Trading advice, actually: the seller, upon hearing that I had a 2WD 86, offered to do a straight trade.

This '81 (4WD) has minor rust on the cab, whole lotta missing/broken little things, no front shocks, Ford 3/4 ton springs in the back, beefy-looking aftermarket bumpers front and rear, diff leaks, lots of steering slop and even more gearbox slop. The trans is an unknown 5-speed that was swapped in. The engine is from an 84 4Runner and is grumpy to start, but runs half-decent. Tires are bald. It's obviously been a barely-maintained beater. Asking $1500 with a dump/utility bed that I have no use for. I'll be chopping it up into a 4Runner-style camper, adding sound deadening and generally making it a lot nicer than stock. Stage 2 will involve a turbodiesel swap of some kind. I was originally interested in an 86-88 or 89-95 for the longer wheelbase (LWB version, anyway) and IFS, but this is kinda falling into my lap; maybe I'll just fix-n-flip it, put the money towards a later truck?

It's the first solid-axle Yota I've ever been in. I was expecting a much firmer ride and worse handling than it had. It rides way better than my IFS '83 Mitsubishi. I don't know what the lack of front shocks has to contribute, though. There's some wobble/vibration in the front, too, and I never got above 45. Do these have something like the Jeep death wobble? Is it curable? It's going to spend 90% of its time on paved roads, often long trips. Am I going to get sick of the solid axle in spite of my alright first impression?

My '86 is pretty comparable - kinda banged up, held together with bungee cords and duct tape, a beater with minimal maintenance. There's no rust and the suspension/driveline are in much better shape. Otherwise it's about on par, maybe a tad less crappy. Has back registration fees, but he agreed to keep the utility bed in exchange for having to pay them.

What say you, is the trade worth it?

 

pics would help. it is a 30 year old truck, it will need a ton of stuff on it, new bushings etc.
If it has at least a 3" lift it would be well worth it to get rid of the stock push pull steering and convert to High Steer..it was the best investment of many I have made on my '81..

 

Bushings? What bushings? There're two balljoints in the track rod and some solid rubber in the push-pull steering, and that's about it as far as I can tell. I'm liking what I see of the simplicity of the solid axle.

I'm prepared to rebuild most of it - brakes, oil seals, electricals, body rust. Would rather not touch big expensive driveline pieces, but they feel intact to me. The rear driveshaft has no play in it.

What's so great about high steer? From what I can tell, it has the stock ride height in the front.

What are some parts that are hard to find or unexpectedly expensive? All the things it needs now seem very plentiful and cheap (steerbox rebuild for $150, front shocks for $15-40 a pop, all oil seals from several brands for $5-15...). After being used to BMW prices on my current ride, this sounds like a breeze to restore and own.

I see you have a Trekker. I guess what I'm doing is building a taller and longer one of those with camping/living amenities.