Tito's - 1987 Toyota 4Runner Build (2 Viewers)

[4LowandSlow]

Figured since I got some down time I would make a build thread to show the build of the new 4runner but also keep myself up with what I've done over the last year with it since I've bought it so I don't forget what I've done lol

Well fly back to June of 2020 when I bought my first 4runner, Bone stock 1988 22re 5spd runner that had been sitting in the front yard for 8 years. had a blown HG and the guy bought it to fix it up and drive it but that never happened. I had seen it as a drove by on my way home from work and stopped by to see if he would sell it, a bit of talking and negotiating the next day she was coming home with me. This is how it looked when i picked it up

She was dirty but had lots of potential! The plan was to clean it up and put a new motor in it and some 31's and make it a DD. Which did happen, But that didn't last long and i got the itch as apparently i was too hard on the 80 Next thing i know i had a 85 frame in my possession. Put the axles i had built for greaser under that frame and under the body it went, put dual cases in it as well.

Over the next year it some upgrades and some 37s and then 39s and lots of abuse!

After multiple rollovers and no straight panels i slipped with a sawzall and off the body and some tube work was done.

That was the last drive and trip the 4runner got, after years of abuse, love and memories it was time to retire it as it wasn't fitting for my needs as i would be enlisting into the army and it wasn't road worthy and time to build something else. Parted it out and kept what i wanted for the new rig and off to the scrap yard she went!

Introducing Tito's! Shes a 87' 4Runner, When i bought it already had a exo cage, 3rz swap with 1st gen tacoma dash, 3link front with an 80 axle, 4" springs in the rear with IFS rear axle, duals with stock gearing, She was a good platform to build off of.

 

[4LowandSlow]

The PO had started to bobb it but never got it done so that was one of the first things i needed to get knocked out to seal it up. but in my fashion first thing was to wheel it and see where it was truly at! After finishing AIT i was able to throw my wheels and tires on it and my duals in it so i would have a 4.7:1 in the rear case and took it to Uwharrie for a shakedown! It did pretty well but i figured some things out pretty quickly that needed to be addressed, Rear suspension had maybe 3" of travel, it was atrocious. i hated the spool in the rear, come to find out the diff was hurt anyways, And the rear needed to be sealed up and finished but that had already been planned. Wouldn't be offically my 4runner if i didnt add some body damage to it myself!

So with the body being bobbed the frame was not, and it was not because the rear spring hangers were at the edge of the frame, which caused me to be unable to install the tail gate. with that and the suspension being trash and the rear axle hurt the solution was to do a 4 link! so goodbye axle and frame!
So as soon as i got home i started working away and cutting! Plan was to run a 80 rear axle to match the front and run a 4WU triangulated 4 link kit. I already had a 80 FF axle laying around so i sent that diff out to get built by ECGS, 5.29s, ARB, Solid spacer.

Got the rear axle stripped and cleaned up ready for brackets to be installed and get everything mocked up

 

[4LowandSlow]

Parts and coil overs came in and got everything tacked in and under the truck and started to mock up everything for coilovers. I was able to get the suspension cycled and flexed out before i had to head out back to work. Big thanks to my Dad @fourtrax for continuing on with this while i was away for a couple months at assessment. during my time gone we were able to plan out the coilovers and start executing it, that involved building a new section of the rear frame to accommodate for the coilovers running through the cab, have @GLTHFJ60 fab up some towers for me, and get that all mocked up and flexed out to our liking just in time for me to come home and finish welding everything up. This time i was able to finish welding the suspension up, rebuild the front and rear axle and get it flexed out on its own weight Parts and coil overs came in and got everything tacked in and under the truck and started to mock up everything for coilovers. I was able to get the suspension cycled and flexed out before i had to head out back to work. Big thanks to my Dad @fourtrax for continuing on with this while i was away for a couple months at assessment. during my time gone we were able to plan out the coilovers and start executing it, that involved building a new section of the rear frame to accommodate for the coilovers running through the cab, have @GLTHFJ60 fab up some towers for me, and get that all mocked up and flexed out to our liking just in time for me to come home and finish welding everything up. This time i was able to finish welding the suspension up, rebuild the front and rear axle and get it flexed out on its own weight before i had to head back out.

 

[4LowandSlow]

After a year or so of training and loads of other BS i figured out i was getting station in Savannah, So during Christmas break i came back up to finish her up and bring her home with me, Finished installed the fuel cell, buttoning up some finishing details, finish bobbing the top and sealing the body up and hit the road! this thing at this point drives phenomenal. Way more power over the 22re i had before, and it was like riding on a cloud having coilovers on all 4 corners. Made the 4 1/2 trip down to savannah cruising 70-75 and getting 17 mpg on the 39s,

For new years i took a trip up to my buddys place in SC but on the way up to him i stopped by gulches to do a shake down with the new setup, the amount of flex and stablitly that the rig has now is crazy compared to before and how my red 4runner was set up. I didn't get many pictures but it performed fantasic. I also folded the front fender up on the drivers side pretty good lol.

The following week me and my buddy took a trip up to windrock to get it a true shakedown, and in true Gurt fashion i put it on its side in the first 20 minutes being an idiot, but no damage really, ground was soft and the exo cage does wonders! Was able to do trail 16, 15, 4, panther rock, little school bus, and 200 ft of rattle rock, i broke two lockouts in 7 ft of each other and me being the only rig doing it i decided to save it for another day. But it performed fantastic and exceeded my expectations, it played recovery vehicle for my buddies jeep on trail 16, popped a bead and tore a tire so had to drive back to the trailer to grab his spare in the piss pouring rain up the muddy chutes on the begining of 16, she got a true beatdown there.

 

[4LowandSlow]

Got back towards savannah and heard quite the bearing whinning noise from the transmission/transfer case, limped it back and pulled it apart the next weekend to figure out what was up, pulling the transmission in the barracks parking lot was not fun, but got it done, figured out the main bearing in the tranmission was going out and the needle bearing for the input shaft for the transfer case adapater was trashed. replaced those and put a new clutch in while i was there and back on the road she was.

Also while it was down and i was waiting on parts i took the time to tint the windows on the doors and the hard top to offer some privacy from people snooping around and keep some sun light out.

Really all thats been done for now, currently out of the country for work and wont be able to do anything till i get back. plan is for when i get back is to finish up the tube work in the rear, change out the front coilovers, get an alignment as i've yet to do so lol, install the 37s on it for DD. and install some other goodies that i got for it. Moving into a place in july with a garage so hopefully ill really get some tinkering done. I've really been impresssed on how it drives on and off the road, The goal has always been to build a rig that can drive out to the trails and hang with the big boys and go just about anywhere but hold up to the abuse and be able to drive me how ever far i gotta drive to get home. It's not exactly where i want it but its getting closer!

 

[4LowandSlow]

Well after much convincing (I caved after the first time i was asked) I'm going to GSMTR as long as I'm back in the states in time to have a couple days to tinker on the 4runner and get it ready. Honestly to get it to a good wheeling standpoint i made a list of things i need to get done to wheel it.
- Finish rear cage and rear bumper ( If someone has a JD2 1.5" Die Set i could borrow that would be fantastic!)
- Rear Bump stops, Rear fender well isn't ideal
- Install new front driveshaft w/ driveflanges
- Figure out wiring for winch
- New tail lights (i might leave the broken ones in, it seems to be a trend with me...)
- Going to try and get a set of tires for it, my 39s are blad, and don't want to wheel on 37" ko2 lol
- Reseal rear transfer case (also need to install new HD shift detent springs and balls)

If i have time I'd like to get the following done
- New front coil overs installed
- Radio/Speakers
- Rear disconnect (Front digs FTW)
- Body needs some trimming around the cage cross-through tube
- Fridge mount and wiring
- Have some interior lights to install
- Rear tailgate cable installed

I plan myself and the 4runner being back in NC the weekend of the 7th, I might host a HAMON if there are some people available to lend a hand but i understand people will be getting their own rigs ready that weekend but ill provide food and beer for yalls time! Going to really try and make this one, really have been lacking in my event appearance with work and the fiancée really wants to go to windrock. We'll see if i can pull it off!

 

[White Sheep]

I should be around if you need a hand.

 

[4LowandSlow]

Had some goodies show up

 

[Beams37]

What tires are those??

 

[4LowandSlow]

What tires are those??

40x13.50r17 kanati mud hogs, they just came out with the 40s. i ran their 39x12.50 for the last couple years and loved them. for how they perform can't beat the price

 

[4LowandSlow]

Guess its been awhile, I really got to work on that but ill pick up where i left off. As soon as i got back stateside i loaded up the 4runner on the trailer and headed back to NC to my dads to get the 4runner ready for GSMTR. Got the new tires mounted, made bump stops for the rear, finished the tube work on the rear bumper and some other little maintenance things. In the mist of that i got married and off to windrock we went, It was the wife's first hard wheeling trip and i was told not to be too hard on it and not roll us * I 100% was not easy on it at all...* but i didn't roll so that's a win in my book! Popped a brand new tire, broke 2 lockout hubs, started overheating so the hood came off, and broke my Bluetooth speaker ( the worst break of all of them). other than that it was a good time. My wife claims she had a good time and enjoyed it but I think her nerves say otherwise. We covered a lot of ground while we were there with the amount of breaks everyone had.

My buddy Will's buggy decided its texas speed motor wanted to leave the chat halfway through 44 so dragging him all the way back to camp out of that trail and up 26 i was giving the 3rz everything it had(Im sure this is what started my overheating issues) I'm surprised my little turd was able to pull it all the way out. He got the pink helmet of shame

Loaded up and headed home

Took it to Uwharrie after fixing some things and hoping my overheating issues were a thing of the past, (Somehow got worse)

Got moved in to my new place and have a garage to tinker on things, Not my dads 30x40 shop with A/C and a lift and all the tools i could ever need, but i wont complain as it beats laying in the barracks parking lot lol

 

[4LowandSlow]

Finally was able to get up to my dads shop this past weekend to get some work done to the 4runner, made a new exhaust for it to run it out of the side of the truck instead of straight out the back with the fumes getting thrown back into the cab and killing me. also wired a capacitor and resistor into the rear 02 sensor to slow it down since i don't have a cat to try and eliminate the CEL and make it run not so rich, need to put a bigger capacitor in but its better. Also being able to breath is 100x better going down the road, really need to through a bigger muffler on to keep the noise down but that'll have to wait. Also had some extra time to fab up some skins for the tube doors to cut down on the wind on the highway, made them removable so i don't tear them on the trails





Ended up moving yet again but this time into a house! Garage isn't tall enough for a lift but ill take the space over anything, All the room for activities now!

Took some leave to spend some time with the family for the holidays after having 4 work trips back to back. Which turned into 4 straight days of working on the 4Runner. Pulled the transfer case to seal it yet again, which I figured out the front crawl box was cracked in multiple places. Fingers crossed this time. Pulled the front shafts out to throw a set of OG long-fields in the front, fix a leaky axle seal, and regressed the wheel bearings. Replaced the u joints on the front driveshaft. The motor mounts were shot so I changed them out to some trail fail bomb proof mounts to match the t case mounts. Also needed to throw a harness in the rear because SaFeTy. This is where it gets good. Got it all together Wednesday night and the clutch has been soft for a little bit and fluid was dirty so I went to flush it. Had my buddy pump the clutch a couple times and to my unpleasant surprise not only was the slave cylinder moving. But also the bell housing! At some point since my last wheeling trip to windrock I cracked the bell housing, With me leaving for GER that next day getting another one wasn’t plausible as my local Toyota yard didn’t have one. So broke out the tig and started welding away! In my defense before yall eat me alive, I’m going to go ahead and throw every excuse I can out about my tig welds. It was my first time using the tig and my first ever time welding cast aluminum… it was dirty and wouldn’t clean, I was mad, and I was rushing it. think I painted it more then actually welded it. At least the clutch feels much better and fully engages now and looks good enough for Gurt standards. But we’ll see what happen. Did multiple passes as I had to fill in a huge hole that I blew through the bellhousing getting to aggressive with the heat. But it looks like it might work. Definitely going to be getting a new one lol. Currently heading up to GER for a birthday weekend wheeling trip and I’ll post an update after I get back.


The wrench made a good counterbalance

Also got a new to me truck over Thanksgiving break, Picked up a 2019 F250 with 140k. Put it on a diet and its been perfect. Nice to have something reliable and comfortable as a daily while being able to pull whatever i want, Best part is getting 25mpg on the highway and 20-22 with my everyday commute.

 

[4LowandSlow]

Last one i promise, I'm kicking myself for not heading to good evening ranch sooner... 100% my new favorite park, the accessibility of the trails, lodging, hospitality that they have is top notch. I had a blast out there and had some carnage. First trail i sheared the bolts off of the passenger side of the skid plate, with having the front lower links attached to it was no bueno, I knew i was on borrowed time with them being like that but lack of time and priority to change it since it worked for the time being it has moved up on the list. couple ratch straps and limping back to camp broke out a grinder and welder and completely welded the skid plate to the frame... (i really didn't want to do this, but i also really wanted to wheel..) Which honestly held up great! We got around to hitting a lot of what they had to offer up there. We hit Cripple Creek, Wolverine, Chadalack, Fox hole, Rubicon, Snake den, and played on Honey hole for awhile. I can't wait to get into some more trails out there but not sure how much more wheeling I'm going to be doing this up coming year. Works keeping me busy, Also with just moved again into a house in Bluffton, and the wife and i are expecting a baby girl in June! I need to redo the entire front end, I was to throw a turbo on it at some point but the coilover towers are in the way. the frame has no bracing so it tweaks and flexes is probably going to crack soon, and the links need to be attached to the frame and redo the t-case crossmember, I'd like to do a flat belly so nothing hangs down and i can go smash smash on stuff really hard. Before i left i saw i bent the lower arm in the rear so it might be time for some aluminum links. Here's some pictures, in the process of uploading videos

 

[Hokie LX]

@GLTHFJ60 he copied your weld your skid to the frame and worry about it later move

 

[SFROMAN]

nice update Gurt.

Stay safe

 

[mtweller]

Awesome update. Livin' the dream G! Congrats on expecting - that's crazy to me. Some of us are getting OLD. It's been a couple minutes:

 

[mtweller]

Found the one I was REALLY looking for!

 

[Fort Knox]

Well, that's it. One of the first signs of the Apocalypse....... Gurt is procreating.

Congrats to you and the missus!!!!!

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Dang I missed that in the text too. Congrats bro! @fourtrax is about to become a grandpappy

 

[Hokie LX]

Congrats on the baby on the way. They’re a ton of fun!