Building a capable daily

I am balls deep in a rebuild of a 2000 prerunner with a nice 3.4L currently fixing up the frame.
I have the whole truck completely disassembled. At this stage I have a big hill of work ahead of me, yet I'm wondering how much I should return to stock and where it would be smart to spend a little more time and money while I have it apart.
My goal with it is to have something I can drive daily year round but also have some fun with. I have a lot of vehicles and I'm hoping if I can make this truck entertaining I will be more inclined to let some of those vehicles go and simplify my life. I've got A LOT of vehicles. We have winter the majority of the year here and right now I drive a pontiac Vibe as a beater. It's a great beater but not very stimulating. It's be nice to sell that and my 99 Grand Cherokee which I just use to get stuff from the hardware store in the summer or get a load of aggregate. Bought the wife a 3/4 ton diesel this summer so that Jeep isn't really necessary now.

So one of the things we do in my area is go to the sand dunes. It's the deep kind of sand, not like desert terrain. I'd like to use it there occasionally. I also dirtbike so I'd like it to at least pull a small trailer or have a hitch mounted carrier for that. I'm too old to run it up into the bed like I used to. Well, maybe. I have VW based buggies too which maybe I could end up pulling to the woods on a T-trailer and potentially recovering said buggies when they break down. I have a 12Klb winch I might put on the front and plan to do tube frame bumpers and guards all around. I'm a pretty good fabricator and mechanic, but I don't know these trucks that well despite lurking around here for about a year. You don't really know something until you've done it. This truck wasn't even drivable when it was given to me. So I really am going in blind. Everyone just keeps telling me keep the damn thing and use it, their great!

So I'm hoping you'll give me your opinions on suspension and drivetrain ideas that you think would be worth doing now or that might be good to plan on in the future. This isn't my only project so it has a budget, but it's ever changing based on my mood. One day I'll be contemplating 3/4 linking the rear and getting the total chaos package for the front - possibly SASwapping it. The next I'll be thinking maybe I just buy all new stock suspension parts and upgrade in the future. But then I start thinking maybe that's a waste of time too. Ugh!

Wondering what you guys would do.
tia

 

For example, I just went down this rabbit hole; Archive garage - 12" shock tower kit - wheel spacer - tundra axle swap.

Just sooo many options my head gets swimmy

 

Maybe I should just stick with stock so I get the thing done

 

I don't know why I'd think anyone would want to talk about this. OP ought to be able to delete their stupid posts. sorry.

 

I would personally suggest 4WD swapping it with OEM 1st Gen Tacoma/3rd Gen 4Runner components (so IFS, not SAS to keep costs reasonable). Then I'd just put a 1.5"-2" lift on it, and run ~33" tires.

These trucks in bone stock form are quite capable and could do all or most of the things you mentioned. Add just slightly larger tires (and the fact that I'm assuming your PreRunner has the locking rear diff?), and these things will take you quite far.

 

Oh and I'd definitely swap in a 5-spd manual transmission as part of the 4wd conversion. Really livens up the 5vz

 

hey thanks for throwing me a bone. That is something I really needed to hear because I was wondering exactly how much better it would make it or if it would hinder it.

The prerunner frame is exactly the same, correct? So I can just swap the 4x parts right onto my frame?

And I do love a manual transmission. I'll have to check what availability is on those... But then again, I live in the rust belt, I bet there's a rusted 4runner waiting for me. No tacos though. I could never find any taco parts in Michigan junk yards.

 

Precisely the same frame yes. If you can find a complete 4WD donor vehicle with a broken frame or blown engine, that would make the swap exceptionally straight forward.

You'll just need to do some reading into the various transfer case and transmission combinations (4 cylinder and 6 cylinder trucks used different stuff, even if both were 4WD). And from what I've read you'll save a lot of headaches by sticking with manual hubs and a J-shift (manual) transfer case.

 

They also make great hunting trucks out here in Arizona where we really gotta get into some remote areas to find our deer

 

“Completely Disassembled”???

let’s see some pix!!!! Plz plz

to get my taco road worthy for kid, I concentrated on engine being tip top with zero oil leaks
5 months later AND with incredible amt of help here….done!

 

Well, I didn't get into pics because I had a similar post I put in the last year with those pics and didn't want to be redundant
but since you asked... I had to repair some bodywork first and then the rusted out frame.
been working on it when I can for the last year.
how I got it




I guess I've done quite a bit, but until it starts going back together it's not very fun. Hopefully, I documented how everything came apart well enough. I have the factory service manual, but it's amazingly simple for a Japanese company. Nothing like my Suzuki and Honda motorcycle manuals.

 

The truck rear ended someone on the passenger side. I thought it was all body damage until this week I found a little bend in the frame on the passenger side right where the sway bar mount is. So it won't be perfect unfortunately.

 

Damn, no wonder you get so much done, not one beer can!

 

I made the rotisserie just for this project. Then the baja bug is going on it next!

 

Bottles, I make my own homebrews. They go in a bag after they empty so I can take them in before they get moldy and get cleaned to be used again. So yeah. beer.

 

beer and heavy metal all day in my garage

 

Drooooling re:your garage space!!!!

Suzuki?
Wouldn’t have 1970 TC120 manual????
Been making use of B100P engine manual and TC120 parts manual!
Pm sent

 

If you look hard enough usually i can find something on the net.

 

A capable yet able to achieve daily in my perspective will be a radius swap 80 series front axle with the legendary 9.5 rear end on 35. Light enough to still get decent mpg (more like smile per gallon) yet capable to get you anywhere you want to go.

 

You weren't kidding when you said balls deep. I can appreciate this one.