Topic: TheTank

[TheTank]

Here's some pictures of my project from the day my dad brought it home off the showroom floor to 11 years later and my project over Christmas break.
















There should be some more updates in the coming months...

[Shoyrtt]

Nice work.   Did your Dad happen to keep the 1st gen 4Runner in the first picture too?

[alwayzbroken]

Very nice

[TheTank [OP]]

Good eye for the '85!  I was wondering if anyone would notice that lol.  But no, the '85 got stolen and recovered with most of the interior missing, and then he sold it shortly after buying the '91.  I hassle him about selling it all the time, but I love the one he gave me instead.  I've ridden in it since I was 5 and done all of the work on it, so it has a little sentimental value to me.

[Shoyrtt]

Good eye for the '85! I was wondering if anyone would notice that lol. But no, the '85 got stolen and recovered with most of the interior missing, and then he sold it shortly after buying the '91. I hassle him about selling it all the time, but I love the one he gave me instead. I've ridden in it since I was 5 and done all of the work on it, so it has a little sentimental value to me.

Definately keep it for a long time.    I  hate to think of some of the cars and trucks I have owned that I grew tired of and sold and now would love to have them back.

[motorider228]

hey how big are those springs your running? I take it those are 33's as well? is that front bumper custom fabbed or did you buy it? Sorry for all the questions. Im doing my sas soon on my 93 runner so i have lots of questions for people with second gens that they have done work too.

[1Bad4Runner]

Thats one clean runner, I like it... looks great. Keep us updated!

[motorider228]

also, how did you lift the rear end? if you have any pictures of the rear end at all can you post them? flex shots too.

[Rocksurfer]

That's not your dad's 4Runner anymore.

[TheTank [OP]]

lol no it used to be my dad's baby...but i took it from him and have been doing stuff to it ever since!  For the front, I decided to try putting together my own set of rear springs from a combination of 2 '83 packs and a '94 pack.  It turned out pretty well and rides and flexes pretty nice.  I think they came out to about 4" of lift and the front crossmember I fabbed up is about 2" drop.  I fabbed up the front bumper myself.  I had about a week to wait for parts and was sick of the brush guard and flatness of the stock bumper. 

The rear is kind of my own combination of a lot of different parts.  Links are All Pro links, coils are OME 891 LC coils, All Pro panhard raise bracket, and a new CV driveshaft. 

I actually don't have any pictures of the rear on this computer, but I'll see what I can do to get some to post up.  I don't think that stuff will be there much longer though.  I've kind of decided I'd rather have the simplicity of leafs in the rear because I can't even wheel it the way it is right now.  The axle shifts so much side to side as it flexes that the driveshaft grinds the gas tank pretty badly.  I love the way it flexes though.  Those springs are amazing.  The hold a heavy load perfectly and don't sag, and I can stuff a tire all the way up in the wheel well.  If I'm able to, I might try to fab up my own gas tank behind the axle and make longer links.  We'll have to see though. 

[88-REDRYDER]

looks good all you need now is some real tires to throw on that thing

[TheTank [OP]]

Yeah I just bought the 33s (wasn't thinking ahead), and I still only have 4.88s.  I'm kind of waiting to get some 5.29s with lockers set up, and then maybe go up to 35s or 37s.  The only problem is I drive it on the highway 95% of the time, and the 3.0 and auto already has a hard time spinning the 33s (especially into wind).  I don't want to make it worse than it already is.  But I'm pretty sure 37s and some black rockcrawler rims would just look sick on there 

[alwaysbroken]

Nice runner

[scyota]

what did you do for the lift in the back? i cant tell if you kept the coils or swapped to leafs. I'm doing a SAS on my 93' Runner right now. Looks Good!

[motorider228]

what did you do for the lift in the back? i cant tell if you kept the coils or swapped to leafs. I'm doing a SAS on my 93' Runner right now. Looks Good!

The rear is kind of my own combination of a lot of different parts. Links are All Pro links, coils are OME 891 LC coils, All Pro panhard raise bracket, and a new CV driveshaft.

I actually don't have any pictures of the rear on this computer, but I'll see what I can do to get some to post up. I don't think that stuff will be there much longer though. I've kind of decided I'd rather have the simplicity of leafs in the rear because I can't even wheel it the way it is right now. The axle shifts so much side to side as it flexes that the driveshaft grinds the gas tank pretty badly. I love the way it flexes though. Those springs are amazing. The hold a heavy load perfectly and don't sag, and I can stuff a tire all the way up in the wheel well. If I'm able to, I might try to fab up my own gas tank behind the axle and make longer links. We'll have to see though.