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What I learned from the Stormtrooper 4Runner project
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It’s been seven months since I sold the Stormtrooper 4Runner. It was my first true road-legal project, my first that really felt like a nonstop commitment. It was in my care for two years and change. Certainly enough time to get to know it, and more than enough time to love it dearly. And now,…
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Project Stormtrooper 4Runner: Closing thoughts and saying goodbye
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It’s the end of an era: the Stormtrooper 4Runner has been sold. It was the most meaningful vehicle to me in my automotive journey thus far. Coincidentally– or maybe not so much– it was also far and beyond my biggest project to date. Owning the Stormtrooper 4Runner never ceased to be an eye-opening learning experience.…
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Stormtrooper 4Runner: Fitting the Old Man Emu 3″ suspension lift
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An off-road vehicle is nothing if not for the ability of its tires to maintain traction. No traction means no forward progress. Without forward progress, a day spent wheeling quickly becomes a day spent getting unstuck. As every off-roader knows, that’s only fun for so long. This isn’t simply a tire issue though. Springs and…
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Teaser: Changes coming to the Stormtrooper 4Runner
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It’s finally happening: the Stormtrooper 4Runner is about to receive some very desperately needed upgrades. “What’s in the box?,” you ask? No, it’s not ARB armor– though that is what the company has come to be known for here in the ‘States. Rather, the contents of the deceptively large package are goodies from Australian suspension…
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Project Car SOTU: Stormtrooper 4Runner
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We’ve all been there, past the point of frustration and agony and anger and heartbreak and “I fucking hate this giant metal piece of shit,” cresting the point of “why do I even do this?” and stepping well into the territory of, “I’d be better off if I had no involvement in this whatsoever.” I…
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Stormtrooper 4Runner: AOAA "Last Fall Bash" Trip Report
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“You never have an idea of just how capable a car is until you have it on the track.” That might be all well and true, but it’s even more so for off-roading, and a recent weekend at Pennsylvania’s Anthracite Outdoor Adventure Area is the perfect example of why, and how. After months…
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Stormtrooper 4Runner trip report: Return to AOAA
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To enthusiasts of the off-roading sub-culture, myself included, there truly is nothing quite as psychologically refreshing as a day in the woods. A day separated from the burdens of reality, a day free from the stresses of the work-fueled monotony, a day isolated from basically everything except you, your truck, your buddies, and the trails…
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Project Car SOTU: Stormtrooper 4Runner
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There must be some unwritten rule, something of a taboo, about not thinking positively about a project vehicle while in its presence. It’s almost like the car, or truck, knows when your brain inwardly speaks well of it and, as if it has a special sense, proceeds on its own accord to kick you…
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Leap of Faith: The Stormtrooper 4Runner Canadian Retrieval Mission
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Sometimes you do crazy things when the juice looks like it will be worth the squeeze. Six months ago my best friend and I drove to the Great White North to buy a twelve-year-old Toyota. It was one of our best adventures yet. This is the story. Off-roading has been a constant in my life.…
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Stormtrooper 4Runner: First off-road trip report
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Off-roading isn’t anything that’s new to me. I’ve been around the hobby my entire life, having grown up with my dad’s lifted YJ Wrangler taking us on weekend excursions to local wheeling spots. I came home from the hospital in a Jeep, spent most of my childhood and young adulthood dreaming of off-roading something of…
