3rd gen 4Runner, Racing Build (3 Viewers)

[Good Mayhem]

That homemade alignment kit is super cool and badass. It's awesome seeing people still getting this creative and innovative with Toyotas as old as ours. Are you familiar with the 333 alignment eliminator kits? They have a similar goal from my understanding, but yours look like it's executed much better. 4Runner is looking awesome man. When do you plan/hope to be "done" with its current build?

Yep, sure do! I research 333's, Poly's Taco tabs, and Bison offroads cam kits, and some others. I took what I learned from those and made these. Out of all of the production ones out there, I think the Bison's is the best, but they're not available for mine.
The 4130 1/4" plates were laser cut--freaking laser beams! (image below)

^^here's the solids model.

The last super big ticket item in the current build is buying and installing a pro-truck fuel cell and making it's firewall. Everything else I need to do seems to pale in comparison. As soon as I can get that done, I'll start racing locally. That's my goal for 2022.

 

[Good Mayhem]

Update! Alignment stuff!

Total Chaos' cam tab upgrade? 100% worth it. The eccentric bolt redesign? Totally worth it! Offsetting the rear tabs further out? Just saved $1200 on upper UCA's for TC's long travel kit. Should have bought adjustable UCA's upfront, but whatever--this fix is plenty good.

By a stroke of luck, my hubcap on for the wheels have a true/square flat mounting surface, which allows me to check camber and caster with a mounting plate I welded up.
So here's the numbers:
Left: -.5deg Camber, +3.2deg Caster
Right: -.4deg Camber, +3.7deg Caster

Toe? TBD! Going to do the string method tomorrow. I do have a lifetime alignment with Firestone, but it'd be fun to learn this method for race fixes.

I also printed out new Toyota 4runner logos for the rear of the truck and put them on the top of the -hatch area. Without the hatch, the 4runner is boderline unrecognizable. Before that, I once saw police officer circle the truck 3 or 4 times while it was parked at walmart, and then tailgated the 4runner all the way out onto a highway. Hopefully, he was merely intrigued. However, I sincerely doubt that. Once he got called to do something more important, he promptly passed and started his lights.

 

[Good Mayhem]

Toe update!

The string method is cool! Took a while to setup, but totally worth the work.

At start, we were at 0.0 degrees on both sides. We toe'd in each side in by .1 degrees (1mm toe in for 16" rims, see pdf from smartracingproducts.com), and it drives amazing! Holy cow, it was worth the work! If you've ever wanted to try the string method alignment, take the risk and do it!

 

[yotadude520]

Nice job! A lot of great workmanship in this thread.

 

[Good Mayhem]

Nice job! A lot of great workmanship in this thread.

Thank you, good sir! I appreciate that.

 

[Good Mayhem]

Quick update!

The 4runner passed state inspection this month, so we're still road legal!

A rigid chase bar has taken on the roll of the 3rd brake light, and it does very well on the dim brightness setting. I've prewired it for other triggers for race light combos, and dang that was a fun install.
- Installed the chase bar. programmed it for 3rd brake light use
- Made a 5 pin wiring harness that directly fits a 10 pin OEM connector
- Using a VLED load resistor to keep ABS functional.
- Painted rear of truck black with steel-it paint.
- Made toyota 4runner decals that were visible from the rear. That way, make and model is still identifiable.

Next up is:
- Fuel cell
- Dashboard
- Race sirens and buttons.

 

[Good Mayhem]

Sirens are in! And they are pleasantly loud!

I mounted the PA speaker in the winch bumper on the side that does not have the hand-lever on the winch. It was a slimmer model, so it's snug in there, but still gives airflow to the radiators behind.

Now, onto interesting things.

• How was it wired? Ripping out the OEM dashboard and sound system finally has it's perks. I used a OEM 120 watt 12V power source from the old cigarette lighter plugs to power the amp and control. That way, the system can't run without the truck being turned onto AAC or ON.
• How loud is it? From 5ft away, DB meter measured @ 120.7 db max! That's thick sound! OEM horns are kinda in the 107-109 db range within 3 ft, so this is a bit louder. However, it's got a volume control, which drops it to as low as 80 db. The treble sounds are definitely louder than the baritone/base notes.
• Perks? The system I bought can also control lights, and they just so happen to have two 12v hot outs that can be used for triggers. With that in mind, wiring in the short term is easier, because I can control the rigid chase light's race triggers through this system in the meantime. That'll simplify the dashboard install for now.

Next up? Dashboard install and fuel cell! Progress is speeding up!

 

[Good Mayhem]

The triggers on the siren kit rock!

Family came down this weekend, and my dad and I wired up the two light triggers from the siren system to run the chase light. The wires are dressed through the center console area after traversing the left side of the rear quarter panel. The chase light still functions as the 3rd brake light, and now it can be superseded by race lights/something else through the siren kit.

I also made a programming wiring harness for the chase bar.

Next up? Fuel cell in earnest. Until I figure out what radios to install for comms, I need to wait on the dashboard mount, or at least make it easily removable for convenience sake.

 

[Good Mayhem]

Baby Steps update!

2 things:
- dashbard stuff
- fuel cell plan. Any ideas?

Dashbard stuff: I've gone ahead and started building the center portion because of the dangling OEM gear that needed a home, and I think it'll help jump start the rest of the dash once this is started. Apart from race radios and nav (think Kenwood and Lowrance), do you think it's worth swapping the 12V accessory plugs to more modern stuff like USB ports?

Fuel Cell Plan:
1. Buy 40 gallon Enduro fuel cell with internal fuel pump, dual certified for FIA and SFI if possible (normally comes FIA-FT3 certified only). I'll pay fuel safe to make a procell to fit the can prior to racing the Baja1000. If Score updates their rules to allow enduro bladders above 32 Gallons, maybe that stroke of luck.
2. Cut out rear of truck.
3. Install the fuel cell in the rear of the 4runner.
4. Then figure out hoses, fittings and filters to tie into OEM lines.
5. Wire up fuel cell

For those who have installed fuel cells before:
- Did you delete the carbon canister from the fuel system? Most instructionals I've researched say to delete it.
- Did you also included manual cutoff valves for the pickup and return lines?
- Did you use OEM filters or from groups like fuel safe?
- Preference on in-tank or out of tank fuel pumps?
- Any lesson's learned or things you wish you had done with your install if you had to do it over again?
Thanks ahead for the advice!

 

[Good Mayhem]

Welding update!
The OEM exhaust interferes with future location of the fuel cell, so it’s gotta get out of the way! Unless a engine swap ever happens, I want to reuse as much of the OEM drive train as possible.

The cardboard is the size of the 40 gal fuel cell.

I cut apart the exhaust to reroute it over the frame.

Just fyi, I think the carbon steel is galvinixed—I gound through the coating to ensure clean welds.

 

[Good Mayhem]

Update!

Fuel Cell is ordered! Spec sheet attached. Should arrive in May.

The fuel cell will be biased to the left side of the 4runner. It's way closer to center than the OEM, and this allows the back end of the truck to store extra tools and gear, like a floorjack. I plan to mount the fuel cell to the body of the truck--I'm guessing that could help isolate it from the jarring impacts of offroading and any bumping from behind. However, from staring at Toyota's own pictures from their 4runner and TRD pro tundra race trucks--close photos are hard to find, and they could go both ways--be cage mounted or body mounted. Do any racers have any suggestions?

^^sourced from Car_revs_daily. Tundra TRD pro race truck.

^^sourced from Topspeed.com, Baja1000 4runner debut from 2009. Gosh, that was 13 years ago!!!

 

[Good Mayhem]

Mid update!

I've changed my plan and will go frame/cage mount for the fuel cell. Since the OEM was mounted to the frame, the fuel cell should be find if I do it in a similar way.
1. I cut and bent a steel plate to take the place of the quarter panel window. This will be used to mount the dry break.

2. Gas tank and rear plumbing removed!

3. I did rough cuts for the inside tolerances of fitment. I'll do more ~10" more cutting overall

once the fuel cell arrives. '

4. I'm deep into the weeds on the evap delete. Anyone have intimate knowledge on how the '99 evap system works? It seems different from the setup in the OEM repair manual.

 

[Good Mayhem]

Concept art!

Here's an image dump of what the fuel cell install should look like when done.

Redhead Drybreak kit as arrived! Currently, the plan is to mount the drybreak to the metal quarter panel. I'm just working the drybreaks with scrap race car parts to figure stuff out before the real deal fuel cell gear arrives. SCORE race code requires all fuel to be delivered using drybreak gear in the 2023 year. So this is in preparation for those requirements. Inherently, every refill bottle is going to have it's own male drybreak connection. Those alone in numbers rival the cost of the entire fuel cell system.

 

[Good Mayhem]

Happy Friday guys!

Solidworks is fun for trying things before actually doing them. Any thoughts on this concept for cutting the back end? Definitely loses the 4runner silhouette for a weird hatchback vibe.

 

[Good Mayhem]

Here are more examples.

 

[G-Cat]

I like the un-chopped version

 

[TexasTundra27]

I think I also like the unchopped version, but chopped = less weight = more speed

 

[Good Mayhem]

Thanks guys! I agree, I like un-chopped version as well, and that's the overwhelming opinion outside of the forum. I'll revisit this idea after we roll over someday.

 

[yotadude520]

x3 on the unchopped version!

 

[Good Mayhem]

Thanks guys for the feedback! un-chopped stays!

Update! Look what arrived! May the fuel cell fitting begin! Unboxing vid here: Instagram