ezucker

I just bought this '87 4runner for $1400 from a shady used car dealership in Northeast Philadelphia. It came with no records, nothing in the glove box but a manual.

It's got moderate body rust and the frame has a decent amount of surface rust, but is solid. It actually drives very smoothly, 4wd works. I had to replace the front and rear brakes, and put in a new radiator to get it to pass inspection.

Here are some pictures of the body:






The car came with no bumper. The guy at the car dealership made a bumper by cutting vinyl from some junker car. It's kind of silly looking. I need to find a nice chrome factory bumper (though I know that can be difficult.) Anyone have a good idea for an alternative more easily available bumper?



The engine:



The interior is in pretty decent shape. No tears in the seats and only a few scratches. It does desperately need to be scrubbed clean (which I hope to do this weekend):






The center console is missing the lid. I've already ordered a replacement and hopefully that will be here soon:




Nice ... Altimeter.




Some rust ...











Bad rust under the gas tank door will need to be addressed soon. The guy at the shady dealership put duct tape over it then painted over that to hide it. Who does he think he is fooling?






And a view from the back:



Some minor interior issues:







Check out the heady SR5 logo on the rear seats:





I always loved the rear heater. I remember using the one in my dad's 4runner when I was a little kid and used to ride in the back.




Soooo, the gauges are not all working properly. The gas gauge seems inaccurate. The H/C gauge is always at C, never moves. The oil and battery gauges seem to fluctuate too much to be accurate. Do you guys think if I throw in a used cluster gauge replacement it will resolve the problem? I guess the H/C could also be a sensor under the hood, I know there is a thread about cleaning that to get it to work somewhere on here...




Oops. Somebody backed into something:




When the jackasses at the dealership put the plate on, they used screws that were too long. as I put up the rear window I heard a terrible screeching sound. Now look at the big scratch going down the middle of the back window:




I must say however, all the power windows work, which I was surprised about.

The wheels could certainly use an upgrade:




Do you guys think I could put the 15" american mojave racing atx wheels I have on my '00 4runner on the '87? Would they fit? I'm thinking about putting those on these and putting the factory wheels back on my '00 4runner. Or maybe I'll put the factory wheels from my 4runner which are sitting in my garage on the '87. Thoughts?



Oh yea, and the antenna is broken. The motor sounds like it still works so maybe I can just buy a replacement antenna and pop it on...




Anyway, this is my new toy. I will continue to post pictures as I modify and add things. I will leave you with a picture of how it looked on the lot when I first spotted it...

arlindsay1992

iTrader: (8)

That looks almost exactly the same as mine. When I saw it I thought this might be an old thread started by the previous owner of my 87 4Runner SR5. Mine had a slightly off-color hood, missing front valence, Warn hubs, aftermarket antenna to replace the broken power one, almost all the same options, and I even bought my Runner out of Pennsylvania. But obviously they are two different vehicles. Mine has a little less rust than yours but your interior looks to be in much better shape. And the P/O of my Runner bought it from a salvage yard, not a shady dealership. Looks like a great start to a project. Keep us posted.

arlindsay1992

iTrader: (8)

I'm a picture whore. We have twin Runners.

Checking it out before purchase, first picture I took of it.




First picture at home.


Both of them washed and waxed.

ezucker

Lookin' good Arlindsay. I can't wait to see how mine looks this weekend after I scrub the dirt off and give it a fresh coat of wax.

wescx005

Looks good, I'm looking for a old style 4 runner myself in the north Texas area. Will be my project car, plenty in the area for 1200 bucks but all are early 90s / late 80s 3.0 L v6's. If I wernt so afraid of the head gasket mess I wouldn't mind.

Nervo19

Great tour of your new 4Runner. Do you have the tri-spoke wheels left over from your '00? Those would look good for now. Your 4Runner looks very complete so you won't have to chase too many parts. And that urban rear bumper...here comes a new trend.

arlindsay1992

iTrader: (8)

Yeah I noticed that too. What's up that the bumper?

My99

First off - congrats on the new toy. Obvious eyeroll on the dealer "mods", but at least you rescued it.

If you clean up that interior, it'll be very nice! Very good shape for the age.

Regarding the gauges - I would assume most, if not all of your issues are as a result of the sending units and or corrosion not sending the right signal to the gauge. (However, if you do want to abandon the gauge still, I have a good home for it).

In regards to the wheel swap, I would assume they'd fit. Later gen (at least up through 3rd gen) wheels fit on the old 4runners fine. So assuming backspacing, etc. on those aftermarket wheels are somewhat inline with stock, I'd expect them to fit.

Congrats on the new ride!

ezucker

I do have the old factory wheels from my 00. Are you ure they will fit? Will the 4wd wheel lockers get in the way?

ezucker

I know the fake bumper looks redic. I'd like to find a real factory bumper but am having trouble. Anyone know of a good aftermarket chrome alternative?

My99

Well, I have factory Aisins hubs on mine, and they fit through fine. I guess you should check the front wheel clearance and confirm. Hole pattern and offset shouldn't be an issue.

BirdDogg

Omg, wow! I never really realized what rust issues there are out there.... My old '88 has about
0.5% rust on it... I guess one more pro of being in san Diego

ezucker

Yeah rust on the east coast is a killer. Too humid.

4Nmissile

Gotta love those shady dealerships. There are a few in the Columbus Ohio area that I have been to with a friend of mine when just looking around at lots. One question I have is; won't you have to adjust the odometer if you get a used cluster? I only ask because you said it had to pass inspection. Or was it just one of those out of state inspections? Are you planning on selling the wheels? I might be interested. Although, I don't know what size those stock wheels are. Are they 15"? Nice altimeter btw. Those are going for big bucks on ebay when you can find them on there.

ezucker

I'm trying to decide about the cluster, I suspect it may be problems with the sensors I need to get in there and look around. I swapped a bad tach out on a fj60 I had and it worked well... Bit I'm not concernd about the odometer because I will be registering it as an antique shortly and then it will be exempt from the mileage reporting.

arlindsay1992

iTrader: (8)

You can change the odometer fairly easily to match. I did that when I installed an SR5 cluster in my 88 Pickup. Just take it apart so you can access the back of the roller, then grab with your fingers and turn. It will snap halfway between numbers, then snap into position. Be careful not to damage the needle, they are fragile and can mess up the internals if you move them the wrong way or move them forcefully.

Discombobulated

I don't know why they would go through so much to cover it all up, anyone looking for a runner expects such things. Man that rear plastic thing they mounted is just funny good luck bringing it back to life.

RickyZ

You got a nice ride! That sr5 interior is so nice, makes me wish I wouldi have waited instead of settling for a dlx. I think those style wheels look great on there, at least if they had some manly tires on em. Lol! Center caps on the front would also do wonders for the looks.

ezucker

Just realized the passenger door has two door handles. One so you can open the door from the back seat. Seems pretty unnecessary, but I still think it's hilarious.

ezucker

The center console lid/armrest I ordered doesn't fit. I guess because I have the center console with the rear heating unit, so I need a smaller armrest. I'm having a hell of a time finding one. If anyone has an extra one let me know, I'll pay. I need something to rest my elbow on!