Hey Dudes,

I finally joined the club. I have (2) 3rd Gen 4runners and I'm very active in the 3rd Gen section of the forum but now I'll be frequenting this section as well since I bought a built 85 a few days ago. I almost bought this rig 2 years ago but chickened out. The original guy who built the rig was asking $15k for it but it wasn't selling so he reduced it to $12.5k and another guy scooped it up. This guy who bought it took it wheeling several times and ended up smashing it up a bit on both sides. Since his kids weren't into hard core wheeling, he decided to sell it. He put some money into it himself, around 4k adding a rear bumper, buying a spare tire, adding some lights, built a rear slide out toolbox and did some other maintenance stuff.

I paid 12k for it. The body damage sucks because the rig was beautiful when it sold originally but I bought it more for it's off-road capabilities rather than for it's looks. I didn't take any pics of the interior but it's in truly amazing shape. The front and rear seats are immaculate. The door panels are very nice. The dash has a couple cracks in it. And, there's one tear in the headliner. But, for a rig that's 34 years old, it's amazing how well it looks inside. It has working AC. The power windows on both doors work and so does the rear window.

I just noticed the front driveshaft needs some work. The front u-joint is wasted and there seems to be excessive play in the shaft splines. I'm going to let a driveshaft place take a look at it for me. If I knew what u-joint to use as a replacement, I'd replace it myself but I have no clue. The guy I bought it from unfortunately didn't ask the original seller for any paperwork so I'm in the dark as to all the parts that were used to build this beast.

Some of you that own a 3rd Gen as well might have heard of the YouTube channel I started with my buddy Sean around 3 years ago. It's called "Timmy the Toolman". As I work and learn about this 1st Gen I bought, I'll be making some videos for Y'all as well.

Here's the ad from 2 years ago to let you guys know how it was built:

Here's how it looks today. More pics to come. I tried to load all the pics in my first post but it only showed one of the pics for some reason.

Looking good! Welcome to the club.
Any plans to drop the top?

I might take the top off for some occasions but it will probably stay on most of the time because for the simple fact I really don't have room to store it anywhere other than the back or side yard. I'm definitely never going to sell the top.

looks like a great score. the extra few inches of wheel base with the front axle pushed forward a ways is nice.
Interesting, it looks like the OBA is a small MV50 compressor. a little exposed but probably does the trick for the rear ARB

Yeah, I don't know what to think of that air compressor install. Usually guys have them under the hood or somewhere in the back cargo area. The guy I bought the rig from says the compressor only goes up to 70 psi but supposedly it's enough to engage the ARB locker. He told me he heard you needed 90psi to engage the locker but I found that the locker engages fine with only 70 psi. Maybe I'll upgrade the compressor at some point.

Gotta love the ‘85’s. If I didnt have two FJ40’s I would be picking one up. Nice ride!

Welcome to the bestgen! And furthermore, welcome to the 1985 club!

I've watched some of your videos before, so I'm looking forward to some 1st gen specific videos!

Awesome looking 4runner!