Is sheetmetal overrated?

[Taco4life]

As soon as I finish up all the loose ends on my 4runner to get it registered i'm planning on starting my build... Originally the goal of this project was to make it a very capable daily driver leaving as much of a stock look as possible. After looking at hundred of peoples builds over the past few months as with all projects I am starting to dream a little more. Currently as of now I dont plan on trailering my rig anytime soon. A few specs on the runner...
85 4runner (solid front axle)
Ford 302 Carbed but hopefully EFI soon (I have all the parts but need someone to point me in the right direction or help with the swap)
C4 3 speed Auto Tranny
Jeep Dana 20 Transfercase
Nothing trimmed yet sitting on a "mall cruiser lift" composed of blocks in the rear and chrome lift springs in the rear.
Sitting on 35" Goodyear MTR's
Should be a fun build. I have a tight budget right now and am hoping to get the most out of my money. I am hoping you all can help me out in my design process. I want it to be as capable as possible. What would you all do just looking for suggestions? Should I stay with Toyota axles? Tube it or keep the Sheet metal? I'll post a couple of my favorites for inspiration.

 

[1993yj]

chrome leafs? Thats bitchin

 

[Taco4life]

Here is my victim rig with the Chrome leafs

 

[Taco4life]

Some inspiration...

 

[Taco4life]

some more favorites

 

[Taco4life]

some tube...

 

[Taco4life]

Last one I swear!

 

[Herzog]

I mocked this up for a guy on Pirate out of sheer boredom:

Might give you some more ideas.

 

[Taco4life]

I like the design but currently I am in need of carrying a few passengers and need to take advantage of the rear seating. Which is one of the reasons I got a 4runner in the first place.

 

[furbronco]

As soon as I finish up all the loose ends on my 4runner to get it registered i'm planning on starting my build... Originally the goal of this project was to make it a very capable daily driver leaving as much of a stock look as possible. After looking at hundred of peoples builds over the past few months as with all projects I am starting to dream a little more. Currently as of now I dont plan on trailering my rig anytime soon. A few specs on the runner...
85 4runner (solid front axle)
Ford 302 Carbed but hopefully EFI soon (I have all the parts but need someone to point me in the right direction or help with the swap)
C4 3 speed Auto Tranny
Jeep Dana 20 Transfercase
Nothing trimmed yet sitting on a "mall cruiser lift" composed of blocks in the rear and chrome lift springs in the rear.
Sitting on 35" Goodyear MTR's
Should be a fun build. I have a tight budget right now and am hoping to get the most out of my money. I am hoping you all can help me out in my design process. I want it to be as capable as possible. What would you all do just looking for suggestions? Should I stay with Toyota axles? Tube it or keep the Sheet metal? I'll post a couple of my favorites for inspiration.

PM'd ya on the EFI swap.

 

[Kiel]

I would just truggy it. That would be sweet and you could keep the backseat. But that body looks pretty shiney so sell that one and swap a crappy one and truggy that one

 

[yellowbronco]

If you don't plan on trailering keep the sheet metal as long as possible. If you wheel hard enough the decision to buggy it may be made for you, regardless.

 

[Houndoc]

I think the answer is made unless you want to trailer. If it need to stay street legal, you will need the metal.

 

[O'neal]

I would bob it,that way it's all closed in and cozy for yourself and passenger's.Then wheel it until the sheetmetal is trashed,until then make a plan of how you really would like it to be,this will give you time to gather up part's,tool's,tubing etc that you will need when the time come's.

 

[Taco4life]

What are my limiting factors if I wanted to add some tube and keep it street legal? How much of the cab and such need to be there? Would it be considered street legal if I tied in some tail lights, fenders, and threw on some mud flaps.

 

[Greg]

You know, I asked myself the same question about a full bodied rig... then I cut the top off my Toyota P/U and tubed it out. I eventually lost intrest in the project, parted it out & over a year later I'm wheelin' a full-bodied 4Runner... and I love it.

I think it's funner to have a rig that sports minor sheetmetal trimmings & still run the hard trails. There's more challenge to it, for sure! Plus, I love driving mine to the trail & back home. On my last few Moab trips I drove it from home, to Moab & ran Upper Helldorado, Hells Revenge (Hells Gate, the Escalator, etc), Pritchett (most of it) and then drove it back home.

The last trip out I took the 4Runner on a 3 hr road trip, slept in the back, covered some killer high-elevation, rainy, cold trails. IMO, the 4Runner was the perfect vehicle for the trip because I had a heater, doors & a roof.

I took my 4Runner 1/2 way up 21 Road yesterday, with the top on. I took more backups & had to be more careful than a rig that had minimal sheetmetal, but it was still a great time. I think it's all in what you really want, not what you think you want. I've seen a few people buildup buggies, only to wheel them & realize it's not what they thought it would be. There's a lot of advantages to being full-bodied, as well as many disadvantages.

You have to figure out what you're really after... good luck!