The way I see it, these vehicles will last practically forever. I have 344k on my rig right now and am the third owner. The first owner traded it in 1999 with 10k miles. It was bought from the very dealership where I work and maintained very well by the vehicle's owner. Everyone who see's my truck can't really believe it has that kind of miles and still looks so clean and drives so well. I've got original Motor/Trans/Starter/Front Diff/Radiator and condensor. The A/C blows colder than my wifes 2006 Mazda, it gets the same fuel economy as any 2012 SUV, and it starts up everytime with no hesitation or funny business.

I am building this truck in what I call a "Beach Rig". I don't plan to do much more off-roading than the weekend beach trips, so I just went with a mild/inexpensive lift and plan to run some 265/75 All Terrain tires. I plan to drive this thing till it quits, then park it and swap in a V-8 or a diesel.

I say do it. You already know the history of the truck, and it's a great opportunity to learn how to turn a few wrenches. I had never messed with any suspension short of changing out some shocks on my Chevy truck, and I managed to install a lift kit myself in 1 weekend.