Shauncho's "Who knows where this is going?" Build

I know, I was just thinking the same thing this weekend. I never ended up doing it before because I never intended for the stock bumper to be on this long...but then the mod budget had to take a backseat to the lifes-getting-real budget and here we are now...planning to paint some shit on my 4runner this weekend so will probably paint the valence too while i'm at it.

 

If you plan on taking the valance off, you have to take the whole bumper off. There are 5 plastic clips that secure it to the main bumper. Only 2 are readily accessible. I know...I broke 3 of mine ...oops.

Look at my other post again about your BAMF light bar...

 

thanks for the info about the bumper.

Yeah, I thought about putting the light bar down there but it's only a 20" and I hear a 30" fits perfectly in that space above the valance so planning on doing that at some point.

 

Hey while you're at it... You might want to paint your exhaust and brake drums with high temp flat black. (I hate rust)

 

haha, yeah good idea. I hate seeing rusty drums... Actually was thinking of doing the drums and calipers red to go with my black/red theme...but that might be a little too much red on the drums...not sure.

 

You could paint the calipers red and maybe the drums black with just a 1" wide red stripe around the drum where its visible through the rims. That way you still have the red/black theme without too much red. Just a thought.

 

and that's a damn good thought... Might just have to do that soonish.

 

Oh yeah...Home Depot sells a product called "Corroseal" that turns the rust black and is suitable as a primer. I painted my drums with this 8 months ago and still haven't put anything else on them...still no rust.

I even went so far as to paint the flanges on the drive shafts where there was bare metal. this stuff rusts fast.

 

yeah, being in SoCal rust isn't as big of a problem but it's still better to be safe than sorry. I'll probably do this and at least hit any bare metal I can find.

 

T-Rex makes a 4 piece Black Stainless Steel Mesh Grill Insert that covers up all the "holes" in the grille. They also make a matching Bumper Grille that would protect your LED bar.

These are ridiculously expensive but look really sweet. I got mine from AutoAnything. http://www.autoanything.com/billet-grilles/61A3996A0A0.aspx If you look at the pics in my gallery you'll notice that I cut out the existing "grids" beside the Toyota emblem on the factory grille to make it look the same as the rest of the grille. Its especially noticeable with the back lighting.

 

damn that looks SICK! I'll check them out. yeah I bought a pre-cut/bent piece of mesh but not sure if I'm going to install it as is, or try to do something kinda like this...still deciding.

 

Just for show, red backlighting would probably look pretty good on your truck. You couldn't drive around with the red lights on for obvious reasons, which is one reason why I chose amber. I come up right behind/beside/in front of cops and haven't been hassled or stopped.

I just mounted several flexible LED strips to the back of the grille facing the radiator. That reminds me...I still need to paint the shiny part of the radiator (on the left) flat black.

 

What did you do above the headlight?

 

Well, I didn't mean to hijack this thread but...

I found LED strips the color I wanted made by Alpena at AutoZone. These were 12" long, 10mm wide and great for behind the grille, but too wide to put behind the "lip" at the top of the headlights.

I found these http://www.superbrightleds.com/more...d-super-slim-flexible-light-strip-sample/880/ at Suberbrightleds.com They are NOT waterproof. I used double sided 3M white foam tape between every LED on the strip to attach these strips to the back of the lip so they shine through it and appear to be inside the headlight housing. I then used clear Silicone/RTV to seal up around the non-waterproof strips. I tapped into the parking lights to power them.

Later on, I plan on tying these and the grille lights into a circuit that will be controlled with the light switch but ALSO when the dome light comes on. This way my truck will "come to life" when I unlock the doors with the remote.

 

Got my fumoto valve yesterday, now it's time for an oil change. Not quite time yet but should be ready in the next couple weeks. Also hoping my grill mesh comes in this week so I can work on it over the Memorial Day weekend. If not I'll just be plastiderping badges and maybe painting the wheels on the 4runner.

The valves...and a nosey dog.

 

So i got some used billies and got a chance to slap them in today. Took about 3 hours to do with a couple distractions. Ended up with 23" fender to hub measurements on both sides but had to use the 1"4 top plate spacer to combat the dreaded "taco lean". But now I have bro lean.

 

Looks kinda like a lifted low rider

 

Hahaha I know huh. It's so long in that last pic.

 

Dang, when are you going to paint the lower valance black?

Since I had broken 3 of the 5 clips on mine, I ordered a new one off of Ebay for $75.00. It was even a darker grey than the OEM. I still painted it and installed it last weekend.

My poor truck looked naked while I had the grille and the bumper off.

I went ahead and painted the whole front of the radiator and A/C condenser flat black. I even painted some of the metal tubing so everything visible through the grille is black.

 

Hahaha I know, maybe I'll do it tomorrow after I change the oil in the transfer case on my 4runner.

Wait so you can separate the valance from the bumper? Or did you order a whole new bumper?