1994 4Runner V6 3.0 aka The Beast..

[kingroon]

Bolted both of the Rear Fenders with new Hardware..

[kingroon]

I'll get a Photo out in the Wild, as the Paint Colour Match isn't as bad as it looks in this Photo..



Still on the look out for a Front Set, if anyone has a pair they are looking to sell..? I don't mind a bit of damage obviously, but need to have all the necessary mounting hardware etc.

[kingroon]

Finally got around to fitting the Front Passenger Seat yesterday..



My Wife has had to sit on the Rear Seat, no complaints though as she had Business Class Leg Room; "Shame it still feels like I'm flying Coach"..

The rail on the original was damaged during removal, rendering a foot unusable, so I source a replacement Seat from a Breaker and swapped out the Rail.. I should have taken some Photos of this process, as it was more involved than I had anticipated, with each side of the Frame being independent from the other, the Back of the Seat providing most of the structure with a Frame they bolted to..



That looks better, although no delusions of Business Class now.. Premium Economy..?

[kingroon]

Well, it's been a minute, and I have to admit I haven't made any progress on the 4Runner since.. What with turning 50, moving House and the Xmas and NY Period, I have been a bit busy..

I did however manage to source the Front Fenders and a full set of Mud Guards in great condition, as well as remembering I had a very rare Deflector that I will mount to the Bonnet.. I took it off some time ago, before any work started on the Beast and it has been dry stored since..

Here's a few Photos from the last coupla months, out in the Wilds of Tillingham, Peasmarsh for 50th Celebrations..



..on House Move Day [4Runner was loaded to the Hilt with anything fragile that we didn't fancy throwing in the back of the Removal Van], and sat on its new Drive under the Car Port..



More to come when the Weather is slightly less inclement, so I can restore the Fenders and clean up the Mud Guards..

[kingroon]

So, about those Front Fenders..

Sourced a set from a trusted Breaker Yard for a great price, no cracks, dents or major chips, and all the mounting hardware too.. Wash, Abrade, Wash again and Plastic Prime..




Paint supplied by Paint Nuts, colour matched TOY045 Colour Code..



I will admit that the Paint didn't go down so well on the first pass.. The Can spat a bit, meaning I had to be sure the Wet & Dry got rid of any imperfections before the Final Coat..



A bit frustrating [Swear Jar earned its keep], but ultimately meaning I did a very good job on the Paint all up..

[kingroon]

Bolted on straight forward, once I had applied the Rubber Seal, matching the type used on the Rear natch..







Nearly there..

[kingroon]

Mudflaps soured from the same Breaker, and with a bit of a wash, and some Black Magic, they came up great..

You can see here that the two on the right in both Photos were brought back to Black with some Meguiars..

Again, all the Mounting Tabs and Holes were as good as gold, so bolted in place securely with a bit of Anti Seize applied..

Ah, that's better, all complete..

[kingroon]

..or is it..?

Something missing..

..ah yes, a little parody Decal..

[kingroon]

I have been driving around without the definitive V6 and 4Runner badges that set this VZN130 apart, since Paint, so high time they were reinstated..



Bit of Goo Gone to remove the old backing tape.. And some tailored 3M Double Sided Tape used to affix..




Much better..

[kingroon]

It's been a minute..! And what a Summer it was.. An absolute scorcher, so much so that a Hosepipe Ban in Kent has meant that the 4Runner hasn't seen a Sponge since early July..

The July Wash & Wax has done a good job though, protecting the Beast from the worst of it.. I added a little detail too from my favourite Biking Forum, the Radavist..

[kingroon]

I turned my attention to the Cabin later in the Summer, after a few Long Hot Journeys highlighted the need for a Seating Upgrade, or Update even..

I had sourced a set of Juran Racing Sliding Rails some time ago, specifically for the Toyota N130 platform and while a little pricey at £75 each, I knew they would be a perfect fit.. I don't find shoehorning the odd piece here and there into the 4Runner, but I did figure that Seats might be a Safety First concern.. >> https://www.rhdjapan.com/juran-racin...30-ncp131.html

I spotted a Bowler and the Recaro CS Seats within and set my mind on something similar.. Recaro are expensive, Corbeau less so, but even then the price point was just a little to high; then I stumbled upon a set of Recaro CS copies by Vevor, at £225 for the pair from a reseller..! And that included Sliding Rails which were surplus to requirements.. >> https://www.vevor.co.uk/racing-seats...p_010279844314

First port of call was getting the Seat to fit the Juran Frames, so measurements taken on each and a look through the Adaptor Kits on Demon Tweeks..



I made up some cardboard templates that I could compress the measurements onto, so that I could see how distant the mounting holes were; it wasn't so bad, but wondered if I might need a custom soutin to this..

I found a set of Adaptors that I could tweek to fit from Speeding Parts >> https://www.speedingparts.co.uk/p/in...mount-fia.html << but once i had done all the fitting which included sourcing M8 and M12 Bolts and Nylon LockNuts..



..and bolted one into the 4Runner, they sat too high.. So much so that the Shoulder of the Vevor rubbed the B Pillar and Seat Belt Mount..



Back to the Drawing Board..

[kingroon]

I had another look through the Seat Frame Adaptor selections on many websites and found what I thought might work, purely from look as no measurements or specifications were provided; I firgured this was going to be a Hit & Hope Operation from this point, making sure I could send the Parts back if they were not suitable [anyone wanna buy a nice set of adaptors from Speeding Parts..?? ]

Demon Tweeks had a curious solution that involved a Side to Side solution, rather than a Front to Back one, and at £35 each they fitted the Budget.. >> https://www.demon-tweeks.com/uk/cobr...er-cobsubfr08/

When they arrived, I offered them up to my Cardboard Templates, and voila..



You can just about make out my Sharpie Holes..

[kingroon]

After a few attempts at getting everything bolted together in the correct order, it was actually a fairly easy procedure.. Having lined up the Adaptors and Rails with my Templates, I first bolted the Adaptors to the Seats and then the Rails to the Adaptors.. Ensuring that before I did the latter, I had threaded the Seat Belt Receiver Buckle Bolt from the inside of the Rails; I toyed with the idea of using an After Market replacement Buckle, but getting the right specification was proving elusive, so I went with reusing the ones from the original Seats..



Note here, you need to use a couple of Washers to act as a Shim around which the Buckle Hole fits and rotates [semi] freely, with a wider Washer on the inside and outside of the Buckle "arm" and then the OEM Nut to secure it all in place.. I'll keep an eye on these as I was a little nerbvus that they might work loose over time, despite using a bit of Threadlock to secure in place..

[kingroon]

Bolting in place is a straight forward affair, and the difference to the Cabin is quite extraordinary..







As with all New Improvements, it tends to highlight the Old or Bad, and in these Photos it's clear to me that the Centre Console needs redoing, possibly without the Alcantara Covering, as well as the Steering Column Cowel, and maybe getting some New Floor Mats, and getting the Lower Dash Trim tidied up too.. The List goes on..

[kingroon]

Next, a nice little Job for a Slow Sunday..

Winter is creeping in, or least it felt like it was already here today, so an Effective Windscreen Wiper setup is pretty useful.. The 4Runner's had seen better days with the Tension Springs rusted, the pivots as good as seized, Paint flaking off the Arms and a Securing Nut Cover missing..




I picked up a set of Aftermarket OEM Spec Wiper Arms from Milner Offroad at £32 for the pair..



Side by side they looked right, making sure at least that before I took them out of the packaging..! Then tackling the Securing Nut with a 12mm Socket after a bit of a soak in WD40 to make the job easier..



Serrated Pivot needs a clean up too before fitting the New Arm and Wiper..



I used the Masking Tape to Mark the Wiper Position Trick, which was actually pretty useful..



Repeat on the Passenger Side, and voila, Heavy Rain Visibility has been restored..



Like I said, Simple Job, but boy do these ones make a difference..