Dude, if he's too broke for Applebees, then don't kick the man while he's down...

That's rough. You hang in there LINY, it's gonna be alright!

Okay, i think you should go for the second gen and sas it right off the start. 4link the back. Make sure you get one with a 22r. Just a 22r would be sweet because you could run propane. and that 3.0 sucks.

My buddy has a sas second gen on 36's and it wheels really well

Get yourself an '85 4Runner.
Already solid axle.
Already EFI
Seats 5
Remove the fiberglass top and you have open air wheeling.
Get one that is an SR5 & you also get a sunroof, even open-er air.

Here is one for $2,500 already lifted, all you need is lockers, gears & a plane ticket

1985 Toyota 4 Runner/4Runner/Pickup/Truck/Mud Truck 4x4 Lifted

Haha that thing is sweet but my buddy Mike has a white SAS 1st Gen already...I couldn't do that to him lol

Looks like the FJ40 is gonna win...now to try and find one for around $2500.....

Thats gonna be a challenge....

Def. look on MUD, and also North Florida Cruiserheads - Index
there are more and more non - cruisers there ( me included )

not entirely...I'm planning on doing a motor swap soon or immediately so it doesn't have to be running...


coughVW1.9TDIcough

If i dont get it for you, there are a couple different 1.9 VW TDI engines, that you could get depending on how much wiring you wanna do.

If you're so broke you can't eat at Crapplebees how the hell are you going to afford to mod a new rig? Keep modding your 4Runner, you'll save money in the long run.

Well it was only that week I was a little short...plus, as I mentioned I'll be paying my truck off completely within the next month or two, so there's an extra $350 each month.

My 3rd Gen is finished. The next step would be solid axle but I refuse to put 30 year old technology into a fairly new truck; losing ABS and my HUGE Tundra brakes for brakes from 1982, among other things...
Not my style.

Plus for the price of SASing my 3rd Gen, I can buy an FJ40, lift it and probably fit it with tires. And it doesn't need a SAS.

The FJ40 gets my vote.


I'd say do some searching and find yourself a FJ45 Troop Carrier

I like the idea of putting a diesel into the Toyotas that you mentioned, but a 1.9TDI is going to be a dog in either rig. A late model engine puts out 128HP @ 4000RPM, and 284lb-ft @1750RPM. These numbers can be improved a bit with tuners but those are fairly heavy rigs with big tires and you will need to match tire size, axle gear ratio, and transmission gearing to match the power band of the engine.

The TDI is also a computer controlled engine which introduces it's own set of problems. Have you considered using any other diesel engines?

I am not criticizing the proposed set-up. Just trying to understand the logic.

The engine that's in the newer FJ40s only puts out 135HP@3600 and 210ft.lbs@1800.
The FJ40 weighs in at about 3600lbs while the Jetta is around 4300.

So more power and less weight. Reason one.
Reason two: there's tons and tons of comapnies out there modifying these TDI engines for big power and torque, and they make these Jettas zippy little ****ers. So making more power, if desired, would be cheaper and easier than sayyy...a 4BT.

The fact that it's electronically controlled is also a plus, at least to me. I'm 25 years old. I've been brought up in this electronic world. I've got more scan tools than I have wrenches and I'm perfectly fine with that. Reason three.

By the way, your trucks looks freakin BEAST! Do you have a build thread on it?

4Runner ABS sucks, leafs work and they're cheap! Or you could link it and have 2010+ technology and whatever brakes you want. Never mind, I just saw you've got an 01.

I don't understand everyone's gripes about 4Runner ABS...mine works flawlessly and has saved my ass many many times.

It'll cost more to SAS my 3rd gen then it would to buy an FJ40 lifted on 35's.

FJ40