1998 4Runner SR5 V6, auto, with a rear diff locker, not in retirement beige......with 358,000kms on it. One owner.
The thing runs amazingly and drives really well. It might want new shocks and it’s getting aall its fluids changed soon. Everything works, even the back window as you can see. Totally straight, some surface rust on the frame and running boards but really minor.
Weak but working AC, cruise control, power mirrors, power locks with a remote....

I’m excited. I’ve been looking for a long time, and while this isn’t what I was looking for in the first place, I’m happy with this for the next while I think. I can’t wait to get on some FSRs again,

It’s been a day and a half activity, but the 4Runner has fresh new suspension

With the help of my dad, my girlfriend, and a couple longer pry bars, it’s all together.

I forgot to measure from the ground to the fenders with the stock height suspension, so I don’t know how much I actually lifted it.
First impressions are that it’s diving less under braking, squatting less under acceleration, comfier, and more controlled. We’ll see how much it settles over the next day or two.

Got a raise, the biggest bonus I’ve got so far, and was put up in the top floor of a hotel downtown after our work Christmas party. Everyone who wanted to got to stay in the hotel, but I was the only one on the top floor....

I’ve worked my ass off, and I guess it’s not going unnoticed.

Bonus pics: Lots of wood at the place we had brunch at this morning

So it was a friends birthday this weekend, and we were supposed to go camping near Eastgate, in/around Manning Park. Unfortunately, the Garrison Lake wildfire is too close for that to work out, so we decided to make a day trip of doing Whipsaw instead.

I was apprehensive, because Whipsaw is claimed by some to be the hardest trail in BC, and I’m in a stock truck that I haven’t had very long. Still, our friends in their heavily built JL assured me we’d do just fine.

Long story short, they were right, and it did really well.
A little over 100km of trail done over 8 hours, with more than half of that time being genuinely tricky off-roading. I was the least experienced of our little 3 vehicle convoy, so our friends spotted me through the toughest sections.
I was pretty nervous since I don’t have skids yet, but I came out of it almost totally unscathed. The exhaust tip is a little bent, and the left rear control arm mount got scraped up, but that’s all. A stock 3rd gen 4Runner with an E-locker is a very capable little thing,

Now without further ado, here’s a video and a bunch of photos.

I wish the difficulty of terrain and steepness came across better in photos and videos. We also didn’t get any photos or videos of the hardest parts, since we were too distracted with doing it. But for some idea, the video of the section I was being spotted through was half as hard as the trickiest stuff we did. I’m really really impressed with this thing.
And best of all, once we came out of the trail into Coalmont, we had a comfy, quiet, air conditioned ride home. One hell of a long day though. Left for the trail at 7:30am, and got home at 12:30am.
I’m tired.

Edit* Forgot to add, on the way home we saw one of the wildfires high up on a ridge beside the highway. Never seen it before, it’s surreal. The whole area was lit up red, it felt very apocalyptic.

My dad found a bbq with a free sign sitting in an alley, so he brought it home. It’s old and needs cleaned up, but it works perfectly fine. This is significantly better than the little folding camping bbq I’ve been using

Sunday was an excellent little day trip with my girlfriend and CoFL. We didn’t get far along the route that he had planned for us, there was snow unexpectedly, and it was too deep for me, I wound up high centred and it took some digging and pushing by 4 guys to get me freed up. So we turned around and went to an excellent viewpoint that was up a fun climb off the main road.
I can’t wait to do more offroading this year, but I definitely wouldn’t mind being in something more comfortable and quieter.
Anyways, enjoy the photodump.

I've been here a couple times before, and posted about it before on OG Oppo, but I figured some of you might want to see some current pictures of the place.

CPR 2860, 1940 MLW H1e, The Royal Hudson. She's pretty much static display only for the foreseeable future. Her boiler certificate is expired, and she needs new tires. Finding anyone locally who can do the boiler work is a challenge, and there is no equipment at their disposal heavy enough to lift her in order to remove the wheels so they can be shipped to South Africa for new tires....
There was a BCR steam shop that maintained her in her regular excursion service days, but it was torn down.

PGE No. 2, 1910 Baldwin Prairie Type

Random Chrysler Airflow

1937 Ford track inspection car, in service till 1962.
It's the perfect wheelbase to run on top of the rails, with flanges mounted behind the wheels.

Couple lovely old passenger cars, with some interior shots of the one on the right. Built in 1890, and currently has an "updated" interior from 1913.

PGE 561, 1951 MLW RS-3, on their functioning turntable

Now here's a weird one. WFP 123, Englewood Logging speeder.
Apparently built in 1947, no idea just how much it was modified since then, but I'm gonna out on a limb and say at the very least the engine and seat aren't original...
Used on the Englewood Logging Railway until 2017.

Budd RDC BC-33
These beauties were used for passenger service from North Van to Prince George from 1956 till 2002. The museum has one they use for rides around the yard.

GE 80?-ton switcher, with a pair of big Cummins

MacMillan Bloedel 1012, 1948 GE 65-ton switcher

Hopper car growing some trees

It slightly bothers me that this thing isn't behind the plow...

GN 182, 1951 Alco RS-1

AC 1404, EMD FP7

BCER 941, 1949? GE 70-ton

CPR 6503, 1951 MLW S-3

CPR 4069, 1952 GMD FP7A

The lovely PGE 561 again

CN 6520, 1954 EMD FP9

That's that, I'll leave you with some terrible shots of Howe Sound out the car window, and our stop at Shannon Falls on the way back home

Just in time for the long weekend, I’ve got 3 days to tear my suspension apart and put it all back together again

Bonus 4Runner at night

@CarsOfFortLangley I’m a fan of the VW Beetle shell we have. I also quite like the rickshaw now that I’ve fixed it.
Oh yeah you could find lots of similar stuff, for less money, but then you have to store it and then liquidate it when you’re done filming, or keep it in storage long term for next season, or a sequel

@CarsOfFortLangley Right? And we aren’t even expensive as far as prophouses go, we’re pretty middle of the road. Productions are willing to pay a premium in order to not store things.

@CarsOfFortLangley Hah, that would be....exciting

@SilentbutnotreallyDeadly They sold Ladas and whatnot in Western Europe as well. Export market took priority over the domestic market actually, it was important enough to get whatever foreign currency they could. I’ve seen things about export cars being build to stricter tolerances even.
The main way they got real currency though was selling oil, same as now.

@SilentbutnotreallyDeadly It wasn't about profit, it was about acquiring currency they could actually use outside of the USSR

@Gabriella The only two I’d currently consider (if I had the money) would be the F150 Lightning, and the Taycan. That would be a pretty excellent 2 car garage.
I’m hoping Toyota offers the next gen 4Runner with a series hybrid drivetrain, but I’m not holding my breath.
Now if we’re talking outside of the North American market, I would buy a Honda E tomorrow if I could.

@HammerheadFistpunch Well that’s a pleasant surprise. I don’t do anything too crazy off road, so hopefully this’ll work for me as is for a while

It was a slow and frustrating install, the diff drop made bolts not want to line up. Lots of fiddling later, I finally have some protection for my comically vulnerable radiator tank. It’s not as much coverage as I want underneath, but for $125 I’m happy. When I’m up for dropping $1000+ on full heavy duty skids from a local off-road shop, I can get some better protection.

https://bigcountrycustoms.com/product/96-02-4runner-skid-plate-set/

I’m glad it still has its gas tank and transfer case skids, even though they’re pretty flimsy. Still better than nothing.

Now everything on my immediate list for the 4Runner is done. Next up at some point is a steering wheel in better shape, and rock sliders...maybe adjustable upper control arms...

@JunkleMKVII Yup, it’s so the CV axles are brought back to a more ideal angle. Lifting it means the axles would droop too far when the suspension droops fully, and could restrict flex too.