I’m Evan, from Ontario Canada. Here’s the story of my 4runner. I’ve got all the pics from start to finish but it’s a pain to resize so I will as I have time.

I’ve wanted a first gen since I was 15 years old. A older friend of mine was a Toyota mechanic and he had an 85 Sr5 4runner on 36s that I thought was the coolest thing ever. That was what I learned to drive standard in. That was ten years ago.

That dream never really panned out, I got a 86 Samurai project instead, I traded a dirt bike for it. It was way beyond my knowledge back then because the previous owner started a 1.6 efi swap. So I sold that forgot about wheeling

Then it was time to buy my first vehicle so I could be a functioning member of society. So I bought a 2004 TRD Tacoma. I loved it, and it really got me started as a Toyota enthusiast.

Fast forward to 3 years ago, I bought my dream, an SR5 85′ 4runner, 4 inch superlift (LOL) 33 all terrains, it had 4.88s and a rear lock right locker. That is what this thread is all about. I nicknamed it Orange Saphhire after I started dating my wife, because I always joked that I would have to sell it to buy her some fancy sapphire engagement ring… I didn’t have to sell it, and we did get married.

Here it is now

I had so much fun with this truck when it was on 33s wth a 4” Superlift and a rear locker. It did what I wanted it to but once I started eyeing other Toyotas on the internet I always wanted more. Here’s a few trip pictures before I started the tear down into phase one (high steer, RUF, 36s, 4.88s)

It stayed like this for probably a couple years. The body was getting really rotten from the inside out but I trailered it everywhere so I didn’t care. The motor had a tick like every 22re seems to have. Needed a clutch, it overheated sometimes.

I took these pictures for a for sale ad. It was super rusty all over, it looked good in pictures. I decided that I wanted to sell or part out and build something cleaner that I could daily drive every now again. I’m a Landscaper so my red Ford is what i drive everyday, but I figured I could drive my wheeler around on the weekends or get groceries and stuff.

Then I realized that every time somebody inquired about my truck I would turn them away, or make excuses. I really didn’t want to sell it and I knew because the body was so bad that I would never get the money I wanted out of it. I put so much work into it and it had some sentimental value to me too. So I went a different route because I wanted to make more work for myself

Body swap: 88′ DLX, decent body, good top. Interior was fairly clean, dash wasn’t cracked. 22re was blown and the tranny was taken apart. I also bought a newer 22re from the same guy. Bought lots of stuff off him and he was a straight up dude

Once wheeling season was coming to an end I started into 88 and all the body work. It wasn’t as clean as I thought it was but finding a clean toyota in Ontario is hard so this one was actually pretty good by our standards. Once wheeling was done for the year I started tearing down the 85’ to prep the frame. I should have  an official sponsor from POR15 on this build, I did the frame, axles, and whole underside of the body, bumpers etc

hell ya man,  did you think to SAS and swap the drivetrain to the cleaner 88 body? dig it man.

I thought about it briefly. Reasons I didn’t:
-my solid axle frame was in better shape, the back half was rebuilt.
-I like the arch in the SA frame
-all the hangers were already welded on so it saved a lot of work that way. I don’t have a welder at home that’s capable of 220v

I’ll keep posting the progress pictures!

right on! sounds like a good reason to body swap.

right on! sounds like a good reason to body swap.

It was a real pain without a hoist but an engine hoist and some ingenuity can go a long way. 4runner body’s are really heavy. Even with the top on. Doing a pickup would have been way easier haha

Bumper build!! Loved building it so much fun

Once the truck was basically done I got bored and bought a 1987 Starcraft pop up. My wife loves it compared to a tent. As soon as I got it I lifted it 12 inches or so, converted to pintle, put 14” wheels on it and armoured it up to match the truck.
Edit: sorry when I resize the pictures they look like a bag of crap.

Some pics from the last trip, we used the winch to make a zipline haha. May as well add a few trips from the past too!

Our setup for the last trip!