Tray Back 4Runner Project ! back to the grind !

[g1oves]

A round June i decided to add a new addition to the family and bought a four runner to play with, i got a 3.0ltr so it had a bit of power and then it could carry all i needed when it was time to play.

the idea is cheep as i can but safe !!!

bought it off ebay for £675.00 knowing it had bits of rust but the engine was well serviced and the chassis was clean,then after a lot of oooing orrring i decided to go with a bob tailed back end to keep it short and sweet and stiil be uesable as a family fun toy.

price £675.00
N reg
1996
119.000 miles on the clock
LSD Rear diff diff
and everything works.
No road tax and MOT






came with an extra wing
four extra wheel and tyres
and a basket of interior bits and bods.

[g1oves]

After some closer inspection a noticed the back end was riddled with rust and the inner wheelwells were badly rotted and to repair them might of been a headacke, a few friends mentioned that it had probably been used as a vehicle for launching boats.

[g1oves]

So it was back to the drawing board.

I then decided to swap cabs and make it in to a pick-up but trying to get a cab was quite hard and i would have to purchase the doors & skins and a number of other bits to convert it to a pickup because :

the doors on a hilux are bigger and longer by about 3inches.
the chassis mounts are all in different places and dont line up.
the dash is mounted slightly higher on the 4 runner.
the front grill is has different monting postions.
and the list went on which meant spending more money

so i then found a 4x2 cab with front end right off and thought about chopping it in half but then relized the roof line was higher on the 4runner so that wouldn`t work either.

so i decided that chopping it in half would be my only answer.

i decided that the best place to chop it was was along the rear seat mount
and also to give me an extra cab !

[g1oves]

Then i started the rip out !!

[g1oves]

Well !!!! it got to that point were you feel slightly nervous and you know there is no going back

I had the absolute peeee !! taken out of me at this point because i kept measuring it over and over again to make sure it was right ] (*,)

[g1oves]

Then i chopped the chassis to the length i wanted, i didnt want it to short and it needed to support the tray, i wanted to put in some box section to rienforce it and to hold a "2" inch box section for the high lift jack mount or tow point.

[goodie]

they say the first cut is the hardest

it looks a good start

[big_patrol]

Very nice and very similar aproach to how we did mine it looks cool so i cant wait to see the rest. shame you coulnt weld the tail gat in so you has an elec rear window.

Keep us posted

Danny

[g1oves]

Started on the rebuild and did the panels in the doors out of 4mm plate so it finished flush with the body work, a bit over kill but made it easier for the finish look.


the roof was a real pain i wanted to give it a little bit of the original look and a nice finished rather than just a flat cut off look and it then runs with the lines of the vehicle.

when i cut it in half i left the roof long until i worked out what to do, and then i decided to zip parallel and just shape it over to the right line and fill in the corners with two peices and i was amazed just how well it came out and looked.

[lee22]

lookin good dude
lee

[g1oves]

YOUR NOT KIDDING THE FIRST CUT IS REALLY HARD !!!!!! I was doing this at the same time as yours danny and it was a shame about the back end, i got a lot of ideas from australia and a company that just chops trucks for a living.

[big_patrol]

cool truck though it will be well worth the effort i prefer the rounded origonal look to the roof to.

You putting an axle on the front?

[g1oves]

Then i started on the rear panel, i couldnt decide (like a lot of this) if i should of done it in one sheet or two so i went with one !!

[g1oves]

The roof is something i looked at on `SLEE OFFROAD` who did two land cruisers but the the yellow one just didnt look right and the silver one looks cool !!! im giong to put a `70` series front axle on the front and try and put the limited slip in as well and then an ARB in the back.

[goodie]

looking like a good start there.

i found starting mine was the worst bit

[g1oves]

Because i want to keep the center of gravity low and fit a set of 37`s i cut the wheel arches out by about 2.5 inches just above the rust line why buy new when you can just cut out the rust and use old

[g1oves]

The front end, i want to ditch the front bumper and tube it and fit a winch, so that the end result looks right i cut the corners off the front face and also it looks a lot better.[img]

[g1oves]

This was the bit thats a bit long and boring, preping up for spraying the under coat.

[g1oves]

Dropped a bit of bo**ock took all the interior door handles off and disconnected the electrics for the windows, with the windows down and forgot to take the handles off first

so just another job to mask up !!!

after i smoothed out the under coat and sealed the welds i gave the truck its final coat,

sterling gray with a 2 pac laquar.

[big_patrol]

very nice cant wait for this to be done what 37's you planning on?

[g1oves]

im a bit stuck on tyre selection but iv been looking around for reviews on maxxis trepadors or mudzillas but its the width of tyre thats causing the problems i wanted 14.50`s or 13.50`s but can`t get them in the trepadors so i might go with creepys.

[g1oves]

finished the spray job and got a window for the back and fitted it to day.

[big_patrol]

you can get 14.50 in the creepy's on a 37.

That looks sweet mate are we going to play out when its done trays alike

[g1oves]

YOU NAME THE PLACE IL BE THERE

Iv been really busy this last month with work but its getting quiet now so this week end il be doing the 2" body lift and then i will start on the tray, bull bar and cage, it took a total of 20 days over 4months to get to this point because of the great British weather held me up when i needed to spray it.

but im going to be a dad in 4 weeks so things might get delayed but im hoping to have it done for xmas.

whats left to do ;

50 mm body lift
45 mm engine and gearbox lift
land cruiser rear springs
70` series front end,total of `5` inchs of lift

tray it, cage it, bull bar,side bars.
raise the fuel tank
raise the exhaust

and it might look like this

[big_patrol]

well maybe not cos that looks way to cool so im not playing out with you mine will look crap.

I think a trip to whitworth and ignore the course should be good.

If you need some help i have many week days off and i like to but my nose in lol

[Barnyzuki]

Very, very nice work, I hope there is room for the baby seat.

[g1oves]

you wont be bothered about going out with me when you see the spray job close up but whitworth sounds good to me !!!

i dont know what you did for a window, i got offered a boat window by one of the lads on the yard, but it was to small and they told me about a place in Wigan called Caldwells that make windows any size or shape for boats or vehicles, i got that one for £55.00 + vat its a half split sliding window just wish i got a bigger one.

[g1oves]

Barnyzuki Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2008 11:22 pm Post subject:

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Very, very nice work, I hope there is room for the baby seat.







ooooohh yes !!!

[lee22]

[ashley]

thats going to be one cool looking truck mate. the 37s in a mudzilla is not as wide as you mite like as i have them on mine. but i love the tyre work so well on my patrol..