So I am kind of new here. Kind of not. I joined in 2010, and am on my 3rd 1st gen 4Runner. First was an 88 V6 DLX with 5-speed that I bought in college back in 2002. It's crazy to think, but that 4Runner wasn't that old when I got it. Only had like 120,000 miles. I sold it though when gas hit $2/gallon a few years later. Fast forward to 2010 and I got the itch again and found another 88, SR5 V6 with an auto (yuck) but it was only $1500 and ran okay. I didn't think to much of it, and kinda treated it like crap since it was my second vehicle that I used to tow stuff and go camping. It slowly started running worse and worse, until I finally sold it last year. It had a good run, but I didn't want to put money into the v6/auto combo.

At this point I started thinking I want to get a 22RE 5-speed, but I found that since the last time I looked for one, demand for clean ones that ran well had gone way up. I can deal with interior issues, electrical stuff, but I wanted it as close to stock as possible to potentially restore. But living in the Pacific NW it was REALLY hard to find one. I basically had to spend tons of time on Craigslist hoping for that one 4Runner to show up and I finally found a brown 86 SR5 in Gresham, OR about 3 hours from where I live. I hopped on the train and headed down there hoping it would be as good as I thought. Well it was, so I bought it.

Anyways, I am pretty stoked. It's still pretty hard to find parts for this thing, but it's a pretty fun process. I have learned so much from reading other posts on this forum and I appreciate all the knowledge people as so willing to share. It's a great community!

 

body looks pretty solid. a good start.

imo, parts are not hard to find. even 30 years out, there is still pretty good selection. are there a few things made of unobtanium? yes. but mostly, the mechanical and electrical support is good, body and trim is so-so, and interior is hit or miss.

 

Nice truck, welcome....back?

 

Looks like your boy likes it as much as you. I havent seen many in that color combo on this side of the country. Make sure you address the rust issues on the quarters before they get too far gone. Welcome back as well.

 

You see rust? Where? I've looked all over this thing and didn't see rust on any of the panels. There is some under the battery tray but that's all I could find.

 

Maybe it's just a reflection or could be my ole man eye sight but it looked like just before the drivers rear above the black trim. If you don't find any there or under the chrome trim you are quite lucky sir. Hopefully it's just my vision failing me.