My uncle is the proud owner a white, 1998 Toyota 4Runner Limited that he purchased after my cousin was born in December 1997.

I have very fond memories of that vehicle and even though I never went camping or did any off-road related activities with my family when I was a kid, I believe my uncle’s SUV kickstarted my love for 4Runners.

To keep everything as updated as possible, I take two separate inventories of new items (when they are purchased and when they are delivered) and then I revise my build list once items are installed on my vehicle.

The first time I saw a “TacoRunner” was in 2018, owned by someone who I formerly went to high school with. I thought it was a very interesting concept and was entertained by the idea. I kept it in the back of my mind until I purchased my own 4Runner in 2020 and immediately starting gathering parts for the swap.

I found a fabricator online from across the country who built a 4Runner with a Tacoma front end for his sister and I began talking to him, picking his brain for information on what it would take to bring the vision in my head to life. He went above and beyond by not only verbally providing me with the knowledge necessary to gather all the parts to my puzzle but also physically showing me what I would need to do by sending me instructional videos featuring his sister’s vehicle.

Although King’s build has gone through many stages during my ownership, the Tacoma front end was always part of the end goal.