Project Photos
You can see light rust at the bottom, but truck is very solid (was Ziebart'd when new).
The motor to the back window is out (control board fried). So until I rebuild that, I just yanked the cog to the worm gear and raised the window. The drop-down tailgate won't open with the glass up, so I guess I could still throw a deer on the roof. Wait, there is no roof rack either (just the rails).
Here is the beast in "all its glory". Yep, take it all in. Fit for a Michigan Militia squadron.     The AGG website was actually here. They are out of business now. Time to hit the body shop... The good thing is that under all that camo is solid metal. After pulling off the fiberglass fenders, there was rust found hiding there. That is all cut out now and waiting for new metal fenders to get welded in. A couple of small dings here and there get filled in with body filler. Next will be some nice DuPont self-etching primer as a first coat. I decided on a blue (a bit brighter than the FJ colorscheme Toyota is running now). After base-coat is set, I have Alex tape off just around the top. Next comes some Cadillac Escalade white before the clear coat finish.   Here is what it looks like on a rainy, overcast day: It has a very FJ look to it. Hopefully, I will have the design for the front grill and custom offroad bumper finished and fabricated soon. The old tube grill and bumper are out. The sliders and roof basket will be last for the body mods. UPDATE: August 2008: had to yank a 1979 Jeep CJ5 out of a muddy creek at the bottom of a ravine back in the woods. (actually is one of my old Jeeps). It took alot of back and forth to get it out of the muck. I was able to finally yank it out of the muck and drag it backwards all the way out. Problem is, my timing belt broke just a couple of days later from being beat. I really wanted to fix it myself, but just do not have a free 4 hour block to do it. I dropped it off at the Toyota dealer. The job should only be $300 or so. Well, after looking at it they noticed the cam seals were leaking. I trust these guys there and they wouldn't want to half-way do the job. I knew that performance could have been better, and they noticed a leaking head gasket. Well, since it is getting taken apart, might as well replace anything else that might fail in next 40,000 miles. So Timing belt, cam seals, head gasket kit, water pump, AC belt, power steering belt and anything else needed. It should have better compression and run like new. (I doubt the rings are wore as there isn't any black smoke, and the previous 4runner owner owns a Lube shop in Chicago). So far the tally is at $1,900 for this week's bill. I am not keeping a rolling tally of expenses. When you build a truck up, the last thing you need is a paper trail that will get you into the doghouse with the BOSS. Best to spend that money in small increments over time. ;) I won't beat it out in the woods anymore. Guess I will leave that to the S10 I have to camo yet before end of Oct. Truck has been out of shop for about 2 weeks now. Also had new plugs, wires, distributor thrown in. The steering (including tie-rods and joints) was replaced for free under warranty. FOR AN 18 YEAR OLD VEHICLE! Toyota really stands behind their vehicles! I just took down the exhaust yesterday (Oct 9, 2008) and welded a new muffler on. I coated the rear bumper with truck spray in liner. Looks really good. Threw on a push bar with offroad lights and brush guard with chrome bumper. I swapped out the factory steel wheels for solid aluminum GM baja wheels. My brother installed a Pioneer CD/MP3/AM/FM head unit.