Hi! My first post here... great site. I love that there is such a variety of vehicles and interests on here.
I just bought a great one of a kind 4Runner. It's an 86 body/interior on an 01 chassis... drivetrain/suspension/all is 3rd generation. I found out this truck was built by Irbis who has done the same thing with other Toyotas. I haven't talked to him about it yet, but I imagine it was his first 4Runner conversion. Iribis sold it to another guy who finished some of the cosmetic details. I bought it from the "3rd owner" who was leaving the country and sad to let it go. Lucky me.
I plan on using it as a camping truck to explore the Colorado back country, to haul ladders and tools, occasionally tow a small trailer and possibly for a trip into Central America. It won't be a rock crawler, which is how I ended up here and not flaming others on Pirate.
The topic has raised some rather opinionated discussions on other boards and here at least once before as to why. Well, who cares? Sure, for the time it took to build you could do something else. Sure, 1st gen frames are stronger and the solid front axle was available, and the 1st gen cabin interior is smaller with less creature comforts. But, I personally love the style of the 1st gen and the removable top. It has all of the modern important mechanical developments of the 3rd gen: coil suspension, easily upgradeable e-locker and supercharger, even though the rebuilt 3.4 is plenty powerful in its stock form for my use. It drives like a 3rd gen, maybe better considering the lighter body, comfy, tight and quiet yet it looks like an old-school SUV to the untrained eye. The extras that it came with are warn bumpers, upgraded corner light/LED rear conversion, newer front seats and center console, steering wheel and gauge cluster.
My first plans are some body work and paint job to address a few small rust spots, a heavy duty rack system. Just for looks, I am going to paint the retro 2-tone interior black. I want to use it for a while to find out what it is capable of in it's "stock" form. When the new tires that it came with wear out, I'll probably upgrade to a 2-3" OME lift (not sure how much a stock 3rd gen lift will actually lift mine since it is lighter) and put on 32 or 33" AT's. My only plans as far as a build are to add an e-locker, winch, sliders and maybe some heavier skid plates, depending on how the stock plates hold up.
Here are some photos:
I just bought a great one of a kind 4Runner. It's an 86 body/interior on an 01 chassis... drivetrain/suspension/all is 3rd generation. I found out this truck was built by Irbis who has done the same thing with other Toyotas. I haven't talked to him about it yet, but I imagine it was his first 4Runner conversion. Iribis sold it to another guy who finished some of the cosmetic details. I bought it from the "3rd owner" who was leaving the country and sad to let it go. Lucky me.
I plan on using it as a camping truck to explore the Colorado back country, to haul ladders and tools, occasionally tow a small trailer and possibly for a trip into Central America. It won't be a rock crawler, which is how I ended up here and not flaming others on Pirate.
The topic has raised some rather opinionated discussions on other boards and here at least once before as to why. Well, who cares? Sure, for the time it took to build you could do something else. Sure, 1st gen frames are stronger and the solid front axle was available, and the 1st gen cabin interior is smaller with less creature comforts. But, I personally love the style of the 1st gen and the removable top. It has all of the modern important mechanical developments of the 3rd gen: coil suspension, easily upgradeable e-locker and supercharger, even though the rebuilt 3.4 is plenty powerful in its stock form for my use. It drives like a 3rd gen, maybe better considering the lighter body, comfy, tight and quiet yet it looks like an old-school SUV to the untrained eye. The extras that it came with are warn bumpers, upgraded corner light/LED rear conversion, newer front seats and center console, steering wheel and gauge cluster.
My first plans are some body work and paint job to address a few small rust spots, a heavy duty rack system. Just for looks, I am going to paint the retro 2-tone interior black. I want to use it for a while to find out what it is capable of in it's "stock" form. When the new tires that it came with wear out, I'll probably upgrade to a 2-3" OME lift (not sure how much a stock 3rd gen lift will actually lift mine since it is lighter) and put on 32 or 33" AT's. My only plans as far as a build are to add an e-locker, winch, sliders and maybe some heavier skid plates, depending on how the stock plates hold up.
Here are some photos:
