Ok, so here's the deal. I WAS the proud owner of a beautiful 92' extended cab v6 5 speed before it blew up a few months ago during finals week. I had to pick up a $500 Jeep Cherokee (I know, gag) to get around and now i'm looking at 1rst generation 4runners. I've got 2 options right now. Option 1- 89' with v6, around 300k on the clock, power windows and door locks. Going to look at it tomorrow, but owner says it doesnt run very well. Apparently the 89s didn't have the head gasket problems that the post 89s did since they still had asbestos head gaskets. Rusted wheel wells, but otherwise solid body and decent interior. Option 2- this one is weird. Owner has a running 86' and a rear ended 89' with the engine pulled out of it with a knock. Both are 22re with about 250k. I drove the 86 and it ran pretty well, but seemed to miss a bit. This would be my first 4 cylinder toyota, but i'm very mechanically inclined. The 22 series motors seem fairly simple, so i'm not afraid to pull things apart if need be. The problem is the 86 has the bright red interior, which would HAVE to go. I would pull the 89's gray interior and swap it in. I would also want to pull the 89's air conditioning and put it in the 86. Also some body work and painting would need to be done. After all that the 89 would either get sold as is, the engine rebuilt and sold, or off the junkers. Both owners (The one with the v6 4runner and the owner of both 22re 4runners) only want 800 bucks for their respective vehicles. Which would you choose? I'm looking for daily driveability/gas mileage/ reliability/ occasional off roading on weekends, etc. If you were in my position, which would you choose? Personally i'm leaning towards the 86, just for the challenge. Anybody ever added A/C before?

 

Id say the 86

 

x2. although the 86 seems like more work, it would probably be a better truck in the long run. the 22res are a much better engine than the 3.0s. and besides, working on toyotas is half the fun!

 

grab the 89 and 3.4 swap it.

 

all high mileage...reliability is probably gonna be an issue with either of the choices..
3.o will have crap for MPG

 

Buy the 89 and give me the guys number for the 86...


But seriously you should buy the 86, the 22R is very easy to work on

 

3.4 swap would be IDEAL, but i'm a college student trying to save every penny for tuition. The only way i would get either of these options is if i didnt think it was going to cost me any more than a few hundred bucks. I know there are enough good parts between the 86 and 80 to make a good runner. I'm really leaning toward it. I'll attatch some pictures of the bad on the 86 and some of the 89.

Here's a shot of the 86'



Some body damage on 86', the 89 has corresponding good panels.






Some pictures of the 89's interior, looks great!










As you can see in the pictures the positive lead to battery is VERY frayed and only has about 3 strands still connected, and the negative only has a lead going to the starter (connection to body is broken). I don't have any experience with the 22re, could that possibly make it run a little rough? Does anybody have any experience with adding A/C or replacing the rear quarter panel on a first gen?

 

if your not afraid of spending some hard hours working on it, id say you would end up with a nice 4runner!

id say the rear panel wouldnt be on the top of my list, its not bad at all! i would get it runing good and eveything swaped out first.

 

I would vote V6 if you were planning a 3.4 swap, but otherwise stick with the tried and true 22re. I pull 21 MPGs out of my 81 pickup with a shell 4.88s and 33s. Even an old 22r can pull 20+ mpgs consistent. I can guarantee you won't find any 3.Slows doing that. It will save some money with these sky rocketing prices. Don't be a fool, the prices only dropped momentarily, they will be back with a vengeance before you know it.

 

Both deals, are high mileage, and as ocdropzone said, reliabilty could be an issue...
With that said, if your gonna buy one of these two deals, I say the 86 + parts truck, is that the least he'll take? The reason i say the 86+ parts truck, is because you have a parts truck thrown in, for the same price as the single 89. When you finish the 86 to dd, you could build the second truck up for a 3.4 swap, or leave it a 22re, in your spare time/as $$$ is avalible, and make it into a offroad rig, you would just have to find another rear quarter panel donor. Also, isn't the red interior somewhat "rare and desireable"?
Another thing you could do, is keep driving the j#$p for a lil bit, and rebuild one, or both of the 22re's. That way, at least you know the motor will be reliable.

I suppose it is possible the battery cables being snafu could affect the way it runs, without a proper ground nothing will work right (in my experience) but don't quote me on that...

I've never personally added ac to a vehicle, but have some buddies that have done it, and they say it's a pita...

As far as welding the rear quarter panel, keep a fire extinguisher handy, because the underliner likes to catch fire. I watched dad weld bed corners on my truck, and you have to really take your time, "stiching" (as i call it) the metal together a lil at a time and keep your heat settings as low as possible. The reason i say that is because the metal on these trucks is so thin, that it warps super easily, and it's easy to blow a hole through the metal. Finally, keep a fire extinguisher handy, because the underbodyliner, likes to catch fire. It's slow burning, but just in case lol.

MOST IMPORTANTLY,DON'T FORGET TO LOOK AT THE FRAMES!!

Let us know what you decide!

 

I just pulled what was left of the A/C junk out of my '81--
if you are worried about gas mileage, forget A/C . it just drags IMO.

 

Well, i finally heard back from the owner, and he's willing to do $800. I figure that after swapping interiors and A/C, i can sell all the good parts (running motor, tranny, t-case, etc) and scrap/sell the rest, and, after selling my Jeep, come out about even. I'm thinking i'll probably go that route, despite the work involved. Sounds like a fun project as i'm trying to find something to keep me occupied after work (I'm just interning up here for the summer, so building up the second isn't an option). Anybody interested in first gen parts in Spokane, WA area?

 

Ok, here we go! I've picked up the 86' and the 89, talked the guy down to 800 bones. And so begins "Project Second Chance!" I'll be documenting the process. BTW, there's NO rust on either of them

 

Cant Wait to see it!