Ok so ive reached a big dilemma. I have 2 trucks, a 92 4runner in near mint condition and an 83' pickup in nowhere near mint condition. I LOVE both. But cannot afford to insure both. Ive parked the runner for the season and bought the 83 to drive in the winter and was then gonna sell it. Ive run in a litle problem however, that problem being I cannot bring myself to sell the truck (already have 5 offers on it). I am moving to victoria to become a paramedic so I could use some money for school. I can only drive one vehicle so heres my train of thought. A) keep the 4runner, sell the truck.(most obvious), B) keep the 4runner, keep the truck, live like a hobo and leave the truck sitting at my parents 3 hours away, out in the weather(keep in mind it is almost summer tho), C) keep the truck and sell the 4runner (this sounds ridiculous but i live in canada on the west coast and mint 2nd gens can fetch a good 7-8+ grand). This leaves me with more than enough money to build the 83 into my dream truck. The problem with the last option is that i am in no position to start a project right now in life. Im leaning towards *gulp* selling the truck and keeping my 4runner, hopefully selling it in a year or 2 for a good amount and going down to cali and picking up a nice clean 1st gen pickup. The problem with that is the trucks are near impossible to find as is and often have a whack of problems when u do find them. My point is, when i look into the future, I can see myself without a 4runner, but I reaaaaaly want to have a 1st gen. But at the present it makes more sense to just keep the 4runner. As far as mechanical condition goes, the 4runner has 155000 miles (US) and the pickup has 214000 kilometres (cdn) (sorry dont know the conversions) so the truck technically has less mileage and runs just as good. But the box is rusting and the floorboards are pooched. Im pretty sure I know what i need to do, I just feel like I need someone who understands the situation (my yotatech family lol) to tell me what I need to hear... Sorry for making this so bloody long but this is an emotional time for me

Ill add a pic of each to give a better idea.

 

keep the 4runner.

 

That really is a clean 2nd gen runner. I feal I'm in a similar position as you, just without the 2nd vehicle here yet. I have a 96 x-cab taco that is in pretty good shape with 147,900 on the clock. I vought it from my brother in law and know that it's been baby'd it's whole life. So, if I sold it I could get some decent money out of it, but I'm attached to it and he's still attached to it. He only sold it because he was going out of country for 3 years. We both joke about which one of our kids are going to get it in 10-16 years. But, I really want a SFA runner or 1st gen. I get whiplash every time I see one sitting/driving somewhere. I guess you really need to keep the runner and ask yourself how much is the money from selling the truck going to affect your day to day life. My guess is not much, so try to keep it covered and wait it out. If being a medic in Canada is anything like in the US, you'll be able to work a few extra hours when you get out of school to fund the truck build.

 

keep both....LIVE LIKE A HOBO!

 

Really tough decision...normally I'd say don't sell the 1st gen, you'll always regret it, but...that's a nice runner. If you're serious about finding a 1st gen somewhere down south, not just telling yourself you will to make the decision easier...that's really not a bad idea. Even just this far south, in Montana, I see them come up on craigslist a couple times a year, in better (rust-wise) condition than the one you've got, for anywhere from $500-$2000. There's one right now for about $1200 I think that looks like it has less rust than mine, and mine doesn't have much.

I'm not experienced in the ways of body work, so rust and dents & paint & all that is still a little intimidating to me, so to me a pretty much rust free truck in terrible mechanical condition is better than a rusty dented truck in great mechanical condition.

Of course only you can decide...and I don't envy having to make that decision! Good luck!

 

Definitely keep the 4Runner. Save up and then SAS it, and have the best of both worlds.

 

Why dont you take the insurance off the truck and keep it...thats what I did when I was in school! If thats not an option, I would sell the truck, IMHO I bet the 4runner will be more reliable!

 

i say sell the runner, you could easily find another one of them if you want it again, its nothing special, but if you get rid of the 2nd gen, you wont be able to find another again

 

Sell the '83. You don't need a project right now. You can pick up another one when you're ready.

 

I say don’t make the decision now. Park the 83; see how a hobo lives, if you don’t like it then sell the 83. Whatever you do good luck on your new career.

 

DON'T SELL THE FIRST GEN! The first gen is what you want and It could be just as reliable... put a little money into the truck when you sell the 4runner. You will get way more money from the 4runner and I bet the truck will have much cheaper insurance. By the way, your truck looks alot like mine. I like it.

 

part the rest of the 83 keep the axle and sas the runner using all parts from the truck!
front and rear.. use the tcase for double tcases
sell body and frame!@

 

your 83 looks pretty straight, keep both. Find a friend whol will let you store the 83 and let the registration lapse, call the insurance company and tell them the truck is not be driven and remove it from you policy. Now you have both vehicle and the 83 is not costing you. When you get your finances straight weh your working go get the 83 and build it to your hearts content. just a thought.

 

Whatever you do, DON'T STORE THE TRUCK OUTSIDE.

 

another vote for drop insurance and at the least cover the pick-up if you're gonna store it. Maybe erect one of those temporary garages? Don't know if you can do that or not, but drive the 4Runner and store the truck, save your dough, when you graduate, sell runner, build truck

 

Back in 1979 when I was 19 I moved to Colorado to help build a house. While I was there I bought a 1963 CJ5 Jeep with a flat head 4 cylinder engine and 3 speed trans. It wouldn't go over 50 mph, but on the back roads of Durango it was great (I still remember the drive through liquor stores). Ultimately I returned to Calif. and found that the Jeep was not cut out for freeway driving and being in school with a commute I ended up trading it for a 1975 Honda Civic. After I was out of school and established I really wished I had kept the Jeep. In hindsight, I could have worked something out and the few years of relative hardship passed quickly.
Store the 83 if you can and drive the 4 Runner. Things are a little tight now, but it won't be forever.
Good Luck!

 

We still have one in Durango. (drive thru liquor)

 

drop the insurance and store the '83. not to be johnny raincloud, but vehicles do break from time to time. sure as you sell the '83, your runner will bomb out. having the second vehicle for back up is really good insurance for when your daily driver is in the shop. having been through EMT school, I know the pay isn't that great, so if the bad does happen, you might not be able to have the runner fixed right away and the '83 can be put to temp. active duty.

 

OK well thanks alot for all the input guys. Im pretty sure Im gonna keep my 4runner. Ill probably park the truck for now and see how I am doing financially. I really dont know what its fate will be though. I am really intrigued by the idea of SASing my 4runner but I dont think I have the heart to destroy an already rare 1st gen. At the same time though, I decided I probably wont restore this truck, as nice as that would be. If I am going to build up a 1st gen I would get a short bed because those are my fav I just love having the 83 because its soo much fun to explore in and I am never worried about hurting it (havent been able to so far). So maybe Ill just drive it until it dies and Ill scrap it and keep the front end. Who knows lol. but for now the truck will remain mine.

 

Good! You know, they will get more and more rare, but really, you don't have to travel far to find them still. Like I mentioned, they regularly come up around here. You can probably keep or sell the 83, and in a couple years, find something without rust holes, and a shortbed, possibly even SR5, and make it how you want it.