1997 Toyota 4Runner - Construction Zone Special

Welcome to yet another primered appearance of The Construction Zone. We hope that by seeing more unfinished rides in the raw you'll come up with some new ideas of your own to complete the ride that's collecting cobwebs in your garage. We can definitely use your help to get the word out that every show-stopper was once a primer and guidecoat-covered beast with mods galore. If you have a ride that's not quite done but makes you want to shave, suicide, or chop something every month, then peep out the photos we use here for The Zone and snap some of your own. Send them to us here at Mini Truckin' c/o The Construction Zone, 774 S. Placentia Ave., Placentia, CA 92870-6846. You may find yourself among the few, the proud, the unpainted. We wish you the best of luck and ingenuity until your own ride is painted and taking Best Of trophies. Now sit back and check out the newest inductees into The Construction Zone.

Somehow we've managed to get our ducks in a row for the third time to produce yet another Construction Zone special Issue. Once again, we're devoting a special section to six of the wildest trucks around. Follow along as we show you some of these cool unfinished rides. We hope these killer customs are completed soon, but until then, we'll just throw them out there so you can get some insane ideas of your own. It's our hope that by seeing these customs, you'll bring your own project just a little closer to completion, a little closer to being featured in the Construction Zone, or finally finishing that long overdue project that's been collecting dust and spiderwebs in your garage for so long.

Wheels / Tires: Front: 20x87.5-inch

Boyd Coddington / 245/35R20 tires

Rear: 22x10-inch Boyd Coddington / 265/35R22 tires

Body Modifications: Shaved door handles / custom Harley fuel filler in roof corner / stock floor body drop / 3/4 hand-fabricated chassis / custom hood made from factory and limited 4Runner hoods / shaved fenders / shaved fuel door / shaved roof rack / shaved rear hatch / smoothed front and rear bumpers

Suspension: Lowered 12 inches from stock overall / Firestone 2,600-pound airbags / GC electric valves / Monroe shocks Chassis: 2x3-inch boxed chassis from the front clip rearward / '85 Toyota 2WD front frame clip / '87 Mazda RX-7 independent rear end / custom driveline

Miscellaneous: Braided brake lines / 19.5-gallon fuel cell / relocated battery under rear body / Pacesetter polished header / first event was 2003 NOPI Mini-Truckin' Nationals

Special Thanks: To Metal Works in Decatur, Alabama / Optima Batteries / Line-X / GC Valves / O'Reilly Autoparts

Project Completion Date: Winter, 2004

Project Bad Body

Wheels/Tires: 18x7.5-inch Kruz wheels with 215/35R18 Venture tires

Body Modifications: Body-dropped 3-1/2 inches / shaved door handles / shaved tailgate / shaved cowl panel / shaved corner lamps / angled fender corners / 10-inch LED taillights in roll pan / chrome Toyota front bumper and lower valance / molded steel roll pan / fuel filler relocated to bed / Trenz polished phantom billet grille / Trenz polished Toyota billet bumper insert

Suspension: Pro Hopper hydraulic suspension / Honda Accord front springs / Monroe shocks / TCI chrome four-link rear setup

Chassis: Back-halved rear frame clip / '94 Toyota front spindles, brake calipers, and rotors / '94 Toyota rear end / all suspension and chassis work performed by Insane Designs of Ennis, Texas

Miscellaneous: 18-gallon fuel cell / monstrous shifter extends out of sunroof / Nissan 240 SX dashboard upholstered in tan tweed / Eclipse head unit

Special Thanks: To Billy's wife and parents / Mike Farmer at Insane Designs / members of Eksessiv

Project Completion Date: Unknown

No Fords Here!

Body Modifications: Stock floor body drop / '98 Ford Ranger front suspension /

Suspension: The Navajo is 'bagged at all corners with Firestone airbags. (At press time, the Navajo was a still a pushed truck.)

Chassis: Custom-built frame from firewall to back / '87 Mazda RX-7 rear end narrowed 3 inches / 2-inch stepped lower control arms for 20-inch wheels / rear frame set up to accommodate 22-inch wheels

Wheels/Tires: 17x7-inch RS Limited wheels / 205/40R17 tires (temporary)

Miscellaneous: Original cost of vehicle was $500 from a wrecking yard / plans include installing a Ford V-8 engine / interior will include Lincoln Mark VIII dash, seats, and center console / will be fully shaved / will include a large, sliding ragtop sunroof / all work performed by Mike Farmer at Insane Designs in Ennis, Texas

Project Completion Date: Unknown

Lambo' Style

Body Modifications: Lamborghini swing driver door / tilt front end / shaved door handles / molded steel roll pan / frenched license-plate box / shaved fuel filler door / shaved taillights / shaved antenna / shaved roof rack / suicide hood / custom cowl-induction hood / phantom billet grille / Street Scene side mirrors / body-dropped 5-1/2 inches

Suspension: 'Bagged with Firestones all the way around / DJM shocks / two-link rear suspension setup

Wheels: 17x7-inch Eagle alloy wheels

Miscellaneous: Chris Plemons completed most of the work / future modification includes a frontend conversion and custom painting to be done by Robert Reifel at Auto Custom Experts

Special Thanks: To Robert Reifel at Auto Custom Experts

Project Completion Date: Summer, 2005

Old-Schooled

Body Modifications: Shaved door handles / shaved taillights / custom third brake light / frenched in tailgate / '68 Plymouth Valiant taillights / molded steel roll pan / frenched license-plate box / custom exhaust opening in roll pan / handmade phantom grille / custom bumper insert / 2.5-inch body drop with pinch welds cut off cab / custom cowl-induction hood

Suspension: Four wheel airbags using 1/2-inch SMC valves / three air tanks / custom forward and reversed four-link / tubular custom-bent crossmember / bridge-notched

Wheels/Tires: Temporary 16-inch Chevy Z-71 wheels / 205/40R16 BFGoodrich Euro T/A radial tires

Miscellaneous: Eagle Talon bucket seats / smoothed and tweed-upholstered dash / '91 Ford Festiva brake booster / '92 Corolla clutch master cylinder / custom-built fuel cell / York A/C compressor used to fill the air tanks / detailed engine and chassis / all body mods and suspension work on the 720 was done by Rich, but he refuses to do his own paint

Future Plans: New wheels / custom paint / finish the interior / finish the stereo system

Special Thanks: To Rich's wife and his kids for being so patient with him while he's been working on the Nissan

Project Completion Date: Sometime in 2004

Pro-Built

Body Modifications: Most of the work has been in the cab of the Mazda Cab Plus; short bed trucks are not available in the UK. All sheetmetal on the cab was built by Ray Ramsay / FBI frenched and angled plate box in front bumper / shortened bed / skinned and molded tailgate / molded steel roll pan / gas tank relocated to bed / sliding ragtop

Suspension: Rayvern Hydraulics fluid displacement system (hydraulic rams push coil springs in rear, which displaces hydraulic fluid) / four-link rear suspension / 3-inch body drop / dual batteries in bed / single Rayvern Hydraulics pump setup

Wheels/Tires: Centerline 15x12-inch rear wheels / custom Centerline 15x5.5-inch wheels up front

Miscellaneous: Under the hood, this B-series runs a Range Rover V-8 / five-speed Borg-Warner transmission / Ford 9-inch rear end / all work performed by Ray Ramsay at Rayvern Hydraulics / four Alfa Romeo bucket seats / right-hand drive

Project Completion Date: Probably never, but Flan can still dream