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,

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.

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

A buddy picked up a just totally unreasonably nice D21 a little while ago. Like 100k kms on it, and it looks like new. Should’ve taken pics of the underbody, it’s insane. I’ve never seen before one with no rust at all.

I won’t write too much as you’ve already seen two posts on this topic from @CarsOfFortLangley and @Exage03040, but this past Saturday we headed out again, along with @Spasoje to make our way to Indian Arm. The road was in worse shape than expected, which made things more interesting and also took longer than last time.
The weather was perfect, not hot but not raining, and the fall colours were lovely.
Without further ado, here’s my iPhone pics from the trip. I’ll have more photos in a week or so that I took with the Minolta.

The V70 is sold, which is a relief, because I was not willing to spend way too much money on replacing the stereo, and new shocks in the next year or two.
The Raider gets plated tomorrow, and will be the daily until I’m not the only income anymore. Then it’s FJ time, and hopefully, finally, E28 and Volvo 144 time as well.

There have always been a lot of Caddys parked on this street, and the number had slowly grown over time. The Rollers are a relatively recent addition.

Ran into the guy who owns them. I always assumed they were rented out, either as wedding cars or to movies, but apparently he just likes them, and they keep showing up cheap, so he keeps buying them.
I told him a picture car rental guy to look up, so hopefully they can start making him some money.

Also, they’re all insured (all but one with collector plates, so very cheap insurance) and they all run.

If I ever want an 80s Cadillac, I know who to go to,

@houstonrunner Yeah...I've been prioritizing 4x4 things for the last year and a half since basically all I've wanted to do is get out into the middle of nowhere.
I hate neglecting the E28, and I would've been able to work on it at the same time, but I've been the only income for the last year, so covering rent and food for both of us got rid of my ability to do 4x4 things and E28 things at the same time. We're back to dual income as of this month, so hopefully, maybe, possibly, the E28 will see some action in the new year.

My 4WDABC sticker and dash plaque have arrived

It’s old enough to be priced in Deutsche Marks

@mm54 I’ll try 89 on my next fill up. When my mechanic mentioned it he didn’t mention it needing anything tuneup wise other than an air filter, but with the mileage this bad I think I’ll be calling him to make sure he checked the plugs. He thought the fuel filter looked recent enough to not replace, but I’m feeling like replacing it anyways. Cats I have no idea how to even tell if they’re bad, other than they get hot if they’re plugged.

@someoneatacura I’ve got them at 35 psi, 40 seems excessive but I could give it a shot

@ibrad No tracking, I was calling the shop once a week to ask where it was though, once we were a week or two past the quoted time....
They sadly are not, I’m picking up strut top mounts tomorrow, hopefully, and then I get to experience the joy of sketchy spring compressors

@rallydarkstrike They’re Australian, been around 60 or so years. They make the shocks and the springs are made by King. They’re popular with 80 series LC guys, just starting to get used in 4Runners and such over here. Most people get OME or Bilstein, but these are supposed to be comfier

@mcmike I wouldn’t know, I haven’t been to Jalopnik since OG Oppo was killed

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

@ricerocketeer I like the idea of an EV for a commuter, but yeah, they’re still too expensive.