Baja,

Thanks for chiming in on this thread, I wanted your input in this since you are doing the same thing with your rig that I want to do with mine. I agree with you, my truck is worn, 20 years and lots of hard miles have taken their toll and I have had some unusual items break. So far, my truck has never left me stranded.

Currently it is totally gutted. The plan is to replace or repair every clip, fastener, switch, seal, hose etc..... I am tearing the truck down to a bare shell for body and paint and taking it from there.

My budget (if there is one) is about $10k +. Probably going to cost me a lot more once all is said and done. For that amount of money I can have my truck the way I want it, or a stock, used tacoma 4x4. I know it is not "worth" it, but it is my truck and yes, it does hold a LOT of sentimental value.

Since so many of the 85-89s are rusting away or being cut up for crawlers/buggies I want to save one of them (at least the stock sheetmetal). I want to have my rig 20 years from now when you almost never see one on the road anymore.

 

I take my '85 on long expedition-type trips and it works very well for me. One reason I like the older vehicles is that they are simpler and can be repaired if needed in the middle of nowhere. I do carry an ever increasing collection of spare parts on longer trips. I also built some redundancy into the truck. Almost everything will have been rebuilt or replaced by the time I get it somewhat finished. I would not trade it for the slickest new rig. IFS or solid axle would probably work equally as well. A solid axle does not instantly mean poor handling and ride. Granted it is probably easier to set a solid axle truck up poorly than an IFS truck, but if you set one up properly they ride and handle fairly decent. I can drive 800-1000 miles in a day in mine on good highways for days on end and not be any worse for the wear.

 

I personally will be doing a LT set-up on my 4Runner when I get the money, years down the road. The main reason why is because you never know when you may need to really move and a SA has so much unsprung weight, it is very rough at higher speeds. I am not a huge rock crawler, nor does that aspect interest me much at all, I'd prefer expedition style with the occassional high-speed run, which LT would work better for. Also, a SA doesn't have very good ground clearance, but LT seems (from what I've seen) to have a LOT of ground clearance.

 

You are very welcome

Roger, I know you are one individual who has been very successful using an older Toyota truck not only for expedition-style travel, but really hard, technical wheeling too, and managed to do it with great success. I would say though, that you are not "average" when it comes to this situation, and obviously your talent and experience allows you to be successful in this way.

Rich, based on what you have said, it seems like you have the potential to be successful in an endeavor like this, much like Roger has been. You know the vehicle inside and out, you know how to inpsect it, you know how to anticipate the areas that might fail or need attention. Unfortunately, most of us don't have that talent/skill at our disposal. I myself have never rebuilt an engine, or done a frame-off resto, or anything like that, so I have a much lower "aptitude threshold" when it comes to things mechanical, than guys like you do. Hence, my tendency towards a newer vehicle. Having said that, I do have friends like yourself who just love to run the older rigs because of that - the love of it - the nostalgia, the simplicity, the soul of the vehicle, the knowledge of every component, since they have gone through it all. And that is cool nothing wrong with it. Some other great examples that come to mind are Brian McCamish ( http://www.brian894x4.com ) and Jonathan Hanson who has owned his FJ40 for 27 years and 300,000 miles of adventures all over the place including guiding kayak trips in Mexico. Again, I'm not saying the old vehicles are not good choices, I'm just saying you need to be aware that it usually takes personal attention that is well above-average to achieve the desired results. Sounds like you are well aware and capable though.

 

there is nothing more satisfying than fixing a rig on the trail and getting it from point a to b. go with what you are comfy with. when you mod a vehicle some other parts will be prone to breakage, those you will find out on the trail. IMHO think about what is available where you are

 

You could rebuild the front end yourself with new axles, cvs, bushings, fix the LCA mounts, add BJ spacers & clear something close to a 33" tire in a 16" wheel size (ooooh, TACO wheels!). That way you will have hands-on knowledge when it comes to fixing something in there, and there are more styles of beefier, taller & narrower profile tires on a 16" wheel size. Check out a BFG or Cooper in LT235-85-R16, those are 8 or 10 ply tires!!! That size works out close to a 32 X 9 roughly...

& if you do have a complete 22re sitting there, go through that motor, put a cam in it (an entirely different thread), beef up the underside with skids, beef up your lower control mounts, add 4.88's & locker(s), an ARB bumper, the pre-requisite expedition snorkel, campershell & rack combination, along with some funky seat covers & you should be set...

 

Im guessing hes got it ironed out after 4yrs

 

dang...

sometimes it doesn't pay to search! I had a few tabs open & thought this was new posts... doh!