1st Gener
New member
Well, the plan was to wait about another year for the purchase of a first gen and slowly build it up for sunny days and weekend camping trips with the family. That all changed when one popped up that hit all of my must haves and well beyond.
The wish list was to find a first gen, check. An SFA 85 would be a bonus, check. I preferred a 5 speed, check. Southern vehicle with a solid body was a must, check... Even better, Arizona vehicle with straight panels. For some reason I really like the brown interior and that was my first choice, check. We have a 2013 4runner in white/ sand beige so the color match will be fun to see in the driveway. Also, this was the kicker... I'm in Cincinnati now, but born and raised in Cleveland and this thing is 1000 miles away in AZ sitting there with a Cleveland Browns dash pad on it. Sorry, but that amount of randomness just told me the 4Runner gods were trying to tell me something... It didn't take long to click "Buy it now".
My total budget will be around 14/15k including the purchase so I was on the fence about getting something built up and ready to go or a solid base project vehicle for less $ and having some fun working on it myself. This one will be the latter, and I have to say in hind sight that has me more excited about it. I have experience in a number of trades, however I admit working on vehicles is not one of them so, I will have the opportunity to teach myself (and my 3 boys) a new craft and spend some good quality time together doing so. There are a lot of great inspirations on here, but a build similar to Dorton's is exactly what I would love to have parked in the garage. I'm Looking forward to the build and taking advantage of this great resource of enthusiasts.
So, for starters I will get some pics posted (just tried and it was giving me trouble) and feel free to let me know how you think I did on the purchase. The price was $2500.
The wish list was to find a first gen, check. An SFA 85 would be a bonus, check. I preferred a 5 speed, check. Southern vehicle with a solid body was a must, check... Even better, Arizona vehicle with straight panels. For some reason I really like the brown interior and that was my first choice, check. We have a 2013 4runner in white/ sand beige so the color match will be fun to see in the driveway. Also, this was the kicker... I'm in Cincinnati now, but born and raised in Cleveland and this thing is 1000 miles away in AZ sitting there with a Cleveland Browns dash pad on it. Sorry, but that amount of randomness just told me the 4Runner gods were trying to tell me something... It didn't take long to click "Buy it now".
My total budget will be around 14/15k including the purchase so I was on the fence about getting something built up and ready to go or a solid base project vehicle for less $ and having some fun working on it myself. This one will be the latter, and I have to say in hind sight that has me more excited about it. I have experience in a number of trades, however I admit working on vehicles is not one of them so, I will have the opportunity to teach myself (and my 3 boys) a new craft and spend some good quality time together doing so. There are a lot of great inspirations on here, but a build similar to Dorton's is exactly what I would love to have parked in the garage. I'm Looking forward to the build and taking advantage of this great resource of enthusiasts.
So, for starters I will get some pics posted (just tried and it was giving me trouble) and feel free to let me know how you think I did on the purchase. The price was $2500.
