zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Buying
/
At $22,500, Is This Custom 1985 Toyota 4Runner A Front Runner?
At $22,500, Is This Custom 1985 Toyota 4Runner A Front Runner?-August 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:09:13

Nice Price or No Dice 1985 Toyota 4Runner

With its thirteen-inch lift and 37-inch tires, a running start may be required to get up and into today’s 4Runner. Let’s decide if its price makes it worth the effort.

Yesterday’s was a cool coupe with a bit of sporty flair. It was also a very clean car with no obvious issues and a reputation for not going south any time soon. At just $4,000, that latter factor impressed more so than the former, earning the Chevy a solid 76 percent Nice Price win.

Image for article titled At $22,500, Is This Custom 1985 Toyota 4Runner A Front Runner?

Speaking of trouble-free Chevys, you don’t get much more muss and fuss-free than the like-a-rock reputation of the Small Block Chevy 350 CID V8. Marry that with the compact and equally reputationally respected Toyota 4Runner, and you might just have yourself a winning combination. We’ll just have to see.

According to its ad, this r has been “highly customized” and carries not just an SBC V8, but a GM automatic (likely a three-speed THM-something). That works through a 4WD system with a 5.29:1 rearend, although the ad isn’t specific whether that is Chevy-sourced or from the house of Toyota.

Image for article titled At $22,500, Is This Custom 1985 Toyota 4Runner A Front Runner?

Keeping that drivetrain on the up and up, the truck has been lifted 13 inches and rolls on 37-inch Interco TSL knobbies. Side scraper bars with steps help with getting in and out of the tower of power truck. The increased height looks to give the truck excellent approach and departure angles.

The updated mechanicals have been matched with an aesthetic refresh that includes brush guards, chrome accents on the body, and wilderness scenes etched into the glass on the windows in the cap. A good bit of attention has been paid to the cabin, as well. There, you’ll find a slew of dash-top gauges, fresh upholstery, a repositioned shifter for the trans, and a bass box in the boot. It’s all clean and, save for the space-eating speaker housing with its untamed wires and exposed amp, all very tidy.

Image for article titled At $22,500, Is This Custom 1985 Toyota 4Runner A Front Runner?

Taking a gander underneath the truck and under the hood shows what appears to be a clean install of all the adopted hardware. The seller—Steve— says in the ad that the truck is “Mechanically sound and great condition.” The work undertaken on it must not be that old either, as Steve says there are only 700 miles on the motor. The chassis shows 151,000 miles, but this being a Toyota and almost completely refreshed, those miles shouldn’t matter all that much. The title is clean, and the asking price is $22,500, a recent reduction, Steve claims, from $25K.

Image for article titled At $22,500, Is This Custom 1985 Toyota 4Runner A Front Runner?

What’s your take on this thoroughly updated rock crawler and that $22,500 asking? Does that seem like a fair price for a turn-key custom 4Runner with Chevy power? Or should Steve keep updating the ad with a still-lower price?

You decide!

Twin Tiers, Pennsylvania, , or go if the ad disappears.

H/T to It’sMeMario for the hookup!

Help me out with NPOND. Hit me up at and send me a fixed-price tip. Remember to include your Kinja handle.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Buying
At $32,500, Might You Aspire to This 2002 Panoz Esperante?
At $32,500, Might You Aspire to This 2002 Panoz Esperante?
Don Panoz made his money in pharmaceuticals, but the family name was made amongst auto enthusiasts by building cars like today’s Esperante. Let’s see if this Mustang-based special comes with a price that you think is a deal, or paying through the nose. What scares you? For me, it’s clowns,...
Aug 27, 2025
2018 Hyundai Ioniq Is a Car to Get if You Love Money
2018 Hyundai Ioniq Is a Car to Get if You Love Money
“Not much to this thing,” I thought as I plopped into the 2018 Hyundai Ioniq’s firm driver’s seat and gripped its rock-hard plastic steering wheel. Then I found the price tag: just over $23,000. Then I found the fuel range: just over... holy crap, 600 miles? As far as new...
Aug 27, 2025
At $3,000, Is This 1990 Nissan Maxima SE 4DSC Totally 2G2BT?
At $3,000, Is This 1990 Nissan Maxima SE 4DSC Totally 2G2BT?
Today’s Maxima is a car once described by maker as a 4-door sports car, or ‘4DSC.’ Let’s see if the price tag on this rare manual-equipped edition’s has you LOL’ing. Breaking into the car market with an untested brand is a daunting task, just ask Elon Musk. Of course Musk...
Aug 27, 2025
Autotrader Bot Writes a Kind of Poetic Ford Focus RS Ad
Autotrader Bot Writes a Kind of Poetic Ford Focus RS Ad
To us humans, the Most already know it’s one of the most powerful and enjoyable hot hatchbacks on the market. Apparently our future electronic overlords disagree, and now a bot for Autotrader has penned an overview of the RS for an Idaho dealership which is, honestly, kind of lyrical. A...
Aug 27, 2025
My Mom Is 79 and Wants a Cool Ride! What Car Should She Buy?
My Mom Is 79 and Wants a Cool Ride! What Car Should She Buy?
Dean is trying to help a 79-year-old mother out. She’s a cool lady who was rocking a 1994 Nissan 300ZX until disaster struck. Dean wants to find her a cool car that still has style and speed, but is maybe a little easier to manage. What car should she buy?...
Aug 27, 2025
At $5,000, Could This Supercharged 1993 VW Passat be Your Bag?
At $5,000, Could This Supercharged 1993 VW Passat be Your Bag?
Bagged suspensions are an acquired taste, one that seems to have been favored by the seller of today’s Passat. Let’s see if this modded wagon’s price is so sweet that you can almost taste it. You know, some of you say that you could tidy up any car, slap a...
Aug 27, 2025
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved