Gatorgrl's Grand Gen2 4Runner makeover

Well today we had to go out and buy a 20ton press to remove and reinstall wheel bearings and seals since we couldn't find a local shop that could/would do it. Also hammered some more on the front drivers headlight area so hopefully the new fender will hook up straight and the headlight will sit correctly. I swear I feel if EVERYONE had to rebuild and fix their rides and the rides they hit, themselves after an accident, people would be a lot more cautious on the roads and undoubtedly better drivers.

I am pretty tired and hungry so I am going to have some steak and might upload some pics afterwards.

 

I think it always helps to take a break, and then hit again. Speaking of better drivers, and trying to get work done in these times, i had a drunk driver come flying up the driveway Friday night about 11:00pm she slammed her kia into my block wall, bounced off and shot right through the garage door into my wife’s mini, and shoved it back about 4 feet into the bikes hanging on the wall. She has front and rear damage, so now trying to get people out here is problematic. The insurance company does not even want to come out. Anywho good luck on your project. Peace.

 

That freakin sucks...big time! I would have drug that drunk idiot out of their car and beat their ass! We also had the issue with no adjusters being allowed to come out. Luckily I was able to deal with an adjuster that let me send him pictures and video of our damage and he used that to come up with an estimate and we agreed on the settlement. Still waiting for the check though........
I am not sure what we would have done if we had to depend on a shop to fix our Runner and I am almost certain if we had, they never would have found the bent axle housing and busted wheel bearing and we would have only found it after the rear end burnt up. I really feel for you cause not only do you have the auto insurance to deal with but your home owners insurance too. Good luck with all of that SlvrSlug.

 

Ok, here's a few pictures of todays events:
First, we had to press the wheel bearings and seals out of both rear axles:


Then we had to pull the damaged center section bearings and will be replacing them with new tomorrow:




And then it was time to press the new seals and bearings back into the axles:

 

Got the new center section bearings from Toyota this morning so we could finish the assembly of the center section and finally install it in the rear end.



Then we finally got the axles and disc brakes re-installed:



And I started disassembling the donor doors. What a tricky thing to do, thankfully I have little hands and can get into tiny places. Got this one all stripped down and ready to have all our original stuff and glass transferred to it.



Tomorrow we will put the wheels back on after we bleed the brakes, so we can move it.

 

It looks to be a well built, frame side track bar mount. No damage then.

 

That is the donor drivers side rear door. Had a tiny bit of rust at the bottom near the seam. I ground it off and coated it in Rust Reformer then hit it with Flex Seal. Our original door has ZERO rust on it and is still on the truck. Might take it off today and begin the transformation of parts.

 

Just fucking WOW!

Talk about perseverance. I woulda personally;

- swapped a carburated SBC into her from the start
- More importantly, set fire to the bitch halfway into your build.

I just went through all 15 pages of this thread, just couldn't stop. Hubby and you are absolutely incredible for not giving up on this truck.

 

Peter, first off....thanks.
And I can tell you I have had the proverbial match in my hand on several occasions with this whole build.

After we finally got her all ironed out, then this fucktard runs into us and fucks up my unicorn ride. I was spitting fire let me tell you! The little old lady passenger tried to make me feel better and said "Honey, I know how you feel. My car was brand new". I just looked at her and all I could do was laugh cause I was so freakin pissed and I knew I couldn't bitchslap an 86yr old lady. I said "You can't possibly know how I feel about your son hitting my once perfect ride, that I have slaved over the last 6 months to make perfect. You couldn't possibly know how I feel!".

 

Well, y'all have quite a set on you, I'll tell you that.

BTW, I have a home in Cape Coral. I'll keep a look out for your truck whenever I'm down. Stay safe!!!

 

Well we gathered more parts an supplies today. Worked some more on prepping the doors for primer and paint. Working on my Bondo Skillzzz . What a dusty mess.
Ordered myself 4 new chrome bumper ends as all of ours have small defects in them and wanted to replace them all. Well, I ordered a set of 4 off eBay $172.00 and they arrived. 2 of the 4 has scratches in them and 1 of the 4 has a small point hammered into it from the backside. So 3 of 4 are damaged. I contacted the seller and he offered to give me $20 for the imperfections. WTF? Or I can send them all back for a full refund. What kind of horse shit is that?
Am I seriously asking for too much by simply wanting all 4 corners to be in perfect condition, especially for $172?
Maybe I want/expect too much?
And now they are telling us we have to stay home this weekend?
Me thinks not. I have a fuckin Runner to finish.

 

That sucks!! You can’t put damaged bumpers on!! Send them back make them pay shipping. I’ve never had a problem with EBay...Should if used Amazon was it that much cheaper?

 

Didn't think Amazon was shipping anything that wasn't medically essential right now. These were all damaged during shipment I am sure. they had them all wrapped and taped together in a tight bundle. I am sure they scratched each other during the shipping as a result.

 

Well I just received new lawn mower blades and a bottle of windshield wiper fluid in record time from Amazon....

 

Amazon is still shipping everything. They are not accepting anything but health stuff to their warehouses.

 

Well here's some pics from the last 2 days:
Sanded and prepped the 2 donor doors.

Then primed them:

Then we did a test fit of the aftermarket fender, corner light and headlight bezel.

And I repainted the grill since the black was a bit dull and sun faded.

Tonight I am busy trying to reshape the aftermarket lower valance so it looks like factory and isn't razor sharp.

 

Looking good

 

Thanks, it's just far more work than we ever planned on doing on this Runner....but of course the same could be said for the last 14 pages too.

I still wanna kick that guys ass for this. We have worked every single day since the accident on nothing but this damned Runner. I honestly don't mind working this hard if I am getting paid for it but damn all this work and not making a freakin dime on it.

Guess it could always be worse, I could have to pay someone else to do all this.

 

I was gonna tell you not to give up, but you guys are the last people on the planet that need to be told that....
Where in SWFL are you guys, just curious? As I mentioned b4, I have a 2nd home in the Cape

 

We are out in East L.A. near the Hendry county line.

 

Small world. My friends' mother in-law is at the Fountain Crest Retirement Home.
Stay safe guys!!!

 

I grew up in L.A. from 8 yrs old to high school graduation. Live in tampa now. My old LA neighborhood is rough now.

 

Sadly, A LOT of L.A. neighborhoods are rough now. I personally can't wait to get the hell out of here! I mean our area is still somewhat nice and safe, but the rest has gone to hell in a hand basket. The biggest problem is they tore down a big section 8 building in the Dunbar area and gave all of the former residents vouchers to move to L.A so now we have the "crime triangle" thanks to that little move. Then we also have trash coming over across the alley messing up the rest of the place. I am officially DONE with this place. The daughter moves out in a few months, then we sell and bounce!

 

A bud of mine purchased a new home pre-2007 market dump. He would hear full-auto fire at night coming from the neighbors. Fucked up shit...

 

I hear full-auto firearms. You get used to it and I like it.....

 

Yeah, full auto kinda makes my ears perk up a little.

 

I've fired a full-auto Tommy gun, Sten and an Uzi. I'm a collector and into guns. But hearing someone fire anything outside my window at night would not be one of my top ten favorite things to experience.

And yeah, I'd love to have a coupla drinks with SlverSlug while he tells me about his experiences in 'Nam

 

Yea but not in your neighborhood like we are talking about. It's not out in the woods

 

Ok guys, time to get back on my track.
Todays highlight reel:

Today was door day.
I started with taking the original doors off the Runner. The drivers door proved to be the most challenging due to the large wiring harness that had to be carefully undone while in the door, in order to get it all to fit through the hole in the side of the door.
Thank God for my small little rat claws.

Eventually I prevailed and got the monster harness out and intact!

Once that was done, we could finally take the door off. I was kinda sad about the whole affair, these were original doors and I am sure the last person to touch the parts I did, had sushi for lunch. Felt like I was breaking up a family of parts....but I didn't crash my once perfect ride.


And the doors are both off! She looks a bit rough right now. Bondo is going well. New skill in progress!

The hubby got to work on transferring the original door guts to the replacement doors.

After he finished that tedious task, we hung the door...and it fits!

So once the door was hung, I went to work assembling the wiring harness back in the new/old door, making sure I taped all the plastic attachments back on the loom so the wire doesn't get chaffed by the window going up and down.
Once that was done, I put the factory clear plastic cover back over the whole mess and finished by putting the original inside door skin back on it.

We ran out of daylight and will finish the drivers door tomorrow.

 

Well today was rather productive, which is good considering they are now mandating we stay at home starting Thursday at midnight.

So today I worked on the drivers door.
First we hung the door and I gently pulled the rather large wiring harness into the door cavity.

Then I painstakingly taped all the original connections back to the harness and connected everything. I even installed the original plastic shield back onto the door.


After that, it was time for the interior door panel. Let me tell you those inside door handles are a true PITA.



Glad that is over with.

Then we installed the front fender and tested everything for proper alignment.


The shadow behind the drivers door is only where we painted the insides before we send it off to the painters.
The fit is good!

All I can say is "may God have mercy on the next fool that decides to crash my ride......cause I'll be fresh out!"