Author Topic: Scott Wilson's 1988 4Runner Build, Version 2.0 (Read 115735 times)

swilson · « **Reply #120 on:** Mar 09, 2018, 10:06:30 PM »

Never got to the bottom of exactly what the issue with my welder was. I've switched to a new cylinder of gas, but still from the same shop. Still occasionally have a porous weld for no good reason. I plan to get another cylinder from a larger gas supplier and see if that solves my woes. Today it was working well enough I finished the rear bumper.

I don't plan to build a swing-out for this year, but it's something I imagine I'll do in the future. I went ahead and welded in two spindles... planning ahead. This way when I build the swing outs I don't have to have the bumper powder coated again. I took a close up of how the mounting point for the side-protection ties into one of the main mounting bolts for the bumper. Slick design. Thanks Luke.

swilson · « **Reply #121 on:** Mar 12, 2018, 05:16:26 AM »

Mounted up the All Pro front bumper this weekend. Because of the custom frame it was far from a bolt on job. I ended up fabricating a 1/4" plate to mate to the bumper, then added that to the 4Runner frame. Had to trim the top plates of the bumper to clear the grill because my frame sits over 1" higher than a stock frame in front. Made the plate factory-style with captured nuts. Bumper has 8, 1/2" bolts, plus two body mount bolts holding it to the frame... plus the frame is twice as thick as the factory. I think it'll hold up.

Didn't like the AP shackle mounts. They didn't look like they'd take a side load very well, and hung down unnecessarily. I cut them away. I'll just pull from the winch cable, or a soft strap around the round tube on the bottom of the bumper. It's finally got a face!

THK Matt · « **Reply #122 on:** Mar 14, 2018, 10:13:35 AM »

looks badass Scott! I must know, whats with the cut in the fender?

swilson · « **Reply #123 on:** Mar 14, 2018, 10:16:23 AM »

I'm going to flare the stock fenders to cover the tires a little better. I plan to drive this on the road, so I'm hoping to attract less attention from CHP.

wing nut · « **Reply #124 on:** Mar 14, 2018, 06:47:05 PM »

Awesome build man! Loving the fab skills. So with the use of the ori struts, was there no reason to install the 4wu bumpstops? Will you end up just using the ori bumps? Keep up the awesome work!

swilson · « **Reply #125 on:** Mar 14, 2018, 07:03:24 PM »

Quote from: wing nut on Mar 14, 2018, 06:47:05 PM

Awesome build man! Loving the fab skills. So with the use of the ori struts, was there no reason to install the 4wu bumpstops? Will you end up just using the ori bumps? Keep up the awesome work!

Thanks for the support!

I won't know for sure until it's on the trail. I think the poly bumps may still be in play when one wheel is stuffed and the other is at full droop. As far as on-road or higher speed bumps, it'll just be hitting the built in ORI bumps. If it turns out the poly bumps aren't making contact at all, I'll space them down.

wing nut · « **Reply #126 on:** Mar 24, 2018, 12:08:38 PM »

Anymore pics or progress? I am loving this build!

swilson · « **Reply #127 on:** Mar 26, 2018, 09:33:30 PM »

Thanks!

This week I set the pinion angle on the rear axle, welded in the spring perches, and installed the rear driveshaft. Then I went about mounting the rear shocks. I decided to make the top mount with multiple mounting options, and tucked it up as high as I could, taking advantage of the body lift again. For the lower shock mounts I wanted them on the back side of the axle tube and reasonably indestructible.

Had these shocks on the top shelf in the garage when the house burned down. They definitely saw some smoke and heat. Probably won't be running these, but they worked for getting my mounts setup.

swilson · « **Reply #128 on:** Mar 26, 2018, 09:37:12 PM »

I put a couple of new tools to work too. Awhile back I bought the SWAG band saw table which converts a hand held Milwakee bandsaw into a stationary tool. I LOVE THIS TOOL. I've never had a band saw in my shop before. It was great the other week cutting the super thick spindles to length for the rear bumper swing-outs. This week I was using it to slice up some tubing to add some strength back into the top of my shock mount. I imagine once I get moved home I'll keep an eye out for a good deal on a full size bandsaw.

I also got these plasma stencils from 911 Motorsports. These are a must have if you have a plasma cutter. They take into consideration the diameter of the tip on your plasma torch so you can quickly cut out accurate circles and squares.

84 yota dude · « **Reply #129 on:** Mar 27, 2018, 12:26:15 AM »

Schweet! Handy looking tools and clean work.

Is that a new marlin crawler flexible pan hard strap? Looks really light weight! hahaha

swilson · « **Reply #130 on:** Apr 01, 2018, 10:25:42 PM »

Got the dash installed with the new cap on it, but forgot to take a photo. One painful lesson learned is that you should have your vents installed when you glue the cap down. I was stuck with using a Dremmel to open up the holes in the cap so that I could get them reinstalled. Not a big deal, but it would have looked cleaner without the extra grinding. I also can't find a spray dye that matches the factory gray, so I'm leaving it black.

Went to make brake lines for the rear axle, but that turned into hours of garage cleaning, since I couldn't find my brake fittings. Not necessarily a bad thing. I eventually found them, but didn't have enough to do the job, so I moved on to the gas tank. I got the parking brake cable reinstalled neatly out of the way of the tank, but still haven't formed a game plan for marrying the old cable with the two new cables coming out of the FROR rear brake setup.

I did figure out fuel lines though. I used front half of the line from the 2000 4Runner that mated up to the 3RZ, and the back half of my 1988 line that mated to my gas tank. I carefully straightened them and then bent them into the shape I wanted. Reusing factory lines isn't the prettiest, but the price sure is right. I got them to meet at the factory union, so it's tidy. I reused some factory mounts and ran the fuel line and my rear brake line on top of the passenger side frame rail. I had to cross over the exhaust eventually... since my 88 was designed with the exhaust running down the drivers side and the 3rz was designed with the exhaust running down the passenger side. I chose to do it at the highest point, under the 4Runner rear seats, to have the most distance to the exhaust. It's also run behind a factory exhaust heat shield and I also ordered a Thermaflect sleeve from Heatshield Products to wrap that section of exhaust line.

Since I had already raised the crossmember behind the Xfer case to take advantage of the body lift, I needed to do the same for the rear gas tank mount. I sliced 2" out of it and welded it back together. Ran into a clearance issue where the gas tank wanted to be where the wider spring hanger was that I frenched into the frame. Just required a quick trim of the spring hanger.

redneckcustoms13 · « **Reply #131 on:** Apr 02, 2018, 05:57:20 AM »

I'd like to see how you ran that exhaust.

swilson · « **Reply #132 on:** Apr 02, 2018, 07:01:25 AM »

You'll have to keep waiting. I haven't done it yet. I'm expecting to do it twice. Once to pass the ref, and again to make it work with a front drive shaft.

84 yota dude · « **Reply #133 on:** Apr 02, 2018, 09:59:26 AM »

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/shw-hvp111

I hear this paint is a pretty close match.

redneckcustoms13 · « **Reply #134 on:** Apr 02, 2018, 10:39:59 AM »

I used sem on my 84 and it was as near to perfect as you could ask for.

swilson · « **Reply #135 on:** Apr 02, 2018, 10:41:13 AM »

Thanks for the input. I ordered both warm gray and medium gray... and primer. I'll let you know which one matched.

redneckcustoms13 · « **Reply #136 on:** Apr 02, 2018, 10:45:38 AM »

I want to say it was medium. That sticks out in my mind

THK Matt · « **Reply #137 on:** Apr 02, 2018, 03:43:19 PM »

SEM is an awesome product line, we use here in the body shop

Capra · « **Reply #138 on:** Apr 02, 2018, 08:37:00 PM »

Awesome build! I'm gonna be running the exact same bumper setup. How long did it take to get the 4x4labs rear? I ordered mine about a month ago and i'm patiently waiting

swilson · « **Reply #139 on:** Apr 02, 2018, 09:42:58 PM »

Must have been in stock when I ordered, I got it right away. Might have helped that I was getting the DIY version.

Capra · « **Reply #140 on:** Apr 02, 2018, 10:58:16 PM »

Damn, I also ordered the DIY kit. Guess I'l keep crossing my fingers. Excellent work though man! I'll be coming back to this thread for inspiration frequently

swilson · « **Reply #141 on:** Apr 03, 2018, 05:57:43 AM »

Ah ok. I bought mine nearly a year ago. It sat on my garage floor for a long time.

swilson · « **Reply #142 on:** Apr 15, 2018, 09:52:08 PM »

Brakes are now plumbed 100%. I went to bleed them, but my fluid evacuator is MIA... I think it probably was damaged in the fire and was throw away. Amazon is bringing a new one. I had such great success with the electric line locks on my last rig, I had to use them again. This time I used 3, one front, and the other two for the rear... separating left and right. This way I'll be able to lock each rear tire independently to help me around a tight corner. Can't wait to see how it works out.

Still wrapping my head around the parking brake cables. I've scrapped my previous idea. My new plan is to keep the '88 cable all way to the lever, just ahead of the fuel tank. And from the lever back use the cables that came with the newer rear brakes... just modifying the cable length to meet my needs. We'll see how it comes out in a week or two.

My buddy Chuck Milligan has been over helping me with the motor. He finished up the 3RZ computer wiring and today we got into fixing up the engine bay. He ran some lines along the firewall for fuel return and vapor, so we could hook use the '88 return lines located on the passenger side. I used some nutserts to secure the 3RZ wiring boot to the firewall. He also told me I'm better off using the 2000 cruise control module, so I ditched the '88 throttle cable and vacuum cruise control module, and installed the cables and module from the 2000 3RZ. He said we'd need to get the cruise module to go with the 3RZ cruise, but that he's wired them up before successfully.

I needed some more room to fit the big ol' 3RZ air box, so I used some nutserts to move the '88 fuse block over a 2.5". We're getting very near trying to start it for the first time. Can't wait!

swilson · « **Reply #143 on:** Apr 17, 2018, 12:32:53 PM »

No luck on the spray dyes. Warm gray, medium gray, and graphite were all too light. Anyone still have a can on their shelf of a good match to 1988 gray interior?

joeyf · « **Reply #144 on:** Apr 17, 2018, 03:39:25 PM »

This is the hard top and the washer is what I painted to try and match the color the best I could. Don’t remember what I used but the two in the pic are the only gray I have in my shelf of paints.

swilson · « **Reply #145 on:** Apr 25, 2018, 10:18:03 PM »

Bled the brakes and clutch lines. Found a couple fittings that leaked and needed to be tightened, but no drama.

I got the AC ready to be charged. Started with a new receiver-drier. Since the 3VZE AC hoses wouldn't bolt up to the 3RZ compressor, I got the top of a 3VZE style compressor to bolt onto my compressor. Problem solved.

I finished up my parking brakes. From the parking brake drums, I used the 5th 4Runner cables and just needed to create mounting points on my rear axle. The two cables meet at the passenger side leaf spring and between the gas tank and frame, like the 1988 4Runner's single cable used to.

swilson · « **Reply #146 on:** Apr 25, 2018, 10:28:00 PM »

I carefully cut the cable liners to the desired length, being careful not to cut the steel cable inside. Once you cut through the plastic liner crimped inside the fitting at the end of the cable, you can remove the steel liner. Its a spiral liner, so you can just unscrew it from the fitting. After you trim back the plastic from the steel liner, on the lines you already cut to length, you can screw/push on the fittings. Now they're ready to mount in the crossmember.

I cut the factory crossmember to accept a 2nd cable. I had intended to put a clip on both lines, but the inside line fit extremely tight and cannot come out without first removing the line with the clip.

swilson · « **Reply #147 on:** Apr 25, 2018, 10:31:41 PM »

Finally I cut the threaded end off of the 1988 cable, so I can still adjust the tension the way the factory designed it. I drilled out a couple fine thread bolts and used them to attach my two new lines to the one old line. Parking brakes are functional!

swilson · « **Reply #148 on:** May 09, 2018, 09:33:05 PM »

I plan to use the stock air box for my referee appointment, and the one that came with my engine was much too tall to fit under the hood. Even after removing the battery tray, I still had to cut 2" out of the box.

These were the part numbers that worked out for my radiator hoses... see photo. The top one was the upper hose from the 2000 4Runner my 3RZ came from. The lower was from a T100. They both got shortened to fit better, but had the bends I needed.

I had previously had a friend machine out the center of the stock PS pulley to fit the TC pump. On closer inspection, I couldn't slide it on deep enough to get it inline with the other pulleys. I swapped it for this aluminum pulley, which is also smaller, so hopefully it keeps pressure up at lower RPMs.

I made a mount for the PS reservoir which I welded to the drivers strut tower. This let me keep the mounting point high, and keep the feed line to the pump short.

swilson · « **Reply #149 on:** May 09, 2018, 09:40:59 PM »

The radiator I ordered back when I started this project. I don't remember the details about it, other than it was supposed to have more rows, was aluminum, and was for the 3VZE. The fan I used was a Flexalite model 123. I haven't heard it run yet, but the specs were good, and it's not very deep. I modified the provided brackets to make it work for me.

Below the fan I had room to put a heat-sink style PS cooler. I also added in a magnetic filter. After having a brand new box in my FJ40 take a crap and put metal shavings through my entire system, I will always have a filter now. They warrantied the box, but not my pump, or my hydroboost brakes.