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What rig would I want next? Imaginary build - IFS 1st gen 4runner

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carsonc1974

Active Member
It is true, you will be downgrading unless you throw down big bucks for long travel stuff.



Kurt is right about steering being a weak point... It is weak on your current tacoma as well. Ive been looking for a solution for a while but havent found one yet, I just keep replacing racks.

what do you mean by longevity? do you mean maintenance? While these are built to be beat on, yes there is a little more work to be done. I will say that, that this is true for any modified high performance vehicle. Going fast on any rough terrain is going to be harder on parts.
 
cruiseroutfit

cruiseroutfit

Cruizah!
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Sandy, Ut
carsonc1974 said:
...what do you mean by longevity? do you mean maintenance? While these are built to be beat on, yes there is a little more work to be done. I will say that, that this is true for any modified high performance vehicle. Going fast on any rough terrain is going to be harder on parts.
Click to expand...

Yes, duration of use between mandatory maintenance. With an OME setup you should be able to drive at least 50k without touching the shocks or springs. That isn't to say you can't experience a rare failure, leaky shock, etc but that would be well outside the norm of 95% of the users. You will not get anywhere near 50k out of even a high-end high-travel setup without the need to tear-down and maintain. Joints will get play and noise, shocks will start to weep, etc. All part of the game for having a higher performance setup. They get sloppy with just the dust and wear of desert travel, enter road salt and daily driving in grimy roads and they will not last super long between needed teardown. Hence having two lawns :D
 
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B2-Bomber

Guest
Location
SL, UT
Ok, here is the ford-guy coming out in me.

yes, ford had a great "idea", but their execution of it gave people the impression that it was the worst-idea in the world.....i'm of course talking about TTB (Twin Traction-Beam)

flash-forward 30 years. The KOH guys are having amazing results with TTB front suspension. http://www.google.com/imgres?sa=X&b...QcMBI&iact=rc&dur=324&page=2&start=15&ndsp=20

if properly executed, I think it would be awesome!
 
sixstringsteve

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
Interesting. I'm not going to lie, if they had brought the 4-door ranger to the states that would be a serious contender for a future rig of mine.
 
B

B2-Bomber

Guest
Location
SL, UT
there is even a tear right down the middle between us ford-guys
some guys hate the TTB (*cough, like me)
while others say that not only is it great, it "hugs" rocks as the suspension droops and it scissors. I ditched my TTB but I wheeled the piss out of other rigs with it.

if done well, it could have the comfort on-road, and amazing off-road performance, not only in the rocks, but also on the high-speed bouncing, and jumps
 
Kevin B.

Kevin B.

Not often wrong. Never quite right.
Moderator
Location
Stinkwater
Steve, I don't think a 1st gen 4Runner is right for you. You've already had a 3rd gen and didn't like it, and the 3rd is superior to the 1st in almost every way.

What the 1gen brings to the table -
  • The top comes off. This is huge, and IMO, is the biggest thing that makes it worth having a 1gen. YMMV.
  • The dropping tailgate. This is nice as an instant platform for cooking or sitting, but has it's drawbacks.
  • They're cheap to buy, cheap to build. Parts are still easily available, it's fairly simple to work on.
  • Style. A clean 1gen 4Runner is one of the coolest things on the road.

What sucks -
  • The motors. Weak and inefficient powerplants, both of them. You know the options for the swaps, but that's a PITA.
  • Two doors. It's funny as hell watching a full size adult try to worm his way into or out of the back seat. It's easier with the top off, they can climb over the fender. But still - PITA.
  • Cargo access. Not good, especially with the top on. You can't reach behind the rear seats from the front, you have to go in from the back, and that's where the dropping tailgate becomes a nuisance. You can't reach behind the rear seats with the tailgate down either, and frequently have to climb in to get your stuff. Easier if you have the hardtop off, but with a soft top or no top the truck loses any semblance of security it might have had. I'm thinking about building a sliding platform for the rear just so I can access my cargo without climbing in the back - all told, PITA.
  • Suspension. Leaf springs are leaf springs and they're fine, but the torsion bars in front suck in terms of ride quality and how you can lift for bigger tires. I've never heard of anybody adding OME or SAW bars and liking the ride better - torsion beam just sucks for ability to modify. I would like to have another IFS 1gen, but if I do, I will go long travel from Blazeland or TC just so I can add coilovers and get some tuneability up front. I hate those torsion bars with a passion.

Also, you mentioned sleeping in the back? I've done it, but I have to leave the tailgate down for legroom. It's shorter than the 3rd, so if you didn't like sleeping in the back of Clara you wouldn't like sleeping in the back of a 1st.

I love my 4Runner, but it's a love-hate relationship, and I've got a lot of work in front of me to get this truck where I want it (daily driver/overlander/roadtripper/wheeler). If I had the budget I would park it in favor of a Tacoma like the one you're thinking about selling, and I wouldn't think twice about it.
 
sixstringsteve

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
You might be right Kev. If I did get a 1st gen, it'd be a TC swap, and a motor swap. Which ups the downtime, cost, and complexity of the build.


I'm in love with this rig. 3rz turbo.

 
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C

carsonc1974

Active Member
I think maybe we need to find someone with a LT suspension that you are considering... You need to ride in something long travel before you jump to make sure it will accomplish what you want. I would offer mine, but its a ways off from being back on the road, and its substantially farther along then a typical TC kit. BTW I love that white 4 runner you posted!
 
sixstringsteve

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
no, this is a different truck. It belongs to Panos' friend. Panos did the 3rz turbo swap/tune on it.
 
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sixstringsteve

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
carsonc1974 said:
I think maybe we need to find someone with a LT suspension that you are considering... You need to ride in something long travel before you jump to make sure it will accomplish what you want.
Click to expand...


I think you're spot on. Anyone have a LT pickup or 4runner from this generation?
 
B

B2-Bomber

Guest
Location
SL, UT
oh, ok I get you.

that's a shame, I was hoping someone would do it, just so I could see it done

that one that I just posted was actually based on the D44 TTB, so it wouldn't take as much engineering like some of those "from-scratch" KOH rigs
 
I Lean

I Lean

Mbryson's hairdresser
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Utah
You do realize the one buggy (that I know of) that ran TTB in Ultra4/KOH no longer races, right?
 
C

carsonc1974

Active Member
I Lean said:
You do realize the one buggy (that I know of) that ran TTB in Ultra4/KOH no longer races, right?
Click to expand...


I will second that the one TTB That i know about (KOH), never even completed a race... I will add that I do know of a ranger running lots of travel with TTB that has had good luck, but he has ALOT of stuff done to make them work. For some silly reason he wont let the cat out of the bag though...
 
B

B2-Bomber

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Location
SL, UT
I Lean said:
You do realize the one buggy (that I know of) that ran TTB in Ultra4/KOH no longer races, right?
Click to expand...

carsonc1974 said:
I will second that the one TTB That i know about (KOH), never even completed a race
Click to expand...

I must apologize, to me rock-racing rigs are just "koh" rigs, just like people call various open-wheel cars "indy" cars, even though the car in question never raced the Indianapolis 500.


lets use a different term, instead of "KOH", lets just use the blanket "rock-racing" term. There are plenty of rock-racers running it, that do not/have not competed in the single race known as "king of the Hammers". and the one that I posted first of Robbie Gordon's was pretty cool, don't you think?

these days it's mostly Baja-style guys who race with it the most.
 
sixstringsteve

sixstringsteve

Well-Known Member
Location
UT
I think I've found the perfect rig:

IMG_1222.JPG



That being said, I still want to drive a LT ifs toyota.
 
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