Ikarus' Unplanned Wannabe Prerunner (ish) build thread

I had recently sold my '20 Tacoma and my diesel land cruiser just wasn't quite cutting it as a business vehicle, so I started looking at Tundras. My Tacoma was a fun truck - 6 speed TRD OR - but both the bed and the rear seat were so small they were almost unusable.



I was just about to pull the trigger on a '24 Tundra when I realized I should see what was going on in the Tundra forums as I spend most of my time over on Mud. I was blown away to see pics of trucks on flatbeds, cab off/shortblock/engine parts all over the dealer bays, and the threads about engine failures...

Needless to say as someone who has owned 3 Land Cruisers and 2 Tacomas now, that wasn't what I look for in a Toyota. As much as I liked driving the 3rd gens, I told the salesman never mind and started looking for a 2.5 gen. That same night a local dealer posted a '21 with 8K miles in the color (MGM) and configuration (double cab 6.5' bed 4x4) I was hoping for.

I ran up there the next day and bought it immediately. It was owned by an older guy who told the salesman that he went on a big trip right before trading it in and really racked up the miles - 250 miles. haha

I felt extremely lucky, like I was buying a brand new '21 in 2024.

 

Shortly after that I took it on a trip to Steamboat Springs to pick up some Land Cruiser parts. The Tundra got me through a pretty gnarly blizzard and I was impressed by the 38 gallon tank/400+ mile range, headlights, on-road manners and interior comfort. But I'm also used to driving a 27 year old Land Cruiser so maybe I'm easily impressed.

 

My main goal with this truck is (or was) to use it as a business vehicle and keep it reliable and useful, AKA the bed needs to be useable and I can't clutter it up with camping and overland gear - but I do need better tires and suspension as work often takes me to remote places.

I drove it as-is for a while and I know I'm going to be a little mad at myself for ruining the sporty stock feel - this truck is fun to drive especially in tow/haul.



I started researching on this site quite a bit and started slowly ordering parts here and there. I normally would install them as I go but I'm in the middle of a garage remodel so the parts are starting to pile up.

I started saving pics of trucks for inspiration and really love the long travel/desert racer/CA, AZ/pre-runner setup - but I can't commit all the way unless I'm ready to explain to my wife (or accountant) why I chopped up my business truck to put a cage in the back and now I need another business truck... hahaha

I started off slowly with some Husky floor mats. love em so far

 

Love the color. Really cleans up nice





Next up was ceramic tint - made a huge difference in the summer heat. The AC works so well now I rarely need it on full blast.





I thought about wheels for months and really wanted to get a set of bronze RRW with a machined faux beadlock ring, but I wanted to keep the offset more manageable/flush with the fender at 20-30. I ended up ordering some Evo Corse Dakar Zero straight from Italy. Even after shipping and customs fees it was cheaper than buying them from a US distributor because the Euro is kind of weak right now.

Wheels: 17x8.5 et 25
Tires: Toyo MT 285/75r17 Load Range E





Gotta love having a useable truck bed!

 

And that's about where I landed now. I was going to keep things pretty mild with a simple Dobinsons or maybe Fox suspension setup but a cruiser buddy had a few parts he was willing to give me a deal on... a few months later and here's what my basement looks like at the moment

 

That's going to be great looking truck! Any plans on getting it out in Moab like your Tacoma? You know, strictly for "business' purposes of course.

 

Thanks man, yeah I'm excited about the build. And I definitely gotta get down to Moab soon. I work down there every now and then. And there are some great wide open trails up toward Green River that will be perfect for testing out the Kings

 

…and supercharger.

 

Utah resident? Also post pics of the cruiser.

 

Yeah I think we talked a little when I introduced myself here a few months ago. I'm in Utah and live at 6K feet so I'm gonna grab one of your pulleys before I install the 1900.

I have a '97 HDJ81:



and my wife has a 200:

 

I was getting ready to drop my truck off with my welder buddy to get cam tab gussets, spindle gussets and a BMC when I realized that the spindle gussets might not clear the stock wheels. I was originally going to wait and install suspension, wheels/tires and traction bars all at once but I decided to throw the wheels/tires on today and hope it worked out.

I removed the mudflaps as well and had to remove a bunch of dead leaves from behind the fender liner on the driver's side. Surprisingly no rubbing except for reverse at full lock.



I knew 17s were going to be a tight fit over the calipers but wow haha that's close. I had the tire shop put the wheel weight as far in or out as they could and they all cleared.







The poke at +25 is just about perfect for what I'm looking for. Wouldn't mind a little less but this is great.

 

the Alcon big brake kit clears better than stock just sayin lol for business of course

 

Rad. Do you feel like the stopping power makes it a good upgrade for the $$?

 

Cam tab gussets, spindle gussets and body mount chop done.

 

Best mod hands down yes. Stops like a Porsche turbo.

 

Not the most exciting mod but I like having full size spares and a 5 wheel rotation so I added a full size spare today. Looks like 34s fit easily. Little closer to the driver side so I might mess with it a little but it clears shackles, exhaust and diff just fine. Tucks up pretty nicely too.







I added TPMS to this wheels and will add it into the rotation. Hopefully the wheel face doesn't get scratched or messed up under there.



If this was a wheeling only truck I'd love to get an SDHQ chase rack but I need the tonneau cover to lock stuff up. I had one on my Tacoma and loved it. If I get a shell maybe I'll get a chase rack...

 

Installed suspension this week. The Kings were used so there's a little wear on them. They have about 30K on them according to my buddy that I bought them from. I got a quote from a local suspension shop to rebuild them before I installed them. but I decided to run them stock for a while so I can have a performance baseline and maybe tune them in the future.

Started with the front:

- King 3.0s
- Total Chaos UCAs
- Timbren bumpstops - didn't realize there were two bumpstops up front, so I installed two Timbrens on the driver's side and ordered two more for passenger. I've never actually had Timbrens but have always heard glowing reviews. I'll run these for a while before I upgrade to hydros
- SDHQ ABS guards









Install went smoothly. Clearance was good on everything including hoses and swaybar - the TRD swaybar endlinks are nicely rounded and low profile.



After finishing the front end, I took it for a spin around the neighborhood to settle the springs and decide if I needed to install the leaf pack I bought. I don't mind the leveled look...

 

I ultimately decided that I should go ahead and install the leaf pack while I was in there and I'm glad I did.

Yesterday I knocked out the rear:

- King 3.0 triple bypass shocks
- Dobinsons leaf springs for medium load/2.25" lift - L59-120-R
- Dobinsons leaf spring parts - greasable pins, greasable shackles, U bolt
- Timbren bump stops
- Coachbuilder carrier bearing drop kit and brake line bracket extension





The install went almost 100% smoothly... until 1am when the TRD swaybar just wasn't working out. I couldn't get the frame mount in on the driver's side, the threads are all messed up and a tap/die didn't help at all. So I gave up, removed the swaybar and ya know what? Didn't miss it at all driving today, surprisingly. Might just leave it off.



Got it aligned first thing this morning:



I'm loving it. I didn't measure exactly but it looks like I have a small rake. Maybe 1.5" lift in the front and 2" in the rear. I might crank up the preload on the fronts but it's really not bad as-is. Drives amazing. Very happy with this setup.

 

Wow looking good

 

Your truck looks awesome. I love the wheels, they remind me of Sparco rally car wheels.

 

Thanks man! I thought so too. I know some teams race with them and I believe they're FIA rated for Rally Raid and even T1.

 

Got a little too busy last month getting my 80 ready for Cruiser Fest -



But I finally got some time to get the Tundra out to the desert to test out the new suspension setup. First impressions: amazing



I took it out to the west desert to an area with lots of long winding sandy trails with small whoops and a little bit of crawling. I can already tell I'd rather take my 80 on anything technical but the Tundra still made it up just fine. Just a lot larger and heavier than I'm used to on off-camber, narrow, rocky trails.



(Just clocked over 13K miles today)

On the long washes and flowy trails this thing is too fun. It's going to take some practice to understand the limit and how to best drive it. I had a 100 Series back in the day with Icons and beadlocks so I got used to driving that fast on trails. But now my 80 has base model Dobinsons and stock bumpstops so I'm too familar with how jarring it is to bottom out and I've slowed way down on trails.



With the Tundra though, I could just point it and go. I kept bracing for impact but it would smooth out and keep going. I don't think I even hit the bumpstops very much - I thought I read somewhere that the 3.0s have some sort of internal bump? Could be wrong.

I only messed around with the front coilover stiffness settings and found a happy medium about 15-16 clicks in, so right in the middle. There were a few times I was laughing cause I hit some consecutive whoops too fast and it felt like the rear was bouncing all over.

Got a ton to learn still. Need to learn how to tune the bypasses in the rear, and figure out if I need to tune/revalve the shocks. It's just the stock King valving.



Overall it's a blast to drive offroad and can easily cruise down dirt roads at 60+. Now I just need some bumpers. And lights.

Nothing better than being able to hit trails all day and then jump back on a 70 mph road home with no problems. No creaks rattles or groans yet.

 

thats what makes the 2.5 gen so amazing- every time I take it on a trip, I can get on the highway and drive 12 hours home perfectly content, comfy and quiet!

good looking rig man!!

 

Weight in the bed past the axle towards the tailgate is the key for the rear. I also noticed many of these off the shelf items have the rebound set too fast and stiff compression.

 

Good to know, this kind of setup is all new to me. For years with Land Cruisers I found that they drive better with weight over the axle. But that's a completely different dynamic, no bed, and not driving fast on these kinds of trails. That was more for crawling and steep rocky inclines. I'll try shifting the weight back.

And yes agreed on the shock tune. I wanted to run it stock and get a feel for baseline and it definitely needs to be tweaked.