Quote:
Originally Posted by BigFishAllDay
I found myself in the same situation about 2 years ago.
I had 170k on my '97, and was finally getting the $$$ to start a real build. I was back and forth about building the '97 or looking for something new, so I just held off and kept my eye on the local market for awhile to see what popped up.
When the '01 came up for sale, I went to have a look. It turned out it was a 1 owner vehicle with complete service records, and it was bone stock except for what was under the hood. It had a dealer installed 2nd gen S/C, TRD Headers, TRD exhaust, TRD 7th injector, and a TRD trans cooler.
It was never wrecked, had original paint & a perfect body, all matching VIN's on the body panels, ZERO rust, was purchased from a local ABQ, NM dealer, and had only 112K on the clock.
The seller could have offered this truck for $10k WITHOUT any of the TRD add ons, yet I was able to negotiate a price of $10k for the truck as it sat.
I couldn't pass it up, so I bought it and went nuts. Sure I would have liked to install the S/C myself. The headers, not so much (that job is a major PITA, so I was happy to buy a truck with headers already installed). The rest I have since removed/tweaked/replaced/re-installed.
Had I not found such a good deal w/the '01, I'm not sure what direction I would have gone because I haven't seen a deal like that one since. I probably would have dived into the '97 but I doubt I would have built it to the extent that I have built the '01.
I feel like the '01 was a better platform for me to start with... it had alot of things that I was looking for that the '97 didn't. (IE updated interior, sunroof, fender flares, hood scoop, etc). In the end it all depends on what makes sense to you. If I were you I would shop around a bit. Consider what you could sell your current truck for (say $4500) and how much maintenance it needs to be equivalent to a lower mileage truck (say $3000). Then go look at what you could buy for that same $7500. See where the best value is at for your own personal tastes, and do what works for you.
PS... like Rip said, if you need help w/anything let us know. Between the two of us we've done just about everything you can do on these trucks short of pulling out the engine/trans/t-case.
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You and Rip have a couple of really nice, inspirational rigs. I have been poking around used ones for a few months, and even thought seriously about bidding $12K on an original owner "97 with 39K (ebay, and too far away made me uncomfortable) but I think you really did find "The One"! Seems like I could get a decent 4Runner with about half the miles mine has with options I like (although factory SCs seem rare!) for around $7-9K. I do like the updated interior of the newer models, but other than that (and the factory SC) mine has the options that are important to me (as far as I know --I need to look at Rip's sticky again to see if I'm missing anything sweet). Really, I like the sunroof also, 4x4, V6, AT, and elocker --plus it's white --don't know if there is enough room in town for three superslick grey/silver 4Rs lol.
Kinda thinking if I dump enough cash into rebuilding this thing the only major failure/repair left would be the motor? What I didn't/don't wanna do is pay ~$20K for something I really don't like (newer gen 4Rs). Mine has been paid off for several years, and it just seems like its time to sh*t or get off the pot if you know what I mean. I like the platform, and putting even $10K into it seems like I could have a really nice rig that's essentially "new". Hope that makes sense...
