After looking for a while, a 4th Gen with V8 popped up locally. The price wasn't terrible due to the higher miles (180K), and the car was actually in really good shape so I pulled the trigger.





No timing belt has been done, so that is a priority.

Needs a couple bulbs on HVAC, new seat bottoms as they are starting to crack, but not torn yet. Other than that, hopefully nothing else.

This will be taking the place of my Ram 2500 for commuting duty. Not as plush as the ram or as many amenities, but the smaller size and gas engine will be a nice change of pace.

Has anyone tried the Ebay seat bottoms? I may get some for my '99 if they are decent quality.

Nice purchase, congrats! I bought an '07 Limited in 2017 in similar condition, this might be useful:

HVAC bulbs and info display screen: I replaced mine with LEDs from VLEDS.com, part # T3_SMT_A is amber and clicked right into place. Part # T3_SMT_B is blue, and I put these into the two cupholder sockets just for the blue color.

Seat bottom cover: my driver side was badly torn, I bought a replacement cover from eBay seller "upholsteryguys" and had it professionally installed. Looks factory new. The shop added extra foam where needed to make up for wear/compression, original owner was a big boy.

Of note, you'll want to drop the front skidplate set and inspect the crossmember under the radiator for rust rot. It gets salt spray, but normal car washes don't fully rinse it all out and the thing gets nasty. Mine wasn't in bad shape but had rust, so I wire brushed what was accessible, prepped and painted with POR-15, and then applied thick oil spray inside and out before bolting up the skids.

Nautical Blue is probably one of the best colors offered on this chassis.
Congrats. Get her fluid flimed!

Thanks. One of my HVAC bulbs just burned out and you saved me some time searching for a replacement bulb.

Looks great and very nice color.

As for the bulbs, I use these in both my 4runner and Honda van. Just reuse the old base. Simple and cheap. One of the bulbs has a colored rubber that goes over it, be gentle and it can be reused.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Congrats... I picked up a clone of yours last month too!

Looks nice! if you need bulbs for your HVAC but want to customize it a little, I sell a kit on my site iannaconeautoaccessories.com

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Love the HVAC look and do we send you a new toyota steering wheel to have it retrofit?

Thanks! and send me a pm and I'll give you all the details!