Hi guys, nice site you have!
A little about me, I used to be the proud owner of this 1990 4Runner, 3.0L 5-speed 4wd.
When I joined the military, I left the 4runner in my mom's driveway as I departed for Germany. At that time, most the interior was dismantled as I was replacing the seats & installing a stereo all at once. It looked ugly on the inside, but it was really an afternoons worth of work to put it back together... why I didn't take the time to do it, I'll never know.:redbrick:
After a few months of it sitting under a tree, some guy came buy and offered her $2500 for the "broken toyota." To clean up loose ends before leaving the country, I had borrowed $2500 to get out from under a 6.0L F250, so she conveniently took the cash and my lovely 4runner was never to be seen again.:sobbing: My mom is an awesome lady and has helped me out more times than I can count, so this one little foul is ok.
Fast forward a few years of living in Germany, my wife wanted an SUV and this time we picked up a pristine 2000 Cherokee 4.0L 5speed 4wd. Previous owner was a British civilian working for the army fixing tanks. Bought it at 150k and the underside was completely dry.:guitar3:
Bought a set of Crager Soft 18's and 215/80/16 Kuhmo KL78's to replace the rock hard tires. Other than that, I did oil changes and washed it. Awesome awesome vehicle.
Kid #2 started growing in her tummy, and the jeep became a bit too small all of a sudden. It was tight with one car seat and two would have been pretty cramped, so it sold quickly to a guy in the Navy out at LNAS, near my hometown!:thumb3:
We replaced it with this monster.
She wanted a truck, and I wanted to tow an enclosed trailer for my track car if we bought a truck. Of course towing = diesel, and this thing was awesome! Luckily we paid far far less than sticker for it because about 3 months after buying the thing, we decided to send her back to school... our income immediately shrank and my hopes of a 24' halmark was put way back on the back burner. Sold it for a good price, put some coin in the savings account and picked up this ugly duckling.
(I'll get better photo's as soon as it stops snowing immediately after washing the truck)
As you can see by the pictures above, it's a bit rough on the outside. It needs a new front bumper badly, rear could be replaced as well. Hood and roof need to be repainted from the clearcoat failing. And a few dents and dings on most panels means that it will never be a super nice truck. But I walked out of the dealership with it WAY cheaper than the asking price and the motor runs strong, the most important thing to me after owning a 3vze...
I would have preferred to buy one from a private party with known history, but I'm planning on doing all the upgrades needed to tow my track car for less than the price of a good used 3rd gen. Also, I've never been a fan of tan interior, but for some reason I really like how the brown exterior and tan/brown interior work together!
Plans for the 4runner:
- new front bumper. Stock or tubes
- tundra/lc80 & bilstein lift. The shocks are tired, so it's a perfect upgrade time
- Tundra brakes (will be towing track car)
- 285/75/16 E rated DuraTrac's
- Airbags in the springs to help with the trailer load
- Paint the roof & hood.
- proper HID upgrade. Our MK5 GTi and Mini Clubman spoiled me.
Intended use for the 4runner:
- Daily driver
- Haul the kiddo's around in bad CO weather (they fit nicely in the back!)
- Tow an open trailer and my 2400lb track car.
- moderate off-roading with friends/co-workers
And if anybody is still reading AND interested in things other than 4WD... Here is my little track car.
Thanks for looking!
A little about me, I used to be the proud owner of this 1990 4Runner, 3.0L 5-speed 4wd.
When I joined the military, I left the 4runner in my mom's driveway as I departed for Germany. At that time, most the interior was dismantled as I was replacing the seats & installing a stereo all at once. It looked ugly on the inside, but it was really an afternoons worth of work to put it back together... why I didn't take the time to do it, I'll never know.:redbrick:
After a few months of it sitting under a tree, some guy came buy and offered her $2500 for the "broken toyota." To clean up loose ends before leaving the country, I had borrowed $2500 to get out from under a 6.0L F250, so she conveniently took the cash and my lovely 4runner was never to be seen again.:sobbing: My mom is an awesome lady and has helped me out more times than I can count, so this one little foul is ok.
Fast forward a few years of living in Germany, my wife wanted an SUV and this time we picked up a pristine 2000 Cherokee 4.0L 5speed 4wd. Previous owner was a British civilian working for the army fixing tanks. Bought it at 150k and the underside was completely dry.:guitar3:
Bought a set of Crager Soft 18's and 215/80/16 Kuhmo KL78's to replace the rock hard tires. Other than that, I did oil changes and washed it. Awesome awesome vehicle.
Kid #2 started growing in her tummy, and the jeep became a bit too small all of a sudden. It was tight with one car seat and two would have been pretty cramped, so it sold quickly to a guy in the Navy out at LNAS, near my hometown!:thumb3:
We replaced it with this monster.
She wanted a truck, and I wanted to tow an enclosed trailer for my track car if we bought a truck. Of course towing = diesel, and this thing was awesome! Luckily we paid far far less than sticker for it because about 3 months after buying the thing, we decided to send her back to school... our income immediately shrank and my hopes of a 24' halmark was put way back on the back burner. Sold it for a good price, put some coin in the savings account and picked up this ugly duckling.
(I'll get better photo's as soon as it stops snowing immediately after washing the truck)
As you can see by the pictures above, it's a bit rough on the outside. It needs a new front bumper badly, rear could be replaced as well. Hood and roof need to be repainted from the clearcoat failing. And a few dents and dings on most panels means that it will never be a super nice truck. But I walked out of the dealership with it WAY cheaper than the asking price and the motor runs strong, the most important thing to me after owning a 3vze...
I would have preferred to buy one from a private party with known history, but I'm planning on doing all the upgrades needed to tow my track car for less than the price of a good used 3rd gen. Also, I've never been a fan of tan interior, but for some reason I really like how the brown exterior and tan/brown interior work together!
Plans for the 4runner:
- new front bumper. Stock or tubes
- tundra/lc80 & bilstein lift. The shocks are tired, so it's a perfect upgrade time
- Tundra brakes (will be towing track car)
- 285/75/16 E rated DuraTrac's
- Airbags in the springs to help with the trailer load
- Paint the roof & hood.
- proper HID upgrade. Our MK5 GTi and Mini Clubman spoiled me.
Intended use for the 4runner:
- Daily driver
- Haul the kiddo's around in bad CO weather (they fit nicely in the back!)
- Tow an open trailer and my 2400lb track car.
- moderate off-roading with friends/co-workers
And if anybody is still reading AND interested in things other than 4WD... Here is my little track car.
Thanks for looking!
Last edited:
