Project Beast

Captain J · January 20, 2007, 03:19:17 PM

Ok, so I found this 1st gen 4runr and picked it up for $2500.
it is an '85 SR5. when I picked it up, I was told that it had a lockrite in the front and a lincoln locker (welded spiders) in the rear.
had about 3" suspension lift and 3" body lift, It was sitting on 35 x 14.5 x 15 boggers on 15x12 AR rims.
It came with a Warn m9000I winch also

ok, so the tear down begins.

First thing I notice is that the rear tail gate will not open, and the rear window will not roll down/up. I dug a round a bit and found that the plug used when you take the top off was unplugged, one problem fixed. I next opened the tail gate panel and found that one of the cables to the latch was broken, so I set it with pliers in the unlocked position and that fixed prob #2

next I start looking around and see there are 7 toggle switches on the dash that do nothing, still have not traced them all down, but so far, there is a spagetti bowl of wires loose and nothing.
there is a CB but it was dead.

the engine runs, but smokes and I believe it is running Uber rich, there is what looks like fuel/water mixture dripping from the tail pipe.
I drove it around the block and started instantly hearing a clucking noise coming from the rear.
come to find out with the help of Glen and Marlin that my rear third was welded but out of nessecity and they never cleaned out the broken teeth or weld slag when they welded it, sooooo al those peices were floating around in there.

so we get to work on the welds and while the carrier is cooling and the ring gear is heating. Glen finds that the pinion has lots of stress cracks.

so new R&P are being ordered soon, and since the spiders are now welded I might leave it that way for a few trips then replace the hole third with new stuff as budget allows.

On the front however, there is another problem, there is no lockrite, for that matter no locker at all, but instead a very worn Auburn LSD.
This was detemined again by Glen and confirmed by Marlin.

so new lockrite in the front to come soon as well.

otherwise the body is in great shape, and the interier is too. I am ripping out the carpet to spray bed liner in there and that should get get of the musty smell, from the rain soaked carpet.

other things that need attention.
needs a new CB, but first I wanna clean up the wire mess.
also needed new switch for head lights (only high beam work and it is not the lights)
get rid of the 7 unknown toggles
replace tail gate cable with new
find out why the rear window stopped again (stuck in down position)
replace neg arch leaf springs with new sky jacker 4" springs ( got them for free)
and try to get the boggers back from the guy I sold them to, cause these wheels I got now just aint doing it for me.

I also have a set of Marlin Tube doors to install soon, though I am waiting on hinges from 4xinnovations that are quick release.

79coyotefrg · January 20, 2007, 03:28:18 PM

i was looking at that last pic and for a second,

i was like "whos that fat guy in the grey shirt?? "

then i realized

ITS ME

Captain J · January 20, 2007, 03:31:55 PM

ya glen, right next to the fat guy in the cover alls next to the Skinny West coast guy. next weekend when I get home from work, I will be cutting off the tube steps and front and rear bumpers.

Lady Di · January 20, 2007, 03:52:05 PM

DTB · January 20, 2007, 03:52:22 PM

nice looking truck man! looks like u had some good help too lol....

Those 4xinnovation hinges are cool but they are sooooo expensive...cant see the justification in cost

it takes me less than 2 minutes per side to get mine on (with 2 bolts)

speedemon · January 20, 2007, 04:52:18 PM

looks good without all those dents you put in it last weekend

i just got my 5.29s for the '83, gonna put those in tomorrow

Gittinit · January 20, 2007, 05:00:04 PM

nice runner capitan!

79coyotefrg · January 20, 2007, 05:01:45 PM

somebody say DENTS

CTENG in KS · January 20, 2007, 06:02:51 PM

Might want to look around for new springs and clutch disks for that Auburn. Even if you don't want to use it, you might fetch a good price for it. They are $$ new.

Or you can send it to me...I like to tinker with things on my counter...

79coyotefrg · January 20, 2007, 06:44:35 PM

hey i think i have a headlight/turnsig/wiper switch

we could trade for your toggles

Captain J · January 22, 2007, 06:42:06 AM

sure glen, I will pull them out next time I get back to the house.

on the limited slip, I never thought about rebuilding it, but when I get around to pulling it, I will take a look at that option. I plan on having this beast back on the trail by mid summer with new parts so we shall see if I can make it happen. I think the longest part will be fixing the 22re.
might try a new o2 sensor and see what that does, also I am going to check the compression and from what that tells me, I might be just replacing valve seals and not need to go all the way to rings.

also if anybody is interested. I will be pulling the stock radio and multi channel equalizer out. Don't know if it works or not but I know that the light work (when you turn on the dash lights)
free to a good home, any body wants it, just 1/2 the shipping cost with me is all I ask.

79coyotefrg · January 22, 2007, 08:16:01 AM

hey put that radio in the parts for sale section, just put yyour location and for shipping in the post

Captain J · January 22, 2007, 02:39:50 PM

Glen, I can not post in the for sale area as I am still Dusty trails. so if you wanna post it over there for me, or change me from dusty trails to another classification know

speedemon · January 22, 2007, 05:05:42 PM

just post six more times. go to a few build threads and just say "looks nice" thats how glen is in the 10,000 plus club!! LOL

Captain J · January 22, 2007, 09:24:59 PM

I see.

Captain J · January 23, 2007, 06:26:08 AM

ok, next question for the masses.
Exo cage or internal cage but tied to frame through floor pan.

speedemon · January 23, 2007, 08:36:40 AM

internal cage is stronger and safer, but makes a small interior even smaller. exo cage is good if it is built right and for people who want to protect the body.... but aren't you past that already? me i really don't care about the body but i dont want to break any glass if i roll so i will go exo when the time comes.

79coyotefrg · January 23, 2007, 09:20:50 AM

i vote exo

i drove Brendans truck that day at Gilmer, i thought i'd have to break my neck to get past the inner cage

and Kevin

i got these posts from being REALLY SMART

Gittinit · January 23, 2007, 02:31:35 PM

Quote from: 79coyotefrg on January 23, 2007, 09:20:50 AM
i vote exo

i drove Brendans truck that day at Gilmer, i thought i'd have to break my neck to get past the inner cage

and Kevin i got these posts from being REALLY SMART

I rember brendan telling me he hit his head on that stupid cage XXXX times. All I could do is laugh! I have only seen a few exos that I like on runners. Pickups are so much better looking with exos than runners.

Doors windows and the hood are the only functional parts of the body, and the only parts wort worring about on these old things.

Of course on a runner you would have to add a top to that list, in my opinion all the other body parts can be bent banged and falling off and still serve their purpose.

Oh and Glen .....REALLY SMART

79coyotefrg · January 23, 2007, 05:25:21 PM

Quote from: gittinit on January 23, 2007, 02:31:35 PM

Oh and Glen .....REALLY SMART

what you tryin to say

speedemon · January 23, 2007, 09:28:09 PM

Quote from: 79coyotefrg on January 23, 2007, 09:20:50 AM
and Kevin i got these posts from being REALLY SMART

LOL i'll vouch for MOST of that hehe

i agree with glen there about going exo, i mean if you were 5'3" and 95 lbs like laurance the internal cage would be alright, but you're not.

Captain J · January 24, 2007, 12:27:51 PM

exo works for me, so long as it is designed to allow removal of the camper top. or maybe I can remove a section of gthe exo to remove the top, then reinstall the exo.

79coyotefrg · January 24, 2007, 02:41:15 PM

Quote from: Captain J on January 24, 2007, 12:27:51 PM
exo works for me, so long as it is designed to allow removal of the camper top. or maybe I can remove a section of gthe exo to remove the top, then reinstall the exo.

look at "The Making of the WillyMammoth"

mark made a removable exo

Gittinit · January 24, 2007, 03:23:39 PM

An exo that gets used would be hard to realign after removing. Of course I have no experience to back this up though.

Captain J · January 25, 2007, 04:38:57 AM

maybe just design in it a little extra room to lift and remove the top. I don't think it needs to come up far, maybe just 1 in or so to clear the cab, but I don't know for sure as I have not removed it before.

in other news, I just found out that I am getting my former Boggers back, as seen in the above pics. I had trade tires with another guy from TTORA and realy didn't like how the ones I got were performing. Then My GF told Marlin if I still had the Boggers I would have made it through the climb and prob not flopped as bad cause the extra width of the tires.
sooooooooooooo, I contacted the guy, and he didn't like the boggers so now it all works out.

Oregon Crawler · January 25, 2007, 05:49:55 AM

Ya on that loc right, I'm not sure if they got better, but 2-3 years ago when i lived on the coast the local shop had seriusly a pile of those loc rights busted laying around, the teeth are small and very weak. and with those boggers, it would suck putting that kind of money in it and have it break If I was you I would look at getting something else. Arb or a spool, detroits blow when the birfield fails. maybe go with a limited slip. just my

though

Captain J · January 25, 2007, 10:26:40 AM

I was thinking of going with a spool in the rear, then either a loc rite or detroit on the front. but I think I might look into rebuilding my limited slip that is allready on the front.

Gittinit · January 25, 2007, 05:45:42 PM

Quote from: Oregon Crawler on January 25, 2007, 05:49:55 AM
Ya on that loc right, I'm not sure if they got better, but 2-3 years ago when i lived on the coast the local shop had seriusly a pile of those loc rights busted laying around, the teeth are small and very weak. and with those boggers, it would suck putting that kind of money in it and have it break If I was you I would look at getting something else. Arb or a spool, detroits blow when the birfield fails. maybe go with a limited slip. just my though

I use a lock right in my front diff with no probs. I have blown many birfs to shreads without any reprocussions.

Captain J · January 26, 2007, 09:14:42 AM

thats good news, on the loc right holding up.
On a similar note, what is the general concensus on Birf elemination?
seen the kit on Marlins website. pros cons

Captain J · January 29, 2007, 03:00:14 PM

got my answer from another board. I guess I will probably go with Long fields when I can afford them.
this coming weekend will be getting lots done. plan on taking off the smitty built stuff, and also the front double shock hoops, and installing the new ford f250 shock towers.
also installing a set of Demello sliders on my tundra and swapping tires on the 4runr back to the 35 x 14.5 x 15 boggers
I will post up the pics after the fun

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