Opinions wanted on '86 T4R

[BoatRacer]

I looked at another 4Runner today to buy as a project. I will be picking it up tomorrow most likely, if the deal works out and will get better pics then. Some concerns I have are about the SAS and the lift. I want this to be a safe truck on and off the paved road. I don't know the first thing about completing the conversions this one already has, but I can tell you it flat out sucks to drive. The interior is missing a lot of pieces and what is there is in rough condition. The 22RE runs awesome, although the oil pressure seemed a little low on the dash gauge. The body is rough in spots and paint is cheap and orange peeling bad. The 5 speed shifts great and 4 wheel drive engaged as it should. Some of the bouncing around on the road is probably due to the MTR's, there is steering play, and a lot of noise from the suspension while going down the road. The brakes suck too. It dose have some decent parts including rock sliders and a nice rear bumper and driveline e-brake set up that works well. 63" chev rear springs, stock 4runner rears moved to the front. Front shock hoops, newer bilsteins all around. It comes with new Yukon 5.29 gear sets and install kits with bearings and a new HID headlight upgrade kit. I'm trading a '91 F-250 in great condition for it, but I'm only into the Ford for $1K. What say you guys? Is it worth fixing up and having fun with? Are leaf spring bushings easy to replace? He claims to have 60K miles in the SAS conversion over the last 6 years with no problems, does it look good to you? Sorry about the lack of good pics and the long winded thread.

 

[92-SR5]

I'd say trade it. My concern would be the quality of welds on the front spring hanger since it has been converted. I'm sure it is fine but I'm just over cautious when it comes to stuff like that.
Those mtrs are great tires btw

 

[DrewL]

It looks like you have a solid truck with some great basic components to build upon. You still have enough fixes and improvements to make it your own in relatively short order. Without seeing detailed pics, I assume you can make some "tweaks" to the SAS set-up to make it more to your liking.

If you look at it as a $1k truck it is an absolute steal! Buy it, tinker with it, and if you decide it's not right, sell it for much more than $1k and start over.

 

[Greg_Canada]

I'd pay a g for that any day. Body is worth that...
Yes, it is worth fixing up. Leaf spring bushings aren't too difficult.

 

[Quatre Coureur]

I'd say go for it. Its got a G's worth of parts at least. 22re's all have low oil pressure so don't sweat that. As Drew stated, buy it, play with it, and if u decide it isn't for u, sell it for a profit...

 

[BoatRacer]

The kid had his mother mail him the title yesterday and wants to make the trade this Monday. While talking to my dad about this project, he recalled seeing first gen a couple houses down from his. He talked to the guy this morning, said he'd sell the rolling shell for $350. Dad says the interior looks nice and the body and top are in great condition, no engine, trans, or transfer case. I might just buy it for the parts. I'll have an update Monday afternoon.

Thanks for the opinions guys. I think it will be a good trade!

 

[fourwd1]

Will it pass a safety inspection with the SAS?
In most states you need to have a vehicle inspected before you can put tags on it.

 

[DrewL]

He talked to the guy this morning, said he'd sell the rolling shell for $350. Dad says the interior looks nice and the body and top are in great condition, no engine, trans, or transfer case. I might just buy it for the parts.

If you have the space and your father's buy-in, snag the rolling chassis if you need the interior. It's much nicer and cheaper taking parts off a vehicle in your driveway than in a salvage yard. The body and frame are worth a couple hundred at least for scrap. A title makes scrapping it much easier, though.

That said, beware of the addictive qualities of collecting parts trucks. I have three Runners and a Pickup when all I wanted was a weekend 4x4.

 

[BoatRacer]

I sure hear that Drew! I have quite a few cars in my shop right now and one I'm parting out. Dragging home "good deals" is an addiction!

I picked up this '86 this morning. The kid called me late last night and wanted to meet up, so it's a done deal. I'm really looking forward to building on it and hopefully will be successful at making it drive and handle a little better. Pics coming shortly. Thanks again for all the advise, I'll have many more questions as I proceed.

 

[BoatRacer]

Will it pass a safety inspection with the SAS?
In most states you need to have a vehicle inspected before you can put tags on it.

No inspection required, it's already licensed in this state and has good tabs. All I'll do on Monday is transfer the title over to my name. I don't think LEO will hassle me too much about it around here, I'll have to put some decent mud flaps on it and they will leave me alone.

 

[BoatRacer]

Here is what I ended up with. I got it on the lift as soon as I got home and check it out. I have lots of work to do, but I'm excited about it. All four of the leaf springs look hammered, rusty, and the bindings are bent on two. I was told the fronts are the stock 4runner rears that have moved forward and rears are 63" chev. I might just do some searching and buy all new leaf springs. It's all over the road while driving, not stable at all.

 

[92-SR5]

Looks good!

 

[KidVermicious]

Take a close look at that steering box. He used an IFS steering box when he did his crossover steering, and I don't see any plating on the frame. Those are known to rip out if the frame isn't plated.

 

[BoatRacer]

Take a close look at that steering box. He used an IFS steering box when he did his crossover steering, and I don't see any plating on the frame. Those are known to rip out if the frame isn't plated.

These are the things I need to know, thank you!
I just went out and checked, there is plate steel about 3/16 thick welded on the outside of the frame and 1/8 on the inside in between the steering box.

 

[KidVermicious]

Awesome, that should be fine then. I see a couple other things that you might want to think about redoing - first, looks like the drag link is maybe right on top of the tie rod and they're interfering when the truck flexes? Can't tell for sure from the photo. Second, was the truck on the ground when you took the photo looking at the front axle from behind? If so, that pinion angle is a pile of suck. If that was at full droop though, it's probably ok. Third, your LSPV angle is out of whack due to the lift, that's interfering with the brakes and biasing excessive force to the front. You can correct that to a more neutral position with a simple bracket, or just delete it and replace it with a manual proportioning valve.

 

[BoatRacer]

It was on my lift, the rear driveline angle looks good when it's on the ground, the front is not so good. Yes the brakes are terrible, it really dose nose dive to the front.

 

[ajohnson]

KidV has some great info. You can get a manual prop. valve from Frontrange Offroad, it includes the adapter fittings.

You also need to check your steering arm studs regularly. High steer puts a lot of strain on those studs and you need to keep them tight, check them before and even during each day of wheeling. I throw a 20" bar on mine and get them as tight as I can before each ride. You don't want them to loosen and shear.

 

[BoatRacer]

I looks like it might be easier to remove the entire LSPV system and just install a manual prop valve? The rod is bent all to hell anyway.
Is there anyway to determine how much of a lift I have? I would like to buy new lift springs and shocks all around. I'm assuming I cannot just order 4" or 5" lift springs and think it will sit even front to rear? It looks like the front bar for the ifs elim kit hangs kind of low. I don't want the front end to sit too high because I bought the wrong stuff.

Three weeks ago I didn't even own a 4runner

 

[BoatRacer]

Are there steering stops for the straight axle deal? Right now, the tires will rub the springs if turned far enough.

 

[DrewL]

Congratulations! That's a beautiful pic of your new fraternal twins. You are a rich man.

I like the wheels on the parts Runner. The body looks pretty straight from that angle, too. How about some pics of the interior of that one?

You've got a great set-up with that Rotary Lift. It will be a lot easier tackling your suspension issues with a shop like that.