Hi all, I'm new here but have been on several other automotive forums before.
I have an opportunity to buy my friends '86 or '89(I forget which) sr5 for 800 dollars, maybe a little less. From some very quick research it seems that this is a good deal for any 4runner. It has a small amount of rust, a cracked dash, and a leaking head gasket. I'll let the pics do the talking from here. It's an auto with almost 100K miles.






I have some questions too:

If I pick it up I will probably be changing the head gasket. the bay looks pretty tight, will I have to pull the motor to get to it?

Can anyone give me an estimate on what it would cost me to rebuild the engine to OEM specs?

What what would it take to swap in a manual trans?

I am a somewhat competent mechanic; I changed the clutch in my crx. But am no fabricator.

I'll leave this post with a pic of my other baby:


Thanks guys; I know I'm a noob and should probably have searched but I don't even know if I'm getting te truck yet.

 

I would say your better off buying a rebuilt engine. That is often cheaper then paying someone to rebuild yours.

 

that arb bumpmer is worth 800 lol
automatic trans is better for offroad dont need to ride the clutch!

 

Good to hear, I meant almost 200K.

I hear autos are better for offroad but prefer a stick for relibility, mileage and general pickup.

I was actually thinking of rebuilding the motor myself. but from what I hear about the 3VZ, I'd love to do a turbo deisel swap a bit further down the line.

Are there any options for front/rear LSD/lockers with the independant suspension?

Thanks for the responses guys.

forgot to mention, it also has a busted left fender and corner light.

Looks like I need to get a job so I can buy it from him!

 

the rear you can retro fit a 3rd gen elocker.. front unless you sas it .. your options are arb air locker 1000 bucks or a lockright 300ish.. or you can swap in certain year celica lsd or a true track lsd depending on your needs... a 3.0 engine isnt the best but i guess not the worse ending.. a 3.4 swap is pretty straight forward.