typically the driver sides sit a bit higher due to longer springs to compensate for driver weight and the fuel tank. Not sure which pic specifically you are referring to though. When I get some time I'll post my current measurements.

That would make sense as the springs and shocks weren't settled and makes sense for the weight of driver. I just noticed and wanted to make sure I wasn't crazy

 

[SCRunner12]

Well finally! haha Glad to see you're getting this going because it has changed a ton since the first time we went wheeling. Do you still have that dent on your rocker panel from the rock?

I'll post these pictures up just for fun...




It was such a baby back then.

 

[TheeMikeB]

Well finally! haha Glad to see you're getting this going because it has changed a ton since the first time we went wheeling. Do you still have that dent on your rocker panel from the rock?

Ha hey Robert, yeah I really did mean to start this thread a loooooong time ago but it just didn't happen. Life has been crazy busy the last few years and I'm finally settled enough to contribute.

I do still have a small dent there and I have a few more after Rubicon last week, my armor for SURE has dents in in now but that's what it's for.

Seeing those wheeling pics make me laugh now, you said it right it was such a "baby" back then. But then again you were in that 2nd gen 3.slow too. We both have come a long way!

 

[hrt4me]

looks good!

 

[TheeMikeB]

looks good!

Thanks, I have a bunch more to post, I'm trying to organize all my pics and try to remember everything that I did. Stay tuned :snacker:

 

[TheeMikeB]

My next mod ended up being an ARB front bumper that I scored off Craigslist for $400. It was used but complete. Had to drive out to sac to get it but it was still about 1/2 of new so what the hell.

Here is she is before the install:

Front Bumper removed:

A bit better pic with more flash:

Here are the removed parts. I ended up selling these for a few hundred bucks so the ARB was just about free!

Impact bar removed and front tabs already cut off. I thought it was funny that my frame had dried mud in there. And this is exactly why I HATE mud. (no ref to 1h8mud lol)

Here it is all bolted on. I didn’t bother to do write up as it’s been done several times before.

Total install took me about 2 or 3 hours all by myself.

 

[42s on u]

That old bumper went on my 97...

 

[SCRunner12]

Ha hey Robert, yeah I really did mean to start this thread a loooooong time ago but it just didn't happen. Life has been crazy busy the last few years and I'm finally settled enough to contribute.

I do still have a small dent there and I have a few more after Rubicon last week, my armor for SURE has dents in in now but that's what it's for.

Seeing those wheeling pics make me laugh now, you said it right it was such a "baby" back then. But then again you were in that 2nd gen 3.slow too. We both have come a long way!

Yeah we've both come a long way, but yours has grown up quite a bit more than mine. The 4runner is looking so sweet and I'm super jealous you made it to the Rubicon. Unfortunately I don't see my 4runner heading there anytime soon, but hopefully I can pick up a 1st gen and build it how I want.

You thinking of bumping up to 35's at some point?

 

[TheeMikeB]

That old bumper went on my 97...

Yup! It sure did, do you still have it and is it still working out for you? I have yet to get to the part when I explain my accident and new ARB bumper but I may leave that part out.

Yeah we've both come a long way, but yours has grown up quite a bit more than mine. The 4runner is looking so sweet and I'm super jealous you made it to the Rubicon. Unfortunately I don't see my 4runner heading there anytime soon, but hopefully I can pick up a 1st gen and build it how I want.

You thinking of bumping up to 35's at some point?

At this point i'm not sure which direction I want to go. Part of me just loves modding and building so I'm constantly looking at parts and things to change. But my rig is really 'done' for the most part. But I search CL everyday for SAS'd rigs and crawlers for ideas and to see what's out there.

I considered 35s but I built and geared it with 33s in mind. I still like the fact that it's capable of long road drives with good manners. So for now no plans for 35s. Unless I SAS

 

[hrt4me]

Yup! It sure did, do you still have it and is it still working out for you? I have yet to get to the part when I explain my accident and new ARB bumper but I may leave that part out

let's hear it...

 

[42s on u]

Yup! It sure did, do you still have it and is it still working out for you? I have yet to get to the part when I explain my accident and new ARB bumper but I may leave that part out.

No I sold the 97 around 6 months later. Got offered a good chunk of change for it, I sold it right there and thumbed a ride home...

I've now got a 2000 silver sport that I just put 35's under.

 

[TheeMikeB]

let's hear it...

OK back to my thread, the Holidays and my kids have been keeping me really busy so I haven't had time to add to my thread. Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy and safe New Year.

So the accident... ok not really all that exciting but overall it did lead me to finally permanently disconnect my ABS in this damn truck.

I was coming home one night and was being dumb messing with the radio as I approached a stop light. Unfortunately there was a nice Lexus IS250 stopped in front of me, I jammed on the brakes and I SWEAR the ABS pulsing added 10 feet to my stop. I've been driving long enough and enough vehicles to know that ANY other car in the WORLD would have stopped in time without hitting that lady. I know other members here can attest to the shitty ABS on these trucks.

At any rate... my fault I admit. Lucky nobody was hurt which was more than I could say for her Lexus. We pulled over.. she wanted to call the cops and I told her that CA law is non-injury accident does not need police involvement but she insisted. I allowed her to call the police and they kindly told her the same thing. No injury... we aren't coming.

We exchanged information and we were both on our way home shortly after. At first I didnt' think there was any damage to my truck but upon further inspection I noticed that the ARB did in fact do what it was supposed to. The crush zones in the bumper brackets absorbed all the impact. It pushed it slightly up and into my front fenders and they needed to be repaired but it was pretty minor.

Took it to the body shope and overall it kind of worked in my favor. The hood and fenders of my truck had pretty bad paint on them. It looked like the previous owner got something on the hood like egg or sap and it ate the paint up a bit on them. The fenders which were damaged got repainted and I sweet talked them into doing the hood stating some of the scratches were due to the brush guard on the ARB getting pushed into it during the accident. Since I needed a new grille too I got them to give me a black limited one instead of the chrome colored one. The bumper was damaged and I got a brand new ARB too and sold my old one to a member here. All he needed to do was get new mounting brackets from ARB.

I didn't take any pics of the truck after the accident for some reason but here are a few pics of the bumper after I took it off. These are the pics I used to sell it. (I gave full disclosure to the buyer of the accident too)

 

[TheeMikeB]

At this point since I had a lift/tires and the ARB bumper, I decided armor was the next thing to do. I decided on the Bud Builts full set (belly pan and skid plate) So I put my order in and waited patiently.

And one day I found this on my doorstep:

This is just the skid plate itself the belly pan came separate. But you can see this thing is HUGE.

Here is the full set, belly and skid:

I wiped the entire set down with TSP to prepare for paint. I used this stuff:

 

[TheeMikeB]

I taped off an area on my side yard to paint these beasts and went to town. I think I used two coats but I can't remember.

Skid on the left and belly on the right:

 

[TheeMikeB]

After paint was install time. I waited a day after I painted them for the paint to dry. I didn't have any help as usual so I used my trusty floor jack to help lift the skid into place.

Here you can see I already mounted the support bracket to the steering rack.

A few bolts later it was on:

Skid from front:

Belly Pan shot

These pics were taken when I was putting my sliders on which is why they look dirty/and scratched already but this gives an idea of the protection: