Project Chewie (1 Viewer)

[CrowleyFJ40]

So after getting rear ended twice in a month, followed by a hail storm, insurance company totalled my Ford Fusion. Shucks...

The High Water Mark trail last summer gave me the bug to overland. That trip also showed me that a 1st Gen 4Runner rock crawler, while very capable, is not the ideal rig for a family (or even two people as @tornadoalleycruiser can attest) to live out of for an extended trip.

My criteria was it must be somewhat fuel efficient (hahahahaha) as it will be my daily driver, must have a big enough back seat to hold the family comfortably, and enough cargo space for all the gear. Oh yeah, and had to be a Toyota, obviously. The choice came down to a 4Runner or a Tacoma. Heated leather seats and bigger back seat of the 4Runner won out.

Meet Chewie, short for Crowley's Hardy Expedition Wagon. A 2005 Limited V6 4Runner.

Easing into this build with some easy fixes. Had a dash and heated seat backlights burnt out, so a quick call to Molle Toyota and I'm all fixed up. Also flushed the brake fluid and power steering. Next up is coolant, transfer, and diffs, then start getting into the real goodies of lift, tires, bumpers, and sliders.

You can see my first mod in the picture below, a sweet cassette adapter. I couldn't even make it home from Omaha without Pandora. A new radio is on the list too...

Running list of mods

Suspension/Tires:

• Toytec Boss with HD rear springs
• BF Goodrich KO2 AT 275/70R17 on stock wheels

Driveline:

• Replaced both CV shafts
• Redid/installed parking brakes

Armor:

• OPOR lower link skids
• Custom built rock sliders/steps
• Custom built front bumper with 10k winch

Electrical:

• Blue Sea 6 fuse panel under hood wired to the aux battery through 100 amp circuit breaker
• Blue Sea 6 fuse panel under driver's seat wired to the aux battery through 100 amp circuit breaker
• Under hood led COB light strip wired through hood pin switch to illuminate engine bay when hood is opened
• Joying Android 6 head unit and Boss 200 watt amp, using Metra harness to eliminate JBL Synthesis system
• Odyssey dual battery with battery doctor 150 amp isolator
• Costway 54qt fridge

Storage:

• Custom overhead cargo net storage in cargo area
• Built support for factory double decker system to increase weight capacity and outfitted with totes to fit available space
• Custom built drawer system

 

[half k cruiser]

We just took two of these in V8 flavor through the Kokopelli trail then Hell's Revenge in Moab. Surprisingly capable trucks even in the rocks. Require a good spotter to get the most out of them.

 

[CrowleyFJ40]

What was the setup in regards to lift/tires?

What could have made them more capable, in your eyes?

Thanks.

We just took two of these in V8 flavor through the Kokopelli trail then Hell's Revenge in Moab. Surprisingly capable trucks even in the rocks. Require a good spotter to get the most out of them.

 

[half k cruiser]

What was the setup in regards to lift/tires?

What could have made them more capable, in your eyes?

Thanks.

One was sporting ICON coilovers front and shocks/springs rear, relentless fab front bumper. Not sure what he did for the wishbones. The other had a full Toytec lift and skid plates. Both of them dragged the rear hitch constantly, but that's better than dragging the bumper. Exhaust seems to take a lot of hits from rocks, right around the rear where the muffler hangs down.

If I were wheeling one I would get the bottom armored up right away, especially towards the front where they will be sliding over rocks. The guy with the Toytec lift nearly split his front skid in half, but the skid had the manufacturers details cut into the front. This obviously weakened it enough to compromise, the take away, buy a solid skid ! The rear lower control arm brackets are also susceptible to a lot of dragging. I saw a lot of this on the trip.

Of course number one is tires. Upgrading to the 32'' tire will make the biggest difference. One truck was running BFG KO2's the other a cooper AT. I personally like the KO2 and watched it take some real abuse on the slick rock. The A-TRAC takes getting used to and to be successful you have to let it do its thing. They can do very well in the rocks, as we learned, but you will need to learn to drive it correctly and have a spotter you can trust.

 

[tornadoalleycruiser]

Did the hitch hang lower than the bumper ? Asking because some i have seen have a hitch under the license plate thus above the bumper. 2-3" does matter, (insert joke here)

 

[CrowleyFJ40]

Thanks @half k cruiser . I am definitely going to be going up to 32-33" tires, most likely KO2's (I'm a BFG fan). Sliders and bumpers are in the immediate future. For bumper, looking at a design like the CBI. The hitch is below the bumper though... (image stolen from Google)

I am not sure

I am not sure on lift yet. I believe the ARB will be good to support the weight of heavy front and rear bumpers, winch, spare tire, fuel cans, and a drawer system/gear in the back, but have read that the ride leaves quite a bit to be desired. ICON is going to be out of my price range. Looking also at Toytec, how does it do/hold up to the extra weight?

This is going to be quite a change for me in terms of wheeling style and vehicles. I haven't wheeled a daily driver in 14 years, and have NEVER wheeled an automatic transmission. So I'm jumping ahead 24 years from the newest vehicle I've ever wheeled (1993 Toyota Pickup), so I'm sure I'll be full of questions and appreciate all the advise I can get!

 

[2fpower]

Given your recent driving "brushes" with dump a$$ tailgaters, keep the stock bumper until the next "run in" and let insurance buy a nice one for you.

 

[half k cruiser]

The Toytec one my buddy is running looks like its just waiting for some weight in the rear. Right now it sits up like a hot rod.

 

[SammyT96LX450]

The set up on these is very similar to my Fj. If you don't get the corrrect amount of weight on the front (bumper winch etc) you will have to play around with the spring rate. I had 550 on the FJ with a bumper and a winch and still was not as plush as a wanted it. Toytec was prone to breaking the front shocks on the bottom by the lower control arm. But that was 3 years ago and I believe several of the guys were using a combo of wheel spacers and shocks spacers.

The rear lower links are prone to bending along with smashing the front brackets on them. You will need to beef those up if you want to be sliding over stuff. Trd parts for you has some good stuff

RCI Rear Lower Link Skids 4runner T4R-10+LL

Metal tech has the lower beefy links. They worked well on my fj

You will hit your rear diff and drag that thing over a ton of stuff. There are skids for the 8inch as well. These rigs are stiff as a board up front and don't get much flex at all. So your rear will be flexing a lot and you will be on 3 wheels a lot. So good flexy springs and shocks in the back will do wonders The front unless you will do a long travel set up I would not spend much on getting new upper or lower control arms. Get a good coilover set up with the correct spring rates for your set up and keep the lift below 3 inches and don't do a front diff drop cause you will run into issues and it is not need it unless you go above a 3 inch lift. If I would build me fj again with the same goals as you I would keep it simple. No bypass or remote reservoir shocks. Something like ome or dobbinson sells a combo for these.

Armor armor armor. From the gas tank all the way to the front. And steel. Cause you will be sliding. Nick and I went fancy with aluminum from ricochet and nick bent his on the first trip out.

These rigs are very capable just have to pick your lines. When I got into my 80 I felt like I was cheating . Wheeling the automatic is different and you won't do much "crawling" they are pretty fast even in low and 1st gear. There is a fix for that I can send you some links down the road.

Spare parts
Cv axle
Tie rod ends
That's it. Good luck and let me know if you need a hand.

 

[CrowleyFJ40]

Fantastic feedback @SammyT08FJ .

 

[CrowleyFJ40]

Haven't had much time to work in the garage, but I did get a remote start installed. Started work tonight on building a place to mount one of the auxiliary fuse blocks under the hood, and two 100 amp circuit breakers (one for fuse block under hood for lights and exterior accessories, one for fuse block in cab for interior accessories). Need to make the support bracket down to the fender and paint it up.

Using 2 of these Blue Sea fuse panels.

Cardboard mockup:

Top plate cut and bent:

 

[CrowleyFJ40]

Also outsourced some work and had a guy I know pull off the mudflaps. It was NOT cheap labor.

 

[tornadoalleycruiser]

I might have a spare fuse block like that sitting at the house i'll make you a killer deal on. Ordered the wrong one for the 45.. I run the same thing.

 

[CrowleyFJ40]

While waiting for some electrical parts to come in so I can finish building out the fuse panel, I thought I should adjust up the parking brake. For those not familiar with the setup on these, they are rear disc so the park brakes are drum shoes using the inside of the rotor hat as the drum. You have to pull the rear wheels and adjust the shoes out through an access hole on the rotor and hub. Starting with the left rear, I pulled the tire and stuck a screwdriver in the access hole. I couldn't see the adjuster with a flashlight, and wasn't feeling it with the screwdriver. I went ahead and pulled the caliper and rotor off to see what was going on in there. Imagine my surprise to find the reason the brakes weren't holding is because there weren't any!

Yup, there's your problem right there!

Fortunately the other side was still together, so I was able to document how it all goes together, as well as figure out which parts I need to order to get it all sorted out (parking brake shoe lever and strut). I started putting the right side back together, but ran out of daylight and patience. This is definitely going to be a job that requires lot of patience.

 

[CrowleyFJ40]

Sneak preview of some of the bling @rockstate45 will be installing on Chewie Sunday while @tornadoalleycruiser and I heckle and drink.

 

[SammyT96LX450]

Sneak preview of some of the bling @rockstate45 will be installing on Chewie Sunday while @tornadoalleycruiser and I heckle and drink.

View attachment 1444135

Snap

 

[tornadoalleycruiser]

I like the way you are prepping my Sunday funday

 

[CrowleyFJ40]

Quite a bit has happened this weekend. Parking brakes are fixed.

Also, pile o parts

Plus @tornadoalleycruiser , @rockstate45 , and @4wheelfever

Equals

Big Thanks to Erik for hosting and all his work, plus Jack and Brendon for their help as well! Stock tires look like donut spares now.

 

[tornadoalleycruiser]

Perfect weather too

 

[BigRiggs]

Perfect weather and..