33" tires is a good start, they will fit on the stock 15x7 rim although a lot of shops wont recommend it, but I ran this combo for a few years with no problems. You will rub the front anti sway bar slightly at full lock but its minor. I like running the 33's with a 15x8 as it sets the tires out just a hair from the sides providing body protection in those tight spots. No lift is needed to run the 33's but you might wan to give the front a slight boost with the T bars. You can also get longer coils made for the rear or get a coil spacer made for some minor lift.

I run 2nd gen 4 runner bars that are modified to fit my rig they work great and I prefer the combo of a square inner tube with a round bent tube that extends up and out to protect the door and provide a pivot for the tight spots. ARB used to make a front bumper for the gen2 with flares but I'm not sure if they still carry it. the mounts have to be modified to fit US spec trucks. You'll have to do some research and poking around to find out about this one. Others have used ARB bumpers from other model trucks such as the jeep ZJ and modified to fit. For the rear you'll have to go completely custom.

The people I know who have tried rancho's on their gen2 have not been very happy. I recommend KYB or if you have the stock 3 way adjustable KYB's stick with those till they wear out.

In 97 Mitsu changed the gear ratio in the diferentials to 4.1 so you might want to look into lower diff gears in the future. To help cooling install a bypasss switch so you can turn on you AC condenser fan without turning on the AC. Cheap but effective way to greatly improve cooling on those slow crawling technical trails..

The list goes on and on but Tires and armor are the best starts <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />