Great thread! Im mostly a lurker that just searches for information but after looking through this thread i had to share pictures of my progress.
This is my 4th 'Runner overall and my 3rd 1st Gen. I wish i could've kept all of them. Im not letting this one go.
This truck has a very interesting story. It was purchased new in California in 1987. The second owner bought it with 40k miles and drove the piss out of it. He moved from LA to Atlanta. Then from Atlanta back to LA, and finally from LA back to Atlanta. He put a little over 300,000 miles on the original 22RE! Sadly, he passed away and left his mother with all of his stuff. She posted it on Craigslist for $600 and had 38 responses in the first hour. I was #38. Due to the overwhelming response, she cancelled the ad and invited all 38 buyers to her sons house the next morning to bid on the truck.
I pretty much wrote off even trying to go thinking there was no way i wanted to go fight it out with 37 other dudes trying to buy a 4runner with so many others in the area for sale. After a lot of urging from my wife to just go and take a look i decided i'd go. Since i drug my feet on going, i barely made it to the estate sale at the time the guys mother told me to be there. To my surprise, i was the only one there! I guess all 37 other dudes was thinking the same thing i was! Luckily, the wife talked me into going and i wound up with this little gem for a whopping $600.
I had lots of plans for this thing. Including a 4BT diesel, lift, SAS, etc. But I got a job offer in a location that my wife and I had been wanting to move to for quite a while.... California! So the little truck made its 4th trip across country, but this time it was in a nice cozy enclosed trailer. We lived out there for about 4 months and the new job decided that they had made an error in my hiring process and they wanted to change my position and pay (Govt Job). I wasnt going to stand for that so i loaded the ole' girl up again and we headed back across country. Now my little buddy is safe and sound back in Atlanta after its 5th trip between Atlanta and California. My plans can resume, too.
This is the most recent picture i have but i'll get more tomorrow. The only difference is the wheels. I didnt like the ones in this picture so i picked up some different ones.
I've added a 2.5" Suspension lift from 4Crawler and 33's. Next week im installing a Super Heavy duty Marlin Crawler clutch kit and flywheel and im presently shopping for a axle to start the swap. I'll update pics as stuff changes.