This is y brother’s 85 Toyota 4 runner. It came equipped with a 22RE fuel injected 4 cylinder motor a five speed transmission, and a removable top. The reason he chose the 85 is that it was the last year of the solid front axles.
From these two shots you can notices that the truck came equipped with a rear removable top and roll bar. Also the fenders and hood have been replaced with the real ( not imatation) fiberglass Mickey Thompson fender flares and hood up front. The front bumper is an ARB front bumper with a WARN 9,000 lb winch mounted inside it. the PIAA lights were mounted as we do most of our off road at night after work.
Let it Travel
Under the 4 runner the springs were replaced with custom built leafs by National springs out of Colorado. The truck was weighed with all its operating equipment spare tools and passengers, as a whole, the front half, and the rear half, so the springs were built for his exact operating desires. They were 14 inches longer than the original springs, so new mounting brackets had to be fabricated and relocated for for the springs to function. The shocks used for this application are SWAY-A-WAY shocks they are again considerably larger than the original shocks so again fabrication was required to mount them properly. The new suspension gave an estimated 5-6 inch lift, and uncomparable wheel travel.
This is a MARLIN CRAWLER setup it bolts up two transfer cases together so the vehicle can go into low, low range. Under the truck custom drivlines had to be made for the new posisionof the transfer cases. Inside the 4 runner modifications were made to accomidate the second case shifter in the center console.
Across the engine is a custom strut tower brace and mounting bracket for the new shocks. Also mounted to the brace is the oil reserve for the shocks to help keep them cooler internally for better performance. This was the only way that the shocks could be mounted in the front and the cause for the use of the Mickey Hood and fenders as clearing the equipment was an issue. In the rear the shocks were cut through the bed and bolted to the bottom of the roll bar in a similar manor.
The engine you can see is no longer a 22RE. It was replaced with a 95 Mustang GT 5.0L engine. It has a special adaptor plate which allows it to bolt directly to the Toyota transmission. Under the hood he was able to keep and keep the power steering and A/C. Also under the hood is an ARB air compressor and an optima blue battery . Due to the tightness of the swap the oil filter had to be relocated to the inside of the front ARB Bumper. In corordance with Washington state emission laws the exaust has to be the same as it came stock on the vehicle, so a single 3” mandral bent exaust with 1 cat and a 2 chamber flowmaster is under it. The functional snorckle is out of a land rover.
The Third members in both front and rear diffs. were replaced with the stronger Toyota V6 third members. Then the gears were all changed to 529 front and rear, and ARB air lockers were added to finish them off. The current tires running on it currently are Q38 (?) Buckshot mudders which measure in at a true 38” tall, and are sipped for added traction. In order to stop the truck all the brakes were upgraded to land cruser and land rover brake parts that were intermatch to make the best 4 whell disc. option.
Other notable mentions are the WARN 9,000LB winch in the rear, Built-in welder, and two Aux Optima Batteries mounted in the bed.
