1994 4Runner V6 3.0 aka The Beast..

[kingroon]

Cleaned Toyota Crest Badge refitted..





I will refit the 4Runner and V6 Badges when I have cleaned them and sourced some suitable Double Sided Tape etc.

[kingroon]

The Roof was next for a full Clay Bar and Polish, and it came out pretty bloody good.. Sure, there are some rust spots here and there which I'll address before Winter kicks in, but with that protective layer of Polish, it'll do for now.. And this exercise was about restoring the Paint to a brilliance that will lessen the difference to the new Paint..

Here you can see the far half of the roof having had the White Light applied and the near half where it has been buffed.



White is not the best "colour" for showing before and after, that's for sure, but trust me when I say that the feel of the Paint, both on the Roof and the Tailgate, has dramatically improved..

[kingroon]

This next Post is a bit of a Technical Reference for anyone wanting to replace, remove or repair External Door Handles.. I learned as I went along with this, so naturally one of the Doors [O/S Rear] took the brunt of the research and has the scars to prove it.. So, in the interest of making it look like I knew what I was doing all along, I'm only posting Photos of the N/S Rear Door..

First remove the Door Card which is bolted to the Door by 2 Bolts in the Arm Rest behind blanking covers, and 1 in the Interior Door Latch.. Push the Door Latch forward to free it.. Then pull around the edge of the Card to release the Keeps, and finally lift up to allow the Card Top to be free of the Door Frame.. If you twist the Door card as you remove, you can push the Latch through the Card so you do not need to remove the Latch Rods..



I removed the Door Liner as best I could, and despite being bin worthy have kept it for later; I will create new ones from a nice piece of Protective Membrane etc.

Next, you will need to gain access to the Bolts that hold the External Handle in place.. These are hidden behind a piece of Plastic that I simply could not remove.. I could see how I might be able to, but it would have involved removing a whole bunch of other stuff to do it.. So, out with the Core Drill Bit..

You can see in the Photo below that I drilled the forward of the two access Holes, but the rear one is typically Toyota with an access hole already in place, but covered by a plastic bung..



Remove the Bung..



..and insert the Drill through the access hole to then penetrate the Plastic.. Peek-a-boo..



10mm Socket does the job.. Easy does it and you can pull the Bolt out in the Socket..



From the inside, you need to push the Yellow Clip up and off the Rod, and then push the Rod out of its Socket.. The below Photos were taken once this had been done, but just illustrate the positioning etc. that you will face..



I then put a bit of Masking Tape [layered from the bottom up] to keep out the Elements.. I am painting this Weekend so just getting everything ready for that..



Is there an easier way..? Please let me [and others] know..

[kingroon]

Here is the Latch and Rod setup on the NS Front Door Handle, just to give you a better idea of what is required.. Front Door Handles were much simpler to remove.. Note the Door Lock Mechanism which has a similar setup, although released to the side, rather than the top..





Only the OS Front Handle remains in place, just so I can get in the 4Runner..

[kingroon]

Removing the Door Handles was pretty much a commitment to Painting the 4Runner without delay; I certainly couldn't park it anywhere in public..

I had a Garage organised for the Job, so parked it up on Friday evening, ready for what Saturday would throw at it..



First Jobs were Driver's Door Handle removed, Rear Lights removed, and Rear Bumper Off, then Polythene Sheet and Masking for the Sanding..







I went with a mix of 60, 80 and 180 Grit on the Rear Quarters depending on the level of sanding required.. The Bodywork done to the Wheels Arches wasn't finished perfectly, so I knew I'd need to do some Filler Work..





The Doors were a less resistant, and needed only 320 and then a finishing 600.. That Blue Paint must have seen quite a bit of Sunshine, it was pretty thin, and I had to be careful not to go too deep with the Sanding.. After a going over of 600 on both sides, all panels, I was ready to remove the [exceptionally dusty] Polythene Sheeting, roll outside for a good wash and sweep up the Garage, get it all Clean for the Painting.. Time to mask up those Windows..



..and mask off with new Polythene Sheeting..

[kingroon]

I used Paint Nuts Pre Paint Panel Wipe and then a Lint Free Cloth prior to Primer going down.. I know there are some who subscribe to Tack Clothes, but that is a matter for debate..

First Coat of Primer went on light, almost too light in honesty, but I knew I could make up for that with the Second Coat..







Either way, Nerves turned to Surprise at how well it was going..



Second Coat.. Went on a bit heavier, thought it was too heavy at first, but Chutzpah triumphed Trepidation..





It might be that at this point, you are wondering why there is a weird line of Thin Masking Tape across the base of the D Pillar, and you'd be right.. I kinda made a mistake here, forgetting to mask off the section above this and below the thicker Masking Tape further up.. I intended to remove this temporary piece of masking once the Primer was down so I could feather in the Top Coat.. Fortunately, I got away with it, as you will see later..





Things were looking good.. Third Coat would finish the Primer Job perfectly..

[kingroon]

Next, Flatting Off the Primer.. I used that piece of 800 I have had for a while now as well as a new piece of 1200 to get the Primer silky smooth.. Here you can see I managed to back out of that Masking Error too..





The Weather took a turn for the worse and it decided to chuck it down, so I delayed laying down the Top Coat until the next day.. I took this opportunity to tackle a rather annoying job.. Whilst I was tidying up after the initial sanding down, I pulled at a sheet and something came flying out of it, flipping in the air and then missing everything soft to land on.. Yep, a Rear Light Cluster.. $%!@..



These Clusters are getting expensive, £50 a pop on RoughTrax4X4..



Anyways, back to the Task at Hand.. It was Monday morning, and it was dry, so Top Coating was on the Agenda..

[kingroon]

First Coat..





Second Coat..





..and a Final Third Coat..







Now, I know it isn't perfect, but that's why I'm not a Professional Spray Painter or even anywhere near it, but damn if I wasn't pleased with my efforts.. I could have spent £Thousands [except I couldn't..!] getting a Professional to do it, but the Graft and Satisfaction I got from doing it myself, and learning from it, is priceless and worth the imperfections.. White is forgiving anyways, thank goodness..

Rolled out into the Late Monday Afternoon Daylight, I was pretty happy with the result..













Rear Bumper & Light Clusters refitted, I ended the day on a bit of a high.. Sure, I need to Flat and Polish it all, but that is a job for the coming Weekend..

[kingroon]

Tackled the Flatting and Polishing at the Weekend, since it looked as though it it wouldn't rain for a long enough period.. Turns out I was wrong, it did rain.. And of course, it only rained when I really didn't need it to..

One side at a time due to the constraint of the driveway, so started with the Offside.. Gave it a good wash to start..



..then masked it up so I wouldn't flat any of the surrounding Bodywork.. I used a well worn piece of 1200 and plenty of water..

I have to admit to being a little nervous of this whole process, I have flatted and polished before, but never on somewhere/something so visible and that would be so affected by the process..

Next I opted to go over with the DA and the Fine Grade Cutting Compound.. I worried that I had taken it too far with the Flatting..



It came up good though, with a nice deep shine..



Blend lines on the D Pillars looked very good..



Slotted the original black Door Handles back in, a much simpler job when you know what it takes to get them out.. It also helps to have someone on the inside of the 4Runner [i.e. my Wife] pulling on the Door Latch so that the Rods were in a more accessible position..



That looks better..



Repeat on the Nearside..

[kingroon]

Door Cards next, and starting with the Driver Door I affixed a piece of Sound Deadening to the inside of the Outer Skin; a large piece actually, so no cutting or trimming..



Next a new piece of Weatherproofing Membrane from VW Heritage, double side Gorilla taped..

Remember those pieces I have Dipped..? Well, they were about to fulfill their destiny..





Nice finishing touch with the Dipped Lock Pops..



Nice..

[kingroon]

Next, a little folly for the Dash.. Some of you will have seen them in Surf, or Landcruisers, some of you no doubt have them.. But my 4Runner did not, and I always thought it looked poorer for it.. A Dash mounted Altimeter..!



I had sent the casing off to the Dippers along with other parts, and gave the Altimeter a good mechanical clean, very gently as the mechanisms are quite fragile; fully functional nonetheless..



A close up of the Dials..





It is Velcro Stripped in place for the meantime, until I sort covering/recolouring the Dash..

[kingroon]

Drove out to a local[ish] Forest for a Dog Walk, and parked the 4Runner with sufficient New Paint paranoia, taking up 1.5 Spaces..

[kingroon]

No Flaming for my Bad Parking..? Crikey, I got scorched by my brother for doing it..

Anyways, back to some little bits and pieces.. Fitted the remaining Door Cards yesterday..





The Passenger Seat arrived on Friday, so will bolt that in this coming week..

Those Seatbelts look ugly, I think I'll need to replace those at some point.. Racing Yellow..?

[kingroon]

Trial fitted one of the Rear Fenders to see how it looks; better I think..

[kingroon]

Looking good in an Underground Car Park..



Fella on the left walked over and we started chatting.. He was from New Mexico, and used to see these 4Runners all the time, growing up; "Don't think they look as good as this one though..!" Always good to get a compliment..