i spend most of my time over in the 4th gen section but i just picked up this 3rd gen from a long time neighbor when she was ready for a new one. she was the original owner and it had been her winter vehicle for last 10 years or so. she drove it in the salt and just parked it after and never washed it. the body and frame are completely ruined but the drivetrain and interior are like new at just under 100k miles.

my plan is to find a non running or high mile southern one to swap all the drivetrain into and all the interior is good enough to swap over also, if needed. just want to make a nice driver out of it.

from what ive read, it seems like i should try to find one of the same year but is there any reason to totally avoid 97-98 or 99 models if i find a really nice one?

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No help on the swap info, but I'm just outside of Atlanta and watch CL around me for 4runner stuff almost daily. Things like this 96 2wd non-runner for $800 aren't uncommon:

1996 Toyota 4Runner - cars & trucks - by owner - vehicle automotive sale

97 4x4 that went pink milkshake for $950:

Toyota 4Runner - auto parts - by owner - vehicle automotive sale

I'm more than happy to help facilitate a sale, or look at some of these in person (within reason, that 2nd one is almost a 3-hour round trip drive).

thanks for the links, that black 4wd one looks pretty nice. i have looked some in the atlanta area because i have some family near there that buys and fixes up cars pretty often. appreciate the offer and will let you know if i find something near there that i need someone to look at.

my only real requirement is no rust. other issues i can deal with lol.

Is the frame totally gone or just some a few holes. They can be repaired. However, I don't blame you making it a donor car and pull a rust free one from the south. :-) Very thoughtful of Brian to assist.. :-)

it has some holes near the control arm mounts but basically everything under this truck so rusty that i dont even want to start trying to repair it lol. ive repaired a couple tacoma frames that were good other than the area by the leaf spring mounts but this truck is in bad shape. it really is a shame because of the low miles and if she had just rinsed it a few times in the winter, it would probably be fine.

if it was just a beater, id probably attempt to repair it but i have wanted a nice 5 speed 4runner for years so im going to start with a rust free one and hopefully make it last a long time. i went to va beach for my 06 4runner and memphis for my lx450 and working on either of them is like working on a new one. no rust or stuck bolts anywhere.

Nice only 100K on it. I have a rusted out 2000 5 speed 4wd I picked up cheap, then I bought a southern rust free 98 auto 2wd. Been too busy to do the swap so far, they're just sitting in my driveway.
Ideally I wanted a 99-00 to swap it over to, but the rust free 98 made it up north.

I don't blame you at all. Frame repair is a very time consuming process and to it properly, takes forever. Very Common since the rig has been in the rust belt all its life. My 97 5 speed body was in very good shape. Its frame however had issues. You can see its repair process in Brillos Builds as that is what I am currently working on. I figured. If repaired the frame and at the same time. Seal all the frame holes out. The frame will last a lifetime. :-)

I looked at some of your pics, it is definitely a lot of work to fix them properly. If this one only had a bad frame, id probably just buy a frame but the rocker panels are gone, both rear doors have rust starting and the hatch is rotted also. I basically need a whole new one lol

I completely understand..:-] Correct if the rockers are rotted, then the frame has some holes or several very thin spots. I have 3rd party sources for replacement rockers. Factory ones are 20Gauge steel. My 3rd party will make them out of 18 gauge so they are slightly thicker..

If you do pull one from the south, try to fluid film or something all over everything. So your clean ride will not rot out in a few years when you drag it north. Our environment is hard on steel.. (would be a lot better if our states did not use salt, calcium chloride etc.

If I can assist let me know..

thanks.

we are pretty lucky where im at and as long as we stay off the interstates and on the local highways in the winter, we dont see much salt. they use more cinder/small gravel than salt. even so, i use 2-3 cans of fluid film on my 4runner and our highlander each and they both look great after a few winters here. the lx doesnt see the road any more so i dont worry about it too much.

im finally getting around to looking for a swap candidate more seriously. if i have this complete truck with its ecu, trans, tcase, engine, etc., is there a reason to not get an 01-02 model to swap into? i read they are drive by wire but didnt know if that mattered if i was able to swap everything from the 2000 like the throttle pedal, cable, etc. it would greatly open up my options if i didnt have to overlook those year models.

The issue you are going to have with a different year is the compatibility of the wiring mostly in the body as the engine, harness and ecu will be from the 2000 5 speed. The earlier years 96-98 were all different in plugs and wiring so if you get one from those years you will have to repin all the wiring from the body. A 2000 model year should be plug and play for the wiring. Not sure about the 2001-2002 but they never came with the 5 speed so you are on your own with figuring out the differences. They are plug and play with the 1st gen tacoma 5 speed ecu for the last few years of production. No matter what the year it should be possible, just that a 99-2000 will be much less work

awesome, thanks. i guess ill stick to the 99-2000 models then. i would prefer not figuring out all the wiring and possibly having problems that never get fixed lol.

finally found a super clean, rust free swap candidate. its a 99, has 300k on it, paint is pretty rough, but there is no rust at all. and to top it all off, its a 5 speed too! probably going to drive it for now while i tear the other one down and do all the preventative maintenance to the new drivetrain before i drop it in.

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WOW! Congrats on finding a "parts truck" that you can drive daily!
The best situation......and you don't have to do the 5 Speed swap now..
I will try not to be envious......