86 4runner restoration

SUPERFLY

CaptainRob
Location
sugar house
i know it sounds crazy but after years of smashing, crashing and thrashing toyotas i kinda want to build a nice pretty one. Sort of like giving back after taking soooo much:D
I've been looking for about a year now for a clean, bondo and rust free 1st gen 4runner body and frame. i wanted a 1st gen runner because A. they are freakin sweet. B. they have a good amount of cargo space. C. you can carry 5 people. D. they are light enough you can manage semi decent gas mileage. E THE TOP COMES OFF!! F. they are freaking sweet!:D
I found a 1986 sr5 4runner with a blow motor for a good price, the whole body is super straight, with no rust, even the motor bay is clean enough to eat off of. The bad news is the previous owner thought it would be cool to paint over the original blue with flat black(i still don't understand why people think rattle can flat black will look good?) it also looks like they left it outside with the top off in the weather because the interior is worse than my green runner. so that's going to be a major project. it has factory blue interior(i am not a huge fan of the blue) i have a parts truck with grey interior that i plan to swap quite a bit of interior parts out of, both trucks are sr5 with power doors. i would like to find some 88-89 sr5 4runner molded door panels(those are neat!)
My plan with this truck is to start out by completing the interior and making the inside nice, putting a 22re in it just to get it running again(already have the motor) daily drive it for a while then eventually do a complete restoration/build. I haven't fully decided what do build it into yet, i was thinking about a different route from the usual "sas" and doing a desert pre runner. Since I'm getting more and more into racing 4400, and building a buggy, it would be nice to have something to pre run/chase in that can handle terrain a little better than Jason's extera but is still a comfortable ride.(don't get me wrong, the "extra" is actually quite impressive but someday it will break) A longer travel ifs setup and baja fenders would be kinda cool. either way i would still like it to have "trail rig" things like on board air and on board welder, a killer stereo etc. It will have a good roll cage, front and rear bumpers, at least a rear locker, dual cases, and will not keep the 22re. it will have a lexus 4.0, tacoma 3.4 or a 7mgee-whizz(tacoma named it that)
 
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SUPERFLY

CaptainRob
Location
sugar house
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You can see the only dent by the tail light, not to bad
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Sorta a bad pic but it gives an idea of how straight the panels are
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rollover

Well-Known Member
Location
Holladay
Looks like a great starting platform.
Having a stock rig on the outside and built on the inside that can handle almost anything is great. Everyone just scratches there heads and says "How in the world did you do that?"
 

pELYgroso

'Merica
Location
LEHI, UT
I give that 'runner about a week after you have a locker in it before it gets smashed on something, or jumped, or flopped. It's inevitable. it's Robbie.
 

SUPERFLY

CaptainRob
Location
sugar house
Ever seen one of these before? Its a factory toyota flash light that plugs into an outlet under the dash, here it is pictured next to the outlet on my green runner
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Its hard to think that the motor is blown on it because even the engine bay is very clean
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But... Here's the hole in the block
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Here's a shot of the interior, its pretty hashed but I'm slowly piecing together a grey interior, if anyone has good grey stuff let me know :)
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As much as I'd like to jump it and rally it, I've already got a 4runner built for that:) This one will stay in good shape, I've been toying with the idea of a side business of collecting mini truck/4runner parts and selling them to people who want to restore them, they are becoming harder to find, and it seems like more and more people are wanting to restore these trucks rather than make full blow rock crawlers. If I did that I would like this 4runner to be more or less my show car, but then again its just an idea

Blue interior is just not what I want. I wouldn't mind blue on the outside, but I think this one is going to end up with more of a mountain yoat style paint job.. I'm thinking lime green with retro toyota pin stripping in purple, or possibly those in reverse
 

ricsrx

Well-Known Member
I also have collected a lot of parts, the problem is, toyota interier parts are inferior, and finding them in good condition is next to imposible, like the door panels your looking for, i have two sets and they both have quality problems, i wish Toyota would have made there parts to last, my 205k mile 89 cherokee had perfect interier, good quality. the 89 runner sr5 i am building now with 150k miles and its junk.
 

pELYgroso

'Merica
Location
LEHI, UT
my '86 runner with 190k has a perfect interior. :)

Robbie, I've toyed with the idea of doing the same thing! Starting a 1st and 2nd gen pickup/1st gen 4runner Toyota junkyard. If you get more serious about the idea let me know!
 

Panos

12Volt Specialist
Location
Salt lake City
I know those colors are "rob" style haha but if your going to make it super clean and classic, maybe keep the colors original? just a thought. any way I have a bunch of parts i am going to bring up to SLC for you this weekend .
 

SUPERFLY

CaptainRob
Location
sugar house
You rock nick! that's the pin stripping I want! But green and purple :D I know its not factory but.... I have to something a little unique?
 
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