91_4x4runner

I'm 19, 20 in September. Yeah, we can be those old guys who'll do anything to a buddy's car for a case of beer. I got in over my head with projects, but I'm making due now. It'll never stop. But thats a good thing. I've got my: 1978 280Z 1991 Toyota 4Runner 2004 Honda Hornet (599, its a motorcycle) Let's hope I get something done today.

Short term to-do list (primarily to do tomorrow): Get/install new injectors Get a replacement clutch master cylinder Flush out/fill up transmission Clean a trees worth of leaves out of the car's interior and exterior Get the e-brake hooked up Find the right size nut for my fuel pump electrical connectors Bolt exhaust together 100% Clean brake rotors Pray to God that she'll come back to life...

Thanks man... As it turns out, I do have a slight issue with rubbing the front lower valence panels when the wheels are turned. It doesn't seem like it'll take more than a half inch of grinding to fix, but its just another thing to do. I went with 225/45R17 tires with these rims. In retrospect, I would've almost rather had a little bit taller tire. These rims look mean with some real rubber around 'em. Regardless of the aforementioned, I almost couldn't be any happier with my suspension/brake/wheel rebuild.... EDIT: I should also mention that today marked the second time that I've ever sat in a Z that was on the ground (the previous being when I bought mine). It feels spectacular. I'm looking forward to my first time driving a Z more than ever.

The painted underside that nobody will ever see... The suspension that nobody will ever see... The view that everyone WILL see... Some guy with a huge damn grin.... Glamor shot... Highlight on the Rota's... Nice @ss... Hope y'all like 'em...

Today has to be one of the best days I've had since I bought my car. For the first time, she got off the jackstands and stood on all fours. With her rebuilt suspension, new brakes and Yokohama shoes. There's still alot more to be done, even under the car, but man, I don't think she's ever looked better. Mmmmmmmmmmmm...... Pics to follow...

Well, the 1UZ probably wasn't/isn't the best choice for the power-to-weight ratio... Almost every Chevy block will make alot more power for alot less cash than the 1UZ. However, the 1UZ is a Toyota engine. The only maintenance it'll ever need is a timing belt every 90K and an oil change. The 1UZ block has alot of technology and overbuilding packed into it. Over on Lextreme, there's a number of guys running 500 HP on unopened blocks. Sturdy? I think so. Reliable? Yes. Easy to install, fit, and make power? No. Aftermarket support? Nonexistant. There are always trade-offs for every situation. I like the 1UZ alot. It sounds superb and has lots of room for growing.

Brakes are installed and plumbed on all 4 corners now. This thing should stop like a mother... Things to do: Fix/install half-shafts (redrilling the holes a $hit-o-meter bigger... must've been from an R180?) Get transmission filler plug un-stuck and fill it. (PITA) Fill differential with fluid Bleed brakes Recheck torque on all underbody bolts Hook the exhaust back up Bleed clutch slave cylinder Install the flywheel "lower shield" piece Fix the wiring on the fuel pump Once that crap is done, I just need to drop the car on the ground and fix the engine...

Just got back from the Pick-n-Pull. I got a stub axle, flange, and all the other accessories for 20 bucks. Rip off? Maybe, but who cares. It's better than buying billet stub axles.

I found out that the threads on my left stub axle are shot. This blows. I just got a replacement nut and ruined it on them today. Those things aren't cheap. FML.

I guess since this thread basically became "What kind of experiences have you had with the 5-0?", I'll toss in my bit. I bought a motorcycle this past semester at college. A 2004 Honda 599. First road bike I've ever owned (at 19). When my first year of college ended, I headed home that night at around 11PM. It's a 170 mile ride home. I was riding through Caldwell, TX from College Station, TX where it drops from a 70 to a 55. My speedometer is just about 10% over and I'm already doing an indicated 55 before the cop ever sees me. I continue riding through the town (all the way down to a 35mph zone) and sit at a light. I caught the tail end of the green-red change so I had to sit for a couple minutes. As soon as I get moving again, I see a cop light me up. I pull into the nearest parking lot, pissed off as can be that I got pulled over for obeying the law. He says "I clocked you for 68 in the 55 zone." I say, "Sir, I guarantee I wasn't doing 68. He replies, "I guarantee you don't want to argue with me." He runs my ID and insurance, essentially throws them out his cruisers' window to me and flew off. I should've mentioned that I was on my way to a friend's party in San Antonio that night. I get there, we have a good time. The following morning, I'm riding to my house finally. I'm going through a neighboring neighborhood and feeling sick/hungover so I'm kinda "moving". As soon as I make it into mine, I hear a "whoop whoop" and get even more uneasy. He said he clocked me at 45 in a 30 and asked for my papers. I figured I was nailed this time. He comes back from his cruiser and says "Hey man, I'm not going to write you a ticket. It's a beautiful day to ride, but SLOW YOUR ASS DOWN." I hesitate to ride down that road now. Some cops are nice, some, not so much.

Though they still probably go both ways...

No doubt. I had a pretty rough evening yesterday though. I bought a set of rear disks that came with a bolt on bracket... Unfortunately, I put the bracket on backwards and can only get to the bolts with the stub axles off. Removing the stub axles again doesn't bother me (I already did one of 'em), but I'm ruining the locking stub axle nuts when I take them off (at $8/each from Nissan). Being poor and stupid sucks... On the brighter side of things, stub axles aside, I may have the rear drivetrain and suspension all put together by this evening....

I've passed one year and 8 months on my project now. A car that I bought for 800 bucks turned into a multi-thousand dollar project that will probably never end. The initial phase of "get back onto the ground with a few new things" is done. Summary: Suspension, brakes and drivetrain (including all mounts) have been stripped down to the metal and repainted with a bunch of parts replaced in-between. Issues: One of my bolts is broken that holds the rear A-arm to the chassis. I'm going to borrow a buddy's tap set today and fix that up since a screw extractor is nowhere near strong enough to get the job done. Here's a few more photos. It sure doesn't look like alots been done, but man I've poured some sweat and blood into this car's underbody... 17x8.5 Rota RB-R's with Yokohoma S.drive 225/45R17's Stuffing the tire with the floor jack to check clearances (looks like it clears by about a 1/2 inch) My enthusiasm in 100 degree weather... (The calipers were installed just after) Glamour shot: First time she's had a shoe on since I bought her... I'll take some photos of the drivetrain and suspension in a bit. The progress sure doesn't show from the outside of the vehicle Hope y'all like it...

I did. Bought the full "Stage 4" front and rear kits. Cost me over a grand I think (this was a year ago). Let me give a complete rundown of events. I ordered the kits, both front and rear at the same time. They took about a month to get packaged up and shipped over. I received them in two different boxes. The rears came first. I was happy and everything was there. A few weeks later, the fronts came in. I found that my calipers were in the box but the rotors and bolts were missing. This had me a bit pissed off. Turns out that the box had broken and some idiot at UPS re-taped it and sent it on its way. After about 3 months of trying to deal with the "owner" (and I use the term loosely, its more like a single guy just packaging stuff and marking up the price), I got a new set of rotors and bolts. All is good I thought, everything is here. This was last summer (August '08). I went to college for a year and hadn't touched the Z. I'm unemployed this summer (thus far) and started working on the Z again. Lo and behold, the replacement rotors sent to me are warped. I just found out after installing them last week. I haven't contacted the "owner" yet, but I doubt he'll help me out. He left me pretty bitter last time. FYI: Shox.com has the Tokico Illumina suspension kit for $559. Just an idea...

I'm nearing the end of my suspension/drivetrain rebuild. Back when I was taking everything apart (1.5 years ago), I broke one of the four bolts that holds the rear suspension A-arm and differential to the body. The bolt is securely rusted into place. I've attempted to remove it with a screw extractor and had no luck. The only thing I can think of doing next is drilling it out and rethreading the hole. Here's an old picture of the problem bolt. It's on the left side at the end of the transmission tunnel: Also, here's my front suspension with a 17x8.5 Rota RBR after doing the rebuild. This rusted and broken bolt is the only thing keeping me from getting my Z back on the ground. Have any suggestions?

I don't. Because I get that feeling of accomplishment when my hands are covered in blood, rust, grease, dirt and sweat.

19 now.. Got my '78 280Z last year around this time... I have no real idea why I chose the Z. I paid 800 bucks for a rust bucket. The car has a classic styling that you don't see on the road often. I'm probably about 4-5K in the hole now, including the car... But when I get it running, it'll have all new struts/springs, discs on all fours, some pretty nice Rota RBR's and be in excellent mechanical shape. Then, the body will break and I'll transfer it to another Z.

25K and it doesn't even have a gel cell battery?! Not to mention the PCV hose isn't 100% clean. Ruins it for me.

It seems that they're either only releasing new albums as non-DRM (ie: iTunes Plus) or they're VERY SLOWLY converting all their libraries to non-DRM. It probably depends on the record company and terms of agreement. If you enable the "Kind" option in iTunes, it'll show what is and isn't a DRM protected file. If it is protected, it'll say Protected AAC. If it isn't, it just says Purchased AAC or something similar. If it's protected, you have to burn it or use a 3rd party application to convert it back to MP3. If it is of the type "Purchased", you can just convert it to MP3 in iTunes. I hope that makes sense.

I'm in College Station, TX but my car is in San Antonio...

I don't think you're going to be able to bore .8" over There just isn't enough sidewall....

Isn't that throttle body a bit large? I'd think a smaller one could flow as much as the turbo puts out...

I think you'll be lucky to see more than 50% of that economy when towing a trailer with the Z.....

Street-able is going to be your cheapest option, bar none. You'll probably trash the van towing the Z + a trailer behind it. You can probably get an old diesel truck in NY for less than 3K and a trailer for fairly cheap. My dad scored a 26ft gooseneck here for 2K cash (all steel trailer). The thing is stout. Since the first time I towed a gooseneck, I'd almost have it no other way. They're incredibly smooth and predictable compared to a ball hitch tailer... Obviously, this isn't the cheapest route, but you'd never have any problems towing anything again.

I don't mean to throw something on here that I don't know jack about, but I'm going to anyways. There's a fella on Lextreme running 25psi on a stock, unopened block in a Celica. For a short while, he even had it supercharged and turbocharged... There's videos of him on youtube if you look it up. http://lextreme.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1238 Here's a video of it on the dyno: http://s173.photobucket.com/albums/w74/celicagt8/?action=view&current=GT8dynorun.flv