Justin says he still likes black. Everyone has their favorites. I have always liked the same as body color. His cousin just turned 16 and got a Ford Explorer. It is a nice truck but guess it has something that is going to be expensive to fix on it and doesn't know how to fix it. Justin is wanting to get one of my trucks off me now and get to work on one. He is getting anxious to drive. I might take him in one of them on the power line trails and putt around in low range and see how he does. Giving him driving lessons is coming soon and sure that will be nerve wracking. Those days are coming soon.

 

I would have said i like it better black but after seeing it, i prefer it matched to the body.

The color works for yours and looks great

I don't think i would color match mine to red because I'm a red/black nut.

 

I was about to say the same as 92hatch!

It looks great! I may have missed where you said you were going to smooth it out. How would you recommend to add texture? Bedliner?

 

Fantastic job! I love the color and the top! I definitely like the color matched top. I can't wait until you post pictures once the 4Runner is buffed and polished. I which I had the time and money to buy another truck or 4Runner and do a full restoration. Maybe I can in a few years after I graduate college.

For now I will just keep working on my 87' 2wd.

 

I'm with the others. I would have painted it black but it looks so much better matched with the body!


Your son has entered that growing like a weed phase. He will be bugging you for a 4Runner soon. I can't wait to see that project. Raising kids has gone by in a blur. My oldest is heading to college and the youngest is driving the '89.

 

Hello 92ehatch...I like chrome and body match and my son likes the black trim looks to them. I have seen quite a few that I do like the black look to. Todays cars all one color so I like how the black breaks it up.

Hello CamTom.. I did a black top for a guy and we used spray on bed liner for a rough texture. I personally did not like it. I thought it was too rough. The owner really liked it. I think that is another where personal preference is going to come into play. We tried a roll on bed liner and could not get an even texture to it so we used a spray on.

Hello old87yota..One of the things I did right in life was when in school was to have a nice dependable truck that I did not have to do a lot of repairs on and could just focus on school. I actually like driving the 2 wheel drives and so much easier to work on. Everything you learn on your truck will move right on over to a runner. Now that you are in school, keep it as your focus as it will be over sooner then you think. There will be a runner out there that will have your name on it when you are ready.

Thanks Nervo19... He is getting anxious on working on a truck. He is growing so quick and we are having to feed him nearly a cow a day. The other one doesn't eat enough for a bird to live on, but sure that will change soon enough. I am looking forward to working on a truck with him and will probably start on a motor or something this summer. I am already starting on him about college. Been trying to teach them what I can and trying to help them find their interest and what they want to do for a career. They do grow fast. It didn't seem that long ago yours was young as well.

 

Been steadily working on several different things around the house. My dad know small engines and the problem with the garden tractor was the fuel in it had ethanol in it and gummed up the carburetor. I watched him tear the carburetor a part and the jets were just needing a good cleaning. No more ethanol gas for me for small engines. It is hard to get away from ethanol but a few places sell premium gas without ethanol.

Dad is retired and gets in no hurry and doing one small project is about all he wants to accomplish in a day. I am used to getting several things done at once. I did learn something about small engines and still don't care to work on them. Glad he likes working on them and get me out of a pinch on them. The new mower I bought I still need to get fuel and oil in it and get it running.

For a primer gun, I just get a cheap gun and don't spend a whole lot of time on cleaning them up. Probably a reason I have so many laying around. When it comes to my paint gun, I do spend a lot of time cleaning them up. I didn't clean one up one time and when I was ready to paint, I had the paint mixed up and was ready to paint but it would not spray right. Lesson learned on that. Now I let thinner set in the gun for a few minutes and then spray it out.

Later on I will tear the gun down and clean it up completely and especially before I mix paint up for the next spraying. I will run thinner threw it and see if it has a nice fan spray pattern.

A gallon can is about $25 or the 5 gallon can is about $40. Find a local auto body store instead of the big name part stores for thinner. So much cheaper and you will use a lot for clean up.


I pulled the trigger assembly apart earlier and now letting things dry out. The nozzle has holes about the size of human hair. I let all metal things soak in a can of thinner and then scrub them down. Cleaning up afterwards takes a lot of time. Also invest in a mask when painting. Primer I don't always use a mask for small jobs, but painting I do. For a small paint job and good ventilation you can go without a mask for a few minutes. Justin was not wearing one earlier in the picture but if he would of been painting a big part, I would of had him to mask up.

 

I am hoping to get Toms truck done by the weekend but not seeing it happening, still a ton of small detail things that need done. It has a rattle which I have not found yet, not sure if it is a water pump, pulley or what it is. I will start pulling a belt off one at a time to see if I can chase it down.

One I get it done, I have been needing to add some clear coat on my third gen runner. I need my rear kicked for putting it off so long as it is fading quick and I keep putting it off. My Maxima has a whole in the bumper and when I paint it, I will pull the bumper, paint the bumper and then clear the hood on the runner when I clear the bumper on the Maxima.

Here is the hole in the bumper.


I pulled the bumper off and with careful use of a torch I worked the plastic back into shape and then supported the rear of the damage with some fiberglass.


I need to get a heat gun but was able to work it with a torch. Add that to the list of a thousand tools I would like to have.

 

Painting the emblems is a great idea, never thought about that...Did you sand the grey panels before repainting with a wet sand or anything?

 

I will say that I agree with your boy, I much prefer the black tops to the color matched tops. It could also be because mine is white, and im definitely not a fan of the white on white look. Don't get me wrong it looks great, but I plan to redo mine and put it right back as it came from the factory. Black.

 

I like staying original as a rule, but the color matched top is a very good look for the silver 4Runner.

 

Hello MTNRACER51... I just gave them a good scrubbing with a soft bristle brush and a solution of Simple Green and water for the interior panels. For the fiberglass top I used a red scotch pad to scuff it up.

Hello bhbarna...If this truck was an original truck and was not in need of repair, I agree with you on that. An original unrestored truck is what I like to see. One thing I like is what is done can always be changed to the way that it was.

Hello tom70x7...I feel the same way but it could be easily changed if you ever wanted to keep it truly original but as it is it is a great truck for something a little different. I think I have seen that truck in your avatar before, looks great. haha, Will be glad to get my 85 up to where yours is one day. I am not far off from having it there.

 

Misty had a week off from work for a spring break and I took a few days off and we went out and about to different towns and some shopping. I have not been in the shop in quite a few days. Hope to get out there in the next couple of days. I do have a repair to do another truck later this week so that might delay me some.

The weekend took the kids to an Arabic restaurant in Tulsa as they had never tried Arabic food and they liked it. After that I took them to a Flea Market that is quite large and Justin really gets into haggling over prices and trying to get a good deal on things. If he has a dollar in his pocket, it just has to get spent. The tithing, savings account and saving for something he really wants just isn't his thing. Hunter can save and do without until he gets what he wants. He had a $170 in is little stash the other day and he bought a few things at the market but would not get some other things he wanted, Justin came out owing me $5. They had a good time and got a few things they wanted.

I have been trying to find a radio that will work inside a metal building. Hopefully I found one and will get it set up in there later this week. While at the Flea Market I stumbled across an air socket. I never really thought I wanted one but a friend of mine uses his all of the time. I like seeing how other mechanics operate and usually learn something from each one. Everyone has their own little tricks.

I always thought an air socket would be cumbersome but he has shown me how it can speed some things up. I found this one for $2 and it was really rusty and looked terrible. I figured I did not have much to lose so got it. After about 30 minutes of scrubbing it, cleaning it and disassembly, I put some WD-40 in it and put it on the air hose and it worked like a champ. I oil my impact wrench with Marvel Mystery Oil and did the same with it and used it on a few nuts and bolts on a motor I have setting in the shop and could not be happier with it.

Here it is cleaned up. It was bad. I do need to get some longer extensions for it for some jobs I have done in the past.


I have seen impact wrenches get gummed up with moisture and the oil inside of them. Basically that was the only problem this one had. I did not get into the head of the ratchet that has the c-clip on it but have on other hand ratchets in the past. A good cleaning and lubricating and it is working great. Some reason just like taking something that is broken and getting it to work again.

 

I went to a new salvage yard today as I was passing thru another town and they had one Toyota in the yard. It is an 89 Runner, what is left of it as it had been hit pretty hard on the passenger side but it did have the passenger side rear end cap that Toms truck has been needing. The bottom one is for the drivers side and is bent up. I got some of it straightened out and will have to use some heat to get it halfway back into shape.

Both will need to have a bolt or a stud for the top side as they were rusted up and I was not able to save them. Even thought the bottom is in bad shape, these parts are starting to get hard to find and will work until something better comes along.

 

Hey Tom I may have found what you are looking for http://www.toyotaonlineparts.com/oe-toyota/002493585401

 

Awesome thread Terry, lots of good pictures and tips. I have a 1989 4Runner I am fixing to get back in good condition and will be doing pretty much everything you have done with yours. Thanks !

 

I am in love with your attention to detail, terry! I've never read one of your build threads before, but I spent a few hours today and geez. Definately a wealth of knowledge you have.

Now, how much does a plane ticket cost to get you here to paint Angel's runner? Lol.

 

Thanks Talongod... I have tried to put as much information up that I can and hope my threads help. A little at a time and you will get it to where you want it.

Thanks space-junk... I do miss the California weather. I am glad that I am able to do mechanic work but doing body work to me is a lot more rewarding as it does take patience and has the most visual impact.

 

The other day I came home from work and was just wore out. I seen the shop door was open and figured one of the kids had just been in there and left it open. I went to shut it and seen Justin working on some project of his. I wound up staying out there and talking to him and really had a great time with him.

He is like I was and really wanting to start working on a car for himself. He still isn't sure what he really wants but he was pulling up some pictures off of Craigslist with cars that would be in a budget that we could afford. One was needing a head gasket and one was needing a paint job. He knew what we could accomplish and is able to see a car or truck finished.

He has helped do quite a bit on these trucks and actually surprised me at what he does know when he works on his own projects. Today I asked him if he wanted to learn about color sanding or the process of getting the orange peel out of a paint job that is just part of painting. It was a little nerve wracking as I was concerned with him going to far below and getting into the paint or worse getting into the primer. He got the hang of it really quick. I would not let him get near the creases as I am sure he would burn thru that real quick and is actually something I really do myself.

 

It has been a couple of weeks since I have gotten out in the shop. I few years ago I was changing a tire on a tandem axle trailer and I was using a hi lift jack and I got in the way of the handle. The moment I realized it and tried to get back out of the way the handle moved and thumped me in the jaw. A little while after that I had to have a tooth pulled due to the damage and it caused lots of damage. Been having to go to Little Rock to get that looked at and will eventually have to get it taken care of.

Some trucks come with no cover for the cowl, a cover for the cowl but no screen on the cowl and a cover with the screen. I got some covers with the screens and got them installed. This will help with this issue >>> https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...trucks-286766/ on getting trash in the vent system.

Cover with Screen.


There is a large factory hole on the drivers side that has no screen at all on these trucks and debris can still get in.


Got the cowl on.


Starting to get the rear bumper on. Most of the bolts broke off that hold it to the brackets so will have to chase some of them down.