2nd gen "Rolled Runner" checking in

Hello folks,
I have joined this forum to begin posting my progression as I restore and repair my 1994 SR5 4Runner.

Here is the story so far, buckle up, it is a doozy

I bought the 4Runner from a fellow in northern CA off craigslist (I am from MA) and flew out there with my S.O. to pick it up and drive it back to MA, pretty fun and exciting little vacation. After a long 6 hour drive from the nearest town after we landed, we made it to the destination around 11:00pm. We were offered a place to crash for the night since the closest town was so far away and it was already late. My S.O. and I decided against it, although the little cabin-esq house that they lived in up in the mountain range was very warm and welcoming, we had planned on the long drive in the night. So we took off after doing a quick check to make sure the Toyota was ready to roll, threw on my MA plates, and took off down the long, curvy, mountain road (more like dirt trail!). It was about 1.5 hours in to our journey back to civilization, my S.O. following me in the rental as I cruised along around 40mph enjoying the cool January CA breeze through the windows. I began rounding one of the many many bends through the mountains when I suddenly completely lost traction. My rear end kicked out and the rear tires glided over the edge of the 500+ft drop to the right as I over-corrected and sent myself straight into the side of the mountain crushing the front end and sending myself out of my seat and into the windshield. After the initial impact the momentum was enough to flip the 4Runner over and rolled landing upside-down in the little ditch between the road and the mountain side. I crawled out after hearing my S.O. screaming my name after witnessing the crash from only a few car lengths behind me. I grabbed my head and looked at my hand, blood. I didn't know how bad since I was in shock, so I grabbed my wallet, registration, keys out of the ignition, and forced the passenger's side door open (it had been crushed shut by my door was blocked by the mountain). In an unknown area, no cell reception for another 2 hours, and an unknown amount of damage done to myself mostly due to pure adrenaline, I had my S.O. check my head quick to give me an idea of how bad it was to which she exclaimed "OH MY GOD NO" to which my response was something like this in my head "oh God I am going to die out here and I cannot even call my parents to tell them I love them." So I rushed my S.O. into the driver's seat of the rental and told her drive as fast and safe as she could to the closest town to get to a hospital. She did just that. At the end of the events, I made it to the closest hospital which was about an hour and 45 from where I crashed. The "doctor" that was there slapped a bit of super glue in my hair and called it good. I am not much of a doctor lover, I tend t stay away from modern medicines and medicine men as much as I can so the fact that he wasn't over dramatic about the large gash on my head made me feel a lot better. After all, I only went to the hospital to make sure I wasn't lethally injured. After being checked out I was told I for sure have a major concussion, head trauma, a pretty brutal abrasion on my right knee, and a few other minor scratches and scrapes, other than that, I was extremely lucky. Which I agree with especially when you ask my S.O. and she tells you how I was an inch or less away from going completely over the 500+ft drop in the middle of no where

The rest of our trip can be summarized by us two driving all around in that rental trying to find a way to get the 4Runner back to MA with us without paying an arm and a leg. There was no good way to do so and on top of it the 4Runner, which had roared to life at the very first turn of the key when I had sat in it only less than 12 hours prior, now sat deader than a doornail with zero signs of life. With time running out since we both had to be back to return to work after our "vacation trip across the country." We ended up having to leave the 4Runner at the small family owned tow yard that CA state police had recover it the night of the crash. They told me $25 per day to leave it there, and once I knew what I wanted to do with it, give them a call. We fly back to MA and a month goes by before I am able to take another short vacation to recover my old Toyota that sat 2900 miles away in the mountains of CA.

Now I am no extremely well off fella here. Lots of folks advised me to scrap the Toyota and forget all about it. It wasn't expensive so I don't mind stating on here how much I paid for the thing. $5000. I had saved up $5000 to buy a 4x4 for the winter months since I was driving a RWD car and did not want to deal with getting stuck in the NE winters. If I had given up on the 4Runner I would have been out not only the 5k for the truck, but also the insurance I had paid, the gas, plane tickets for TWO people there and back, and regular travel expenses along the way as well. So the way I saw it I was out closer to 7k and on top of it I would still need another 4x4 for the winter... So my choice was clear as day. I hit up my best friend since highschool who lives in AZ, my S.O. at the time was not able to take any more time off that close to previously taken PTO, and I couldn't do this alone. He agreed to help me. I flew to AZ and we drove his Honda Civic SI 14+ hours to northern CA where the 4Runner had been sitting for a little over a month. This was now in the beginning of March... By the time we made it up to the little town where the 4Runner was resting, there was snow everywhere. They had just been hit with a storm. I had been in contact with a great guy at the tow yard since the day I flipped and he had helped me from across the country to get the Toyota just running. The man did it out of the kindness of his heart and told me I owed him nothing and that he was a big Toyota guy and he would have done the same thing I did. I was able to get in, turn the key, rip some fan housing away from getting whacked by the fan since the frame was bent, and get the long drive back to AZ started. Surprisingly (or maybe not so much, this being a Toyota after all) the 4Runner made it all the way to Northern AZ, through hills, valleys, fields of ice and snow, deserts and bare lands, without a single breakdown with only one headlight and no front end to speak of on top of it. My good friend and I spent the next couple days going to a U-Pick-It in his home town where there were luckily 4 2nd gen 4Runners with plenty of parts left on them. We by hand replaces the shattered passenger side quarter window, and side mirror. We also installed a radio from Walmart to give me cell phone charging abilities as well as a way to play music (the PO pulled out the radio????). An oil change, fluid top off, and quick LED light bar installation to replace the obvious missing headlight later, I was on my way to MA.

Smooth driving the whole way, I even picked up a friend along the way. A puppy I found in a cardboard box in Arkansas at 6am at a random gas station.

I made it to MA in three days and have since then decided to restore and repair the whole truck. And here I am, already partially through the process but have a long way to go before my vision of the "rolled runner" is made into reality. Hope you all enjoyed this exciting tale of how I got here, and now get to watch as I fix everything I possibly can!

-RR's owner

First photo I took of 4Runner after rolling it, this was taken at the tow yard in CA


This is after we wrenched on the 4Runner and got it running good enough to drive. My buddy packing up his tool bag


Some of the scenery on the way to AZ from CA, notice ratchet-strapped hood and busted windsheild


radio gone PO removed


Working on installing new radio from Walmart at my buddy's place in AZ



just some of the trip I had to take!

Some more scenery

puppy dog


Current appearance, after new fenders, new grill, new bumper, frame repair, new headlights, markers, indicators. Hope y'all enjoyed! See you soon.

 

Welcome. That's quite a tale. Glad you're alright.

 

Wow! I'm glad you're OK and your 4R has another chance at life.

 

Welcome! Glad to hear you made it home ok.

 

Wow! Welcome

 

Holly sh$t dude, that’s one for the books right there! Glad you’re OK, that could have been so much worse. Someone upstairs was watching out for you. Welcome to the forum from San Diego!

 

Welcome from Wisconsin!