Builds Little Green Monster - 1st Gen 4Runner

[MTsoul]

Well, I have a new(ish) project. I will warn up front that I tend to move slow on my projects, but thought I would do my best to track this one. I actually purchased this 1988 22re manual last summer, but it was low on my priority list. However, I am starting to pick up some steam. To no surprise, I initially started working out a base line for reliability, as the engine is a little tired but running good now.

Basic Goal Overview - very capable but still can be a reliable daily ("Daily Crawler"?)
-SAS - started collecting various items
-Chevy 63 Leaf Rear - purchased used leafs and conversion kit
-Dual T-Case - purchased second case, need to work out details for my specific tranny (not original W56)
-Re-Gear - likely 5.29, high pinion (in planning)
-35" Tires - purchased
-New Bumpers and Sliders - purchased front and sliders
-Softopper - perfect for summer driving!
-New Carpet and Interior Clean Up

There is not a good section for early 'runners on MUD in vehicle tech, so I will just posted it in our local section.

UPDATED PLAN:
Phase One - Interior and restoration (completed fall of 2024)
(pull/replace carpet, check and clean rusty condition, coat with raptor liner throughout for protection, install Softopper, etc.)
Phase Two - Suspension
Phase Three - Tranns/T-Case

the big reveal...

 

[MTsoul]

Ok, so I had to have a little fun with the first picture. My wife thought it was a good place to dry out a tarp we were using.

Here is as I purchased:

It needed a better wheel and tire setup immediately:

I have a caliper piston sticking on the passenger side, but will rebuild in the near future when the whole front axel gets replaced. I replaced the headlights with some just "ok" ones. Then, I played around with the future tires .

 

[elkun1]

all i can say is 1 word, timing chain. if you don't know when it was replaced you should broaden your horizons and replace it.

 

[ttFJC]

"4x4 tactical edition"
DOPE

 

[MTsoul]

all i can say is 1 word, timing chain. if you don't know when it was replaced you should broaden your horizons and replace it.

Haha, yep, the 22R series killer! All good there. It has been replaced recently and with the upgraded metal guides (physical/visibly verified, not just taken seller's word). I love this type of insight and suggestions! (I've got a lot to learn)

 

[YotaPaullie]

Haha, yep, the 22R series killer! All good there. It has been replaced recently and with the upgraded metal guides (physical/visibly verified, not just taken seller's word). I love this type of insight and suggestions! (I've got a lot to learn)

Really? You mean people don't always tell you the full truth? I know I've inserted this one before, but it is toooooo funny!

 

[MTsoul]

Ha, that video is awesome!

 

[MTsoul]

****Warning - Parental Advisory****
Sorry for the lude pictures below. The 'runner has gone topless!!!

 

[MTsoul]

Slowly over the past few weeks I have been pulling the interior. The carpet was nasty and disintegrating. In fact, there was a partial carpet in the front section that was thrown over the top of the original just to hide/cover it. Overall, the steel underneath isn't too bad. I can see the rear quarter panels weren't cleaned up super well previously, but my hope is that it still helped delay the usual cancer on these. Otherwise, it is mostly surface level.

 

[thetoyotaman]

This is cool. We need to do strip the interior on ours too to see what we're dealing with for several reasons. How hard was it to remove the top? How many people? We should compare notes. Looks like yours is 1 year newer than ours so not sure if there are any significant differences.

 

[MTsoul]

This is cool. We need to do strip the interior on ours too to see what we're dealing with for several reasons. How hard was it to remove the top? How many people? We should compare notes. Looks like yours is 1 year newer than ours so not sure if there are any significant differences.

The top wasn't too bad. I would say it is easier then removing a standard fiberglass topper from a truck. Did that once with just my wife and I, and that was kinda terrible. Since these tops don't have a front or back section, there are more spots to easily grab when removing. This go around we did it with three (Not very big adults) and it was easy. It also popped the seals loose from the side rails fairly easily, too.

I would love to exchange notes and also see if there are differences. Let me know whenever. I couldnt resist throwing just the driver seat back in yesterday so I could drive it in the nice weather. I now plan to drive it to our club meeting Tuesday before I start work on coating the floor and rear inner panels.

 

[PIZZZZA]

Following along to see where this build goes.
1st Gens are the BEST!!!

 

[MTsoul]

I knew I wasn't going to be great at keeping up with updates on my build. However, a fair amount (LOTS of hours) of work had been completed over the summer and into the fall. This mostly includes a major interior overhaul and installing the softopper. I will share some details and pics over a many posts.

Stripping/Preparing the Floor/Inner Fenders:
This is where my OCD kicked in. I realized with everything pulled out, this was the best time to service and protect against rust for another 35+ years. Through research, I found a YouTuber that did what I thought was a great comparison of the popular options, . Ultimately, I decided to use Master Coat Ultimate Rust Sealer as the primer. I went with a hand application, as this would also allow me to reach the difficult areas within the fenders (some spots were still very hard to got coverage on).

But first, I needed to strip most of carpet adhesive (the redish-orange crap). It was quite stubborn, so I didn't get it quite 100%. There was a few obvious spots where I needed to remove some of the factory dampening. Some of it was dry and already breaking up, while the driver side foot well showed signs of minor rust underneath. As for rust, the inner rear fenders, fore and aft of the wheel wells, had limited surface rust. The area that required the most attention was the driver's foot well, mostly around the front body mount. I mostly used a wire wheel on an electric drill/impact driver. I also used Krud Kutter Rust Remover over the top of these areas. It seems to be effective, and turns any of the red oxidation into black, inhibiting or neutralizing it.

Before

During

After

 

[MTsoul]

I then removed the tailgate.

 

[MTsoul]

It was then ready to wash and clean the surfaces for primer.

 

[elkun1]

i will never forget a video put out by a restoration company, except i don't remember which one lol, that had some minor work to do on a 55 that looked immaculate. they did the work and was moving the car and the tech thought something didn't feel right on the floor board. whoever had restored it had covered the floor top and underneath with bedliner. looked great but the metal had been mostly rusted away and what they thought was the floor was actually just bedliner. what started as some minor work turned into a major job. i always think of that when i see all these videos of people bedlining their builds.
was just talking to a friend at church last week, he had always wanted a 77 f150 and finally found the one he had been dreaming of somewhere around big timber. was driving it home this fall and the top skin of the cab blew off while on the interstate. someone had used sprayfoam to probably quiet it and it rusted away from the inside. probably only the paint was holding it together. he found another cab so i offered him my shop to do the work inside. paranoia is a great trait to have when buying a used vehicle, especially if they appear to be factory fresh.

 

[REZARF]

Wow, thats nuts Ron.

I dig the progress Chris. I think that any treatment of rust is worth it. Rust kills Cruisers... erh, Toyota's.

Let me know when you sell those old wheels. I love those and they'd look great on my kids 4runner.

 

[Bowser]

I had this truck rhino lined around 01-03 can’t remember exactly. It’s definitely brewing under there. I did an 80 the year before. It always seemed fine. Long stories. It eventually was wrecked outside big twig. I scrapped the 80 but kept the bits. Was surprising how much the 80 had not left under the liner. It was a long time ago. A friends dad owned the shop that rhino lined. But 25 years later this truck is still here. I would do it differently now. But it’s here and might be worse if i had not done something. I have a couple extra cabs rust free sitining. But because of the personal value I’ll eventually Cut and fix this cab.

 

[MTsoul]

There are definitely some crazy horror stories out there. Fortunately, I haven't personally seen ones that bad, as @elkun1 describes. I can't even imagine what your friend, Ron, was thinking as his cab top skin just rips off on the interstate. What a bummer, but good to hear he's on a plan to fix it and has a great friend in you to offer a place to work on it!

*Spoiler alert* - I already Raptor Lined most of my interior (basically the same as "rhino lined").
That said, I still have great confidence in my choice. A big piece of it comes down to prep work, too. Obviously, the important part is surface prep and a high quality primer (I was impressed with the Master Coat product, but my direct interaction is really just anecdotal). I have seen reviews saying that rhino lined type product will stick to itself and create a sheet over the surface, but that in some case, can break open or start to separate. This allows an access point to creep in from, but this sheet-like condition masks what is going on underneath. But again, with a proper primer/base layer, it should remain protected (in theory, the primer adheres properly, but the top coat to primer is likely the weak point).

Its great to see @Bowser's is still holding up well enough this many years later.

@REZARF, I am a huge fan of those 4unner Pro/SEMA wheels. To be honest, once the new 35" tire/16" rims go on, I will move this set to my '89 Pickup.

 

[MTsoul]

Well this is a pretty good segue into the next step, primer.

Primer/Paint:

Again, I used MasterCoat product and chose the painstaking way of doing it by hand (it took me much longer then anticipated). In the first picture, you can see a small telescoping minor, next to the driver's side wheel well. This was really critical to see what I was doing in the area just in front of the wheel wells and along the inside of the rocker panels. I couldn't reach below the doors (but I used woolwax spray). I did two coats of primer, using over one quart. Plus, I Seam Sealed a few areas.