CA18_Sean's 1st Gen 4Runner expedition build

[rambrush]

Looks to be a WeatherGuard box..

 

[ca18_sean]

Did you cut and weld the rust holes or just fill them in?

I wire wheeled the rust off and POR15'd everything. I used POR15 fiberglass body filler as well. I could have welded but then I'd have unprotected bare metal on the inside where I couldn't paint it and it would just rust back through. I'm my opinion for smaller holes it's better to fiberglass them. Everyone has different opinions. I guess we'll see how well it holds up.

And yes, it says weather guard on the box. Good eye!

 

[85x85]

So nice. You are an inspiration. MUST. KEEP. WORKING.

 

[ca18_sean]

Thanks man!

Did a little more this weekend. Mostly small stuff but it was time consuming! Changed out the door handles for black ones. Looks really nice. Also lined the whole interior with dynomat type sound deadening.

I installed a front bumper brace to strengthen the front winch mounting area.

Also made sure the weatherguard box was going to fit. It has less than 1/4 inch clearance on either side of the wheel arches. Perfect. I also removed the roll bar. What a pain in the butt.

Finally put a fun little touch that some buddies of mine in Nevis gave me last time I was there.

 

[ca18_sean]

So with the addition of the tool box and spare tire on the back my stock leaves with an add a leaf are struggling... They're not quite flat yet, but they're nearly there. I'm thinking it's time for an upgrade. OME is the top of my list. Does anyone have an suggestions for which springs to use? I'm leaning towards these:

Old Man Emu Toyota 79-88 US Rear Leaf Spring, Heavy Constant, 550LBS TO GVW, 2.25" Lift (CS010R)

And possibly even adding this:

Old Man Emu Rear Extra Leaf for CS009 and CS010R Rear Springs, Each (D5XL)

Since I'm still planning on adding more weight to the back. Camping gear, water, and an auxiliary gas tank where the spare tire used to mount. Thoughts? The front seems to be handling the weight of the winch and bumper just fine with ball joint spacers and slight crank on the stock torsion bars.

 

[seanpistol]

When you wire wheeled the rust and POR-15'd, did you go down to bare metal or just get the majority of the rust/paint off?

 

[ca18_sean]

Bare metal, but most of the rust wasn't that bad. It's been a Florida truck its whole life. I used flap sanding disks and/or a wire wheel.

 

[ca18_sean]

Unrelated to my build, but we got our first 2015 4x4 3rz Tacoma in today at the company I work for. 7 more on order. Special ordered 4x4 with the rear seat delete package. Takes about a month to get them, but it knocks a pretty good chunk off the price. I really want one for my personal truck. Lol. I talked the boss into them and so far he loves them. We've always been a big Ford company, so I'm hoping these new tacos work out.

 

[ca18_sean]

Picked up a roof top tent this weekend. Apparently the previous owner brought it from Venezuela with him (he moved to Florida from there). It's pretty nice quality and I got an awesome deal on it. Not sure if it's a rebranded China made tent, or something home made, but it's light and well constructed. Can't wait to try it out.

 

[ca18_sean]

I found the company that makes the tents on Facebook. Looks like they've been out of business for a few years. Here's a youtube video I found of them.

 

[Dances with Wolves]

OT: from your screen name and the 240 in the driveway, I take it you're into the Tampa 240 culture. I had several and lived in the Tampa area before heading west. I was jk240sx on TR forums and hung out with Rinku.

 

[ca18_sean]

I was actually in Orlando when I was doing 240sx stuff. Hung out with Estevan, Jay, most of the Enjuku guys. The current S14's are both my friend's. She was rear ended and we're swapping all the parts from the wrecked blue car to the black shell. I knew some Tampa 240 guys, Rinku definitely sounds familiar. I was NeedCAforS13 on TR I believe. Either that or CA18_Sean. I built this S13.

I try and stay FAR away from the current Tampa 240sx scene. Lol.

 

[Dances with Wolves]

Rinku is Vikram's cousin, founder of BrevMo crew in Melbourne. I know Estavan, Jay,Enjuku Ken, MattBack & Durdan. Early 240 in Florida was epic. Now it's pretty pathetic since most of the original guys moved on. I remember you on TR and definitely your clean S13.

/hijack

 

[ca18_sean]

Small world! Going to be hanging out with most of those guys this weekend. Formula D is coming to Orlando Speed World...

 

[ca18_sean]

No big huge changes to report. Just enjoying driving it on the weekends. Added a pair of spot lights to the front bumper. Having a friend of mine who prints vinyl make a set of oem Toyota stripes in matte black for me. I'll post up pics when I get those installed! Grabbed a few current pics in the road that leads to my house.

Might be heading up to Ocala National Forest next weekend with some friends with Jeeps. Excited to try out the new tent.