I ordered engine swap parts from Off Road Solutions so I will be ready to start the engine swap after I finish the body. I also took advantage the sales Marlin Crawler had this month and ordered 4.7:1 23-spline gears and a rebuild kit for the RF1A.
I continue to "de-bro" the 4Runner by removing the chrome siding and broken aftermarket sound system (speakers and tweeters). The interior panels and some of the body were cut for the sound system. It didn’t look clean/OEM and left scars to the interior which is a little disappointing. The tweeters left multiple tack screws in the lower dash trim. The radio housing is all hacked up and the rear panels were also chopped for bigger/more speakers. Supposedly the previous owner spent over $4K on the sound system which is hard to believe.
Photos of the chrome removed and the hacked front doors.
Body:
The 4Runner is stripped and ready for body work! It’s my first-time doing body work so hopefully it is not too ambitious to have it painted in a month. I received my rear flares, but I am still waiting for my front fenders. I will start the working on the body this week. First welding in the new passenger rocker panel, then cutting the rear wheel wells and fitting the rear flares.
I did discover some damage to the hardtop by rear window run.
Not sure how difficult that will be to repair, but it doesn't look too bad.
Interior:
I removed most of the original carpet. It is too much of a science experiment to save. I also pulled all the seats and the dash. I’ll be repairing the cracked dash pad and whatever other pieces of trim I can. I will probably stick with the factory gray color scheme. I would like to do a quick disconnect steering wheel since the original one is beat.
Photos of the front dash.
I did find some rust underneath the front passenger carpet. It isn't much so I should be able to just sand and paint it.
Since I’ve got the interior stripped, now is a great time to add some improvements. I plan to insulate (for sound and heat) the interior. I am between Lizard Skin and Dynamat but leaning towards Lizard Skin. I don’t have experience with either, but Lizard Skin appears easiest to apply.
Photos of the interior stripped.
I am also considering different front seats. At first, I was going to reupholster all the seats, but now I am thinking it could be worth upgrading the front seats. I am not sure how comfortable the original ones will be with new foam, but I am sure there are better seat options available.
www.roundforge.com
forum.ih8mud.com
www.marlincrawler.com
