OWNER: Berry Trulove
RIDE: '96 Toyota 4Runner
LOCATION: Smyrna, Georgia
CLUB: Severed ties
Unless you're Marty McFly, chances are you're not going to be time traveling anytime soon. But, for today's purposes, you could pull out your old issue of Mini Truckin', June 2000 issue, Page 26 and find the twin of this truck. You see, back in 2000, Officer Berry Trulove and Ford Ranger were featured in this very magazine. I know what you're thinking, and no, I'm not crazy. I know Ford Rangers and Toyota 4Runners look nothing alike, but if you look at the pics of this Ford, there are some major similarities.
After achieving his dream, what else could Berry strive for? He decided to build one of the baddest 4Runners in the nation, one that lays body, is super-clean, and one of the first ever finished. When Berry's wife was away at school, he decided he needed something to pass the time. So, he got down and dirty and over the next three years, Berry and his friends built the whole truck themselves. This included such trick mods as Toyota Supra independent rear suspension and a front Toyota truck clip. Since he was going to clip the front end and add IRS to the rear, he figured he would build an entirely new chassis constructed out of 2x3-inch steel. In the end, he had achieved 24 inches of drop and a leg up on the competition.
Having such a sweet chassis meant the outside of the truck would need to be just as trick. The '96 front end was tossed and exchanged with the donor parts off of an '01 model. After doing all of the bodywork himself, Berry took the truck to Eddie Black, in Marietta, Georgia, to have it painted Winner Blue. Add that to a long list of shave jobs and you get one smooth ride. If you listened to us in the beginning, and pulled out your old issue, you'd have noticed that the blue paint is apparently Berry's favorite color. Also, it is close to the color of his Ranger, which was painted by Eddie Black too.
From here, Berry and his buddy, Chris Johnson, decided to add some sounds to the inside. There was serious business going down in this truck. Berry built fiberglass sub enclosures, and smoothed and painted the entire interior. Then, he made a trip down to Albany Auto Trim to finish out the rest of the leather interior. With all this done, Berry had one mean showing machine. If you build another blue vehicle, Berry, we here at MT are going to start calling you Berry "Blue" Trulove. Then, you and Jan from Severed Ties, Canada, will have more in common than just a club name.
THE LOWDOWN
Rolling Attire
Wheels (Front/Rear): 18x7-Inch Boyd Coddingtons
Tires (Front/Rear): 215/35r18
Chassis Modifications
Suspension Type: Air
Front Suspension: Toyota Truck Front Clip
Rear Suspension: Toyota Supra Irs
Airbag Type And Size: (Front/Rear): Firestone 2500s
Spindles: 2-Inch Drop Spindles By Chassis Tech
Shocks: Toxic Shocks
Valves: Eight 1/2-Inch E-Air Valves
Air Line: 1/2-Inch
Frame Mods: Front Of Frame Is Clipped
Brakes: Toyota Supra Disc Brakes
Misc.: Stainless Brake Lines
Performed By: Berry Trulove
City/State: Smyrna, Georgia
Body Modifications
Shaved: All Handles, Roof Rack, License Plate Box, One-Off Hood With Sr5hoodscoop, Rear Doorjams Tubbed
Body Dropped: 3-Inch Stock Floor Body Drop
Front End: '01 4runner Front Face
Taillights: '01 4runner
Performed By: Berry Trulove
City/State: Smyrna, Georgia
Interior
Seats: Bucket Seats
Material: Silver Suede, Blue Suede, Silver Leather
Dash: Smoothed And Painted
Door Panels: Smoothed And Painted
Flooring: Graphite Gray
Headliner: Blue Suede
Misc.: 15-Inch One-Off Turbine Steering Wheel From Kustom Kreations
Performed By: Albany Auto Trim
City/state: Albany, Georgia
Stereo
Head Unit: Kenwood DDX-8017
Mids And Highs: Two 6-1/2 Inch Components In Front Doors, Two 5-1/4 Inch Components In Rear Doors, And Two 4-Inch Centers In Dash
Amplifier For Mids And Highs: Powerbass XA 2150, Powerbass XA 485
Subwoofers: Four 12-Inch Powerbass Subs
Amplifier For Subwoofers: Powerbass XA3000D
Wiring/Accessories: Tsunami
Video: Kenwood In-Dash DVD Player
Custom Fabrication: All Sub Enclosures Custom-Built By Berry Trulove And Chris Johnson
Performed By: Berry Trulove And Chris Johnson
City/State: Smyrna, Georgia
Special Thanks (By Owner):
My Wife, Jill; Max Krause, Boyd Coddington, Powerbass, Tsunami, Chris Johnson, And Of Course, Severed Ties.