hey guys, s'been a while since I was on here last. Not since my Taco got bought back in the infamous frame recall.

My grandfather passed away last month, and the family went out to his farm to start cleaning up. Burried DEEP in the bush were TWO 85 PICKUPS!
that sly old dog. I've been hunting for one of these for a good price for a long time. no better price than FREE.

I'll be going back to haul these things OUT (I'll take pics ) and actually inspect overall component and engine condition.. but i checked the most important parts.. the FRAME.
Neither were in good shape.

Now i know enough in saying the 1stgen 4runners had the same frame, but i KNOW finding one of those is just as unlikely. so, what do i do?

is the 2nd gen 4runner or 3rd gen pickup frame a good DONOR? would it require any modding if so? or is there a resource i dont know about that has resto-frames available?
Thanks yotatech dudes!

 

Well, simple answer is 2nd gen 4runners and 3rd gen pickups are IFS, so at minimum you would have to do a solid axle swap unless it's just the bodies you want and don't care about off roading or whatever.

I had the opposite circumstance. I was litterally a day or so away from completely tearing down my '92 pickup to build a new frame for it when my friend finally gave in and sold me his '85 pickup with a solid body and solid frame. So now I have a good condition '85 and a rusted up '92.

But while i was doing a little measuring and checking it out for the frame build, I realized it wouldn't be too hard. One of my best friends is a certified welder, I wouldn't do something like that with amature experience. If you are good with fabrication, it shouldn't be a hard build. Just alot of time.

 

dont forget,you can pool both trucks,pick the better and part out the other for build cash!!!

 

Try and find a cheap 2wd truck for the frame, 84-88. They will have the higher arch on the front of the frame like the 84-85 4x4's and you could probably get one cheaper then a 4wd.