ok here's the deal. at the moment i drive a 94 civic total rice..yes shun me as you will ..i got into imports and got one i soon realized that were i live it is the most inpractical thing on the market.i live on a ranch in Sunol/Livermore area. i go like 5 miles an hour up my drive way as to not scrape.

OK here's my question this might be the right or wrong place to put this but o well i'm sorry i'll know next time. I have been researching and want a 1st gen for the front and rear solid axle and the removable top.

My Question is finding a working 84-85 model is hard to come by around here not sure why maybe i'm not looking hard enough but i do find 86's and 87's around for dirt cheap like 1600-2000 bux ..now i know they have the IFS but for the price would it be worth getting? i would want to lift eventually and it will cost more to do so becuz of it? knowing i can swap out the axle that would take time and knowledge i dont' know and money i don't have?

I guess i just don't know how to start or what to do any help would be grand thanks much

Christian Perez

 

Have you tried Auto-Trader? I dunno where you live but you can search within a 300 mile distance from your zip using their site. I'm sure there'll be at least a few.

 

What can you afford? That is a better question.

 

Dude unless your planning on doing some SERIOUS 4-Wheeling there is absolutely nothing wrong with IFS. It rides and handles better and they will wheel pretty dang good too. The 86 and up had more options as well.

 

You don't need a solid axle to go up a gravel driveway. The reason Toyota went to IFS is because it's pretty good in most 4wd situations and much better than a SA on the road.

So just get any 1st gen that is in decent shape...or...Get a 2nd gen with a sunroof. You'll find that you can open and close all the windows and sunroof on a 2nd gen anytime you want. Pretty nice...

 

Great point...find one in GOOD shape and in your price range - then worry about the year. There are SEVERAL threads here about 1st gen solid vs ifs. The consensus is that it is a wash to get an '85 in hard core mode vs doing a SAS on an '86-'95.

 

Anything with a solid front axle is going to be hard to find around here since this is one of the meccas of rock crawling culture. If you do find one it'll most likely be relatively expensive. You'd be surprized at what IFS can do, give it a try. Also, checkout the club I belong to in my sig.

 

both of you guys are pretty local to me... anyways, ifs is jsut fine. toyota anything are pretty strong and you would probably be ahrd pressed to do any major damage even if you beet the crap out of your truck... i have a 4x2 and its an open diff, but i wnet to carnegie and just was thrashing my truck... got stuck several times, but was able to drive out because i know the older 4x4ing tricks.... never once needed a strap.. and my truck has ifs eventhough its a completely different setup, it is still quite the same

 

yeah just go bye one the of the ifs trucks for cheap. u really can wheel the hell out of them. i plan on doing an sas but as of right now my ifs is doing things it really shouldn't.

 

So yes i have made my decision i am going to buy a 86-87 runner as soon as my car sells i'm sure i'll love the ifs i'm just afraid of the cost of lifting it. is it worth buying an already lifted one?

 

Depends on the condition if you find a lifted one. Personally, I like to mod things from stock form. That way I know it will be done right.

 

I guess that would depend on how much you want to lift it. I think you ought to figure out what you want to do with it first. A stock 4Runner can do a heck of a lot without ever being lifted.

Now if you're thinking about the Rubicon...Now you're talking money.

 

Not necessarily. If you don't care much about body damage you can do it with the minimal lift for 33s and front and rear lockers. If you care about damage then get more armor, although the possibility of body damage is still there.

Christian, try doing a search for lifts for 33 inch tires. You'll find most people like the minimal lift.

 

whatchu talkin about Willis?

 

Edit: Oh, I see...the other guy's name is Christian too...I was talking to Cp_fish13 ...