Bill,
Looks like I just joined the PNW 4Runner club. Picking up a 99 this weekend myself. There are a few bits and pieces I need to grab, but I am not familiar with any pick and pull type places up here in the Seattle area. Just wondering if you had any resources? Once I get a few things done I want to join you guys out on a drive sometime!
In reply to LifeIsStout:
There is Pick-n-Pull, one in Lynnwood and one in Tacoma, Their inventory is online, but not super accurate I have found.
Nix99 will likely have whatever you need, but not the cheapest, and not u pull.
I've found that sometimes I have to get a bit creative to find what I need as not a lot of 4-runners (or even toyota truck/SUVs) end up in the PNP's for some reason (at least not in the Tacoma one). I think the ONE first gen 4-runner I found in Tacoma was picked so clean the only thing that I could possibly use was the heater resistor pack, and that may have been the last "part" in the truck 
Budget Truck Wrecking in Auburn is a place that might bear some fruit for ya. It's a super easy going place. Check in, pull what you need, and the guy says something like "eh, how about $50 for everything?" Last time I was there they had a turn of the century Tacoma but I would probably call first.
I just came across your build thread, I'll be following along 
If you haven't already, I'd check out North West Overland. Great group of guys that do a fair bit of camping and wheeling without getting too "Bubba" about things. Lots of local trail knowledge. 
Cheers! -Bill
Thanks Guys! I appreciate the parts places, and I am going to go find the North West Overland Group. I know you have done a couple of outings, I want to get things in shape and then join you. I homebrew, and plan on bringing kegs for any overnight excursions, hence the title on my build thread.
Bad news (kinda). I took a new position within the company, it involves a move, the cars can't follow.
The 4-Runner is "sold" and the guy takes delivery on the 29th.
I have one day this weekend set aside for one last run with the kiddo. Not sure where I'm headed yet, but details to follow.
(that was kind of hard to type)
Good times
WHAT?!?! 
The triumph is going too!? :(
golfduke wrote: The triumph is going too!? :(
You have a Triumph? How did I not know this? Why are you holding out on me?! 
Mezzanine wrote:golfduke wrote: The triumph is going too!? :(You have a Triumph? How did I not know this? Why are you holding out on me?!
A gentleman never asks, a lady never tells
Duke: The Alfa is going to go to a babysitters in Austin. I'm beating feet trying to get it on the road before then. It'll be a close one
My apologies. Knew Alfa, and thought Triumph for some reason. Brain Damage on my behalf. Glad to hear that it isn't getting abandoned. The work you've put into it has been excellent.
Before opening this thread yesterday I said to my self. "Self, keep an eye on this thread someday he may want to sell that truck" Did I miss it in the stuff for sale area.
No, it went to someone I know locally
A part of me is hoping that when he's ready to pass it on, I'll be back in a position to take it 
Either way, we have one last outing planned tomorrow. A quick trip to a local ORV park with the boys
In reply to Hungary Bill:
Seriously stay out of the puddles! The swallow trucks.... Like the size if mine.... Dont ask how I know, and how I know how many modules are under the carpet....
Oh man, it’s been a while! Where did we leave off?
Ah, so going back in time the trip to the ORV park was a nice little sendoff for the little ‘Runner. I did visit once after moving to Kuwait and her new owner and I made a trip up to the mountains for some shooting shenanigans. He’s replaced the carburetor, installed a trail gear bumper up front, and a few other things I’m sure but it’s been over a year since I’ve seen it last so who knows what else has been done by now. A good home though.
Skipping forward a couple years, on February 28th we made another big jump. This time we landed back in Hungary! (that’s right, Hungary Bill is back in the Bloc). We’ve known about the move since December and it’s been a mad dash getting things in order (well, still is). Mrs. Hungary stayed with the kids and I in the hotel for the first week. She did an amazing job house hunting and we’ll be moving in our new (empty) place on April 7th. It looks like this!
The garage you see on the front has been converted into our master bedroom, to make up for this, they built a detached garage that’s about half a garage wider than normal for the area (a major win for me, as most garages here barely fit the Alfa)
But until our move in day, it’s hotel life for the Hungarlings and I. They’re enrolled in the local schools and my mother-in-law flew out for a month to help me with them while Mrs. Hungary wraps up the odds and ends in Kuwait.
For transportation I had been searching the local classifieds and was having a darned hard time finding anything to get excited about, and that was beginning to cause a bit of anxiety as I really needed to have something bought and registered by the 21st of this month but didn’t want to spend a bunch of money on something I was just going to hate and replace…
Well, I should elaborate a bit on that last part. This place is “Cool Communist Car Paradise” (CCCP, see what I did there?). But most of those cars don’t bode well for the dad life, and I already have my hobby car back in the states (waiting to be shipped). Whatever I bought needed to be safe, reliable, decent on gas, and capable of highway speeds (communist cars tend to not be any of those). And of course for me the car had to make my heart go “pitter pat”.
Much searching followed. Fiats, Volvo Amazons, the aforementioned commie cars… They all seemed to have some sort of hitch that prevented their purchase (expired documents, no rear seat belts, unable to hit 100kph downhill with a tailwind, and so on…). I tried looking for newer stuff, RX-8s, Alfas 159 wagons, E46 wagons…. And I just found myself trying to talk myself into liking them. My searches became less and less restrictive, and I even started searching for German cars on “Mobile.de” (you know… because a 2-day weekend drive to Germany with no spouse and 2-kids with my mother-in-law would be possible). Eventually it got to the point I think my sole search criteria was “Manual transmission, pre-1990”, which yielded this little gem:
She’s registered as a 1989 4-Runner. Comes equipped with a 22RE (my first!) and a 5-speed.
I have no idea how this guy made it out here, but I was convinced the first gen 4-Runners were never imported out here. But here it is! With valid registration (until September), German owners manuals, and everything!
She comes with a set of spare rims and snow tires, and a whole heap of things that need to be fixed before its next technical inspections. Enough of that though, lets do a walk around!
So here’s the good and bad:
The Bad
Sounds like it has a slight misfire (it might be the duct tape on the intake tube, it might be the duct tape on the coil HT lead… it might also be the exhaust leak and loud muffler…)
It might just be my perception since I’m driving this immediately after rather quick E46 330ci, but it seems down on power…
2” body lift will not pass Hungary’s technical inspection (and is just icky poo)
Battery disconnect under the hood (which screams “a short is draining the battery” to me, but more to follow on that one).
Flat black paint, that wasn’t shot well. Gonna need a whole re-spray
Brakes are soft
To go straight, you steer 45deg left
Too big for the roads here
(poorly) home built exhaust that’s too loud. Seriously, 22R’s sound AWFUL. Why amplify that?
LPG kit that is kinda installed well, but kinda not. That’s coming out.
16” rims that I’m sure weren’t certified through the TUV (the people who do the technical inspections.) Those might have to be changed...
The afore mentioned duct tape
Poor vehicle choice for the area (seriously, 99% of the time there’s nothing that this thing can do in Europe that a station wagon couldn’t do just as well and be more comfortable doing it, while getting better gas mileage and being more reliable. (Seriously, driving this pig is like wearing your ski boots year round because come ski season you’re going to head into the mountains to hit the slopes)
The Good
It came with an extra set of rock-hard, dry rotted snow tires.
I like it. I like it a lot.
It came with this really cool key chain!
So yeah. I’m hoping for a family adventure wagon with this beast, but lets be honest, the cascades aren’t really close anymore, and most of Europe is easily accessed by station wagon (Kombi). Oh well, lets see what we can come up with!
(Also: I may be writing this in the present tense, but this all happened weeks ago. BUT! Since I've no garage yet I'll have the opportunity to play catchup while we wait for move day and household goods delivery. )
For now, here's what she looks like where she sits:
And here's what she looks like from the hotel room:
And here's what I look like in the driver's seat:
Cheers guys!
Disclaimer: Things are still settling, so it might be a while before I get into a routine that works well with garage and GRM time. Updates might be hit and miss for a bit. Not intended for human consumption, do not use this thread while driving.
In reply to Hungary Bill :
Congratulations! Let us know when you’re ready to start shipping Trabis over here. ;)
That's all kinds of cool. It looks like you have lots of opportunities for small and medium fixes on that one.
Now that you're back in the bloc I need to get you hooked up with sleepyhead (who is in Poland for the next little while) and you can teach him how to find a Lada Niva so that I can have him import it back to the states with him so that I can buy it from him.
Looking forward to this thread being active again.
Cool! I always enjoy the Hungary threads.
Pete: Ready, able, and willing! 
Just get on Hasznaltauto.hu and tell me which way to jump
Mazdeuce: No way! Do you think the Eastern Bloc is ready for two GRMers in that close proximity? I'll send him a message, but if it starts an automotive international incident, that's on you. You're right about the truck though. Nothing too major it seems, but lots of small/medium things that kind of add up. I've already got the body mount set on order to remove the body lift. I'm not sure what I'm going to tackle after that.
Wheelsmithy: Thanks! I'm hoping to do better with this one than I did with the last one. The BMW was nice, but I never really got "in" to it and the thread kind of fizzled out.
Woohoo! I too love a 1st gen 4runner.
Now.... What is a container sized box from Trail Gear cost to ship? :D
So, hungary? How near to the check republic are you? One of my best friends and his family opened a bed and breakfast near Prague.
Also, are you willing to obtain euro spec parts for us and ship them over? You may have a decent side buisness opportunity there.
I don't have much to add except that I was able to go to Hungary for a month in 2009 and I absolutely loved it. So like the thread of Mazdas in Peru, I love seeing this thread because I can travel from my laptop, and follow along with cool cars!
Awesome thread and cool to see you in another 4runner. I just started my first 4x4 build with a '94 Toyota pickup running a 22RE. So far it's terrible for everything except taking up space and I love it.
Java: Whatever the cost, it'd be worth it!
Duster: Just a few hours, and we LOVED Prague when we visited last. I dont think it would take much to convince Mrs. Hungary to do a reunion tour. We might have to exchange info in the near future. As for the parts, NEVER! I wouldnt make money off you guys. You tell me what you nee, I pick it up and send it at cost. Done and done. I cant promise any junkyard trips though, but if you can find it on racingbazar.hu, or jofogas.hu, or unix.hu, I can have it shipped to my place and sent your way 
ooh. Hasznaltauto.hu also has a car parts area. Click on the icon that looks like a disc brake.
Rusty: Your kidding!!!! We might have just missed each other during our last tour! We moved here December of 2009 and left in December 2013. But oh man, Mrs. Hungary and I have dreamed of Peru forever. Where is this thread?
Dclafleur: hahahaha! You nailed that one. Do you have a thread going? I'd love to see your build!
Hungary Bill said:Rusty: Your kidding!!!! We might have just missed each other during our last tour! We moved here December of 2009 and left in December 2013. But oh man, Mrs. Hungary and I have dreamed of Peru forever. Where is this thread?
Oh I was there in the summer! Lots of time in Pecs for a college project, and lots just traveling everywhere I could afford (broke college kid at the time lol).
Here's the Peru build/adventure thread!
So... should I be getting shipping quotes? https://www.hasznaltauto.hu/szemelyauto/polski_fiat/126/polski_fiat_126_650_p-14179081
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