Curtis Cross' 4 Runner

    Curtis is a local DJ who came to me unsure about his purchase of this 87 runner.  The PO has done a decent job on the V8 conversion but had left some things a bit 'unfinished'.  We talked it over and decided on sprucing up the looks a bit with some accessories and  tweaking the V8 to get the best performance out of it.  Curtis is a great guy and simply said " I trust ya".

First off we took out what was originally installed, the fans, the wiring, the radiator and began the mock-up.

I knew the rear supports were going to be extremely difficult and time consuming to fab up.  I was right!!!

I got the mock-up on both the front and rear bumpers done and then started to attach things in there final spots.  I made the front mounts for the front bumper to extend down and out to allow room for where I planned the radiator to reside when its fitted.

You can see the front taking shape as its tacked together.  My plan for the rear was to have a center mounted swing down carrier, Curtis agreed to be my guinea pig and thus was born my first gen. spare tire carrier. 

Next comes the mount for the tire and the bracing and its weld up time and off to the powder coater.

While the bumpers were gone I worked on the inside of the truck and tucked away the POs wiring job.  It wasn't too bad but just need a little rethinking.  Additionally I fit the radiator just under the radiator support but on the outside.  With some cutting and welding we made sure the fan would fit as well.  My radiator guys did a special upper tank for me that fit under the hood latch.  The bumper came back and we went to work fitting the lights and winch and the front skid plates I had laser cut for it.

Notice the touch on the turn signals mounts I made.  You can see how things turned out in the light outside.

The finished product with the lower skid plate installed.