Newbie here. I just bought a '97 4x4, 5-speed with a supercharger; ~230,000 miles. It has had the snot beat out of it but hey, it's a Toyota. $3,700.

It is in rough shape but it runs well. I got it as a beater truck to haul stuff the wife won't put in her Lexus. Also I plan to teach my son how to drive a stick with it.

I have not tagged it yet so it is a driveway queen at the moment. Anyway, the guy I got it from says 15MPG, hightest only. I normally drive a Prius. That mileage and price per gallon is going to be a shock.

I spent a few hours yesterday fixing the electrics to get it ready for inspection. Mostly problems caused by guys moding the wiring for various add-ons through the years.

I would direct you to Craigslist where the pictures were but he closed the post...drat!

jrohland

 

you have to put up pics

 

The parking brake cable is broke. He told me that so no surprise. I spent some time under it to check out the cable and general condition (probably should have done that before I bought it .) I knew he replaced most of the front suspension and stearing. I did not know why.

If you are familiar with the front end you know it has torsion bars. The TBs anchor just under the driver and passenger foot wells. Strangely, Toyota has bolts sticking up at the TB anchor points. I noticed on the passenger side the bolt had impacted the floorboard from the underside. When I check the drivers side the bolt has penetrated the floorboard in two places. There is pretty much only one way this could happen. I'm guessing at some point they took this truck over one or more jumps. Probably beer involved. Anyway, that could explain why the new front end.

jrohland

 

that would definetly be a logical explenation

 

Unless he was cranking on them without taking the load off of them and snapped them...then it will dent up the bottom like yer description.

 

I posted pictures over on Mid-Atlantic Toyota Crawlers. In case you want to see the beast. Scroll down until you find the photos.

jrohland

 

its not that bad what size tires are you runnin

 

Those are Maxxis Big Horn 32x11.50R15. I just got the wheels and tires from a guy on Mid-Atlantic. I was happy to have spotted them for sale and jumped on them.

Got it through safety inspection today. Still working on the emission inspection.

jrohland

 

That doesn't look to bad at all.
Is that a zip tie around the superchargers bypass actuator? Did he say how long the blower has been installed or miles on it?
Anyways good score.

 

The fellow I got it from apparently broke the mount for the bypass and said they are expensive so he used ties to keep it on. Actually works pretty well.

He did not say (although I should have asked) how many miles are on the super charger. It does make some noise--kind of crunchy at idle and a whine at speed--that might be normal. I don't know how it gets lubricated. I guess there are oil lines somewhere.

I do have to change the belt and the idler pulley. Not a big rush on that since I don't expect to put may miles on it.

jrohland

 

how much did you pay for the tires

 

$500 for five wheels and tires plus 26 lug nuts. And he helped me put them on.

jrohland

 

thats a steal