Greetings people!
First off, I want to say that I don't hate mud!
I like mud and actually am not fond of rocks. Ok, now that I have that off my chest-
Obviously, I am "The Dingman". You can just call me Ding.
Kurt emailed me this link over a month ago, but I'm really, really slow sometimes.
I started wheelin’ back in ’86 in Texas. Owned a ’84 Nissan King Cab 4x4 and I didn’t buy it for wheeling, but I got it off road on a few fishing trips. A buddy had a Toyota pickup and I was always trying to keep up with him. My Nissan had some awful Goodyear Wranglers, tho they weren’t bad in dry conditions, on wet pavement or mud, they really, really, really suked. I’ve never forgotten those crappy tires.
As a side note tho, I still have the map on which I wrote my mileage driving that 4x4 from Texas to Iowa and you won’t believe the mileage~
I was getting between 30-35 miles to the gallon. Granted, it was long enough ago that I drove lower than the 55 MPH limit but also that 4 cyl engine had 8 spark plugs. I’m pretty sure it fired on the exhaust stroke also.
Anyway, after I got divorced and the ex-w got the Nissan, I didn’t go off road for a lot of years. I did drive a $100 car (while in college) and a 3\4t ’79 2WD Chevy.
Then about 5 years ago, I bought a new S10 with the ZR2 off-road package. tongue5 I didn’t really buy it for wheelin’ but I’ve always liked trucks and I’ve always been a GM man. Well, after a few short forays into the river bottoms and friends fields, I found that this silly little truck didn’t get stuck easily and so started getting off-road just a little more every year.
Some of you might remember I brought the ZR2 down to (what do you call your place, Dan?) to Dan’s on Labor Day in ’03. Maybe ’04. Can’t remember. Anyway, it was fun, I was careful so didn’t bash up the shiny ZR2. In fact, I climbed a few hills lifted trucks (open diffs, I have the G80 in the back of mine) didn’t make it up, I have the video on my downloads page. read2
Anyway, I got to the point of having to replace some front end parts and tho it was covered under warranty (I had purchased the truck new off the lot), I didn’t want to replace the next set of parts out of my pocket. notworthy
So, decided that I needed a cheaper, dedicated wheeler. I read around the internet, checked around the ‘net and watched a few trucks here and there. I decided the older Toys were inexpensive and yet durable, capable wheelers.
I found a ’83 pickup in Indianola, bought it. Immediately sunk nearly $2K into it, but it was a pretty sound vehicle at that point. I’d still be driving that truck but as time moved on, I got more and more cramped in that truck. Have you ever been in one of the first gen Toy’s??? SMALL, NO ROOM. Also, it was carbureted which occasionally gave me a little trouble.
I still liked the Toys, so I read that for about 6 months or so, Toyotas were shipping with a SFA and EFI on the same vehicle. I started looking around and found a 4runner in my neighborhood and I bought it. Yeah, I could have bought a newer toy and SAS’d it, but I thought that would be more than I wanted to spend (that later turned out to be wrong, I think). notworthy
Started fixing it up, and in the middle of that, I found a much nicer SFA\EFI 4runner and ended up buying that one too.
So, the first one is the one that Des Moines off-road pretty much built up for me, and the nicer un-modified one is sitting next to my garage, I’m gonna go thru it and make it my DD. (I still have the ZR2, it just sits in the garage, waiting for me to get a date with a woman).
Here's what I've done to the green 4runner so far:
* 5.29 Gears
* "Newfield" Birfs and Axles
* Quick-Loc Auto Lockers, front and rear
* IFS steering box w\sleeved and braced frame
* Sky Hy-Steer crossover
* Bilstein 5150 shocks
* 63" Chevy 1\2 tons leaf springs installed in the rear
* Rear OEM 4Runner springs moved to the front.
* Front Axle moved forward about 3 "
* Lengthened front driveshaft, brakelines and vent lines
* 36x12.5x15 Swamper SX Bias Ply Tires.
* Off-road bumpers by CRB Off-Road.
* Sanded body, painted with Rust-oleum Rusty Metal primer, then painted with Dupont Centari Fleet paint.
* Optima Redtop
* Cheapo' Habor Fright 9K winch
* Water proofed much of the engine\computer wiring harness and distributor
* Fun Electonics inside (JVC MP3 headunit, Stereo and Amp and Pioneer speakers)
* CB Radio to call my friends to tell them to come tip me back over
* 55 watt backup lights (yes, they are sold as driving lights)
* I know this might come back to bite me in the arse, but I filled all the back panels with expanding foam. It cut down on the noise quite a bit. I hope it doesn't trap too much moisture. I don't think it will trap moisture, there certainly are enough holes to drain and prevent condensation.
My wheelin’ experience has all been woods\dirt\mud. Though I’ve been to Moab on my mountain bike, I’ve not wheeled rocks\slickrock at all in a truck. Since I got into wheelin’ to just get back to a fishing hole or to get a look at an eagles nest, I still lean towards just “getting there” and not “find the most difficult” route. I like to have a real destination, one with a goal, rather than just a turn around point. So, my skills certainly aren’t up to the point of people who really go wheelin’ to go Wheelin’. Now that I have a more capable vehicle tho, I’m starting to get that way.
I do plan on a trip to both Gilbert and the Badlands but I need more time under my belt in this newly-built vehicle. Now, all the usual stuff seems easy and so I began looking for other places to wheel. I found it very difficult to find places within 6-8 hours drive (doh). I’ve been to 600 acres but that’s obviously not an option anymore.
I do intend on participating and wheelin and we’ll just see how it all shakes out.
I have to admit, at this point, for all practical purposes, I’m not much above a beginner in my wheelin’ skills. I also have a vehicle that I’m not familiar with, so I’m cautious. Well, maybe I’m up to moderate skills but I sure seem to make some boners sometimes.
Um, OK, last but not least. I've lived in Des Moines for quite a long time and currently work for Siemens as a Building Automation System Specialist. Basically, I specialize in the HVAC systems.
I'm a moderator for
http://www.zr2usa.com/
and my personal website is at
http://www.bubendorfer.org/
I’m looking forward to meeting you all in person and wheelin’ with ya.
no damage except a broken mirror. Had a spare of both that came with it along with lots of other freebie 40 parts. I guess less traction and goodies, less breakage. I wheel at 27 psi (no power steering). Get around just fine. 
relationships. 
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But I have alot more work to do on it!!!!!!!!!!!! I would post up photos but haven't figured out how to to it yet********huh just figured it out, you should see the smoke coming out of my ears right now!!!!!!!!!
