Urban assault's '99 4runner build

[URBAN ASSAULT]

The following is my long overdue build-thread. I purchased this truck brand new in 1999. 4Runner, Limited, 3.4, 4wd, e-locker, etc. Somewhere, I have a picture of me at the dealer on the day of purchase, smiling from ear to ear. I had several cars before and I have had several since, though I have always hung on to my 4runner. It now has 290,000 miles on it. I drove it predominantly stock for about 5 years, with mild off-roading and camping. Then, it happened. It started with innocent things like the deck-plate mod, and the grey or blue or [insert your color here] mod. I’m ok, I thought. I can stop whenever I want. Since then, I have tried multiple combinations of lifts, springs, shocks, replaced virtually everything. Yes, even that. Ball joints, bushings, cv’s, axles, etc. I am on a first name basis with the UPS driver. Modifying/working on the truck is a disease, and I have it, and I like it. The future mod list is long and distinguished.

I should have done this thread a long time ago. I think I first discovered this site back in '07. I've lurked for years and have benefitted greatly.

Special thanks to: [MENTION=67615]Dirtco[/MENTION], [MENTION=47153]Stockwell45[/MENTION], [MENTION=4776]Scotty[/MENTION]C, [MENTION=47945]brian2sun[/MENTION], [MENTION=44220]BigFishAllDay[/MENTION], [MENTION=47896]ADH8796[/MENTION], [MENTION=58830]ARKRWLR[/MENTION], [MENTION=34852]crazydubman[/MENTION], and countless others.

Rather than showing pictures of lots of things you have already seen, I will focus on the things which are unique or different from others. I will simply list the more conventional mods, if I can remember what I have done.

Seriously, next time I am just going to build a tube buggy and weld on some Toyota body panels. It will be so much easier.

I used the little overhead cubby for my ScanGauge II. I never used it for sunglasses, and I wanted a heads-up display for the gauge. I made some little 'L' brackets and ran the wire under the headliner and down the pillar to the OBD port.

I sprayed the cargo area with bedliner. I removed the cardboard/carpet seat backs and replaced with treadplate. It is not uncommon for me to have a load of firewood, stone, or dirty bikes in the back. Carpet had to go.

My take on the 2x2 square slider. Thanks Dirtco. I double angled the front end of the slider. 30 degrees down and 30 degrees in. Front of passenger slider in pic. Welded scab plates to frame, then sliders to plate. I used 4 legs which was overkill. If I had it to do over again, I would use 3. I over-engineer everything.

Deckplate mod Diff breathers
Optima Redtop Trail-gear battery mount
Toytec front coil-overs Sonoran Steel LC rear springs (likely soon to be 861's)
SonoranPanhard bar Daystar comp bump stops
Lower Link Skids, Toytec link armor, Budbuilt skid plate
Method Wheels 315/75/16 Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs
T.A.G. Bumpers Bed Liner rockers, flares, and cargo area
1” Body Lift Super Stealth CB install

I was born in Arizona, and grew up in California. As a kid, my Dad and I had a stock class desert racing truck. I went to college in Missouri, more school in Philadelphia, PA, and have lived in Texas, Utah, Maryland, and now Georgia. I have wheeled or camped in each of these states among others. Off-roading in Georgia is fun, but nothing like the west.

I placed some louvers in the hood. Yes, they are functional. One of the first 'real mods' that I did. I didn't want a fake or functional hood scoop for my V6. Though, every engine can benefit from running cooler. I love them, though there was a moment of trepidation as I stood over my hood with a whirling cut-off wheel. Also, in this pic you can see the Hella DRL's which I fab'd into the little trim piece below the headlight. My parking or clear corner marker light now houses my amber LED turn signal. Again, a little spin on another Dirtco idea. His builds haunt me and keep me up at night. The bed-liner fender flares are also visible. Used "Bed Armor by Duplicolor" sprayed with an undercoating gun from Harbor Freight at 90psi.

The way it used to look:

Cut off front 2" hoop, bent up 1.75" tube and installed with more angle.

Will gather some more pics and post-up soon.
Thanks.

 

[URBAN ASSAULT]

A few more pics: I will go into more detail soon.

Picked up some heavy scars on the lower links from wheelin' trips like that. Added the Toytec armor for peace of mind and protection:

And for entertainment purposes:

Amps under backseat, in place of factory jack:

I made a downfiring sub box to protect subs from all of my cargo

Beefy enough to stack things on top:

Will update more pics and details soon. Thanks!

 

[Slow_T4R]

Wow, great build! Love the look of your runner and its awesome you've owned it since new!

 

[4runner269]

Good lookin rig! I wish mine was half as built as yours..

 

[downpour11]

Great build! Nice co2 tank too, how's it working for ya? Is it the one from Powertank.com?

 

[JWaldz]

Yea, I'd say you were long overdue.. I was too so no worries lol. 4Runner looks great! Love the louvers in the hood. Do you get a lot of water, debris or junk in your engine bay now?

 

[Skidmarcx]

Awesome build... Well thought out

 

[URBAN ASSAULT]

Wow, great build! Love the look of your runner and its awesome you've owned it since new!

Thanks!

Good lookin rig! I wish mine was half as built as yours..

Thanks! It is a never ending process. But I love it. I have a running list of projects. I seem to complete one and then add 3 more to the list everytime.

Great build! Nice co2 tank too, how's it working for ya? Is it the one from Powertank.com?

Thanks. It is. Love it. It is one of their scratch & dents. Their website has a link for those, which are cheaper. You just don't get to choose options (i.e. color). I was hoping for anything other than yellow, but....beggers can't be choosers. Local beverage company refills it for $10. Can't beat it.

 

[murdarunna19]

Likin the vents on the hood, good alternative to the scoop

 

[URBAN ASSAULT]

Yea, I'd say you were long overdue.. I was too so no worries lol. 4Runner looks great! Love the louvers in the hood. Do you get a lot of water, debris or junk in your engine bay now?

Thanks! Maybe a bit, but really haven't noticed too much of a difference. The louvers are angled and have a little channel that keeps a lot of stuff from running in there.

Here is a recent pic of the truck sucking up some seafoam into the intake. No more wear and tear than usual. I'm not exactly sporting a lot of bling though. I think I get more junk from underneath and the wheel wells.

Awesome build... Well thought out

Thanks! I think I went through a lot of unnecessary steps, to get to the current configuration. And it will still likely change a few more times.

 

[crazydubman]

Looking great man. Really liking the well thought out mods to this thing.

How much extra sound is there now with the lack of carpet in the cargo area?

With the addition of the cage and cargo shelving in the back of mine coming soon, I'm curious whether I should consider something like this as well.

Keep up the great work. I'm glad to finally see a build thread from you. Long overdue but never too late. :wave:

 

[BigFishAllDay]

URBAN ASSAULT, What's going on man!? Good to see you on a better forum. I've read through your build over on YT, but I just can't bring myself to post over there anymore. I always meant to jump on and say thanks for the shout out in your intro, though.

It's a funny coincidence to me that you posted this today because I was driving home last night, and no sh&t, I was thinking about your build and your hood louvers. I was trying to think of something I could do to spice up the hood on my '97 and your build came to mind.

Anyway, great rig, I dig the whole thing and welcome to T4R.org. BTW, you should add your signature line about you and your 4Runner being like dirty old men, that was funny.

 

[URBAN ASSAULT]

Likin the vents on the hood, good alternative to the scoop

Thanks! I wanted something functional, but my tired ol' V6 doesn't need anything fancy. Though, every engine can benefit from running cooler.

Looking great man. Really liking the well thought out mods to this thing.

How much extra sound is there now with the lack of carpet in the cargo area?

With the addition of the cage and cargo shelving in the back of mine coming soon, I'm curious whether I should consider something like this as well.

Keep up the great work. I'm glad to finally see a build thread from you. Long overdue but never too late. :wave:

Thanks! There was a noticeable increase in road noise initially. I'm used to it now, so don't notice it. When I did the stereo stuff I put dynamat on all doors and floor in passenger area. This helped considerably and road noise is now probably close to stock.

Thanks again! I'm about to copy your upper link build.

 

[JWaldz]

Are you locked up front as well? Didn't see that mentioned but noticed the shiny new looking compressor and blue air line

 

[JamesDean91]

Sweet looking rig going to keep following to read what else is exactly done.

 

[Stockwell45]

Nice to see you over here! Your 4runner is way too nice to hide from the rest of the 3rd gen world.

 

[spenedwrds]

Sick rig man!! Glanced at your build on YT to! See your in atl. I'm about a hour north in gainesville. We should get a group together sometime. If love to see some other rigs

 

[URBAN ASSAULT]

URBAN ASSAULT, What's going on man!? Good to see you on a better forum. I've read through your build over on YT, but I just can't bring myself to post over there anymore. I always meant to jump on and say thanks for the shout out in your intro, though.

It's a funny coincidence to me that you posted this today because I was driving home last night, and no sh&t, I was thinking about your build and your hood louvers. I was trying to think of something I could do to spice up the hood on my '97 and your build came to mind.

Anyway, great rig, I dig the whole thing and welcome to T4R.org. BTW, you should add your signature line about you and your 4Runner being like dirty old men, that was funny.

Ha Thanks!! Yeah, I'm lovin' the positivity here on T4R and all the modern features (@mentions, likes, tags, etc).
I purchased the louvers here: Lots of options.
It was one of my first real mods years ago. I have never regretted them.
Oh yeah! I forgot my sig line! I will post here and add my sig.
"My 4Runner and I are quickly becoming dirty ol' men. More attitude and less flexibility each year."

Thanks again!

Are you locked up front as well? Didn't see that mentioned but noticed the shiny new looking compressor and blue air line

I am locked and loaded. I took that pic right after the install about a year ago. I use the front locker sparingly to protect all the bits, but it has come in handy several times and made all the difference.
A pain to install though:

 

[Big D's 4Runner]

Sick rig man!! Glanced at your build on YT to! See your in atl. I'm about a hour north in gainesville. We should get a group together sometime. If love to see some other rigs

I agree Im in Commerce about 5 minutes from the Atlanta Dragstrip. I would like to meet up with some fellow t4rs and have a meet and greet and get some ideas. Even possible plan a wheeling trip. Im still rolling stock but getting ideas everyday and his build just put a lot more on the list.

 

[Fishwerks]

:welcome: